$49.95 EXPERIMENTAL METHODS yy Ww7zol ‘ Rick Campbell, KK7B 4 Bob Larkin, W7PUA & Z "he rote A RRL Suis FBGn ‘THIS ITEM MUST BE RETURNED BY RECORDED DELIVERY ‘CAGE— | fe & od? an Se) ss Wes Hayward, W7ZOI Rick Campbell, KK7B Bob Larkin, W7PUA JBRARY. DOCUMENT SUBSRLY CENTRE ops 42 NOV 2004 Editors: Technical Illustration: Jan Carman, K5MA David Pingree, NiNAS Steve Ford, WB8IMY Dana Reed, WiLC Cover Design: Jim Talons, NOJT Sue Fagan Lamy Wolfgang, WR1B Bob Inderbitzen, NO1R Proofreaders: CD-ROM Development: Kathy Ford Dan Wolfgang Jayne Pratt Lovelace Production: Michelle Bloom, WB1ENT Paul Lappen Jodi Morin, KA1UPA (NGA REG-27762906 reumove 05 2 RODECO9 Request Ref. No. \VDxTL4432450 LOAN roan to: If no ether library incieated please return Tas entish Libraty baeument Supply Centre, Boston Spa, Yetnerny, West Yrkshira, Unted Kingdom 1523 72Q.CONTENTS Contents Preface 1 Getting Started 1.1 Experimenting, “Homebrewing,” and the Pursuit of the New 1.2 Getting Started ~ Routes for the Beginning Experimenter 1.3 Some Guidelines for the Experimenter 1. Block Diagrams 1.5 An IC Based Direct Conversion Receiver 1.6 A Regenerative Receiver 1.7 An Audio Amplifier with Discrete Transistors 1.8 A Direct Conversion Receiver Using a Diserete Component Product Detector 1.9 Power Supplies 1.10 RF Measurements, 111 A First Transmitter 1.12 A Bipolar Transistor Power Amplifier 1.13 An Queput Low Pass Filter 1.14 About the Schematics in this Book 2 Amplifier Design Basics 2.1 Modeling Simple Solid State Devices 2 Amplifier Design Basics 3 Large Signal Amplifiers | EGlirwe, cen torte cine (MMILANINAITTI 2.5 Differential Amplifiers and the Op-Amp il or ans 2.6 Undesired Amplifier Characteristics 49961449 is5 only] 2.7 Feedback Amplifiers Petunia ae : 218 Bypassing and Decoupling | goeca 0239 2.9 Power Amplifier Basics | cuss eat No, 2.10 Practical Power Ampliliers OFZ11984 2543425 LOAN 2.11 A 30.W — 7-MHz Power Amplifier It me other library incicated please return loan to ‘The Briveh Ubtary Dacument Supply Centre, Boston Sp, 43 Filters and Impedance Matching Circuits |) Wetherby, West Yorkshire, L823 780 3.1 Filter Basics 3.2 The Low Pass Filter, Design and Extension 3.3 LC Bandpass Filters 3.4 Crystal Filters 3.5 Active Filters 3.6 Impedance Matching Networks 4 Oscillators and Frequeney Synthesis 4.1 LC-Oscillator Basics 4.2 Practical Harley Circuits and Oscillator Drift Compensation 4.3 The Colpitts and Some Other scllators 4.4 Noise in Oscillators 4.5 Crystal Oscillators and VXOs 46 Voltage Controlled Oscillators 4.7 Frequency Synthesis 4.8 The Usly Weekender, MK-II, A 7-MHz VFO Transmitter, 4.9 A General Purpose VXO-Bxtending Frequeney Synthesizer5 Mixers and Frequency Multipliers 5.1 Mixer Bi 5.2 Balanced Mixer Concepts 5.3 Some Practical Mixers 5.4 Frequeney Multipliers 5.5 A VXO Transmitter Using a Digital Frequency Multiplier 6 Transmitters and Receivers 6.0 Signals and the Systems that Process Them 6.1 Receiver Fundamentals 6.2 IF Amplifiers and AGC 6.3 Large Signals in Receivers and Front End Design 6.4 Local Oscillator Systems 6.5 Receivers with Enhanced Dynamic Range 6.6 Transmitter und Transceiver Design 6.7 Frequency Shifts, Offsets and Incremental Tuning 6.8 Transmit-Receive Antenna Switching 6.9 The Lichen Transceiver: A Case Study 6.10 A Monoband SSB/CW Transceiver 6.11 A Portable DSB/CW 50 MHz Station 7 Measurement Equipment 7.0 Measurement Basics 7.1 DC Mesaurements 7.2 The Oscilloscope 7.3 RF Power Measurement 7.4 RF Power Measurement with an Oscilloscope 7.5 Measuring Frequency, Inductance, and Capacitance 7.6 Sources and Generators * 7.7 Bridges and Impedance Measurement 7.8 Spectrum Analysis, 7.9 Q Measurement of LC Resonators 7.10 Crystal Messurements 7.11 Noise and Noise Sources 7.12 Assorted Circuits ct Conversion Receivers 8.1 A Brief History 8.2 The Busic Direct Conversion Block Diagram 8.3 Peculiarities of Direct Conversion 8.4 Mixers For Direct Conversion Receivers 8.5 A Modular Direct Conversion Receiver 8.6 DC Receiver Advantages 9 Phasing Receivers and Transmitters 9.1 Block Diagrams 9.2 Introduction to the Math 9.3 From Mathematics to Practice 9.4 Sideband Suppression Design 9.5 Binaural Receivers 9.6 LO and RF Phase-Shift and In-Phase Splitter-Combiner Networks 9.7 Other Op-Amp Topologies, Polyphase Networks and DSP Phase Shifters 9.8 Intelligent Selectivity 9.9 A Next-Generation R2 Single-Signal Direct Conversion Receiver 9.10 A High Performance Phasing SSB Exciter 9.11 A Few Notes on Building Phasing Rigs 9.12 Conclusion10 DSP 11 DSP Components 10.1 The EZ-Kit Lite 10.2 A Program Shell 10.3 DSP Components 10.4 Signal Generation 10.5 Random Noise Generation 10.6 Filtering Components 10.7 DSP IF 10.8 DSP Mixing 10.9 Other DSP Components, 10.10 Discrete Fourier Transform 10.11 Automatic Noise 10.12 CW Signal Gener 10,13 SSB Signal Generation Applications in Communications 111 Program Structure 11.2 Using a DSP Device as a Controller 11.3 An Audio Generator Test Box 114 An 18-MHz Transceiver 11.5 BSP-10 2-Meter Transveiver 12 Field Operation, Portable Gear and Integrated Stations 12.1 Simple Equipment for Portable Operation 12.2 The “Unfinished,” A 7-MHz CW Transceiver 12.3 The S7C, A Simple 7-MHz Super-Heterodyne Receiver 12.4 A Dual Band QRP CW Transceiver 12.5 Weak-Signal Communications Using the DSP-10 12.6 A 28-MHz QRP Module 12.7 A General Purpose Receiver Module 12.8 Direct Conversion Transceiver for 14d-MHz SSB and CW 12.9 52-MHz Tunable IF for VHF and UHF Transceivers 12.10 Sleeping Bag Radio 12.11 14-MHz CW Receiver Contents of CD-ROM Index‘The predecessor for this book, Sotid State Design for the Radio Amateur (SSD), was first published by ARRL in early 1977. The ‘goal for that rext was to present solid state circuit design methods oa community much more familia with vacuum tube methods But, another goal was integrated into the text, that of presenting the material ia a way that would allow the reader to actually design his or her own circuits. Handbooks uf the day presented only an encyclopedic overview of solid state devices with brief ‘qalitative discussions about functionality. SSD deseritedcireuit Clements in terms of models that could be used for analysis Design consists of more than merely combining representative circuits from a catalog or handbook ‘SSD succeeded with design becoming the key word in the ttle, especially in lacer years as the world became accustomed co all, electronic equipment being predominantly solid state. What surprised many is that the book remained popular, even after many of the transistors used in the elreuits were no longer available. Experimental Methods in Radio Frequency Design (EMRED) is the sequel to SSD. with design remaining as a central theme. (Our goal is to present models and discussion that will allow the user to design equipment at both the ciscuit and the system level (Our own interests are dominated by radio frequencies, so the text, discusses problems peculiar ta radio communications equipment A final emphasis in EMAFD is experimentation. A vital part of fan experiment is measurement, We encourage the reader 10 not only build equipment. but to perform measurements on that gear as it is being built ‘The word “experiment,” often conjures memories of schoo! exercises where a teacher has assembled equipment and we. as students, go theough a prearranged set of steps to ative at a conclusion, also predetermined. Although efficient, this isa poor representation of seionce. Rather, experimental science begins ‘with new idea, An experiment 10 test the idea is then generated, the experiment is built, mousurements are made, and the results are pondered, which often results in new ideas to test. This ean all be done by one person working alone. EMRFD encourages the participating reader t© build equipment with an attitude of contiaually seeking to understand the equipment and 10 tunderstind the primitive concepts that form the basis for the equipment and the circuits contained therein. Our greatest hope is that the text will Mustrate the potential of amateur radio, and cher personal science, a6 4 training ground for the individual This texts aimed ac variety of readers: the radio amateur who designs and builds his own oguipment; college students looking fir design projects or wishing to garner practical experience with, ‘working hardware: young professionals wishing to apply their Trest engineering and physics coursework to kitchen table Projects: non-engineers wanting to dabble in a technical field; engineering managers recapturing the fun of making things {instead of people} work; and technical explorers of ull types. The firs chapter of EMRFD deals with the problems of getting started with experimentation, Numerous projects are presented, timed at assisting the experimenter in beginning investigations inelectranies, Chapters through 5 then deal with specific cireuit functions. Chapter 2 presents amplifiers while filters are discussed in Chapter3, Oseillatorsemerge in Chapter 4, including PREFACE the natural extension of frequency synthesis, Mixers, including Frequency multipliers, appear in the fifth chapter. These chapters are laced with projects that can be constructed, but they also ‘emphasize important basic concepts. Chapter 6 moves on to present communications equipment, predeminantly using super-heterodyne methous. System design considerations a included, especislly with regard to distortion and dynamic range. The chapter contains several projects including a high performance receiver. Chapter 7 deals with measurement ‘methods and includes considerable test equipment that the experimenter can build. Chapter 8 then moveson toa fundamental discussion of direct conversion. This is followed by & thorough treatment of the phasing method of SSB in Chapter 9. Chapters 10 and 1] present fundamental concepts of digital signal processing and illustrate them with projects, The book concludes, ‘with Chapter 12 featuring a variety of experimental activities of special interest to the authors. ‘A Compact Disc is included with the book, This CD contains some design software, extensive listings for DSP firmware celated to Chapters and 11. and asizeable collection of journal articles, relating to material presented in the text. The design software is ‘written for personal computer using the Microsoft Windows ‘operating system, while the journal papersare presentedin Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. ‘This book isu personal one in that we have only writen sbout those things we have actually experienced, We specifically avoided an encyclopedic discussion of material that we fuad not ‘actually experienced through experiments, Equipment of interest tothe three of us dominates. The amateur bands up to 2 meters are ‘considered, ard are illustrated with CW and SSB gear. The book uses some mathematics where appropriate, It is, however, keptat abasic level The book contains numerous projects that are suitable for uplication. Printed cireuit hoards are not generally available for these, although boards may become available at a later time. Readers should keep an eye on the world wide web for PCB §nformation and ether matters related to the book. See http! www.arrLorginotes/8799, We generally prefer tht builders use the projects as starting points for their own designs and experiments rather than duplicating the projects presented. Acknowledgments ‘The following experimenters have contributed 10 this book through experiments, direct correspondence, encouragement ‘and by example, We gratefully acknowledge their contributions. Bil] Amidon (sk); Tom Apel. KSTRA; Leit Asbrink, SMSBSZ: Kirk Bailey, N7CCB; Dave Benson, KISWL: Byron Blanchard, NIEKY, Denton Bramwell, W7DB; Guy Brennert, K2EFB: Rod Brink, KQ6F: Kent Britain, WASVIB: Wayne Burdick, NOKR Russ Carpenter, AATQU: Dennis Criss; Bol) Culter, N7FKI: George Daughters, K6GT: John Davis, KFSEDB: Paul Decker KG7HF: Rev. George Dobbs, G3RJV: Pete Eaton, WB9FLW: Gerry Edson, WAOKNW: Bill Bvans, W3PB:George Fare, G30GQ; Johan Forser, KC7WW; Dick Frey KaXU: Barrie Gilbert; Jack Glandon, WB4RNO; Joe Glass, WB2PIS: Dr, Dave Gordon-Smith, G3UUR; Mike Greaney, K3SRZ: Linley Gum, K7HFD: Nick Hamilton, G4TXG; Mark Hansen, KITN: Markus Hansen, VETCA: Neil Heckt; Ward Helms, W7SMX; Don Hilliard \WOPW: Fred Holler, W2EKB: Robert Hnghson Pete Juliano, W6IFR; Bill Kelsey. N8ET; Ed Kessler, AA3SJ; Paul Kieiak, N2PK: Don Knotts, W7HIS: O. K. Krienke: Beb Larkin. W7SLB; John Lawson, KSIRK; Roy Lewallen, WTEL; Jon Licbentood, K7RO: Larry Liljeqvist, W782; B. F. Logan Jr, WB2NBD: Stephon Maas, WSVHJ; Chuck MacCluer, WEMQW; Jacob Makhinson, NeNWP: Ernie Manly, W7LHL; Dr. Skip Marsh WOTRQ (skh; Mike Michael, W3TS: Jim Miles, KSCX; Dave Newkirk, WOVES; Gary Oliver, WATSHI: Paul Pagel, NIFB Dave Roberts, GSKBB; Mike Reed, KD7TS; Don Reynolds, K7DBA (sk); Dr. Ulrich Rohde, KA2WEU: Dr. Dave Rutledge, KNEK: Tom Rousseau, K7PIT; Bill Sabin, WOLYH: Tom Scot, KD7DMH; Marty Singer, KTAYP: Derry Spittle, VETQK: Frod Telewski, WA7TZY: Paul Wade. WIGHZ: Al Ward, WSLUA; Dr, Fred Weiss: Jiem Wyckoil, K3BT Bob Zavrel, WISX: Bob Zulinski, WASMAM, We have certainly missed some folks in our list. Please aocept urapologies for our oversight ang our thanks for your help with About the Cover Photograph ‘The cover photograph is an experimental 2.4 GHz TC direct conversion ceesiver front-end on a gallium arsenide die. The die is litle more than one millimeter wide, and less than one mile limeter high. Gold-bond wires connect to the metal squares around the edge, The large spiral is a quadratuee hybrid coupled inductor, and the matehed inductors at tae top are in a Wilkensen the book and related experiments, Some folks have made special contributions and deserve special thanks. Colin Horrabin, G3SBI; Harold Johason, W4ZCB; and Bill Carver, W7AAZ, collectively formed the “Triad.” a group building the high performance transceiver partially described in Chapwer 6. We sincerely appreciate their willingness to share their efforts ang zesults with us. Thanks 20 to Roger Hayward, KA7EXM, for building some equipment described in the hook as well a8 helping with Tield testing of ‘numerous designs. Jef? Damm, WATMLH, deserves special thanks for his efforts. He built equipment described in SSD and provided encouragement for this version. Special thanks to Merle Cox. WIYOZ, and Jim Davey, K8RZ, for several decades of bouncing around radio ideas, huilding the second prototypes, and manning the distant station for countless experiments, Very special thanks are extended to Terry White, KTTAU. Terry did high quality PC layouts for several ofthe designs presented in the text and in earlier OST articles. He also built some equipment shown in the book und provided measurement assistance on several occasions. Special mention should be made of the efforts of the late Doug. DeMass, WLEB, As co-author of SSD, he provided interest and encouragement for this sequel, One of Doug’ greatest qualities was his intense, sincere interest in radio communications. He designed and built radio equipment, used it on the aiz, and then clearly wrote about the efforts, establishing & standard for all to follow. We missed him often through the generation of this text Finally. we want to thank our families, and especially ou wives: Churlene (Shon) Hayward, Sara Rankinen, and Janet ‘Larkin. A book requires time and intense effort that often detracts from other activities. Our “better halves” have all tolerated these moments of distraction, splitter. The passive cireuitry is similar to Fig 9.39, and the pho- tograph on page 9.43 shows this IC connected to baseband cir cuitry described in Chapter 9. Note the call signs on the dic. MAL," who was not licensed in 2001, is now K7MTL. Photo- graph by Dean MontheiAbout The Authors ‘All theee ofthe authors share a sinilar early exposure to eadio, obtaining an amateur license as teen or earlier. ‘They all started with the novice class license. Their early ham experiences expanded to become careers in science and electronics. All three are members of the IBEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society and have published extensively in a wide variety of journals and books. All three writers contributed to all chapters of this text, but each author had a primary responsibility listed below. Wes Hayward, W7ZOI Wes received a BS in Physies from Washington State University in 1961 and an MSE trom Stanford University in 1966, He worked on electron deviee physies at Varian Associates, The Boeing Co.,.and Tektronix. He then did RF circuit desiga, first at Tektronix and then at TriQuint Semiconductor, Wes is now semi-retired. dividing his, ‘ime between writing and consulting. Wes was the primary contributor to Chapters | through 7 and large parts of 12 and ean be contacted at W7z01@ arrl.net. Rick Campbell, KK7B Rick received a BS in Physics from Seaitle Pavilie University in 1975, after wo yeurs active duty as a US Navy Radioman. He worked for years in erystal physics basic research at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ before returning (o graduate sehoo! at the University of Washington, He complcted the MSEE degree in 1981 and the PhD in EE in 1984. He served on the faculty a¢ Michigan Tech University until 1996. Since 1996 he has been with the Advanced Development Group at TriQuint Semiconductor, designing microwave receiver eiseultry. Rick Mad primary responsibility for chapters &, 9, and large parts of 12, He can be contacted at KK7b@arrlsnet. Bob Larkin, W7PUA Bob received u BS in EE from the University of Washington and a MS in EE from New York University. He ‘worked for 12 years at Bell Labs in New Jersey in areas of circuit design and signal processing, Tn 1973 he and his wife Janet started Janol Labs whee « variety of radi requency products were manufactured. They moved the company so Corvallis Oregon in 1975 where it operated until being acquired by Celwave RF in 1991. He now ‘works as a consultant specializing in microwave circuits. Bob was the primary contributor to Chapters 10 and 11 fand srote a section in Chapter 12. Readess can contuet Bob at Wpua@arrlanet.CHAPTER Getting Started 1.1 EXPERIMENTING, “HOMEBREWING,” AND THE PURSUIT OF THE NEW Amateur Radio iss diverse and colorful vocation or hobby where the parteipants ‘communicate with each other through the use of radio signals, The communications. which can encompass and extend beyond the planet, are often routine and predict able, but cam at times be ethereal. The romance of communicating with the ether side of the world blends with the jay of observing acomplicated part of nature. For some of us, the wonder never disappears. ‘Although radio can be fun, our pra matic society demands more than excite ‘ment when resources are used. The virtue that most often justifies our use of the radio specirum i the growth of a profi cieit communications system that can be called upon in times of emergency. The examples of its use are numerous, But, “hany” radio is more than this. Ibis a technical avocation of diverse educa- tional potential. [thas values that go well beyond that ofa supplementary communi- colons network. ‘Most radio amateurs have an interest in the technical details of the equipment they use, Historically. this was « requirement: The only way a radio amateur could as semble an operating station was to person- ally build his or her gear. Commercial equipment was rare, and was offen pro- hibidively expensive. But today, high qual- ity “ham” gear is readily available in most ‘of the world, much of it at modest prices, Although no longer necessary. its still common for radio amateurs to build at least some of their own equipment. The reasons sre varied and as numerous as the partici- pants, A few purists consider building the equipment they use to be a non-optiensl integral par oftheir hobby in he same way that a fly fishing enthusiast would never consider fishing with a fly that he or she had not fabricated. ‘The majority take an intermediate pach, building parts of their radio stations while purchasing others. For some, building is an exercise in exafismen: ship, an opportunity to generate equipment vwith an individual imprint and personality ‘Common to all of these, amateur radio presents an opportunity that is rare among vocations, a chance for individual, unre- strained investigations in fundamental sei- cence and technology. This is @ rarity in an ‘age when mest research and design is per formed by teams of investigators within large organizations, be they universities or theenginecring arms comorations. There, the subjects chosen for investigation ae of- ten those of corporate or national interest. is increasingly rare chat a study is initiated ut of simple curiosity. Fortunately, we are not so constrained within our personal in vestigations of radio science. Consider an example, An experimentally inelined radia amateur envisions & new scheme for a receiver. It might be a beter front end circuit, a new block diagram, o & ‘way to realize some receiver functions with a computer. The experimenter can analyze the scheme, design an exansple, build a pro lotype, build and sssemble needed test equipment. measure the receiver perfor mance, compare it with predicted results and use the receiver on the air. Favh part of the investigation can interaet withthe oth- ers. All of the activity ean be done without interference trom other sources. The pro: gram will never be cancelled by the ehang- ing goals of an organization. Nor will «be rushed by the economie pressures of a cor- porate program. ‘The inspiration for experiment varies. In rare cases, the experimenter may feel that his or her work could lead to 2 new ewistin the state-of-the-art, a better receiver. But ‘mote often it will just be a casual thought that “Hey, I've never built one of these before and IL Iearn something it do.” The mosteommon is aneffort spurred bya nced) ‘ham wants a rig t0 take along on a hiking trip when ne such thing ean be purchased "No matter whar the origin, che experimenter can enjoy the knowledge that he or she is Jeuming more about the subject and about the research process In this book we encourage all levels of what has become known as radio “home brewing,” ranging from beginner projects to sophisticated multi-mode ereations. We generally emphasize simple equipment described by primitive explanations. By primitive, we intend that the discussion relute 10 the most fundamental and basic cizeult design concepts. The equipment and systems presented ure themselves basic. often without the frills, bells, and ‘whistles of commercial equipment. Some refinements willbe discussed, allowing the experimenter to add those he or she needs, This book emphasizes equipment de- sign. Our interest isin basie cizcuit fune- vions and the underlying concepts that alloy them to be understood. This book is generally NOT a collection of projects for reproduction and construction, Although some of the equipment may be directly duplicated, we would prefer to have you sdapt our results (© fit your own needs. This book i, in many ways, a sequel to aneatlier effort, Solid State Design or the Radio Amateur. That 1977 book, cco-suthored with the late Doug DeMaw, Getting Started 1.4WIPB, had goals similasto those outlined above, plus that of introducing solid-state methods to readers with experience lit ited to vacuum tube electronies, The later need hus become arguable, for virtually all of our equipment is now based upon solid-state technology ‘All of the circuits presented in this text have boon constructed, tested, and used in practical, on-the-air situations If there are exceptions where the authors have not setually built an example of what is diss ‘cussed, we will so stare inthe related tex We emphasize the traditional commu: nivations modes of CW, the original dig tal mode, and SSB phone. Building litte rigs and cadiating and receiving continu fous waves are 10 2 radio experimenter ‘much like playing scales and folk tines are to a musician. They are the first things ‘we learn, are important parts of the dail practice routine throughout life, and we neglect them at our peril. The little rigs, tnd the concepts they represent, are at the core of wireless technology. It is not ‘enough to play with them asa novice and then move on to other things: they need to be revisited over and over again at difter- tent stages of one’s vocation, each time achieving a new level of mastery until fie nally one is probing the deepest mysteries of the ar. 1.2 GETTING STARTED—ROUTES FOR THE BEGINNING EXPERIMENTER What to bui A frequent question asked by the pro- spective experimenter regards an initial project or subject for pursuit. A common Choice for a first project comes from a desire to extend the capabilities of an ex- isting station. The future experimenter al- ready has experience with on-the-air ac- tivity anda working station, Heor she then wants 19 extend that station 1o new bands, improved tansceiver performance, or fab ricale a rig offering portability. While these goals are all worthy, they can be df= Ficult. They may be conceptually impos- sible for the beginner, and impractical for he seasoned experimenter with other life commitments, A better “frst” experiment ‘may well be somiething that is mueh sim= pler. Several simple projects are offered later inthis chapteras suitable beginnings. How to build it: Another getting-started question re ¢gards the methods 1o use in building elec- tonics. There are several options, al with their assets and weaknesses. A few are discussed below. PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS ‘The primary construction scheme used. in modem electronics isthe printed circuit board (PCB). Here, pads or islands of metal are attached 10 an insulating mate= Fial. usually epoxy-fiberglass, Wires on the parts are pushed through holes in the ‘pour and soldered to the pads, which are interconnected by printed metal runs, thus, forming the circu A PCB begins as a fiberglass sheet wih ‘copper laminated to one er bath sides. The metal surfaces are then coated with a light sensitive “photo-resist” material. A pattern forthe circuit is optically transfeered to the surface and the unexposed material is washed aay. The board is mow placed in a solution that chemically etches some of 4.2 Chapter 1 the copper away, leaving only those regions needed to form the desired circuit. After etching, the Board is washed and Grilled, Pure copper is easily corroded, so it is common to plate boards with a tin coating, forming a more stable and solidcrable surface. Refined boards include ‘copper on both sides, and even plating on the inside of the holes. Industrial bourds ‘will often incorporate many layers. ‘Modern practice features surface mount technology, SMT, using small compo- nents without wire leads. The leads have been replaced with metalized regions on the parts that are then soldered directly to the boued. The soldering provides phy'i- cal mounting as well 2s electrical connee- tion. The SMT boards are cheaper to build and usually much more dense. SMT parts ‘can be so small that they are hard to handle without a good microscope. SMT is an interesting way to build if there is a need for really small equipment. The small size ‘of SMF circuits often results in improved high Frequency performance. Growing SMT popularity in manufac- luring means that surface mounted is the only available form for acomponent. Many parts don't exist in leaded forms. In some ‘cases they can be handled by the "Surt hoards" by Capital Advanced Technalo- ties which are found in DigiKey catalogs ‘These are small SMT boards with an inter face that will adapt to other board forms, ‘Gireuit boards have been builtin a home environment by hams for generations. The ‘reader should review the sulijectin The ARE. Heenaook wo find out more about the meth bods. A major problem with bome etched boards is the disposal of the used etchant usually asolutionof ferric chloride. Disposal practices eommon in the past are now ques- tioned in this era of enlightened recycling Although some of the projects deseribed in thistextuse etched boards. few ofthe boards were etched in our home labs BREADBOARDED CIRCUITS Breadboard, 25 applied to electronics, isa term from a time when early radio experimenters built their equipment on slabs of wood, often procured from the Kitchen, The term remains as an industry ‘wide description of a preliminary experi- mental circuit, There ure numerous modern methods that can be used to gencr- ate w one-of-ackind circuit UGLY CONSTRUCTION A particularly simple method was out- lined in an early QST paper and is now know as “Ugly Construction.”® Although certainly not unique, the scheme works well and continues as a recommended method. The sctieme consist of the follow ing! T. A ground plane is established using an un-etched setup of copper clad circuit board material 2, Following the schematic for acireuit being built, grounded components are sal- dered dircetly to the ground foil with shoxt leads 3. Some non-grounded parts are sol- dered to and supported by the grounded ‘components 4, Other non-grounded components sre supported with suitable “tic down points” ‘consisting af high value resisters. ‘5. Once finished and working, the board can be mounted in a suitable bos, hidden from view if desired, where it becomes 1 permanent application of the idea. Usly construction is ilustrated in Fig 1.1. Casual circuit analysis allows’ the builder to pick the standoff resistor valucs ‘Any “high R” value resistors can be used. Usually, 1-MQ resistors work well any- ‘where within RF circuits. The typical 1/4 W resistor of any value has a stray Jead-to- lead parallel capacitance of about 0.3 to Da pF, perhaps a little more with longer leads, and a series inductance of 3 t0 5 nH\ é ‘Solder. \ == Fig 1.2—An example of * 1lMeg = .01 1 Meg (Solder), up through 150 METz or sb. High R means that resistance is high with respect tothe reactance of the inductance. Wesometimes use R values as low as 10K0. It is often surprising just how few standoft cesistors sre needed in an ugly breadboard. The greatest virtue of the ugly method is low inductance grounding, Any canstruc~ thon scheme that preserves this grounding Integrity will work as well. Picking @ method is a choice that the builder has. a place where he or she can develop the methods that work best. Integrated cireuits ean be placed on an ugly board with leads sticking up. “dead bug” style. There is litle need to glue the chipsdowa, for components and wires will eventually hold them in place. Grounded IC Teads are bent and soldered directly wo the foil Some builders prefer to maintain ICs \ith the IC label facing upward, allowing later inspeetion. They then bend all Tesds out in a “spread eagle” format We have never had a problem with ugly equipmentbeing less than robust, Many of our gly rigs have been hauled throug the mountains of the Pacifie Northwest in packs without incident. An outstanding caample, the work ofa fiend isthe W7EL Optimized ORP Transceiver arg tar has raveled around the World in suiteases and packs.? Few if uny standoff resistors were used in that rig MANHATTAN BREADBOARDING Several other construction sehemes of- fer similar grounding fidelity, including those where small pads of eireuit board material are glued ot soldered w the round foil, These pads then have compo- nents soldered to them, We have found this, massive components such as floating. aon srounded, trimmer capacitors. The spe- Cific glue type has little impact on circuit performance Vaciations oF this method have been called “Manhattan Construc tion,” and can be mixed with other bread- boarding schemes. The reader can find ‘numerous examples on the Web on sites dealing with ORP experiments. as well as in Fig 1.2 The proponents of Manhattan Construc- tion often use small round pads that are sled 10a ground foil with epoxy vr simi- Jar glue. The pads are placed So that all components are parallel to board edges and close tothe eround fil. This produces am attractive board resembling a commer: ial, PC hoard. This does mot scemte com promise performanee. With traditional ugly construction, parts can be moved about to make room for ‘mother stage. In the extreme, an entire ciccuit can be lifted and moved, a stage at fa time, to another board ‘A primacy virtue of a bread-boarding scheme is construction speed and flexitil- ity, especially important when the primary purpose of building gear is information about circuit behavior. Some folks prefer 10 rebuild a circuit after « breadboarding phase, replacing un ugly prototype with a more permanent, production-like version. These efforts ake axiditional time and rarely produce pesfor mance superior to the original bread- boards. Even looks can be deceptive when ‘one hides usly breadboards behind more attractive front panels QUASI-PRINTED BOARDS Some experimenters. prefer to build equipment that looks like x PCB, even ‘scheme for breadboarding. The installed resistor here is soldered to {ground and to a pad that connects to the rest of the circuitry. when the board is not etched in « circuit specific pattern. One method, called “checker-board,” uses doublesided circuit bbourd with one side funetioning as a ground foil. The other side consists of a ‘matrix of small iskinds of eopper. These regions are created cither by etching or manually with a back saw. Patteras oF squares on 0.1-ineh centers necommodate traditional ICs, Holes ure drilled inthe ise lands where components must reside. A large drill bit then removes growad foil sround the hole without enlarging it. No holes are required where a ground con- nection is needed. Components usually reside on the ground side of the board. See Fig 13, ‘The double sided checker-boord can also serve for breadboarding with surface mounted components, Paris then reside fon the patiern side with holes drilled to reach ground. Small leaded components can also he surface mounted ‘The checkerbourd scheme, “Manhat- tan" variants, and even double-sided printed boards have fairly high capaci- tance from pads to ground. These are often poor quality capacitors with low Q, under 100 for epoxy fiberglass boasd material and are subject to water absorption. A single sided formacis preferred for critical sections of a LC oscillator application. Getting Started 1.31.3 SOME GUIDELINES FOR THE EXPERIMENTER With Solid-State Design for the Radio Amateur came considerable interaction ‘with the rest of the amateur radio commu- nity. A frequent question we heard was How do [ get started with experiment- ing?" Or, “Y've read about and have even ‘ult some kits and published projects, but want to go further. T want to do my own. design, What is the neat step?” ‘A set of guidelines is offered in an tempt to answer Some of these questions. ‘These are not firm, well established rules, ‘but mere impressions and personal biases that we have generated, approaches that ‘work for us, They are offered without guarantee. ‘KISS: This British term is shoxt for “Keep lt Simple, Stupid.” Weoftendesign equipment that is more complicated than needed. Tt is well worth some extra time during design to evaluate every part to see if itis really needed. The function of each part should be understood and justified. ‘The cireuit should function as intended. This does not imply that designs with the minimum number of parts ate best. How ever, it is zarely justified to overdesign by adding extra components “because a prob- lem might occur.” For example. designs ‘with a profusion of ferrite beads and "Sta bility enhancing” resistors may besuspect lore: Lore, inthis ease, refers to “knowledge” that is based upon expe ences that are divorced from careful thought. A classic example in amateur ra dio regards the thermal stability of LC oscillators, Envision the amateur experi enter who built an oscillator using a tor oid, The circuit drifted when he opened the window 10 the winter weather. The nextevening he replaced the inductor with ‘one wound en a ceramic coil form, notie ing less drift when he opened the window. He coneluded that ceramic forms are bet- ler than toraids, having never considered the specific coll forms taat were used, the ‘other components in the cizcuit, or the Fact that the weather had improved. Poorly executed experiments like this often gen- erate erroneous conclusions. The zesult ing lore, although interesting, should always be questioned. ILiswlways better © «do meaningful measurements ‘Plan your projects with block dia- ‘grams: Start with small diagrams where each block is a global element, perhaps containing several stages. Expand these to show greater detail. Block diagrams will de discussed further below. Generate modular equipment: A high performance receiver, for example, should 4.4 Chapter 1 consist of several sections, each designed sothatitcan be built, ested, modified, and redesigned as needed, with minimal change to the rest of the system, Even the simplest little rig should be built «stage at atime, turned on sequentially, rested, and modified as needed. Single board trans ceiver designs are popular in the QRP arena, But realize that the ones that work well are probably the result of several re= builds, and even then, some don't work very well; others are super’. # Avoid excessive miniaturization: It takes much more time wo build small things than those where the cirouitry can expand without bound. Even when building small portable QRP transceivers, i's often worthwhile to establish the design with a larger breadboard ‘© Base projects on your own goals: Our centeal personal goal is learning through experimentation. Hence, we base projects ‘on questions that need investigation rather than what we need or want for on-the-air operation. But your gouls may be differ- ent, Ttis worthwhile to review and define them as a means of picking the best projects for you. Isolate primary goals from those that ate serendipity. Be wary of “Creeping Features.” The cerm “appliance” often describes. the lranseeivers that we purchase for ‘on-the-ait communications. Applianess, even ones that we build ourselves, are usually expected to have many features, bout these belts and whisrles can actually impede experimental progress. A single bband, single mode transceiver can be as experimentally enlightening and informa tive as a multiple mode, general coverage transceiver: © Use the literature, Peruse catalogs, data manuals, web sites, and even instruc tion manuals for circuit ideas. When a cir- cuit method is not understood, it should be studied in texts appropriate to the technol ‘ogy. It is useful to build something with the part as a way to really understand that par. ‘© While planning is necessary, don’t spend excessive time in the preliminary design phase of a project. Rather, outline preliminary ideas and goals, do initial cal- culations (on a computer only if they are really complicated). gather parts, and begin building. Enjoy the freedom that allows you to change your mind in the ‘middle of an investigation. Refined caleu- lations can occur during and after con- struction und are not just “design phase” activities. ‘#1e'snot about craftsmanship: A portion of the homebrewing community was schooled with the ides that “nice looking” citeuic construction went along with good performance, But the (wo Factors are gen- erally isolated, This is ilustrated in Fig 1.4. There is no relationship berween hav- ing a nice looking, orderly circuit board and good performance from that board. In- deed, those suddled with the chore of de- signing a printed board to perform as well sas an ugly breadboard may wonder f there ‘might be an inverse relationship! Use breadbosrding aver ground plane for communications citeuits, especially vwhen investigating new ideas. Use vector board or wine-wrap methods for slow digital circuits, buttreat fast digital citeuitsasifthey were RF fusctions. In general, build with those methods that will offer the best low inductance, grounding while allowing ci cuits tobe quickly designed, assembled, and tested, If you are concerned with acsthetic tails, build second version. Alterna tively, analiactive panel ean be used tohide ugly, hut highly functional breadboards, ‘© Build what you use, and use what you builé: Taose of us in the homebrew end of amateur radio often kid our appliance op- erator friends. suggesting thata“real ham” should build instead of just operate. Some ‘avid experimenters may take this too far; they build « rig, use it just long enough to confirm functionality, and go on to the next project, missing some exciting di coveries along the way. By using the equipment with tempered intensity, the experimenter will discover the strength and weakness of the rig, allowing the nest project to be even more successful. The same arguments might be applied to soft ware developments! © Beware of the golden screwdriver: A good friend. WA7MLH, encountered a fellow on the air whose sole method for experimentation was to adjust all of his equipment for maximum output. He did this witha favorite screweriver, whieh he ‘weated as golden, After careful tweaking fof all circuit elements that could be ac justed, he was almost always able to coax a 100-W transceiver into delivering 110 W of output. Unfortunately, what started asa good piece of equipment had become a distorted disaster. While we all tend to adjust cizeuits for“maximum smoke.” Tin~ ear circuitry should be confined to oper- ate under linear conditions. Itis important ‘that the limits be recognized and adhered to, This is especially important when building SSB gear. Alignment mens ad- jusiment to the proper, measured level.Fig 1.4—"Nice looking” ele Which may differ from maximum. ‘Always Keep notebooks for experi ments: Record those wild circu ideas that come up while you eut the lawn ox wateh TY; record important datn during experi- ments, including the temperature when you open the window: take notes on the Circuits that you build, including changes that are made during building and “tra ‘on. Date the notebook and place small dated labels inside the rigs so you can find the data when it's needed. Use bound or spital notebooks rather than loose-leat documents, for they are more permanent. Along term computer based index of note books is very useful, (© Find others with the same passion for experimenting: Although this guideline ix pretty obvious, it's also easy Tor the ex- perimenter to become isolated in hisorher own world. Builder hams are rarely iso- lated. Finding the local ones will give you a place to communicate your ideas, hear about new thoughts, and éo share junkbox parts as well as test equipment. Ask at local elubs to find out who is building. Lis- ten to the appropriate nets and attend the specialty clubs. Write to fellows who author articles of interest, especially if they live nearby. Watch the chat sessions ‘on the Tnternet or the Web, Amateur radio is about communications, so don't hesi- tate te communicate # Look toward the ordinary for expla- ations: When a design is not working as ‘well ts itshould, we look for explanations hat will explain the differences. All too often we consider the complicated an- swers, only to discover that the real swer is in the “obvious.” It is always worthwhile to return 10 fundamentals, ® Strive to build equipment that does not pollute the already abused radio spec~ trum: Make an effort to generate clean equipment, meaning that it does not emit signals at frequencies other than the in- tended ones. While most ofthis concern is \with transmitters, the ideas should also be spplied to receivers. The difficult ques- tion is “How clean is clean enough?" The onstruction does not always equate to good circuit performance. FCC has specifications for spurious emis- sions from US transmitters. These spe cations depend upan transmitter output power. Even for equipment running full power. the specifications are generally easy lo mect at HF. When power drops below 5-W output, they become even easier. Throughout this text we take the approach that even greater levels of elean- Jiness will be sought. This book includes a chapter on test equipment. One of the items featured there isa spectrum analyzer that will allow che builder to measure spec tral purty. A final “rule:” Don't let any of these rules get in the way of experimenting and building! Jr's OK if there aze things that you don't understand even if that includes the project you are about r0 build, for you ‘will understand much more when you are finished. The real goal ofthis pursuit, und of this honk is to fear by doing. The same can be said for other “rules that may ap- pear in the literature or on the web: Don't Jet them keep you feem experimenting, Getting Started 1.51.4 BLOCK DIAGRAMS Fig 1.5 shows a collection of elements that can be used in a detailed block dix ‘aram of aradio, This short listis generally extensive enough to describe the non-digital designs in this book Schematic and block diagrams serve a variety of purposes in electronics. The purpose of the block diagram isto present the fonctions and their interconnection used in a pieee of equipment. Schematic diagrams present the details. A block diagram is « useful way to plan and describe the equipment we wish to build. The block diagram will serve asthe stacting point for mathematical analysis that we may apply to the overall systera. 1 can also eniphasize the functions required tocomplete the design. This is illustrated ‘with Fig 1.6 showing a direct conversion transceiver for the 40-meter band. Several filtersaxe shown, illustrating the functions, that are important for good performance. ‘The low pass and the high pass between the mixer and audio amplifier ate simple, ‘consisting of one component each, There may be no components forthe signal split- ter, but the function remains, Fig 1.7 shows a more elaborate circuit, super-heterodyne SSB/CW transceiver for the S0-MHr band, The phasing method cant ‘also be used: such a S0-MHz transceiver is presentedin Fig 1.8. Designing any of these systems begins by forming the block dia- grams, which includes specifying cach of the blocks, Once this is done, the individual circuits can be designed, Some elements are missing inthe block diagram in the interests ‘of clarity. [Lill be useful to add block detail during circuit design Some block details may differ from the final implementation, but functions re- rmiin, For example, the splitter and phase shifting functions are often combined in ‘quadrature combiner circuits operating at RF. We sometimes show a 90-degree phase shift in one path with none in an ‘cher where actual circuitry merely main: tains a 90-degree difference These figures offer a glimpse of what test will eaver, Te design of the block ments will each be discussed in indi- chapters, Then, the blocks will be nbled in system chapters relaied to fil phasing, and digital signal processing 1.6 Chapter 1 Basic Block Diagram Elements amplifier. Provides net power gain. Mixer. Provides an output frequency that is a sum/dif of input frequencies. (AD) Oscitlator. Generates an output at \U) a single trequency. Conbiner/splitter. adds two signals or 43-] splits one into two parts while isolatin then. © _o, Inputs/outputs. Coax’, speaker,| ® 4] pe B aicropione, neapiones: \] Low Pass Resonator a Bandpa All Pass Filter (Phase Shift network) $ Fig 1.5—Common block diagram loments. weave ausio 1e/iee Fig 1.6—Block diagram of a direct conversion transceiver1.5 AN IC BASED DIRECT CONVERSION RECEIVER tion effort ‘The basis for this receiver is the NES6O2 (or NE612) integrated circuit. Originally introduced by Signeties in the late 1980s the chip is easy to use and offers good per= This reeciver design is one of the sim- plest possible that will allow CW and SSB. signals to be received, It offers perfor mance enough for oa-the-air contacts While serving as an introductory construc- super-netroayne Single-sideband ‘Transceiver ovue nop tgter chats SRS Sa eine wae Fig 1.7—Block diagram of a super-heterodyne SSB transceiver. rnput Hf 080.9 BB rower ap. SA t ete cnaioy | Jormance among very low current receiver components, The NE6O2 coatains a mixer and an oscillatar, two essential blocks needed for areceiver. The mixer in direct conversion szoziver serves lo heterodyne the incoming antenna signal directly davsn to audio. The oscillator provides mixer LO (local oscillator) injection Tor this conver= sion. The oseillator within the NEO? isu single transistor followed by a buffer am- plifier of undisclosed complexity. The NE6O2 mixer is a doubly balanced eiceuit of @ type known as the Gilbert Cell with ‘opecation outlined in a later chapter. ‘The LM386N audio amplifier follow ing the NE602 completes the receiver. The LM386N will drive a small speaker. or headphones of high or low impedance. The ideal sot of “cans” tose with this recelyer isa light weight pair of the sort used with ingging receivers or similar consumer gear. ‘The receiver is shown schematically in Fig 1.9. Our version is built using the ugly” methods outlined earlier. Ifyou use 1 pre-etched and drilled cizcuit board, ake ‘the time to study the board layout in detail ‘und trace the cireuit while studying the schematic diagram. Merely stuffing parts and soldering will provide you with no more than soldering practice ‘The signal from the antenna connector is applied to a pot that serves as a gain contro! with ourputrouted toa single tuncé cireuit using LI. a toroid inductor. This cireuitdrives ihe mixerinput at NEBO2pins 1 and 2. The load within the IC looks like fa pair of 1.3-kQ resistors trom the input pins to a virtual ground ‘The NE602oscillatorhas acollector tied to the positive power supply. The base of that transistor ig available at pin 6 while pin 7 goes to the emitter. Internal bias resistors etthe voltage and establish a cur rent of about 0.3 mA in the Colpitts oscil- lator, Feedback capacitors in our eizcuit sum between pins 6 and 7 und from pin 7 to ground. A 270-pF capacitor then ties the base fo the rest oF the tuned cireuit, A simplified version of the oscillator cizeuit is shown in Fig 1.10. This illus luates the way a simplified eircuitis used to calculate the resonant frequency. Fig 1-104 shows the complete escillator. But the 10 680-pF feedback capacitors have a series equivalent of 340 pF, as shown in part B of the figure. In going from Fis LOB to Fig 1.10C, we resolve the $0-pF variable and 10-pF fixed into 8.3 pF; the 270and 340 pF become 150 pF. We evala- ated both variable capacitors at their maxi- mum value, Fig [,10C has nothing but patallel capacitors which add directly to Getting Started 4.7L4.L2, 20 t #26 on 787-6 toroid for 6.9.7.6 MHz Fig 1.9—Direct conversion 7-MHz receiver using two integrated circuits. 10 270 340 I B) © dg) ! 4.8 Chapter 1 1.10—Simplified version of the oscillator in a NE602. See text for explanation. form Fig 1.10. A simple resonance cal- colation shows tuning to 6.9 MHz ‘Two variable capacitor (C1 and C2) are used in our oscillator. They are nearly the same value. The larger, CL, directly paral- lelsthe inductor. A detailed analysis shows that it will tune over a wide zange, the full 6.910 7. 5-MHz spain, C2 is"paded dawn" with a 10-pP series capacitor. C2 has a value ranging from 5 to 50 pF. The series capacitor then generates # composite C ranging from 3.3 t0 8.3 pF, a 5-pF differ. ence. Add capacitance in parallel with C2 tocreate even greater banulspread (resolu tion or low tuning rate). Al fixed capacitors should ideally be INDO ceramic types, readily available from ‘major mail ordcr sources. But, don’t hesi- tate to try other caps if you have them in your junk box. The werst that will happen is that the receiver will drift more than desired, New parts are easily substituted later. ‘These capacitor variations are doubly significant. First, you ean adapt a tuned circuit to work with whatever you have on hand. For example, common 365-p8 AM broadcast capacitors can be used in both positions with appropriate padding. Sec fond, the use of two capacitors is a very practical means for building simple recciv- ers while avoiding the mechanical com= plexity of adial mechanism. We have used double cap tuning for transceivers in other parts ofthe book. Adapt the circuit to wht you have available “The mince input network at LL that in= jects antenna signals into the NE6O2 uses ‘an inductor identical to that in the oscilla. tor, tuned with a mica compression trim- ter capacitor. Any variable can be used here. Ifa 365-pF panel mounted cap is used, the 270-F capacitor could be re- duced in value. I the only available vari- able capacitor is much smaller than 180 PF, you may have © resize LI, or add or subtract net eapaeitance a Dit 10 hit reso- hance. The inductance ean be reduced by spreading or removing turas, or increased by compressing turns. Both cisouits ace very tolerant of such changes. ‘Onee the mixer has been wired. most of the receiver is finished. The LM386 is a low power part with no heat sink required. ‘This receiver draws only 7 mA when siz~ nalsaze low, with more current with louder signals, A simple 5-V power supply works well. A 6-V battery pack will run the receiver for extended periods, ‘The NE6O2 mixer features excellent LO to BF isolation. This means that there is litle LO energy appearing at the mixer RF por, and henee, the rocviver antenna terminal “The presence of such encrgy can lead to a eommon problem of “tunable humm” withFig 1.11—Direet conversion recel some direct conversion receivers. ‘Tho seeciver also has problems, Some, the audio images, a intrinsic to all simple direct conversion receivers. This is the price, hut also the thal! of such # design. ‘Thesolectivity is lacking, This ean be rem- died with audio filters that can be placed in the receiver. Examples of audio filters are Found elsewhere in this book, These filters would go between the mixer and the audio amplifies. It is easy to add such things a bresdboarded receiver, but more difficult with a printed board. “The greatest periormancedefieiency isthe sembly. poor strong signal handfing capability ofthe receiver. Although helped s bit by placing the only gain conteal inthe ancenna lead, the problem is intrinsic tthe NE6O2 mixer. The basie Gilbert Cell is capable of much more, but only when biased to draw considerably more current, The current is kept low in the NEGO? by design, fori is intended for bat tery powered consumer equipment and not hom gear. Strong, high performance direct ‘conversion receivers are described later in the book. Initial wen-on and adjustment is straight forward. Apply power initially with a 1.6 A REGENERATIVE RECEIVER There was a time when simple vacuum tube regenerative circuits were the only receivers available to the radio amsteur Even when super-heterodynes. became possible, the regenerative design remained 2g the entry level radio, Regenerative receivers have become popular again, but they now generally use semicondsctors, Much of this popularity has been fueled by the work of Charles Kitchin, NITEV 58 People now build re- ‘generative receivers for the sheer joy of listening to a receiver that is extremely simple, yet is capable of receiving signals from all over the world. The radio offered here tunes from 5.5 10 16 MHz. covering three amateur bands, 7, 10.1, and L4 MHe, as well as international short-wave broad- ‘casts at 6, 7, 9.5, 12, 13.5, and 15 MHZ ‘The core of regenerative receiver is the detector, Fig 1.12 shows a IFET ver- sion of a classic regenerative detector us- ing a “tickler coil.” Signals from the enna or a preceding radio frequency amplifier are applied to the tuned citeuit, producing a voltage at the FET gate. This produces FET drain currents that vary at the RF rate, The RF drain current flows in the tickler coil which couples energy hack tothe original coil through inductive tans- former action. Irenough energy is coupled ‘back, the eireuit oscillates. Even when the coupling is weaker, insufficient for oseil- lation, the eireuit can have very high gain. ‘This makes the weakest signal large within, the detector cireuit. The presence of any large signal in a “square-taw” device like a JFET will produce detection, which 100-2 resistor in the power supply line The resistor serves as a fuse if yeu have done something drastically wrong. Insert ing the headphones when the output capacitor is uncharged will produce an audible pop. ftir audio seems to be work: ing, turs the receiver off, emove theextra resistor, and startagain. Attach an antenna, advance the gain control and tune C1. Sig- nals should be heard. Adjust the froneend tuned eireuit for maximum signal. If you have a ealibrated signal generator you ean inject signal and see if the operation is at the right frequency, If you have a general coverage receiver available, yowcan attach the antenna of this receiver 10 that of the general coverage receiver where you will beable tohear the LO signal. If'an antenna is not available, you ean throw 20 or 30 {eel of wire out on the floor. While this is rot going v9 compete with a good outdoor antenna, i¢ will provide signals in abun~ dance to listen to and confirm receiver ‘operation, ‘The receiver in Fig 1-11 was built for the 40-meter band. Ifyou wantto try a diferent band, all that is required is to change the two inductors. Increasing the 1.16-UH in- ductor 4.5 tH will drop the receiverright inco the 80 meter band. A band switching version would be practical ‘The first popular receivers of this sort appeared in the USA in a OST paper by WASRNC~! Variations of a similar sort were generated and published in Europe by George Dobbs, G3RIV. George used a double tuned circuit in the front end to improve signal handling properties means that audio also appears witbia the cireuit. It need only be coupled out and applied to headphones or an audio ampli- Fier to complete the receiver. ‘Our receiver uses some slightly unusual circuits that simplify the design. The de- tector is based upom a little appreciated variation of a traditional Hartley oscilla. tor, a variant withou transformer action. Instead, to series inductors, L1 and L2, serve as the traditional “tank,” or resoma- lor. Toroids were used. although Q is not critical and traditional cylindrical eoils Will also work, Indeed, low Q radio fre- ‘queney chokes offer opportunity to the ex- perimenter. The detector, Q2, uses a junction field cffect transistor. While we used 2 2NS854, the detector worked well withany N-chan- Getting Started 1.9‘Tuning nel depletion mode FET we could find in ‘our junk box, This included the U309, B10, 2N4416, 2N3819, and MPF-102, a8 ‘well as some even more obscure parts. We couldn't find a FET that would aot work. ‘Use what you have !The complete receiver schematic isshownin Fig 1.13, anda front panel photograph appears in Fig 1.14. We wound our own I-mH choke for L3 Fig 1.128 classic regenerative detector. using large ferrite bead. A I-mH or 2.5 mH RFC will work well in this posi- tion. A_L-K resistor even functioned in placeof 3. although the regeneration con- trol was not as smooth as it was with an inductor. ‘The mechanical complications of a dial mechanism axe avoided by tuning the te ceiver with two variable capacitors, C2and C3, each with elarge knob. C2 is a“*band- set” while C3 isa higher resolution “band- spread” tuning, an action resulting from the series and parallel fixed expacitors around C3, Regeneration iscontrollad with ‘nother 365-pF variable capacitor. None ofthe variable capacitor values aretetzibly critical. Ifyou find others at a flea market orbamfest. ou can adapt the cirenittouse thom. That's part of the charm of a person- alized regenerative receiver: it applies positive feedback to your imagination, This eireuit uses am RF amplifier. QU ‘The gain isnot really needed, or even de- sired. However, the amplifier provides a relatively stable driving impedance for the detector, and isa convenient way of vary~ ing the strength of the Signals arsiving st the detector. The RF amplifies is preceded by a 5th order low pass and 3rd order high pass filters. The high pass rejects signals from the AM broadcast band that could overload thereceiver. The low pass alten ates FM and TV broadeast signals that could inter-modulate in the RF amplifier ‘or detector, producing distortion Within the receiver tuning range. Audio gain is provided by Q3 driving Lz 20t #22 768-6 Lat St #22 130-6 13: 1 mH, 30t #28 FR43-6301 2,3, 14,5: Le: 2) 1,3,45 1 365 pF see text 12t #28, 730-6 #26 TS0-! 2n3904, 262222, ete. 02: 25454, see text. Di,2: 1Nd152, or any si sw. Fig 1-13—A regenerative 4.10 Chapter 1 elver tuning from 5.6 to 16 MHz. See text for discussion of parts and construction.Fig 1.14—Front panel view of the regenerative receiver. Fine Regen Ul, acommon LM386N output amplifier This will drive either low impedance Walkman” type phones or a small speaker. Walkman isa Sony trademark. Q4 isan active decoupling filter that provides hum-free de to the detector. Although the receiver af Fig 1.13 is shown with a 12-V power supply, it worked well with volt .es as low as 6, Typical current is 20 mA 12V, A Signal generator with frequency counter is useful during initial experi ments with the receiver. However, many ‘builders may noc have them available. Fig LAS shows a suitable substitute, a crystal oscillator that willl eperste anywhere ‘within the receiver range. Numerous ines- pensive crystals are available from the popular mail order sources that will pro- Vide a starting point. For example, 9 10-MH7 crystal available for under $1 will mark the 10.1-MEz amateur and the 9.5 to 10-MHz SW brosdeast bands, ‘The receiver can be built in any of many forms. A metal front panel is a must. af fording shielding between cireuitry and Fig 1.16—Alternative regenerative detector. the operator's hands. However, the est of the receiver could be as simple as a block ‘of wood found in the garage, Our receiver ‘was built “ugly” with scraps of cireuit board material, One scrap will suffice, although our receiver used three, an indie tor of earlier experiments, Other bread boards will work as well, but a printed cic- cuit board should mever be used for a regenerative receiver. Even if dozens are te be built, such as in a club effort, the project should emphasize open ended. flexible breadboarding to encourage ex perimentation. Some experimentation may be required to set up the regeneration, Increasing L2 by a umn or decreasing RI will both increase regeneration, However, toomuch inductance at L2 or too litle resisiance at RI will produce sueh robust feedback that regeneration cannot be stopped or easily controlled. Operation of this, or any regenerative receiver isa multiple contcol effort. Begin with the regeneration control, CA, at min mum capacitance, unmeslied, and set the vo ning controlsat halt. Setthe RF gain for maximum gain, +12 V on the ampli- fier, with the audio gain in the middle and attach an antenna. Tuning C2 may produce a signal, Now slowly advance the regen= ration, adding C at C4. It is normal for background noise to increase with « mild “plop” occurring in the hewphomtes a the detector begins n oscillate. I'the detector becomes overloaded. reduce the RF gain control, Tune the receiver untilan AM sig nal is found. Then reduce regeneration until the “squeals” subside, CW ane! $SB fre best received with the regeneration well advanced. While the receiver works best with an outside antenna, it will func tion with as litte as a few feet of wire tacked co the wall. The signal generator of Fig 1.15 requires no more than a to foot piece of wire on its output, somewhere in the same room as the receiver. There are numerous interactions. be- teen controls, features that offer chal- lenge and intrigue for the experimenter who takes the time to enjoy them. Numer- ‘us cireuit retinements are available to the coxperimenter who wishes 10 continue the quest. The experimenter will discover a ‘areat deal from his or her efforts in operat- ing this receiver, The availability of very high gain through positive feedback ean be used to great advantage. But operation ccan be a greater challenge than found with su more advanced receiver, A more reeent experiment used a differ- cent regenerative detector, shown in Fig 1.16. This circuit eliminates one of the vVariuble capacitors used in the other cir- cuit, replacing it with a pair of potentiom- cers, This circuit was featured in a recent issue of SPRAT by George Dobbs, G3RIV. although the circuit seems to he the brain child of GI3XZM.? Performance ofthe two circuits is similar Getting Started 1.111.7 AN AUDIO AMPLIFIER WITH DISCRETE TRANSISTORS cur literature is ich with older + using high impedance head- nies, These designs are often very bat- fry eificient, a vital performance virtue portable or emergency equipment. But zh impedance headphones that can be used with the more efficient designs have necome rare. The answer to this dilemma is @ simple audio samplifier that will drive low impedance headphones while main: ‘ining reasonable elliciency One solution (© the problem is one of ‘many integrated circuits. Throughout the book weused the LMAS6 orop-ampstodsive headphones of the Sony “Walkman” vati ty. An alternative circuit is shown in Fi 1.17. This amplifier uses commonly avail able diserete transistors. The version af the circuit that we built used leaded pasts, but could just as well be built with SMT compo- ‘nents. QI functions 2s a gain stage. The 2.2 KO collector loud (R8) with 100-0 degeneration (R4) produce QI bias eurrent ff 2 mA for an approximate voltage gain oF 20.Q2 functionsas a floating voltage source thar establishes bias for complememary ‘emitier-follower output transistors Q3 and Qs. Negative feedback through R3 reduces {gain and establishes overall bias. This ci 1.42 Chapter 1 Fig 1.17—Simple audio amplifier using discrete components. cuit is similar 19 many of the simpler inte However, the diserete solution is available sated circuits, This eircuit functions well when an IC is not. Al of the transistors in ‘with power supplies from 5 10 15 V. this circuit are very inexpensive and usu- ‘Aa [C is usually the preferred solution, — ally found in the experimenter’s junk-box1.8 A DIRECT CONVERSION RECEIVER USING A DISCRETE COMPONENT PRODUCT DETECTOR The ditect conversion receiver de. scribed earlier used » NE-602 integrated cirouit to fulfill hath che deveetion and the local oscillator factions. Discrete (non- integrated) componentscan also be usedin these applications. The receiver shown in Fig 1. 18usesadifferential amplifiers the product detector, This design, shown for ‘operation inthe 40-meter hand, has been built with both traditional leaded compo- sents and with surface mounted teclanol= ogy (SMT) parts and appears in Kig 1.19. ‘QI functions as 4 local oscillator. Volt- age control is used with any of several eom- ‘montuning diodes. The Colpitts circuit uses small powder iron toreids for both leaded and SMTcomponents. Cis a combination ‘of NPO capacitors, selected during construc- tion to resonate at the desired frequencies. With the parts shown, the receiver tunes over about a S0-KH range in the 40-meter band. The range may be expanded by paral- Jeling additional varactor diodes, inereas- ing the value ofthe 82-pF blocking expaci tor, decreasing the value of the 2.2-k0 resistor in series with the tuning contro, ar combinations of these measures. ‘The oscillator is buttered with Qa common-emitter amplifier with emitter de- generation. This eizcut, using negative fee: buck, usesaform found throughout the hook, ‘one where an add component reduces gain to improve pertormanes. The ouput drives the mising product detector consisting of 3 and Q4, An RF signal is extracted feom the antenna through a zain eontro, low pass file tered, and applied tothe base of QS where it iswmplifieciand converted toxeurrem' source Feeding Q3and Q4, The mixercollectors are bypassed tor RF. ‘The detector ourput feeds adifferential sig nalte aLM3¥6 audio amplifier. De-coupling became important with this stage, owing t the internal resistance found with a normal 9V battery. An uncomfortable “howling” os cillation disappeared with high decoupling ‘capacitance for the audio amplifier. ‘sur Top views . ) Fig 1.18—Direct conversion receiver using ee, TE Blatte cotter and detector commoonets ano wan Ingrid eete sr uae for he alo ce] me eo empiier snd for wolage eplton 7, Butloul io us discrete component: Tis an recive suhati tor consteion ik pote either leaded or StIT components. Getting Started 4.131.9 POWER SUPPLIES Among the many tools needed by the cireuit experimenter, beginning or sea soned, isa power supply. Indeed, several are always useful. Batteries serve well for simple, low current applications, How: ever, the more useful power supply ex- tuacts energy from the power mains. That ac voltage is applied to a transformer. is rectified, filtered with a large capacitor, snd regulated with transistors and/or inte- ‘rated citeuits. ‘Two major design questions are pre- sented to the beginner: What transformer should be selected and how large should the filter capacitor be? Fig 1.20 shows an example 12-V, 05-A design we use 10 address these questions, Transformers are rated for RMS output voltage with a load. The peak voliage will be higher by a factor of 114, so a 12.6-V transformer will bave a peak out putof 17.8 V. The transformer current ral- ing should equal or exczed the maximum desired de current, so a 0.5-A transformer is adequate for this application. This is shown in part A of Fig 1.20. A switch and protective slow-blow fuse is added to the transformer primary. ‘A bridge rectifier using four diades is added to he eirevit 1 generate a de ourput. ‘The bridge is preferred over circuits with just two diodes, fora center tapped trans Tormer is then not required. Bridge recti- fier diodes should have an average current rating above the maximum power supply current. 1-A diodes would be fine for this application. Some waveforms ate shown in Fig 1.21 ‘The “before filtering” voltage isthe result of rectification forthe circuit a Fig 1.204. Tho “V-cap” trace shows the voltage across the capacitor when itis added to the circuit, Fig 1.208. The significant decal is the ripple, or variation in unregulated out put voltage occurring at the filter capaci (or. Fig 1.22 shows ripple for twodifterent capacitor values when the load current is OA. ‘A suituble regulator is the popular 7812, This three terminal regulator IC will pro vide the desired output with a dvopou of about 2.5 V. Dropout is the minimum volt age difference between the regulated ute putand the higher unregulated input. With 4 2.5-¥ dropout, the unregulated input most be 14.5 V ox more over the entire eycle. Fig 1.22 shows that « 2000-UF ca: pacitor will be adequate, but 500 UF will not, If we define AV as the difference be- tween the peak rectified voltage and the ‘minimum unregulated value, 17 ~ 14.5 = Jas the output current, and tas the fime for @ half eyele (0083 second for 60 Hz). the minimum capacitor value in 4.44 Chapter 1 2 rectifier Be Rectifier + Filter cap Re cireust Rc Rectitier, careuse wilter cap. Fig 1.20—Fundamental power supply. Part A shows the transformer and rectifier, B adds the critical output Filter capacitor, while C uses a 12-V regulator IC. Fig 1.21— Wave- forms for a simple . fon foo, | power supply. The "betore filtering shows the raw testified signal without any’ i capacitor, The “ cap” shows the voltage across the filter capacitor attached to the rectifier when loaded to a modest (oe current. o Fig 1.22—Wave- n forms showing the voltage across titer capacitors of we i ‘wo values vihen loaded with 0.5 A. ‘See text ws . eet __.. | discussion.unregulated Input Regulated output Fig 1.23—Extending ‘the output current ‘capability of a Fegulator with a “wrap-around” PNP wansistor. Fig 1.24—Practical dual output power supply featuring the LM-317 regulator. 1.10 RF POWER MEASUREMENTS [Before one can do uny meaningful ex- periments with transmitters, you must be thle to measure RF power. A basie scheme ‘ordoing this is shown in Fig 1.28, The RF «applied to the 30-£1 termination through cable, Iris necessary that a well ‘defined impedance be available to absorb the transmitter power. The load must be capable of dissipating that power in the form of heat. So if the transmitter is ca pable of delivering, for example, 100 W. ‘he 50-62 load resistor must be capable of dissipating this power. The lad must be 2 resistor that really appears as « resistor to Peak a Detector Voltmeter Farads is given by [eat av For thisexample, Eq 1.1 predicts amin mum C of 1700 uF. A practical value of 2500 LF would be 2 good ehoice. ‘Tae complete circuit with the regulator is shown in Fig 1.20C. Extra eapacitors placed close to the regulator IC. serve to stabilize the IC. Phe user should check di sheets for the IC that he or she uses lo evaluate stability. The 1-k@ bleeder resistor consumes Tittle current, but gui antees thal the supply turns off soon after ‘the switeh is opened. ‘The 0.5-A rating of the 7812 becomes a problem when more current is needed. Fig 1.23 shows a circuit that will extend the output current rating by adding a power transistor. QU now carries most ofthe cure rent with the split being determined by the ratio of RIKI. Tae dropout for the total circuit is now that of the IC plus 2 little more than a volt for the diode/transistor and RI and R2. Fig 1.24 shows a supply using a LM317. ‘This is 2 programmable voltage pari that can supply outpuis from 1.2 up t9 37 ¥, set with two resistors, for an urput current of L5 A. The power supply we built, used extensively for developing many of ihe eir- cuits in this book, was variable voltage ancl also included a 12-V regulator as a second output. An 18-V transformer was used, for wwe wanted regulated outputs up to 20 V. ‘Many other regulators are found in ven- dor cataloys. many with considerably igher ‘output currents and lower dropouts. The ex- Perimenter is encouraged to build his own circuits using them, Switching made regukt- tors offer interesting performance virtues with equally interesting challenges. (Eq 1.) P) never Getting Started 1.15the radio frequency applica to it, This ‘means that the usual power resisters sold by vendors, even if capable of dissipating 1100 W. will not be suitable. They are us ally built as a “wire wound” part, making them highly inductive for RF. It is some- times possible to tune them, an interesting avenue for the advanced experimenter: Suitable $0-0 terminations, or*“dummy fouds” ean be built with parallel combina- tions of 2-W carbon resistors, or similar 2 for 3-W metal oxide power resistors such as those manufactured by Yaego or Xieon Some of these are used in power attenus- (ors described in Chapter 7. The RF power dissipated in the resistor will develop a corresponding RF voltage. ‘That is rectified with a simple diode detec- tor, providing a signal acres the capacitor equaling the peak RF voltage, less 0.7 V for the diode turn-on voltage. “The powermeter is completed with x suit- able de volt meter. It can be as simple as a O-LmA. current meter anda resister. aFET voltmeter, oreven a digital voltmeter Fig 1.26 shows a dual range power meter, Essentially it is a pair of power merers sharing a single meter movement. ‘The higher power part of the ciecuit stats with e-4-W load built from two parallel 100-2, 2-W resistors. These ean be car- bon or metal film resistors. IF 2-W resis- tors aze not available, four parallel 200-0 1-W parts will work as well. The resulting RF vollage is rectified with a silicon switehing diode, This should be a L00-V part suchas the IN4148, IN4152, or simi- lardiode. The velimeter part ofthe circuit sa 20-k@Qresistor driving a0-1 mA meter Assumeatansmitteris attaches and keyed con to produce an indication of 0.6 mA. This represents a peak of 12 V. tor the meter ma: tiplier is the 20-40 resistor. The resulting power is then calculated from the formula aiven withthe figure, 1613 mW, er L6 W The S0-mW input to the power meter uses a Single 51-9, YW, resistor wich more sensitive IN34A recifier diode. The meter multiplier is now just 1.5 kQ. An approximate calibration curve is shown in Fig 1.27. The finished meter is shown in Fig 1.28, Other schemes suilable for RF power measurement include terminated oscillo- scopes, microwave power meters (usually ‘using calorimeter measurement methods.) specirum analyzers, and wideband loga- rithmic iniegeated cireuits. Some of these will be covered in a later chapter. ‘Olten we wish toexaminean RF voltage 10 sec ifa circuit is “alive.” und perhaps to adjust it. The classic method for doing this used an RE probe with a high impedance, usually vacuum tube or FET voltmeter ‘The method is still yery useful, especially 4.16 Chapter 1 P(milliwatts)= 10 (¥ + 0. ( curve} (Use Calibration (2 W scale) 4 watt a Input ont sae Fig 1.26—Dual ie. range power 2 Q t W input uses “a 2 i the formula to ealculate power = = inmilivetts, ‘The S0.mW range 50 nm uses the curve of Input imam | oy Fig 1.23. on srubuBene Fig 1.27—Callbration curve for the 50 mW range of the previous power meter. Fig 1.28—The front panel of the dual- range GRP power moter. To High z Voltneter Fig 1.29—RF probe suitable for uso with a VTVM, FET voltmeter, or even @ DVI, Resistors marked with * are standott r have little Impact on circuit operation. when instrumentation is limited. Fig 1.29 shows « very simple RF probe. The photo in Fig 1.30 shows an open breadboard ver- sion: its the sort af eircuit chat one builds when a measurement must be done imme diately. A long lasting version of the same circuit might better be built inside a cylin- Ger at the end of the coaxial cable. The probe may require calibration. This is best done with one of the other power tors used for probe construction and meters and a small transmitter or similar RF source, The transmitter is attached the power meter and the ouput is mea- sured. The corresponding RF voltage is noted and the RF probe is attached to the powcr meter $0-0 resistor. producing & result that can be compared Fig L.3f shows nhiah impedance de vole meter suitable for use with this probe. [Lis also a good starting measurement tool forFig 1.20—Close up view of an RF built on a strip of PC board material. ‘The probe is a capacitor load. use in the lab. For gonoral utility. iis useful tohave the 5.1-MA2eesisto at the tip end of probe that is inserted intoacirevit for mea ssurcments, This allows the de to be mea- Fig 1.31—Simple high impedance voltmeter for measuring de voltages in circuits. It can be used with the AF probe of Fig 1.29 and Fig 1.30. a TA] eso SP a 1 ai sured without upsetting signals that may be present in the circuit, This circuit can be calibrated with a fresh 1.5-V battery: vary 1.11 A FIRST TRANSMITTER ‘This section describes the design of a simple transmitter suicable as a first rig. a project for someone who has never buill transmitter It uses robust circuits with few adjustments roquired during construction. I-can he built with nothing more than a volt meter, power meter. and power sup- ply. We used an oscilloscope and a spec tram analyzer during the tig design phase and those results are presented. However, that equipment is not necessary for con: sirnction, The crystal controlled 2-W 40-meter transmitter is built with bread- board methods cather than with a printed circuit, “The circuit, shown in Fig 1.32. begins ‘with QI functioning as a erystal controlled oscillator, Our crystal had a marked tre- {queney of 7045 KHz. This was the speci fied frequency for operation with a 32-pF load capacitance. This Colpittscircuituses 1 pair of series 390-pF feedback cupaci- tors, The equivalent 195 pF parallels the crystal. Because this eapacitance is much larger than the specified 32 pF. the opetat- Ing frequeney will be less than the marked 145 kHz Ifyou want the frequency to be exact, a small trimmer capacitor ean be placed in series with the crystal. We will eventually do thisas a method of obtaining some slight ning, but don't bother with chistefinement in the beginning. The com- plexity of erystals Is discussed im later ehapters. The oseillator is built on the end of sorap of circuit board material. The erystal was held on the board with # piece of double sided foam tape (Tess, 67601). The oscillator worked right off with several V peak-to-peak observed at both the hase and the emitter with an oseilloscape and 1X probe. The RE probe described earlier could also be used, The oscillatar Func: ‘oned well with supply voltages as low as 2.5 V. A quick check with a reeciver confirmed the frequency +12¥ De 100 3 Fig 1.32—Crystal controlled oscillator that Ie the start of the Beginner's ‘ransmitter the 6.2-KO resistor if needed, We will have more to say about RF power measurement in Chapter 7. ‘The oscillator és followed by a butter amplifier. A buffer is an amplifier that allows power 10 be estracted from an ‘oscillator. rather stage, without adversely disturbing it, An ideal buffer often has a high input impedance so it can be attached without extracting any power. The best dnuffers have good reverse isolation, mean- ing that any signal present at che output is Dreavily attenuated at the input ‘The first buifer ried was an emitter fob ower, common choice to follow a crystal oscillator, Performance was poor. While the loading was light. Une output was highly distorted. This problem behavior is dis cussed in detail in Chapter 2. The desizn ‘was changed to the degenerated common emitter amplifier shown in ig 133. We obtain the butter input from the oscillator base instead oF the more common emitter for the waveform is cleaner, simewave-ike, at that point ‘The buifer is added to the crystal ascil- lator by soldering the requited parts to the board orto other components. The board is not installed in a box at this time. Rather it's loose where it is easiest 10 build and measure. We ean tuck solder small loud resistors or coax connectors co he board to facilitate experimentation. The busfer output transformer has a 4:1 ‘turns ratio. The primary, the 12-tum wind- ing on a FB43-2401 ferrite bead, or a T97-13 toroid, which is virtually identi ‘eal, has un inductance of about SOuH. This Getting Started 4.47has a7-MHz reuetance of 2.3-k0. The load ‘on the output is tunsformed from $0 Q up by the square of the tums ratio 10 $00.2. the approximate impedance presented (© the collector of Q2, The inductive reac- tance is much higher, so it does not impact the cireuit operation. ‘The ouipot is not tuned, allowing it 10 function Well over a wide frequency range ‘We measured the power from the 3mm ‘ouiput link on T! by attaching a small length fof coas eable that ran tothe S04rW input of the power meter described cater. The aul pat was +10 dBm. 10 mW, with R1=2702, and was up {0 +15 4Bm with RI of 150. Recall that the power meter has a 50-2 impedance We want more than 10 enV from our transmitter and willeventually add « power amplifier ro reach an ouiputat two W. That ‘amplifier will require modest drive of 200 6 300 mW. We could obtain more power by biasing the second stage for higher gain fand output. A more conservative and stable, free iromself-oseillation, approach adds a thitd stage ‘The evolving design isshown in Fig 1.34 with « class C amplifier for Q3. We want this third stage to provide a power gain of 16 and pick anotter 2N3904, With an F, mote than ten times the operating fre- quency, gain will be good. The 2N3904 also has a beta that holds up well at high currents, a useful characteristic for apower amplificr. While we wanted class C opers- tion in the 3° stage, stability was deemed vital, so the eireult is degenerated with « 10-0 emitter resistor and a 100-0 load is placed at the base. Class C operation is assured. Q3 current disappears when RF +12 pe 2aKt 1 s1e 1003 1223 | Fig 1.93—evetving tranemiter | 13) TE | Shematte showing the addition of a Fig 1.34—A Class C driver amplifier, 03, 1s added to the transmitter. 4.48 Chapter 1 drive is removed from the amplifier, The desired driver output power is ‘A W. This can be realized by properly loading the stage. We must present a re sistive load to the collector given by Wee —Y, DP, (Bq. 1.2) where V.: is the supply, Ve is the emitter voltage, and Ry is the load resistance in Ohms, (Vaq-¥Q) is about 11 V for this ex ample, so the equation predicts a desired oad of about 150 Q. An Lenetwork, L1 fand the 200-pP capacitor, is designed te transform a 50-0 loud to “look Like’ 200 @ at the collector. An RF choke pro- Yides collector bias for the transistor While mnable components could have been used in the L-network to get the op- simum output, we elected t0 use fixed vale nies. We measured LL und set the value to that desired, We then used a 5% value for the 200-pF capacitor. Variahle elements are only needed in highcr Q situations, or ‘where itis not possible t9 find tight toler ance components. Power output could be measured with the 4-W position of the watt meter. We used an alternative approach here. A 31-0 's-W resistor was tack soldered into the sireuit at the outpur point shown in Fig [34 and the outpus voltage was measured with an oscilloscope and 10X probe. The (Q3 output was 123 mW. 7 V peak-to-peak atthe load, with R1=270 82 in the butter. Changing RI 10 150.0 increased output 10 314 mW. The DC current, 43 mA, was de> lermined by measuring the voltage drop across the 10-0 decoupling resistor, The calculated efficiency is then 62%. good for fan amplifier which coatains resistors in both the emitter and collector. The 2N3904 at Q3 is operating well within ratings, Gen- erally, « TO-92 plastic tansistor like the 2N3904 can dissipate a quarter of a watt for extended times. or hall a watt for the shomterintermittemt periodsencountered in 8 CW transmitter. This “cule of thumb” can be strotelied with hect-sinking, or eas ily violated in thermally isolated settings. Owing 10 the good efficioney. the dissipa- tion is only 200 miW in Q3. (03 power output varied smoothly from very low levels up to the maximum 314 mW as V,_ was adjusted from 5 t0 12 V. ‘This is generally u useful method for ex: amining stability, We will eventually adda “drive control” 10 the citeuit. Before continuing werced toaxldress the issue of spectral purity. Some observed waveforms have departec froma sinewave, This means that these waveforms areharmonie-rich. This transmitter uses a crystal oscillator operating at the output frequency. The only signals that should be present anywhere within the transmitter fare at 7 MHz of harmonics at 14, 21, 28, ... MHz. The only filtering needed is 2 Jow pass filter at che transmitter output While the L-network that makes 4 50-02 load appear as 200 02 at the Q3 collector has a low pass characteristic, it has only {wo components and is not very effective asa filter. If the driver amplificr is going to be used by itself as a transmitter, ane cother low pass filter should be added to the output, There is, however, Tittle value in auding a better low pass filter after the driver if itis to be used only 10 driveanotherstage which will also he ore- 1.12 A BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR POWER AMPLIFIER ‘The project now stars to get exciting as wwe begin to experiment with higher ouput powers, The transistor we have seleeted for 2.2-W power amplifier (PA) is 2 2NS32L ‘This is 2 NPN device in a TO-39 ease with collector dissipation of 10 W in an infinite head sink, or 1 W in free aie, 50-V break- downs, the ability to switch acurrent of 2A, ‘and a S0-MHz Fr, all for less than $1. The low Fy restricts the device to the lower bands. hut it also means that high frequency stability will not be an issue. The 2-W PA schematic is presented in Fig 1.35. ‘The first detail we must consider with the PA is heat sink. Our intention was to increase power by about 10 JB to the ? to 3-W level. Ifefficiency turns out tobe 50%, se will have a collector dissipation that is the same as the RF output. The transistor can’t support this power without a heat sink. We had 2 Thermalloy 2215 in the unk box which should be more than ad equate. The transistor was mounted in the sink which was then bolted to a PC board scrap. Holes through the board made he leads available for soldering. Be care fol to avoid any short circuits that are not tended. The transistor case is attached to the collector terminal in most TO-39 pack- aged deviees, I's always difficult ro estimate heat sink sizes. While one can do thermodynamic calculations, it’s generally adequate with ‘small transmitters 10 experimentally creat the problem, Touch the heat sink often dur- ing initial measurements. IF 1's 0 hat 10 tovch, he heat sink isnot large enough. We always seem to err in the conservative area ‘with more heat sink chan is needed ‘The formula presented in Eq 1.2 shows that a 25-9 load resistanee presented to the collector will support the desired ourput. A simple pi-aetwork was designed. The net: work Q was kept low, but was picked 10 generate anetwork with standard, and junk box available, capacitors. A matching net ‘work design is presented in Chapter 8 A33-V Zener diode is atached from the calleeior to ground. The collector voleage will never reach these levels wich normal CClass-C operation, so the diode is uanspas- tent except for the sometimes substantial apacitance tha it adds to the collector eir- cuit. But, the diode conducts ifthe output loud disappears, und provents collector breakdown that might otherwise destray the ating harmonic distortion. Spectrum ans- lyzer_ measurements showed spurious driver outputs at -27, ~30, 43, and 49 Be for the second through fifth ha monies when the driver was delivering ‘ull output. Theharmonic suppression was, actually worse at lower output levels. The term de refers co dB down with respect to the carrier transistor. Care was taken 1 keep the emit- ter lead short when the amplifier was buile for even small amounts of inductance can alter the performance, This is nor always bad. ‘Transmitter testing afvays begins by ale taching « 50-82 load to the output. This can he a power meter or a resistor ofthe proper rating. The PA should never be run without a load, ‘The frst PA we built forthisproject used the simplified circuit of Fig 1.36. This cir- cuit suffered from instabilities whieh be- ‘came clear as We varied the drive from the earlier part of the transmitter. At one point, the RF output and the collector cureent both changed abruptly. The oscillascope showed frequencies well below the desired ? MHz. Changing the collector RF choke feom the original 15 UH toa smaller 2.7-2H molded choke moved the Frequency up, but the in stabilicy was stil present. However, chang- Sng the base circuittoone witha lower drive Smpedance completely solved the problem. “The output power and collector currentnow vary smoothly as the drive is varied, The base transformer ig a 2:1 turns ratio step- down that now drives the base from a | -TuH yare ans2572 Sav 72, 5 bifilar 12=12t#22, 750-8, space over half core. Q5+2N5321 with Heat sink feose 750p, Mica ens #22, FB: +01 pK +O aot Fig 1.35—A 2 W power amplifier. Fig 1.36—Earlier simplified PA design which suffered with stability problems, See text for discussion. Getting Started 1.1912.5. source impedance. The 33-0 base resistor absorbs some drive nd tends 10 st Dilize the amplifier. Changing this resistor is one of the experimental “hooks” avail able to thc esperimenter fighting instability ‘The 2-W amplifier is installed in the teansmitter. An autpue power of 2.25 W resulls ftom a drive of just over 100 mW Increasing the drive produces higher out- When the 2-W amplifier drive is adjusted for 2.25-W output, the measured cfficieney was 47%. A spectrom analysis showed 24 and 3°/harmonies st ~36 UBe and 47 dBe. Addition of un outboard low pass filter removed al spurious responses to better than —75 dBc “The outbound low pas filters shown in jg, 1.37. This is a T!-order Chebyshey design with a 7.5-MEL ripple eutof! ire quency and a ripple of 07 dB. The rather obscure ripple was picked to fit standard value capacitors that were on hand. The inner capacitors are parallel combinations ‘of 680.and 180 pF. The measured insertion loss for the filter was 0.11 UB at 7 MHz, The filter was built into & small aluminum box, Fig 1.38, as an outboard appendage so iteould be used for other projects. Also, tho performance is superior when the shielding around the filier is absolute. Tf tho same filter was built into the transmit ter. theze is a greater chance that ground curgents and radiation could provide paths for signals to leak around the filter. ‘This extreme fillering is probably re dundant. A much simpler filter could be built into the transmitter, near the output put But once the output gets much beyond 3 W, QS begins to heat. Although a higher power tas observed with che oseile Joscope when the Key was first pressed, the power decreases over a period of a Jew seconds before stabilizing. We inves- tigated this by looking at the collector waveform at differing drive levels. When riven to 2.25-W output, the collector voll- age varied between 3 and 23 V. As drive .13 AN OUTPUT LOW PASS FILTER ‘coax connector, for adequate harmonic at renuation, Chapter 3 provides detail. Practical Details ‘The modules built so farare mere seraps of circuit board material sitting on a bene with short pieces of wire to tie them. 10 ether, They need to be refined and puck aged to create a transmitter that we ean put fon the air. An almost complete sehematic of the transmitter is shown in Fig 1.39 ‘The first refinement is a keying ciceuit, This function is performed by Q4. a PNP switching infogrator. This is afavor- ine keying scheme of ours, allowing a grounded key to control the positive sup- ply to a transmitter stage. Keying in the positive supply allows the grounded pares of the circuit to remain grounded without over being disturbed by keying. Q4 serves the additional function of shaping the key~ ing. When the key is pressed, current begins to flow in the 3.9-KQ2 resistor. The current flows from Q4 base whieh “ties” totum Q4 on. As the Q4 collector voltage begins co increase, the change is coupled back tothe base through the capacitor. The Fig 1.37—Low pass filter far use with the experimental transmitter. 41.20 Chapter 1 increases. the hottom of the collectorswing drops toward zero. But at this point the amplifier is fully loaded. Further excur sions are not consistent with simple class C operation. More drive will eause bigher current with litte increases i auiput, al Towing efficiency to decrease. This causes the heating, Changing both the matching neiwork and drive power is needed for higher output. positive going signal opposes the current extracted by the 3.9-K0 resistor. Hence, the ealleetor does aot swith immediately toa high state, Rather, itramps upward at an approximately steady cate until Q4 be~ comes saturated. Forcing the stage to tra ‘onsmootaly over couple oF milliseconds restricts the bandwiuth ofthe modulation related tofumning the cavier on. That band width will extend a few hundred Hz on ther Side of the carier. Beyond that, no clicks will be heard in a good recciver. ‘A power output contol is added to the emitter of Q2. Owing 1 the class C nature ‘ofthe following amplifiers, the outputco: two will allow the sramsmiter to run from the maximum cusput down 10 virwally nothing. The contol is a screwdriver ad- jisted pot mounted an the board A variable capacitor, Cl, s added tothe erystal oscillator. The capattor used in our teansmittr tuned feom 5 t0 80 pF and pro- vided a tuning range of 3 to 4 KHz. Use whatever is it your junkhox. While cer tainly nora substitute for a VFO, it allows the user to dedge some interference. A “spat” switch, $2, allows the oseillator co function withoot placing 2 signal onthe air. Finally, « transmit-receive system is scdded. This function is performed with « multipole toggle switeh, a simple but ad Fig 1,98—Inside view of the 7-eloment low pase fiker bull to {g0 with the beginner's rig. The filter is also used with other equipment.VEO Freq. control, ete2e, TIH6L 1,22, 93203904 PRs 20#22, 750-6, space over half core. with Heat sink ga=203906 2b #26, 3t link #22, FR43-2402 5 bifilar turns #22, 402 95=2N5322 wt Tee r? Receiver 51 + 5 To antenna I or Tuner. Fig 1.39—A nearly complete schematic of the transmitter. This version combines the PA with the earlier stages, adds shaped keying, power output adjust, T/R switching, and VXO action. ‘equate solution. SIA applies the +12 V supply 10 the oscillator during transmit periods. The supply i always available 10 }3 and QS and does not need 10 be switched. The keying circuit, Q4, controls the supply reaching Q2. S1B switches the antenna from the receiver to the transmit: ter. The miniature toggle switch at SI is suitable for powers up through a few watts More refined T/R methods are presented From Receiver +12V Audio out bo Hey 300 ~ ta alt RE sic aay 220% —y ra gu mL pt Headphones 2 10K od 06=2N3906 Fig 1.40—Sidetone oscillator for the transmitter. This circuit i code practice oscillator. elsewhere in the book. iis transmitters tobe used witha high quality modem receiver with a wide AGC range, @ two pole switch i al chat is needed at S1-The user can then listen to the trans imitter inthe receiver as the key is actuated. ‘The more common scenario places this transmitter witha simple direct conversion receiver such as that described earlier in this chapter. [twill then be impossible to tum tbe sainin that receiver down far enough 1 pre vent overload. An answer to the problem is presented in Fig 1.40 where asidetone oxcil- lator is added to the system. A 555-timer imtcgrated circuit functions as the square wane oscillator which is keyed on and off with QS. Q5 base current routes through 2 10-K8 resisior attached to the key in Fig, 1,39. R2 must be adjusted for the head phones used sth the transmitter. The head Phones are disconnected from the reciver using transmit intervals, atached only 10 the sidetone oscillator. Two phone jacks are included on the transmiter. A short cable ten routes the receiver andio output from the receiver (0 the transmitter where it is switchod, This scheme does not prevent the receiver from heing overloaded, but guaran- tees that you don’t have to listen when it happens. The receiver won'tbe damaged by Getting Started 4.21Fig 1.41—Overall view of the complete transmitter ‘onsiruction. Fig 1.42—Outside view of the Beginner Station, At left is the beginner's direct conversion receiver with the transmitter at the right. the overload. A third poke is needed on the switch for this refinement. Three pole double throw toyele switches are umususl so te used one with four poles. ‘The complete transmitter is packaged in ‘a standard box as shown in Fig Lf. This fone measured 2x 3.5 x 6 inches, although whatever is available will work, Alterna tively, you can build your own box. The ‘outside of the box can he fined t© be as attractive s you would ike it be, consis- tent with personal tastes. The variable c&- pacitor, C1, the spotting switch .S2, and the TIR switch are located on tae front panel as shown on the right hand side of Fig 142. The key jack and a headphone jack are also located on the front. The rear ppane] contains power receptacles, a jack for the angio input from the receiver, and coaxial connectors for the antenna and a ceable tothe receiverinput. The box we pur chased for the transmitter bad gray paint ‘on it, Unfortunately, it had nearly as much paint oa the inside us was on the outside, Fig 148—Tho inside view of tho transmitter shows the capacitor and TR switch fixie paint was removed where campos mounted tothe front panel with power and coaxial connectore on the rear. The left as Tena” where cone board contains the first three stages while the Fight board contains tha 2-W power "ents ere grounded tothe case, Details o amplifier. A hest sink is under thet board. A small board under the T/R switen ‘He internal construction appear in Fig Gontains the sidetone osc 148. 41.22 Chapter 11.14 ABOUT THE SCHEMATICS IN THIS BOOK The schematic diagrams used in this book differ slightly ftom other ARRL pub- lieations in that we use slightly different conventions, Not all details are presented inal schematics. Capacitors are in microfarads iPelectro- Iytic or if they have decimal values less than (. Values greater than unity ate in pi ‘cofarad if they are not electrolytic. Elec tuolytie caps always have a voltage rating fareater than the Voc oF Vg value used REFERENCES 1, W, Hayward and D. DeMaxt, Solid Stave Design for the Radto Amateur, ARRL, 1977. 2. R, Hayward und W. Hayward, “The Ugly Weekender,” QST. Aug. 1981, pp 18-21-See also G. Grammer, Understanding Amateur in the circuit with 25 V being typical. In some applications we will use C values in AP, which stands for nanofarad. 1000 pF Uae. RF transformers are specitied by turns ratio rather than impedance ratio, Often lis datas presented within the schematic diagram rather than a8 part of a caption. ‘The same holds for inductance values. We sitive to load the schematie with as much information as possible. Radio, ARRL, 24 Buition, 1976, p 144. 3. R Lewallen, “An Optimized QRP Transceiver,” OST, Aug, 1980, pp 14-1 4. J. Dillon, “The Neophyte Receiver.” QST, Feb, [988, p 14-18. 5.C Kitehin,“A Simmple Regenerative Radio We generally label schematics with the parts that we used. Bur that does not mean ‘that this is what you might want touse. An example is our frequent use the IN4IS2 silicon switching diode. In all cases, vir= tually all of these can be replaced by the more common 1N4148 or INB14. When. there is a question about such details, look the part up and see if the parts you have on hrand are similar. Then try the substitu tion for Beginners.” OST, Sep, 2000, p 61. 6.C. Kitchin, “Aa Ultra Simple VHF Re ceiver for 6 Meters." QS7, Dec, 1997, p29. 7. G, Dobbs, “A Stable Regenerative Receiver,” SPRAT, Issue 105, Dec, 2000, pil Getting Started 1.23Amplifier Design Basics 2.1 MODELING SIMPLE SOLID STATE DEVICES Small signal amplifiers are used in a receiver 1o bring weak signals up to the point that hey canbe heard inheadphones. Large signal amplifiers in transmitters ere ate even Targer signals that, when applied toan antenna, propagate to be heard by the receivers, Clearly, the amplifier function {central to all that we do as eadio experi enters, Before we get into the details of the amplifier circuits, weexamine devives that can amplify. preliminary look at diodes soon evolves into « discussion of bipolar and field cifect wansistors. But, prior to that, we examine the modeling process. Even the simplest electronicdeviews ean be very complicated in their overall bbchavior, especially ifall power levels and all frequencies arc considered. Such a complete description can be overwhelm: ing. Indeed, such a camplete device pie ture would conceptually bury the salient behavior that the designer may seek whem Fig 2.1—Forward biased junction dod. he or she uses a device, What is needed is, something simpler, a modet with enough complication to be useful in practical applications, hut with no extra frills We use models for even the simplest of parts, A resistor for example, is madeled as an ideal element, a past thet ol (Ohm's Law. with no other characteristics The real resistor is more complicated even the smallest surface mounted part has capacitance and inductance. Wire leads only make the effects larger. The Land C alter circuit bohavior, hut can be described by more elaborate models, The Junction Diode ‘The first device we model in detail isthe junction diode. The diode is a deviee thet ‘has polarity dependant properties, Specifi- cally. if we insert an ideal diode in a func~ tioning de circuit that carries a current, the cizeuit will be unchanged by the presence of the diode if tne polarity is for “forward Dias." But, current flow will cease if the diodeis reverse biesed. The schematic dis- gram of Fig 2.1 illustrates a forward bi ased diadc defined by this beliavior. Re= versing the diode leads eliminates eusvent flow in the circuit, ‘The current in the cizcuit of Fig 2.1 is shown ia Fig 2.2, a curve called an LV charaeteristie. The current is that flowing through the diode and the voltage is that across the diode, Fig 2.2 plots a current that is completely determined by elements external (o the diode. This particular part is culled an “ideal” diode, A real world digde departs from the jdleal. Firs, a slight voltage drop appears across the Forward biased diode, Current remains very small until that level is exceeded. Secon. the flow of dinde cur- rent causes a slight additional voltage drop. A refined model with these charse~ teristics is shown in Fig 2.3. The model becomes an ideal diode. # 0.6-V battery and a diode resistor, Ry that i the ratio of 4 small increase in applied voltage, AV. and the resulting small change in current AL. We sometimes refer 10 the threshold (0.6 Vin the figure) asa diade affser volr- ‘age. The offset will vary with diede type Silicon junction switching and rectifier diodes usually have an offset of 0.6 10 0.7 V. Germanium und hot-cartier silicon diodes will have lower values, while some compound semiconductor parts have Fig 2.2—IV Characteristics for an ideal of perfect diode. The curve shows | for any possibio V that might be applied to the Ideal diode. Amplifier Design Basics 2.1mw) Curent v Diode Bias, Votes Fig 2.3-1V characteristic for a rotined diode model. thresholds exceeding one voll ‘The model of Fig 2.3 is more accurate than the ideal diode, but is still less than perfect in some situations. A much better diode representation is 2 mathematical model where current is given by an equa- ion ats 8 = Is wun Bq 2 Tete" Es ‘where I, is called the saturation current in amperes, q is the charge on an electron, js Bolizman’s constant, and T is the diode temperature in degrees Kelvin. The see- ‘ond, approximate form is common. This mode], known merely as the diode equa son, is Mustrated in Fig 24 for the ease of 100 K (near room temperature) and 1 3x10 A. a value that we inferred from measurements for the popular IN4148/ IN4I52 series of parts, Changing Is generates new offset values. The diode equation is also significant because it briginates as a description evolving from bbasie physics. Physics based models are generally preferred because they follow from fundamentals, even though they may not bo as intuitive More refined diede models will include reverse breakdown, igh frequency parameters (inductance and capacitance.) and even carrier lifetime, No matter what methods we use to apalyze 2 circuit, the results ofthe analysis will only be as good as the models. SMALL SIGNAL DIODE MODEL The antenna signals that our reveivers amplify are often in the microvolt region for less. We ask how the diode would 2.2 Chapter 2 Fig 2.4—1V characte follows the dio behave if one microvelt was applied to it ‘The current flowing in the diode, Eq 2.1, would be essentially zero if a microvolt was applied directly. But, the diode might hhave a much different response if the diode already had a bias current flowing. Fig 2.5 shows part of a diode 1V curve. ‘The point corresponding to 5 mA DC cur rent flow is marked with a cangent Tine The slope of this line defines a resistance, 4 change i current for an applied change in voltage that occurs when a small signal is applied to the biased diode. The diode has a resistance of about 5. when the current is 5 mA, generally represented by 26 Fq22 ‘The factor 26 mY (or ,026 V} comes from differentiation of Eq 2.1 and isa very ‘common parameterin semiconductorelec~ tronies: xr ATS a6 Eq 23 ’ 4 [A small signal diede model is n0 more than a simple resistor. We will make extensive use of small signal models as we The Bipolar Transistor ‘The bipolar transistors athzee terminal device. If we use the same equipment that ‘we used to examine diodes, we might eon: clude that the bipolar transistor is just « pair of diodes in onc package, attached as shown in Fig 2.6. This is an incomplete yet useful model Let's place this model in a test circuit, shown in Fig 2.7. A variable voltage lerstic for a common Junction diode. This squation. source with a large base resistor is used, allowing us te control base current. A posi- tye voltage is applied to the collector, reverse biasing the collector-base junction. ‘The two-diode made] would prediet zere- collector current, But, collector current does flow in proportion to the current in the base. This is transistor action, The ratio of collector ty hase eurrent is usually si Fig 2.5—Small signal model for @ junetion diode represents it as 3 resistor with the slope shown. See text. NPN ) ? e Fig 2.6—Apparent model of a bipolar