My 11 year old grandson and I had the same issue, no hiss and no hum. We finished the kit and it did work, however there’s a sufficient amount of audio distortion on the stronger stations. I’m going to try some of the listed mods next to see if we can get a bit less distortion  and make it a little easier on the ears.

 We could hear three strong stations here in Marion, Indiana. 

 What a fun kit. I pre-built the case and the antenna coil as that might’ve been a little too much for an 11-year-old. He is now getting confident enough to hold both the soldering iron and the solder. In the past I would hold the soldering iron and he would apply the solder.  He is learning how to identify the parts and hands them to me at the appropriate time. We test each resistor on an ohm meter. He can see the small numbers on the capacitors with his naked eyes. I still need the magnification and light from my loupe. 


Dave K8WPE