RADIO FREQUENCY CIRCUIT

SWR Protection Circuit

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:11:00 +0000

This scheme is an SWR meter, which is quite simple and easily built. Once you make a directional coupler, the results will be displayed with the measure led meters as a ratio SWR.

IC used in the scheme SWR meter is an LM3914, which are available on the market. Use non-inductive resistor (carbon-film or metal-oxide).

Complete set of SWR protection circuit schematic, see example image below to prototype soldering its components and the layout..

FM Telephone Transmitter

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:41:00 +0000

The FM telephone circuit is built on a PC board that is so small it can easily be fitted inside the housing of a telephone making it an instant pseudo-speak earphone.

Here's the FM telephone transmitter circuit :

This FM circuit connects in series with telephone line, steals power from it, and transmit at both sides of the conversation to an FM radio tuned between 90 and 95 MHz.

FM Telephone Transmitter in Detail.

Synthesised WideBand FM Transmitter

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:12:00 +0000

This project is a complete crystal-controlled Wide Band Frequency Modulated (WBFM) transmitter delivering a power output in the order of 10 milli-watts (+10dBm) using simple components. The transmitter is based upon the Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) principle, but due to the circuit's simplicity a true "phase lock" can never be achieved.

The transmitter has both 1v peak-to-peak 'LINE' input and 10mV 'MIC' audio inputs. These will accept audio input sources from external equipment, such as hi-fi, CD and computer equipment. The microphone input also has an in-built power source to energise an 'Electret' type condenser
microphone. The Radio Frequency (RF) output circuitry includes a three-pole filter for reduction of harmonics and other spurious signals. The spurious output signal level is better than -40dBc (0.0001 times the power of the wanted signal level), which makes the project suitable for driving an external power amplifier.The transmitter is powered from a 12v supply, but it will operate from 9 Volts to 16 Volts. The DC power input is equipped with a diode (D1), which protects the transmitter in the event the supply voltage is inadvertently connected the wrong way round.

Download Kit Intro Datasheet

250mW FM Power Amplifier

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:55:00 +0000

This project is a simple 2-transistor VHF power amplifier, with about 16dB gain, and requires no tuning or alignment procedures. Wideband techniques have been used in the design and the circuit is equipped with a "lowpass" filter to ensure good output spectral purity. The project has been designed for assembly on a single-sided printed circuit board. The circuit is specifically designed to amplify the output of 7mW to 10mW WBFM transmitters (wide band) to a final level of 250mW to 300mW, after the filter.

Circuit Description
The first stage (Q1) operates in Class-A. Although Class-A is the least efficient mode, it does offer more RF gain than other clases of bias, and Q1 is a low-level stage, when compared to the higher power Q2 stage. The output of this stage is around 70mW of RF power. The stage is
untuned so that it gives a very broadband characteristic. The transistor is biased by means of R5, R6 and L6, and the residual (standing) DC current is set by R4. The input signal is coupled by C9 to the Base of the transistor. Q2 is operated in Class-AB which leads to greater efficiency, but the RF gain is only about 8dB, but it amplifies the output of Q1 to typically 250mW. Q2 is
biased by means of R3, R2 and L4. The input signal from Q1 is coupled to the Base of Q2 via C7.
The voltage regulator Q3 (78L08) is used to regulate the supply voltage to Q1 and the bias votages to both Q1 and Q2 so that the output RF power is relatively constant, even with large variations of supply voltage. Q3 also removes supply ripple as well as providing power for an
FM transmitter like Kit 3018 wireless microphone with the required DC 8v power.

The output of the amplifier is filtered with a low-pass filter to reduce the output spurious and harmonic content. The output filter consists of C3, C4, L1 and L2.

COMPONENTS
Resistors 5%, 1/4W, carbon:
10R R1 brown black black
22R R7 red red black
47R R3 yellow orange black
120R R4 brown red brown
470R R2 yellow violet brown
2K2 R5 red red red
4K7 R6 yellow violet red
2N2369 Q1
2N4427 Q2 1
Ceramic caps
33p C3
47p C4
1n C5 C6 C7 C8 C9
10n C1 C11
Ecaps:
220u/16V C2
10u/25V C10
78L08 Q3
RFC L4 L5 L6
Ferrite L3
3 turn coil L2
5 turn coil L1
2 pole terminal block
HS106 heatsink (download documentation)

Source:

1W AM Transmitter

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:43:00 +0000

This AM transmitter circuit provides a nice, clean output of about 1 Watt (carrier power). Though designed for the medium wave band (circa 1.5 MHz) it would work equally well on higher frequencies (6.2 MHz for example) with a few tweaks in component values (see table on left - C15 should be adjusted for maximum output).

The carrier (produced by the 4049) is modulated at low-level by the MC1496 balanced modulator. There are then a couple of stages of linear amplification to reach the final output power so no modulation transformer is required. TR2, TR5 and TR6 are BC108 or similar; TR3 is a 2N3053 or 2N4427 or 2N3866 or any low/medium power NPN transistor. The main output transistors, TR4 and TR5 were originally 2SC1162 but BD135 or BD139 or other medium power RF transistors will do equally well. T1 uses a pre-tuned TOKO KANK3334 coil, the other transformers are wound on the red T50-2 toroids (the number of turns shown is the ratio, use about 4 to 5 times that number in reality - less at higher frequencies). The LED lights up if current in the output amplifier goes too high, so it's a kind of 'high SWR' warning.

Source: ZFM

2.5 W FM Power Amplifier

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:39:00 +0000

This rf power amplifier design for a 2.5 Watt power amplifier for the FM band. An input of 50 mW gives a final output power of 2.5 Watts with a 13 Volt supply. The best bit is that the amplifier requires no tuning once it's built - it gives roughly the same gain and output power right across the FM band from 88 to 108 MHz.

There's even some hefty output low pass filtering to make sure that harmonic output is small and no interference is caused to users (mostly military!) on multiples of the FM frequency being amplified. A nice design based on, believe it or not, a military one...!
Source: ZFM

88-108 MHz PLL FM Synthesizer

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:33:00 +0000

This fm synthesizer circuit is played with and optimised design for an 88-108 MHz synthesiser, programmable in 25 kHz steps. It produces about 50 mW output (and thus feeds nicely into the amplifier shown below) with no tuning required other than to set the inputs of the divide-by-N counter to the wanted frequency.

FM modulation is achieved just by injecting audio on the audio input (audio response is pretty flat from 10 Hz to over 200 kHz so can be used for stereo and RDS). This versatile design has also been used for link transmitters at around 48, 52 and 200 MHz with a few changes in the VCO and output filter, and by changing the reference crystal you can alter the channel spacing too. The power output is switched off until the synthesiser achieves lock to prevent transmissions on the wrong frequency (which can be disasterous if you've amplified it to high power and got it connected to a highly resonant antenna).

Source: ZFM

Audio Processor for AM Transmitter

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:18:00 +0000

This audio circuit is used for AM transmitter audio procesing. It equipped with low pass filter circuit for AM spectrum. It's easy for use.

MK1 AM Audio Processor
My first attempt at an improved audio processor for GCR using a Plessey SL-6270 VOGAD (VOice controlled Gain Adjusting Device) which is designed more for PMR use than broadcast use but with the right parameters does a reasonable job. It deals with a massive dynamic range of inputs (about 60dB) which does tend to mean that if you don't set it up properly you can hear every tiny background noise in the studio. There's a bit of low and high-pass filtering on the input to avoid unwanted frequencies causing the compressor to 'pump'. There's also a lovely 7-pole Chebyshev low-pass filter on the output with a cut-off at about 6 kHz. All the op-amps are TL072 or TL074. Watch out for the difference between the 'earth' symbol and the 'ground' symbol as one relates to 0V and the other to mid-rail (typical supply voltage is 15V).

MK 2 AM Audio Processor
The Mark 2 version of the processor above. Now with an added limiter after the compressor (based around an MC3340 and a rather odd BSV71/BFR29 I.G.F.E.T.). A new 6-pole output low-pass filter to provide a tight fit to the transmitter specifications allowed at the time for closed-loop AM radio stations. There's a bit more HF boost (or pre-emphasis) before the clipper on this version to give the audio a more 'lively' feel. This design was in use at GCR for about 2 years until my super 3-band processor took over. Same precautions over the diagram as above apply and op-amps are also TL072 or TL072.

MK 3 AM Audio Processor (Part I)
The Mark 3 version got massively more sophisticated (and better sounding). This diagram is for the heart of the processor. It's a 3 band audio processor/limiter/compressor (call it what you will) with a few special features: (1) The decay on the bass compressor is tied in to the mid compressor which gives a much more balanced sound, and (2) there are cross-overs before and after each compressor, thereby reducing any distortion produced. The resulting sound is very loud and very impressive. The 3 audio bands compressed are 0-250 Hz, 250-1300 Hz and 1300-6500 Hz. The +/- 8V supply is quite critical as it sets the threshold for compression to the MC3340 chips. There's still a transmitter kicking around with this processor in it - if I can get my hands on it I'll record some output.

MK 3 AM Audio Processor (Part II)
This is the second half of the Mark 3 diagram and shows the input high and low-pass filtering; the clipper (with a snazzy LED to show when clipping is occuring); and a new and even better output 6.5 kHz low-pass filter together with a phase corrector to provide overshoot compensation (and therefore allow the transmitter to be driven harder).

AM Low Pass Filter Response
The frequency response of the output filter is flat to 6 kHz, -3dB @ 6.5 kHz, -23dB @ 7.6 kHz and -40dB @ 9 kHz, which fits exactly the allowed response for closed-loop AM stations for which it was designed. Without the overshoot compensator, the filter has an overshoot of around 2.6 dB; with it, overshoot is virtually nothing - thereby giving a 2.6 dB increase in loudness. All components (including the capacitors) need to be 1% tolerance for this circuit to work properly.

Source: ZFM

FM Stereo Encoder

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:07:00 +0000

This Stereo encoder circuit built with MC1496. It produces a very clean signal with good separation (it performed as well as any other encoder, which included some expensive professional ones) and has been used on many professional commercial radio stations. There's no input filtering on it so it has to be proceeded by a 15 kHz low-pass filter (which was something I put on my processor instead of on the encoder). It needs a +/- 8 Volt supply but +/- 9V would work equally well and it produces 1 Volt peak-to-peak into a 75 Ohm load (and a bit more into a high impedance one) with 0dBu audio drive. XL1 should be a 4.864 MHz one.

The wires and extra PCB (off the top of the shot) in the picture are for a composite clipper that was added afterwards, which provides about another dB and a half of loudness.

Source: ZFM

Stereo FM Transmitter BH1415F

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:05:00 +0000

This Electronic circuit is a stereo FM Transmitter based on BH1415F wireless audio link IC. Phase Locked Loop (PLL) controller use PIC16F628 and the the PLL frequency programming can be displayed with 8x2 and 16x2 LCD. Frequency Range 88-108 MHz

BH1415F can be supplied with 6 - 15V voltage, consumes only around 25mA while providing very sound quality and improved 40dB channel separation. BH1415 is only available in SOP22 IC case and this may be an inconvenience for some folks. On the other hand, because the chip is smaller than regular DIP-based ICs it is possible to fit the entire stereo coder on a small PCB.

Download Documentation BH1415F

BH1415F Datasheet

Source

Garage Door Opener Transmitter

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:48:00 +0000

This electronic circuit is the newer and revised version of the garage door opener transmitter. The transmitter is a PIC based on 40 MHz Microchip’s 16F630 microcontroller. A 10 switch DIP-switch is used for setting the code. To save space, we used a different HF output coil. Schematic , PCB files and hex code are available.

Download Documentation Datasheet

VHF/UHF TV Modulator

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:19:00 +0000

The electronic circuit is a TV modulator that is really no more than a transmitter. It is a very small transmitter, admittedly, but none the less that is what it is. What does a modulator actually do? In general -and this design is no exception to the rule - it is a simple oscillator that generates a frequency somewhere in the VHF or UHF region. The oscillator is modulated with the video signal and the modulated carrier wave thus generated is fed into the TV set's aerial input via a cable. Then all that remains to do is tune the TV to the correct frequency.

Circuit Schematic
The crystal oscillator is based on a very fast HF transistor, Tl (BFR91), which performs the amplitude modulation. Apart from this there is little to be said about the oscillator except, perhaps, that it is essential to use the correct values for the components surrounding Tl. This is, of course, simply common sense in this sort of HF circuit.

The harmonics generator is formed by two Schottky diodes, Dl and D2. These diodes must switch very quickly in time with the 27 MHz signal so they provide strong harmonics up into the gigahertz range. The modulation depth can be set with Pl, while the oscillator's d.c. value can be varied by means of P2. The combination of these two presets enables either positive or negative amplitude modulation to be selected.

This is essential as the harmonics produced vary in this respect. We will discuss the calibration of Pl and P2 later in this article. The power for the circuit can be provided by either an unstabilized 8...30 V or a stabilized 5 V. The latter could be taken from a computer's power supply and in this case ICI is not needed.

The printed circuit board for the modulator is only single-sided. The largecopper surface acts as a ground plain.

Parts list
Resistors:
R1, R2 = 4k7
R3, R4 = 56ohm
P1 = 100 ohm preset
P2 = 500 ohm preset
Capacitors:
C1 = 4mf7/16 V
C2= 10p
C3 = 220p
C4 = 47p
C5 = 47n, ceramic
C6 = 100n*
C7 = 330n*
Inductors:
L1, L2 = 3.5 turns of 0.2 mm (SWG 35 or 36) CuL on a ferrite bead of about 3.5 x 3.5 mm
L3 = 1 microH
L4 = 1 turn of 0.8. . .1 mm (SWG 19...21) CuL, air wound with a diameter of 8 mm
Semiconductors:
D1, D2 = 1N6263 (Ambit/Cirkit)
D3 = lN4148
T1 = BFR91 (Ambit/Cirkit)
IC1 = 7805*
Miscellaneous:
X1 = crystal, 27 MHzd(3rd overtone) or other 3rd overtone crystal between 25 and 30 MHz

*= not needed if the circuit is powered from a stabilised 5 V supply

Source

Stereo FM Transmitter Based BA1404 Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:06:00 +0000

This electronic circuit design is a stereo FM transmitter that improves sound quality, has very good frequency stability, maximizes transmitter's range, and is fairly simple for everyone to build. We are happy to announce that this goal and expectations have been met and even exceeded.

The transmitter can work from a single 1.5V cell battery and provide excellent crystal clear stereo sound. It can also be supplied from two 1.5V battery cells to provide the maximum range.

Sound Quality and Frequency Stability
One of the qualities of BA1404 FM transmitter is excellent frequency stability. This is mainly due to a use of high quality 3.5 turn variable coil. Tunable RF coils are ideal for precise frequency tuning because their magnet wire is halfway embedded within the plastic, which minimizes frequency drifts. Regular air coils are not preferred for professional broadcasting because the coil expands and contracts with temperature changes. That's the very reason why variable coil was chosen as a substitution for an air coil and a variable capacitor.

Another quality of the presented BA1404 transmitter is a crystal clear stereo sound and improved sound separation. There are several factors that account for improved sound quality and a separation. First reason is the use of 38 KHz crystal which provides rock solid frequency for stereo encoder. Another reason is the use of two 1nF decoupling capacitors one for BA1404 chip and another for 3.5 variable coil. These capacitors have to be as close as possible to a BA1404 chip and a variable coil because this will GREATLY improve the sound quality, sound separation and even frequency stability as well. What they do is filter out the noise in the incoming DC voltage. If the noise enters BA1404 chip stereo generator will include it in a transmitted sound affecting both the sound and multiplex signal that is responsible for generation of the clear stereo signal. If that noise enters it will also be included in a generation of subcarrier frequency affecting the frequency stability. Most people are not aware of how important this is and might place them in a wrong location, away from the target components which provides no use, or worse decide not to use these capacitors at all.

Another factor that is extremely important and which improves overall quality of the whole BA1404 transmitter including frequency stability, sound quality and sound separation is the use of the ground plane on the transmitter’s PCB. It is recommended that ground plane should always be used in circuits that deal with higher frequencies.

Printed Circuit Board
This a suggested high-resolution PCB layout for BA1404 Transmitter. It is ready for printing and no further adjustments are necessary. Dimensions of the PCB should be 57 mm x 35 mm (W x H).

Source

Stereo FM Transmitter Based BH1417 Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:52:00 +0000

This electronic circuit is a latest BH1417 FM Transmitter design from RHOM that includes a lot of features in one small package. It comes with pre-emphasis, limiter so that the music can be transmitted at the same audio level, stereo encoder for stereo transmission, low pass filter that blocks any audio signals above 15KHz to prevent any RF interference, PLL circuit that provides rock solid frequency transmission (no more frequency drift), FM oscillator and RF output buffer.

There are 14 possible transmission frequencies with 200KHz increments that users can select with a 4-DIP switch. Lower band frequencies start from 88.7 up to 89.9 MHz, and upper band frequencies start from 107.7 up to 108.9 MHz.

BH1417 can be supplied with 4 - 6 voltage and consumes only around 30mA, providing 20mW output RF power. BH1417 provides 40dB channel separation which is pretty good, although older BA1404 FM Transmitter chip provides slightly better 45dB channel separation.

BH1417 is only available in SOP22 IC case so this may be an inconvenience for some folks. On the other hand, because the chip is smaller than regular DIP-based ICs it is possible to fit the entire transmitter on a small PCB.

The bad news is that BH1417 requires 7.6MHz crystal oscillator, which is very hard to find. The good news is that you can use 7.68 MHz crystal instead, which is easier to find. In fact our BH1417 transmitter prototype (schematic shown above) uses 7.68 MHz crystal. This has absolutely no effect on stereo encoding process, we have tested it and stereo sound is crystal clear. The transmitted frequency on the other hand will be shifted up by exactly 1MHz (example: 88.1 MHz to 89.1 MHz) which is perfectly fine. The frequencies that are used in this project have been adjusted by 1MHz already so no additional conversion is necessary.

BH1417 chip may also be used a stand alone stereo encoder. The advantage of that is that you have full freedom of using a transmitter & amplifier of your choice. You will still have a pre-emphasis, limiter, stereo encoder and low pass filter in one small package because very few external components are required for these blocks. PIN 5 is MPX output that can be directly connected to an external FM transmitter through a 10uF cap.

Parts List:
1x BH1417 - Stereo PLL Transmitter IC (Case SOP22) (datasheet)
1x 7.68 MHz Crystal
1x MPSA13 - NPN Darlington Transistor
1x 2.5 Turns Variable Coil
1x MV2109 - Varicap Diode
1x 4-DIP Switch
ANT - 30 cm of copper wire

1x 22K Resistor
7x 10K Resistor
1x 5.1K Resistor
2x 3.3K Resistor
1x 100 Ohm Resistor 1x 100uF Capacitor
3x 10uF Capacitor
2x 1uF Capacitor

1x 47nF Capacitor
3x 2.2nF Capacitor
1x 1nF Capacitor
1x 330pF Capacitor
2x 150pF Capacitor
1x 33pF Capacitor
2x 27pF Capacitor
1x 22pF Capacitor
2x 10pF Capacitor

Specifications:
Supply Voltage: 4 - 6V
Transmission Frequency: 87.7 - 88.9MHz, 106.7 - 107.9MHz (200kHz steps)
Output RF Power: 20mW
Audio Frequency: 20 - 15KHz
Separation: 40dB
Power Consumption: 30mA

Frequency Selection / Calibration
Frequency selection is very straight forward. Simply select transmission frequency at which you would like to transmit, set the combination for 4-DIP switch and BH1417 will immediately tune to that frequency. If you can't hear the transmitted audio signal on your FM receiver then re-adjust 2.5 turn variable coil until you can hear the signal. If you have a laboratory power supply you may try to vary the voltage supply from 4 to 6V. While doing that BH1417 will automatically vary the voltage for MV2109 varicap diode making sure that there's no frequency drift.

Source

Transistor Schmitt Trigger Oscillator

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:08:00 +0000

The Schmitt Trigger oscillator below employs 3 transistors, 6 resistors and a capacitor to generate a square waveform. Pulse waveforms can be generated with an additional diode and resistor (R6). Q1 and Q2 are connected with a common emitter resistor (R1) so that the conduction of one transistor causes the other to turn off. Q3 is controlled by Q2 and provides the squarewave output from the collector.

In operation, the timing capacitor charges and discharges through the feedback resistor (Rf) toward the output voltage. When the capacitor voltage rises above the base voltage at Q2, Q1 begins to conduct, causing Q2 and Q3 to turn off, and the output voltage to fall to 0. This in turn produces a lower voltage at the base of Q2 and causes the capacitor to begin discharging toward 0. When the capacitor voltages falls below the base voltage at Q2, Q1 will turn off causing Q2 and Q3 to turn on and the output to rise to near the supply voltage and the capacitor to begin charging and repeating the cycle. The switching levels are established by R2,R4 and R5. When the output is high, the voltage at the base of Q2 is determined by R4 in parallel with R5 and the combination in series with R2. When the output is low, the base voltage is set by R4 in parallel with R2 and the combination in series with R5. This assumes R3 is a small value compared to R2. The switching levels will be about 1/3 and 2/3 of the supply voltage if the three resistors are equal (R2,R4,R5).

There are many different combinations of resistor values that can be used. R3 should low enough to pull the output signal down as far as needed when the circuit is connected to a load. So if the load draws 1mA and the low voltage needed is 0.5 volts, R3 would be 0.5/.001 = 500 ohms (510 standard). When the output is high, Q3 will supply current to the load and also current through R3. If 10 mA is needed for the load and the supply voltage is 12, the transistor current will be 24 mA for R3 plus 10 mA to the load = 34 mA total. Assuming a minimum transistor gain of 20, the collector current for Q2 and base current for Q3 will be 34/20 = 1.7 mA. If the switching levels are 1/3 and 2/3 of the supply (12 volts) then the high level emitter voltage for Q1 and Q2 will be about 7 volts, so the emitter resistor (R1) will be 7/0.0017 = 3.9K standard. A lower value (1 or 2K) would also work and provide a little more base drive to Q3 than needed. The remaining resistors R2, R4, R5 can be about 10 times the value of R1, or something around 39K.

The combination of the capacitor and the feedback resistor (Rf) determines the frequency. If the switching levels are 1/3 and 2/3 of the supply, the half cycle time interval will be about 0.693*Rf*C which is similar to the 555 timer formula. The unit I assembled uses a 56K and 0.1 uF cap for a positive time interval of about 3.5 mS. An additional 22K resistor and diode were used in parallel with the 56K to reduce the negative time interval to about 1 mS.

In the diagram, T1 represents the time at which the capacitor voltage has fallen to the lower trigger potential (4 volts at the base of Q2) and caused Q1 to switch off and Q2 and Q3 to switch on. T2 represents the next event when the capacitor voltage has risen to 8 volts causing Q2 an Q3 to turn off and Q1 to conduct. T3 represents the same condition as T1 where the cycle begins to repeat. Now, if you look close on a scope, you will notice the duty cycle is not exactly 50% This is due to the small base current of Q1 which is supplied by the capacitor. As the capacitor charges, the E/B of Q1 is reverse biased and the base does not draw any current from the capacitor so the charge time is slightly longer than the discharge. This problem can be compensated for with an additional diode and resistor as shown (R6) with the diode turned around the other way.

Source

FM Transmitter with 2 Transistor

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:19:00 +0000

This FM ransmitter circuits may be tuned to operated over the range 88-108 MHz. Although only low power this circuit can be transmitted with a range of 20 or 30 metres. It's suitable for use as wireless microphone.

This circuit used a pair of BC548 transistors. Although not strictly RF transistors, they still give good results. Use an ECM Mic with a two terminal ECM, but ordinary dynamic mic inserts can also be used, simply omit the front 10k resistor. The coil L1 was again from Maplin, part no. UF68Y and consists of 7 turns on a quarter inch plastic former with a tuning slug.

The tuning slug is adjusted to tune the transmitter. Actual range on my prototype tuned from 70MHz to around 120MHz. The aerial is a few inches of wire. Lengths of wire greater than 2 feet may damp oscillations and not allow the circuit to work. Although RF circuits are best constructed on a PCB, you can get away with veroboard, keep all leads short, and break tracks at appropriate points.

One final point, don't hold the circuit in your hand and try to speak. Body capacitance is equivalent to a 200pF capacitor shunted to earth, damping all oscillations.

Source

88-108 MHz Voltage Controlled Oscilator for PLL Controller

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:37:00 +0000

This Circuit will explain the PLL unit and the VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) which will create the FM modulated RF signal up to 400mW. the schematic to follow my function description. The main oscillator is based around the transistor Q1. This oscillator is called Colpitts oscillator and it is voltage controlled to achieve FM frequency modulation) and PLL control.

Q1 should be a HF transistor to work well, but in this case I have used a cheap and common BC817 transistor which works great. The oscillator needs a LC tank to oscillate properly. In this case the LC tank consist of L1 with the varicap D1 and the two capacitor (C4, C5) at the base-emitter of the transistor. The value of C1 will set the VCO range.

The large value of C1 the wider will the VCO range be. Since the capacitance of the varicap (D1) is dependent of the voltage over it, the capacitance will change with changed voltage. When the voltage change, so will the oscillating frequency. In this way you achieve a VCO function. You can use many different varicap diod to get it working. In my case I use a varicap (SMV1251) which has a wide range 3-55pF to secure the VCO range (88 to 108MHz).

Inside the dashed blue box you will find the audio modulation unit. This unit also include a second varicap (D2). This varicap is biased with a DC voltage about 3-4 volt DC. This varcap is also included in the LC tank by a capacitor (C2) of 3.3pF. The input audio will passes the capacitor (C15) and be added to the DC voltage. Since the input audio voltage change in amplitude, the total voltage over the varicap (D2) will also change. As an effect of this the capacitance will change and so will the LC tank frequency.

You have a Frequency Modulation of the carrier signal. The modulation depth is set by the input amplitude. The signal should be around 1Vpp. Just connect the audio to negative side of C15. Now you wonder why I don't use the first varicap (D1) to modulate the signal? I could do that if the frequency would be fixed, but in this project the frequency range is 88 to 108MHz.

If you look at the varicap curve to the left of the schematic. You can easily see that the relative capacitance change more at lower voltage than it does at higher voltage. Imagine I use an audio signal with constant amplitude. If I would modulated the (D1) varicap with this amplitude the modulation depth would differ depending on the voltage over the varicap (D1). Remember that the voltage over varicap (D1) is about 0V at 88MHz and +5V at 108MHz. By use two varicap (D1) and (D2) I get the same modulation depth from 88 to 108MHz.

Now, look at the right of the LMX2322 circuit and you find the reference frequency oscillator VCTCXO. This oscillator is based on a very accurate VCTCXO (Voltage Controlled Temperature controlled Crystal Oscillator) at 16.8MHz. Pin 1 is the calibration input. The voltage here should be 2.5 Volt. The performance of the VCTCXO crystal in this construction is so good that you do not need to make any reference tuning.

A small portion of the VCO energy is feed back to the PLL circuit through resistor (R4) and (C16). The PLL will then use the VCO frequency to regulate the tuning voltage. At pin 5 of LMX2322 you will find a PLL filter to form the (Vtune) which is the regulating voltage of the VCO. The PLL try to regulate the (Vtune) so the VCO oscillator frequency is locked to desired frequency. You will also find the TP (test Point) here.

The last part we haven't discussed is the RF power amplifier (Q2). Some energy from the VCO is taped by (C6) to the base of the (Q2). Q2 should be a RF transistor to obtain best RF amplification. To use a BC817 here will work, but not good.

The emitter resistor (R12 and R16) set the current through this transistor and with R12, R16 = 100 ohm and +9V power supply you will easy have 150mW of output power into 50 ohm load. You can lower the resistors (R12, R16) to get high power, but please don't overload this poor transistor, it will be hot and burn up… Current consumption of VCO unit = 60 mA @ 9V.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB.pdf)
This is how the real board should look when you are going to solder the components.
It is a board made for surface mounted components, so the cuppar is on the top layer.

Parts List
100 = R7, R12, R16
330 = R4
1k = R1, R2, R3, R10
3.3k = R11
10k = R5, R6, R14, R17
20k = R13
43k = R9
100k = R8, R15
3.3pF = C2, C16
15pF = C4, C6
22pF = C5
1nF = C1, C3, C8, C17, C22, C23
100nF = C7, C9, C11, C12, C13, C14, C19, C20
2.2uF = C15, C18
220uF = C10, C21
L1 = 3 turns diam 6.5mm (Everything from 6 to 7 mm will work good!)
L2, L3, L4 = 10uH
D1, D2 = SMV1251
Q1 = BC817-25
Q2 = BFG193
X1 = 16.800 MHz VCTCXO Reference oscillator
V1 = 78L05
IC1 = LMX2322

Source

88-108 MHz PLL Controller for FM Transmitter

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:43:00 +0000

This circuit will explain the PLL controller unit for the FM transmitter. It is very important since the transmitter frequency is digitally controlled and thereby very stable. The heart of this unit is a PIC processor called PIC16F870, a 2 x 16 char display and four buttons.

Circuit Schematic

You will also find a 2 line 16 char display based on " HD44780-based LCD Modules" which is very common. Most LCD displays are based on this circuit.

Printed Circuit Board (PCB file for LCD controller pdf)
The connection of this PCB is matched to the 16x2 LCD display I have on my component page.
The LCD is places on the backside of this PCB (See photos). A jumper J1 is added to choose if you want strong backlight or not.

If jumper J1 is disconnected the LCD will have soft backlight because a low current will pass through R6. If jumper J1 is connected you will have strong backlight.

The component are not critial at all, the Pot (P1) can be from 1k-22k and (R1-R5) resistor can be changed to 1k-10k. The orange squars are the input from the buttons to select frequencies. The green squars are connection to the PLL at the VCO.

Custom Made Display Text
The display has 2 lines with 16 Chars. The first line of the display show "FM Radio station", next line will show the frequency. If you want, you can write your own text on the first line.

To modify the test, you press Inc 50 kHz button or Dec 50kHz button during power up. You can change the chars up/down with the two buttons. When you find the char you like you press Inc 1Mhz button to go to next char. When all 16 Char is entered, the unit restart with the new text.
All frequency register will also be reset back to factory settings 90.00 MHz. Pretty simple.

PIC16F870 Programs (INHX8M format)
The zip file contains hex file made for this project.
I have made two programs, each one are made for different crystal frequency of the PIC.

When you drive the PIC with a VCTCXO of 16.8 MHz. (PIC HEX)
when you drive the PIC with a crystal of 2-5MHz. (PIC HEX)
When you drive the PIC with a crystal of 13MHz.(PIC HEX)

Parts List
100 = R6
3.3k = R1, R2, R3, R4, R5
20k = P1
22pF = C1, C2
100nF = C5, C6
2.2uF = C3
220uF = C4, C7
X1 = 13.000 MHz
PZ = Piezo
V1 = 78L05
IC1 = PIC16F870
LCD 16x2 Char Blue type (VCO circuit)

Source

Simple FM transmitter with a Single Transistor

noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:44:00 +0000

Mini FM transmitters take place as one of the standard circuit types in an amateur electronics fan's beginning steps. When done right, they provide very clear wireless sound transmission through an ordinary FM radio over a remarkable distance. I've seen lots of designs through the years, some of them were so simple, some of them were powerful, some of them were hard to build etc.

Here is the last step of this evolution, the most stable, smallest, problemless, and energy saving champion of this race. Circuit given below will serve as a durable and versatile FM transmitter till you break or crush it's PCB. Frequency is determined by a parallel L-C resonance circuit and shifts very slow as battery drains out.

Technical datas:

Supply voltage : 1.1 - 3 Volts
Power consumption : 1.8 mA at 1.5 Volts
Range : 30 meters max. at 1.5 Volts

Main advantage of this circuit is that power supply is a 1.5Volts cell (any size) which makes it possible to fix PCB and the battery into very tight places. Transmitter even runs with standard NiCd rechargeable cells, for example a 750mAh AA size battery runs it about 500 hours (while it drags 1.4mA at 1.24V) which equals to 20 days. This way circuit especially valuable in amateur spy operations :)

Transistor is not a critical part of the circuit, but selecting a high frequency / low noise one contributes the sound quality and range of the transmitter. PN2222A, 2N2222A, BFxxx series, BC109B, C, and even well known BC238 runs perfect. Key to a well functioning, low consumption circuit is to use a high hFE / low Ceb (internal junction capacity) transistor.

Not all of the condenser microphones are the same in electrical characteristics, so after operating the circuit, use a 10K variable resistance instead of the 5.6K, which supplies current to the internal amplifier of microphone, and adjust it to an optimum point where sound is best in amplitude and quality. Then note the value of the variable resistor and replace it with a fixed one.

The critical part is the inductance L which should be handmade. Get an enameled copper wire of 0.5mm (AWG24) and round two loose loops having a diameter of 4-5mm. Wire size may vary as well. Rest of the work is much dependent on your level of knowledge and experience on inductances: Have an FM radio near the circuit and set frequency where is no reception. Apply power to the circuit and put a iron rod into the inductance loops to chance it's value. When you find the right point, adjust inductance's looseness and, if required, number of turns. Once it's OK, you may use trimmer capacitor to make further frequency adjustments. You may get help of a experienced person on this point. Do not forget to fix inductance by pouring some glue onto it against external forces. If the reception on the radio lost in a few meters range, than it's probably caused by a wrong coil adjustment and you are in fact listening to a harmonic of the transmitter instead of the center frequency. Place radio far away from the circuit and re-adjust. An oscilloscope would make it easier, if you know how to use it in this case. Unfortunately I don't have any :(

Every part should fit on the following PCB easily. Pay attention to the transistor's leads which should be connected right. Also try to connect trimmer capacitor's moving part to the + side, which may help unwanted frequency shift while adjusting. PCB drawing should be printed at 300DPI, here is a TIFF file already set.

The one below is a past PCB work of mine, which was prepared to fit into a pocket flashlight. Since it was so crowded, use the new computerized PCB artwork instead, yet very small. Take a look at PCB design page to get information on my work style.

Source: http://tacashi.tripod.com

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noreply@blogger.com (Go2Media) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:13:00 +0000

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