By Mike Kossor, WA2EBY

Part 2 —In this

installment, I’ll discuss

A Doppler Radio- the antenna switcher,

construction of the
PC boards, calibration

Direction Finder and checkout.

Construction data is
supplied for using the
unit on three bands.7
Antenna Switcher inch-long coaxial line, D11, C49 and on 4, 1 is achieved simply by applying 5 V dc
Figure 4 is the antenna-switcher sche- through the line to the FM receiver. C49 is a sequentially to pins 1, 2, 3, 4, 1.
matic. Antenna 1 is selected when +5 V is dc blocking capacitor. It is absolutely essential that all unse-
applied to J1 pin 1. Current flows through RF J1 pins 2, 3 and 4 remain at 0 V dc while lected antennas be isolated from the circuit
choke L5, D11, D7 and RF choke L1 to antenna 1 is selected. Without forward bias, and circuit ground. Grounding unselected
ground. This current forward biases diodes D8, D9 and D10 exhibit very low junction antennas has the undesired effect of adding
D11 and D7, increasing their junction capaci- capacitance and effectively isolate antennas parasitic antenna elements, which could dis-
tance. The high junction capacitance (low 2, 3, and 4 from the circuit. Thus, D7 through tort the received-signal direction indication.
reactance) allows RF signals present on an- D14 function as RF switches. They are con- ECG-555 or MPN3404 PIN diodes are
tenna 1 to pass easily through D7, the 12- sidered closed when forwarded biased and usually recommended for switching diodes
open without forward bias. Emulating a spin- D7 through D14. However, they are expen-
7Notes appear on page 40. ning antenna in the pattern of antenna 1, 2, 3, sive compared to ordinary 1N4148 switch-

Figure 4—Antenna switcher schematic. Unless otherwise specified, resistors are 1/4 W, 5% tolerance carbon-composition or film units.
Part numbers in parentheses are Mouser (Mouser Electronics, 958 N Main St, Mansfield, TX 76063-4827; tel 800-346-6873, 817-483-
4422, fax 817-483-0931; sales@mouser.com; http://www.mouser.com. Equivalent parts can be substituted; n.c. indicates no connection.
Switcher PC boards only (371-SWITCHERPCB); includes switcher PC board and four mag-mount antenna PC boards.
C40-43, C46-49—680 pF, 25 V chip Miscellaneous rod (Lincoln R45)
capacitors (140-CC502B681K) 4— 1/ 2 inch brass hex spacers 5—Magnet strips 31/ 2×31/2 inches
D7-D14—1N4148 silicon diode (534-1450C) 4—Soda bottle caps (pop tops) for
(583-1N4148) 1—6-pin DIN plug (171-0276) antenna bases
L1-L8—Surface-mount inductor, 0.56 µH 4—#4-40 × 1 inch flat-head screws 10 feet of RG-58 coax, 95% shield
(434-07-R56K) 12—#4-40 star lock washers 10 feet of 6-conductor #24 AWG shielded
R60-R63—1 kΩ chip resistors 12—#4-40 nuts wire
(71-CRCW1206-1.0K) 4— 1/ 16 diam × 36-inch-long copper welding
June 1999 37
ing diodes. I decided to compare the differ-
ence between expensive PIN diodes costing Table 1
as much as $10 each with common 1N4148 On and Off Performance of Various Diode Types
switching diodes costing as little as four cents Diode 146 MHz 446 MHz
each. I tested a pair of each diode type in the Number Return Insertion Return Insertion Cost
same test circuit using a network analyzer to And Type Loss (dB) Loss (dB) Loss (dB) Loss (dB) (Each)
measure the insertion loss through both di- HP3077-745 Off 0.16 66.00 0.03 49.50 $10
odes and return loss. (Return loss is a mea- PIN On 23.00 0.44 15.10 0.79
sure of how close the input impedance is to NSMP-3820 Off 0.10 47.30 0.10 27.00 $1
the ideal 50 Ω.) A 0 dB return loss corre- PIN On 25.20 0.21 18.20 0.44
sponds to an infinite SWR (open or short cir- ECG-553 Off 0.10 48.00 0.05 27.60 $2
cuit) while a –20 dB return loss corresponds PIN On 21.40 0.76 19.10 1.00
to a good SWR of 1.2:1. The diodes were ECG-555 Off 0.10 29.10 2.80 4.50 $2
turned off by not applying any forward bias PIN On 25.30 0.23 16.40 0.51
and turned on with 15 mA of forward current. MPN-3404 Off 0.10 42.70 0.30 20.30 $1.25
The test results are presented in Table 1. PIN On 24.20 0.23 14.40 0.57
1N914A Off 0.10 56.30 0.20 37.10 $0.12
Not surprisingly, the most expensive PIN Switching On 16.70 1.82 17.80 2.42
diode performed the best. I was a little sur- 1N4454 Off 0.06 49.00 0.28 29.50 $0.05
prised, however, to find that the popular Switching On 24.50 0.76 22.90 1.15
ECG-555 has very poor isolation (4.5 dB) at 1N4537 Off 0.05 48.00 0.27 30.80 $0.05
UHF. This makes it totally unacceptable for Switching On 25.50 0.66 22.70 1.24
use on 446 MHz. The ECG-553 is a better 333-1N4148 Off 0.10 50.50 0.37 33.40 $0.04
choice for VHF and UHF applications, but it Switching On 24.10 0.93 24.40 1.40
costs considerably more than the switching 583-1N4148 Off 0.04 47.10 0.27 29.00 $0.04
diodes without providing a significant im- Switching On 26.70 0.62 22.30 1.09
provement in performance. I chose to use the
Rectron 583-1N4148 and obtained excellent
results with it. drink caps work well to protect the antenna
switcher electronics.
Construction Detachable antenna whips are made from
1/6-inch-diameter copper-plated-steel weld-
Main Board ing rods (Lincoln R45) and available from
I used PC board construction for the main welding supply stores. The rod is easily sol-
Doppler RDF board because of the large num- dered halfway into the zinc-plated #4-40 ×
ber of interconnections. Point-to-point wir- 1
/ 2-inch hex standoffs. Install a #4-40 ×
ing can be used if you have the patience and 1
/2-inch screw in one end of the standoff to
are a stickler for detail. Part placement is not prevent solder from flowing more than half-
critical, but use care to isolate digital and way into the standoff. Insert the antenna whip
analog grounds. The main PC board fits into the other end and solder it in place. Re-
nicely inside a 2 × 8 × 6.25-inch (HWD) plas- Antenna switcher close-up move the screw when the solder has cooled.
tic Pac-Tec enclosure. The CALIBRATE , Caution: All plastic pop tops are not created
DAMPING and AUDIO LEVEL controls and equal. Because their height varies, screw the
the ON/OFF and SCAN STOP switches are switcher circuit. Microstrip transmission antenna whip into the pop-top mag-mount
mounted on the front panel for easy access. lines are employed to minimize impedance base before cutting it to length. Table 2
Dc power input, Doppler tone PHASE INVERT discontinuities and route signals to the sum- provides the whip lengths for 146, 223 and
switch S3 and the audio inputs and outputs ming point. Double-sided PC boards are also 446 MHz operation. The whip length is mea-
are located on the rear panel. I mounted the used to make each of the four 1/4-λ antennas sured from the top surface of the Pop Top
external speaker inside the enclosure and (see Figure 5). Each 2.5 × 2.5-inch antenna Mag-Mount base to the whip tip. You’ll no-
drilled speaker holes in the top. PC board contains an antenna-mounting stud, tice that the whip lengths are somewhat
one switching diode and an RF choke con- longer than that calculated using the formula
Display Board nected to a microstrip line. A thin, flexible l = 234/f. The extra length is required to com-
A PC board simplifies construction and magnet attached to the bottom surface of each pensate for the capacitive coupling between
provides a uniform circular pattern for the board makes it a mag-mount antenna. Busi- the mag-mount base and the car top.
LED display. Point-to-point wiring can be ness-card size magnetic material is available
used if desired; part placement is not critical. from office-supply stores. This material has Check Out
I made my own LED standoffs from #20 wire an adhesive backing. It also helps make an
insulation. Strip the wire, removing a single excellent, low-cost mag-mount antenna! To Basic Testing
tube of plastic insulation six inches long. add support to the antenna-mounting stud, I It is wise to review your workmanship,
Then cut 16 equal-length pieces, 0.20 inch use plastic soda-bottle caps (pop tops). Drill looking for circuit shorts or opens prior to
long. Install the standoff on each LED’s an- a hole in the center of a cap for the whip- applying power. Use an ohmmeter to mea-
ode (longer) lead. The PC-board hole spac- mounting screw and notch one side of the cap sure the resistance between power and
ing varies to facilitate layout. Keep the anode to pass the coax, as illustrated in Figure 5. ground; the value should be greater than
lead straight at all times, and bend the cath- For this reason, I dubbed my homemade mag- 2 kΩ. Apply 12 V dc to the RDF unit with the
ode lead as necessary to reach the wide- mount antenna the Pop Top Mag-Mount. A power-supply current limited to 150 mA to
spaced mounting holes. The standoffs ensure 12-inch length of RG-58 coax connects each prevent damage in the event of a problem
all display LEDs are the same distance from antenna to the antenna switcher PC board. (normal current drain is 100 mA). Verify the
the board. Repeat the same procedure for take care to make the lengths of all four coax presence of the following supply voltages:
LEDs D3, D4 and green CENTER LED, D16. lines exactly equal: This ensures the accu- +5 V on the output of U10, pin 16 of U8, pin
racy of the RDF bearing indication. Use hot- 8 of U4, pin 8 of U6, pin 16 of U7, pin 24 of
Antenna Switcher melt glue or epoxy to secure the RG-58 to the U11, pin 16 of U5. Verify +2.5 V on pin 14
Double-sided PC board construction with antenna-switcher PC board and each Pop Top of U3, verify +12 V on pin 4 of U1 and U2.
plated through holes is used for the antenna Mag-Mount PC board. Larger fruit and sports This completes the basic testing of the Dop-
38 June 1999
pler RDF circuit. The following tests are rec- R28 can be changed to adjust the clock fre- prevent loading the signal generator. Con-
ommended to identify and troubleshoot prob- quency. Verify that closing switch S2 dis- nect an audio-signal generator to the receiver
lems, but don’t worry if you don’t have all ables the clock. Open S2 ( SCAN STOP) and audio-input terminal. Set the generator to
the necessary test equipment. Satisfactory verify the operation of BCD counter U7 by apply a 500 Hz sine wave with amplitude 1 V
performance can usually be achieved with- connecting the oscilloscope sequentially to P-P. Rotate R50 until the AUDIO OVERLOAD
out performing these tests. pins 14, 13, 12 and 11. The signal frequency LED D3 illuminates. Then, adjust R50 until
on these outputs should be approximately 4, LOW SIGNAL LEVEL LED D4 lights. Adjust
Functional Testing 2, 1 and 0.5 kHz, respectively. Verify the R50 so that LEDs D3 and D4 are off, set CALI-
Before connecting the antenna switcher, presence of a square wave signal on pins 2, 4, BRATE control R36 to the center of its range
verify the operation of clock oscillator U4 by 6 and 8 of buffer U12. and adjust DAMPING control R19 for mini-
connecting an oscilloscope to pin 3. The out- mum damping (fully CCW).
put should be a square wave with an ampli- Signal-Level Indicators
tude of 5 V and a period of 125 µs (8 kHz). The following test uses an audio-signal Direction Indicator
Use a frequency counter to verify the clock generator to simulate the presence of the Adjust the frequency of the audio genera-
frequency is 8 kHz ±250 Hz for best perfor- Doppler tone. Disconnect the speaker from tor very slowly around 500 Hz while observ-
mance. If necessary, the values of R27 and AUDIO LEVEL control potentiometer R50 to ing the LED display. You should see the di-
rection-indicating LEDs around the green
center LED illuminating. The LED illumina-
tion should rotate clockwise when the fre-
quency of the generator is set slightly lower
than the antenna rotation frequency. (Only
one LED will be on when the frequency of
the generator equals the antenna-rotation fre-
quency.) The display should rotate counter-
clockwise when the frequency of the genera-
tor is slightly higher that the antenna-rotation
frequency. Because the digital filter is sharp,
the transition between clockwise, stationary
and counterclockwise directions is very
abrupt. The audio generator must be capable
of very fine frequency adjustment in order to
observe the transition. All LEDs in the dis-
play may appear to be on if the signal genera-
tor frequency is just 10 Hz different from that
of the antenna-rotation frequency deter-
mined by U4. It is interesting to observe the
sharpness of the digital filter on pin 1 of U2
on the oscilloscope as the display makes the
transition from clockwise to counterclock-
wise. You can see the simulated Doppler tone
of the generator come out of the noise, peak
and return into the noise as the transition
takes place.

Calibration Control
Verify the function of the CALIBRATE
control by adjusting the audio generator
equal to the antenna rotation frequency. At
this point, only a single LED will illuminate.
Rotate the CALIBRATE control through out
its range and observe the direction-indicat-
ing LED “move” around the display. The
range of movement should be more than
360°. The direction-indicating LED may
move slightly if the generator frequency
drifts. It is very difficult to keep the genera-
tor frequency synchronized exactly, but
that’s not necessary in this test. Disconnect
the signal generator and reconnect the
speaker to the receiver audio-input terminal.
Figure 5—Assembly drawing of one of the four Pop Top Mag-Mount antennas. Antenna Switcher
Dimensions for the whip lengths for three bands are given in Table 2.
Verifying proper operation of the an-
tenna-switcher sequencing circuit requires
only a dc voltmeter. Connect the antenna
Table 2 switcher to the Doppler RDF unit and posi-
tion the four mag-mount antennas on a table.
Antenna Whip Lengths and Antenna Spacings for Use on Three Bands
Do not install any of the whip antennas for
Frequency (MHz) Whip Length (inches) Antenna Spacing per Side (inches) this test.
146 20 1/16 18.25 It is essential that the antennas be turned
223 13 11.5 on in sequence to emulate an antenna spin-
446 611/ 16 5.75 ning in a circular pattern for the Doppler RDF
June 1999 39
unit to operate correctly. A single antenna are present, the Doppler tone will sound
turned on out of sequence is enough to pro- raspy and distorted. These signal components
duce a bogus RDF reading. It does not matter may arrive from different directions causing
if the antenna spins clockwise or counter- false bearing indications. The LED display
clockwise. For this test, we’ll assume the tends to jump around randomly under these
antenna spin is clockwise. conditions. Avoid taking bearing informa-
SCAN STOP switch S2 stops the antenna tion when the Doppler tone sounds raspy for
from spinning. Close and open S2 until the this reason. You can minimize display jitter
voltage on terminal J1 pin 1 of Figure 3 by slowing the response time of the digital
reads +5 V. Pins 2, 3, and 4 should all read filter. This is accomplished by increasing
0 V. Pin 1 is the antenna-enable signal for Single DAMPING control R19. With a little time, you
antenna 1. Label the corresponding mag- antenna base can master the art of Doppler RDFing.
mount antenna on the table as antenna 1.
Close and open S2 until the voltage on ter- antenna switcher to a FM receiver or trans- RDFing on Other Bands
minal J1 pin 2 reads +5 V. Pins 1, 3, and 4 ceiver tuned to a strong NOAA weather The wide-bandwidth antenna switcher
should all read 0 V. Pin 2 is the antenna en- broadcast signal. Caution: Again, make sure can be used for DFing on other bands, pro-
able signal for antenna 2 and should be posi- you disable transmit mode if you are using a vided the proper antenna whip lengths and
tioned to the right of antenna 1 as viewed transceiver! antenna spacings are used. Arrange the an-
from the center of the antennas for a clock- Adjust the receiver’s audio to a comfort- tennas in a square pattern. Typical antenna
wise spin. Close and open S2 until the volt- able level in the external speaker. Apply 12 spacing is 0.22 λ per side. Table 2 provides
age on terminal J1 pin 3 reads +5 V. Pins 1, V to the RDF unit and spin the antenna by the whip lengths for use of the DFer on 146,
2, and 4 should all read 0 V. Pin 3 is the an- closing switch S2. As soon as S2 is closed, 223 and 446 MHz. Whip lengths are mea-
tenna-enable signal for antenna 3 and should you should hear a 500 Hz tone imposed on sured from the top surface of the mag-mount
be positioned to the right of antenna 2 as the receiver audio. Rotate AUDIO LEVEL PC-board base to the tip of the antenna.
viewed from the center of the antennas. Close ADJUST control R50 so that LOW SIGNAL Other band-limiting components associ-
and open S2 until the voltage on terminal J1 LEVEL LED D4 and AUDIO OVERLOAD LED ated with the antenna switcher are the induc-
pin 4 reads +5 V. Pins 1, 2, and 3 should all D4 are extinguished. Never trust bearing in- tors L1-L8. The recommended inductor for
read 0 V. Pin 4 is the antenna enable signal dications if D3 and/or D4 are illuminated. the antenna switcher in the parts list is a
for antenna 4 and should be positioned to the The direction-indicating display should be 0.56 µH unit with a self-resonant frequency
right of antenna 3 as viewed from the center relatively constant with a single LED lit, or of 440 MHz. This inductor presents an im-
of the antennas. one or two adjacent LEDs alternately illumi- pedance of more than 500 Ω from 146 MHz
Testing the RF operation of the antennas is nating. Adjust CALIBRATE control R36 so to 446 MHz. Part substitution is permissible,
quite simple. Place all four mag-mount anten- that the direction-indicating LED is consis- providing the inductor has a inductive reac-
nas around the center of the car roof, placing tent with the general direction of the NOAA tance of at least 500 Ω and a self-resonant
each antenna at the corner of an 18.25-inch- transmission with respect to your location frequency greater than the highest frequency
square pattern for operation on 146 MHz. Do and the position of the car. at which the antenna switcher will be used.
not install any of the whip antennas yet. Con- Have the driver slowly circle while you
nect the RF output of the antenna switcher to observe the display. You should see the di- Summary
an FM receiver or transceiver tuned to a strong rection-indicating LED move in the oppo- This project incorporates several useful
NOAA weather broadcast signal. Caution: site direction as the car is turning in a circle. features developed over the years into a
Make sure you disable transmit mode if you The position changes relative to the chang- single, compact design. The wide bandwidth
are using a transceiver! ing direction of the car; however, the direc- antenna-switcher design introduced here can
Apply power to the RDF unit and open S2 tion indicated from the center of the circle be built using commonly available compo-
to stop the spinning process. Take one whip the car is driving around should remain nents, significantly reducing the overall cost
antenna and touch it to the mounting screw fixed. If the display turns in the same direc- of the project. In constructing this project,
on each of the mag-mount antennas. Only one tion as the car, flip PHASE INVERT switch S3 you have the opportunity to learn about ana-
antenna should provide a signal strength to the opposite position to correct the 180° log, digital and RF circuits—and have a great
reading similar to it being connected directly phasing offset. This completes the rough deal of fun organizing and participating in
to the FM receiver. Remove the whip from calibration procedure. “fox hunting.”
the selected antenna and touch it to each of
the other three antennas. The NOAA signal Final Calibration Acknowledgments
should be weak or nonexistent. Close and A more accurate calibration can be I want to thank Harry Randel, WD2AID,
open S2 until another antenna is selected and achieved while the car is in motion. Position for capturing the schematic and parts layout
repeat the same test. Continue the process a volunteer with an H-T in a safe spot on the of this project, and my brother, Dave,
until you have verified each antenna can be side of a long, straight and vacant roadway KC2BDL, for assisting with field testing. My
turned on while the other three remain off. about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. Have them transmit thanks also to these members of the Tri-
on low power (0.5 W) while traveling towards County Radio Club (TCRA): Gerry Miller,
Operation them. The RDF operator should calibrate the AA2ZJ, Bob Grassmann, KB2BBD, Ed
Checking performance of the RDF unit is RDF display to indicate 0° as straight ahead. Grassman, N2TDM, and Dick Montgomery,
best done in a large, empty area away from The display should change to 180° indicating N3DV, for providing the opportunity to hone
tall buildings; a parking lot will do. Use cau- the signal is coming from directly behind the my RDFing skills with many memorable
tion at all times during open-road operation car as the vehicle passes the transmitter. The hours of fox-hunting.
of the RDF unit. Use a minimum of two moving calibration procedure functions to
7
people for all testing and operation of the average out false reflected signals caused by Part 1 of this series appears in QST, May 1999,
RDF unit: one to operate the vehicle and the multipath propagation. 35-40.
Note: In Part 1, Figure 3, page 38, the input
other to operate the RDF unit. As a safety You may notice that the Doppler tone pin of U12A shjould be shown as pin 9, not pin
measure, secure each Pop Top Mag-Mount changes as the car moves about. The Doppler 4. Also, the author’s mailing address is 244 N
with 20-pound fishing line when operating tone will sound like a pure, undistorted 17th St, Kenilworth, NJ 07033.
the vehicle at highway speeds. 500 Hz sine wave in the absence of reflected
Attach all four whip antennas to the mag- or multipath interference. Direction indica- You can contact Mike Kossor, WA2EBY, at
mount antenna bases placed about the center tions are most reliable under these condi- 244 N 17 th St, Kenilworth, NJ 07033;
of the car top. Connect the RF output of the tions. When reflected or multipath signals mkossor@lucent.com.
See Feedback in July 1999 QST.
40 June 1999