A LINEAR AMPLIFIER UNIT FOR THE HF BAND Lorin Knight, MIEE, G2DXK* TRANSCEIVER Printed-circuit boards All of these are made from single-sided copper-clad glassfibre board Recommendations for making boards were given inthe original transceiver article (Red Com August 1984). Fig 20shaws the etching pattern forthe transmitter drive module PCBI, and Fig 21 shows how the components are mounted. After winding 10 itis advisable to check that the isalation onthe wire has not been damaged, ie thatthe resistance between each-winding and the other, and of each to the ferrite bead sot less that 10MM. Aer having confirmed that thsi $0, itis advisable to run a few drops of polystyrene cement into the bead to prevent the wires moving about. C108 is soldered to the tags on the trimmer capecitor C107, andthe leads then taken through and soldered to the underside of the pcb. Fig 20. Etching pattern for trensmiter dive module PCBI gegen The coils Lt to L8 are wound as indicated in Table 1, and the windings are held in place with polystyrene cement. A O-218in drill is ured forthe ‘mounting hols, but these need to have small indentation fled into thera before the coils can be filed. Araldite is used to cement the cols to the board, ig 22 gives the etching pattera forthe ht peb PCH2, and Fig 23 gives the assembly details. The ransstor TR201 is Mounted with te wires coming up Uhroush the board from the coppeted sie, the transistor being positioned 0 that it matches up withthe fixing hoe inthe chassis. The two capacitors ‘C20 and C204 ate mounted one above the other Figs 24 and 25 pve details ofthe [2V supply module PCBS. The voltage egulator 1C30) has ts wires coming upwards through the fixing holes and it willbe bolted to the chasis, Figs 26 and 27 give details ofthe meter-shunt module PCBS. The position of the two mounting holes may have tobe changed ost he presence beg Figs 28 and 29 pve details of the fuse panel PCBS. This board is mounted on two brackets ss shown in Fig 30 Figs 31 and 32 give details ofthe receiver preamplifier board PCBS. T6A and T602 are wound as indicated in Fig 4, and, after an ohmmeter check to conliem that there has been no inslation damage, should receive & few drops of polystyrene cement Fig 38 gives deals of the litle board PCBT, which holds the heater dropper resistor. Fig 21. Dring and assembly of PCBY singin etna dae ry xy 71210 dua hole with tiled indentations 256 ieror “STAT Hast Road, bachwonh, Ties Se 30 RADIO COMMUNICATION April 1986Fig 22. Etching pattem fore ‘ode PCB? ct t (bolted to cha cae 2 eo A ; RADIO COMMUNICATION April 1986 Pex bn 1-0 « on Fig 26. Etching pattern {ofmeier shunt module Peas e201 b Jo b is) Fig 25. Diling and assembly of PCBS Wiring and commissioning the power supplies Ivis recommended that the witing and commissioning strtsnth the supplies, Thus PCB2, PCBS, PCBS and PCBT should be fited and power supply wiring doe, inhoing that to LED2. At this hothing should be connected tothe outputs, excep that the 12-6 supply an be wired up tothe vahe holder. The heater decoupling capacitors C3 land C6 should be soldered directly from the valvcholde pins 1 adjacent cath tags ‘Note that TR201 on PCB2 news to he clamped wo the chasis using ast ‘of insating washers, No such washers ae required for boling 1C301 (on PCBS) tothe chasis in my prototype the 12¥ supply to the transceiver uit i taken via insulated sreened lead, which leaves the tinear amplifier unit through the jrommet at the back and then plugged iato the power socket on the transceiver unt. It would be possible, ithe constructor so desired, to take the 12V supply via the (wo sxoway DIN connectors. Because the electrolyic capacitors C13 and Cl will probably have ben Iyingon the shel fora ong time, is advisable not tring them upto fll ‘oltage too suddenly at first. Thus for the inl test ofthe ht suppl, itis recommended that a 1W resistor of around 1k be soldered across the costacts ofthe Mt on/off switch $2. With the bt switched fo vow and of Switch the mains, The ht athe postive tag of C13 will hen ese oatound DV. Let it sand therefor iis oF so and then switch the h oie. The in wil then ise to around 600V. After letting it stand there for Imin or 50, switch the ht ton (le shorting out the TK resistor), which wil bring the htup to around 780V. (Later, when the valves ae ite, this volage wi {allo around 670-730V, depending onthe current being taken.) ‘Check that th IV at the output of the 2000 supp, the output of the bias supply, and + 12V atthe output of PCBS, Dont Forget to remove the Iki rexsir afer the above tests! Warning |Whenever working with lid and base removed and the mains conneeted, it js important to remember that there arc high voltages present and 10 Some ofthe danger can be removed by PCHD with apiece exercise the necessary vigilance covering PCBS, SI, $2, 8 and the input connections to of card, 7by Gin, held in place with masking Furthermore it should always be remembered that the hi capacitors C13 and C14 will not discharge immediately on switch be on the safe side, itis advisable not to touch the he noces—for 2min of 30 TS Wiring and commissioning the linear amplifier The linet amplifier can now be wired up, slarting wit he valvcholers All th earth connections to the waves should Be taken dst to solder tags “er the fkng nul ofthe valeolders The screen decoupling captions Cand C5 should be connected direct fom the valvebolds to adjacent 287CAI should now be fitted and connected up, Ideally the connections to the x prtaun socket should be made with SOM coaxial cable, but a simple twisted pair has been found toe quite adequate “The connection from C¥ to PCBI needs a special mention. Underneath the valveholders, and centrally between them, there should be a ‘srommeted hole: Wedge or cement into this grommet ain lenath of rigid {nsulated wire which has had the insulation stripped aay for O19 at each end (se Fig 8). A suitable wire can be extracted from a serap piece of 2-Smm’ house-wiring cable. One end of the wie is connected 10 ‘earthed tag of the compression trimmer C107 on PCB. C8 is strung between the other end of the wire andthe ear stator connection on the ruse capacitor C9. Also connected to this stator connection isthe "start" end fof Li. If the wire from LI is bared, the capacitors C7 and C10 can be Soldered directly to this wice rather than have to go all the way to C9. ‘The other end of C7, together with chokes RECS and RFC4, are soldered to the lug at the end of RFC2. RFC3 and RFC# are fixed directly tothe anode clips. “The front stator of the une capacitor C9 is connected toan earth tag jst above the capacitor (hole “a” in Fig 12) C1 istaken direct rom the switch to the Loan capacitor C12, where itis soldered direct tothe coener ofthe frame. RFC! isconnected tothe two standofT insulators on the back panel. The decoupling capacitors Cl and C2 are earthed tothe solder tags at the base ofthe stands. he output from the pi network is taken via $00 coanal cable. The inner ‘conductor is connected to the lower rear stator terminal on C12, andthe ‘outer to an earth tag bolted to the chassis (hole ‘f” in Fig 13). The cable Is run along inside the ange on the aluminium screen and taken through the grommet atthe rear. Asa temporary measure it should be taken direct, tothe avrenva socket, but later, when the antenna changeover module has been fied, i will have to 2010 that. Dring toy ted sp meter terminate Co) GED Oro 82 Fig 27. Dring and assembly of PCB4 144 49h 4 dd Lttb, Fig 28. Eich pattor for fuse panel, PCBS aiahey- ale CE . Fig 29, Drlling and assembly of POBS 258 ‘Testing of the linear amplifier ean now begin, The essential items which will be required for testing are: (@) A500 dummy load capable of withstanding atleast 25W. (©) An swr meter or some other device which wil give a rough indication of the power going into the dummy load. (©) A meter capable of reading around 0-10V ef ‘The initial testing should be done with the ht switched off, Fist check that there is 6:3V ac (#0-2V or so) across each valve heater. ‘Connect the output of the transceiver to the 1x PABAMP socket on the sar amplifier unit. Se the pave switch to the approprite Band, Switch the transceiver toy, clamp the Key down and tura the rx ourrur control togivean output of about 2V. Clip the rf voltmeter lad tothe insulation ofthe wire going (othe valve grids (0 as to minimize the loading of the ‘meter on the tuned circuit) and tune the appropriate coil on PCBI for imum meter reading. Repeat for the other bands. ‘Neutralizing the internal anode-io-arid capacitance of the valves should bbe done next. This can be done on any frequency band, but foran optimum balance itis probably preferable to choose a middle-requency band such 87 or MH, “Ther voltmeter is connected to the junction ofthe two anode chokes R3 and R4, and, with an rf input applied tothe linear, but sil with no ht applied tothe valves, the runt and too eapacitors are tuned for maximum reading. The compresion trimmer C107 fs then tuned for minimum meter reading ‘The hi ean now be switched on and, with no rf input and the ht switch ato, a check made thatthe valves take a total anode current of around ‘SomA (i7qA on the sale ifit has not been e-drawn).Shouldit be more lke “0mA (234A) it will beadvisable to increase thebiasvolage by adding a low voltage zener in series with the TV one. The seen current should be low and this LEDI should only be very dimly iuminated Tuning up the linear amplifier A continuous tone wll be required for tuning up the linear am easiest way of obtaining this ito switch to ew and hold down the key but, available, atw-tone oscillator could be fe int the microphone socket ‘With the'rx ounPur control on the transceiver intially turned up just, litle way, adjust the rows and top controls for maximum rf ino dummy load, It should be noted that when the roa capacitor is se 10 & higher capacitance than that which gives maximum output, the valves are not fully loaded and the screen current (as indicated’ by LED2) is considerably higher. Infact the desirable setting is with the capacitor set slightly to the other side of the maximum output postion Dimensions PCBS. Material: 18209 aluminium or re A clearance Fig 31. Etching potter fr receiver presmpliie module PCBS RADIO COMMUNICATION April 1988Fig 5, Linear ampli ‘component eee pl Ei e SE ar a tes Mme; Hes ne i gore, 10,103 ae = See = Bd Fes eaesie, Tost obs Bows 0:975in ig Bow 90 375i jean 0: 375m 3 231 sBowg 0:975in ig Bt teem 0: 375in a tinned copper ‘711609 0:375in 18 Suh VN choke FS Stock No 238-255 Bine R § Stock No 433-824 Pine RS Stock No 433-690 43mm (082i) F 8 Stock No S49-105, a A LINEAR AMPLIFIER UNIT FOR THE HF BAND TRANSCEIVER (Continued trom page 267) adjust the inductance of L2 in order to ensure full coverage from 1°8 {0 2MH2. Thus the constructor is advised intaly to puta few extra turns on 112 and remove turns as found necessary “The range of the Loan capacitor C2 is also restricted. However, the precise loading setting isnot so important on 1-8MH3, where he lineat will ‘not be working at its maximum power capability, andthe consequences of this restriction will not be important, provided thatthe transmitter 1s ‘working into an essentially resistive 50 load. Fig 3 shows the changes required i the receiver preamplifier switching. ‘When $6 is switched to 1-BMHz, L601 has a series capacitance of 390pF (C617). When the switch is at 3-SME2, LOOI has a soles capacitance of 1O8pF (C616 and C617 in series). L601 is tuned for maximum gain inthe centre of the 3-5MHz band and C603 is tuned for maximum gain in the ‘eentte of the TMHz band. On the 1-BMHz band the circuit should then be ‘AU the input of the linear amplifier no tuned clrcult is necessary for 1-3MHz. The onive switch merely neods 1o have an extra blank position, ‘which leaves RIO1 unshunted. ‘On 1 8MHizthe linear amplifier must be kept below its maximum output capability In order to meet the licensing regulations. To ais in th [nt switch should be kept inthe Low position. RADIO COMMUNICATION April 1986 Operation of the linear amplifier ‘With te ht switch inthe or poston, the buive and ourrut switches should beset tothe required band: I the antenna does nt look ike approximately 50M at the shack end of the downlead, an antenna tuning unit will be tessential. Even ifthe antenna does look ike 500, an atv is til useful 0 provide a lite extra attensation to out-of-band signals. an atu is used, iis recommended that the linea fist be tuned up with ‘adummy load. Then, afte connecting the linear upto the alu the later can be adjusted for minimum swr, and any final adjustments dane using the use and Lono contol Throughout the tune-up procedure eare should be taken, as outlined alien, 1 avoid excess soreen current. The valves wil tolerate a great deal ‘of mishanaling but it is not advisable to tempt providence too far! ‘When operating, the peak level of the signal wil be stabilized bythe ale cireuitry inthe transceiver unit. Thus, once the fx ovrevr contrat has been Sel to the required poston, the p..p ofthe output wil be maintained at ‘constant level. ‘When operating sb, the average anode current willbe considerably less than with a continuous single one of the same pep. Enhancements to the transceiver ‘This concludes the desertion ofthe linear amplifier unit. Next month a ‘complementry article will desribe some enhancements which can be made to the transceiver unit itsel.