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Design and Construction of FM Transmitter Report
Design and Construction of FM Transmitter Report
TRANSMITTER
BY
MARCH 2016
ABSTRACT
The transmission of audio signals is commonly achieved through the use of frequency
modulation techniques. This report is a demonstration of the use of a varactor
diode and a
differential oscillator to produce a frequency modulated signal with good fidelity
at the
receiver.
The varactor diode modulator approach was adopted in the design of the Voltage
Controlled
Oscillator (VCO), while a BJT differential oscillator design, which produces a
negative
resistance was used to generate the carrier signal to be modulated. The circuit was
able to
produce very good quality sound within a 30 meters radius.
i
DECLARATION
This report is presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of
the degree,
Masters of Engineering (M. Eng) Electronics and Communication Engineering.
This report is an original work carried out by me under the supervision of Dr.
Nyitamen. It
has not been presented to any other university or higher institution, or for any
other academic
award in this university. Where use has been made of the work of other people it
has been
fully acknowledged and referenced.
___________________________________
______________________
DATE
ii
1
CERTIFICATION
………………………………………….
…………………………
Date
(Project Supervisor)
…………………………………………..
…………………………
Dr. D. S. Nyitamen
Date
(Head of Department)
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful for the guidance of my project supervisor Dr. D.S Nyitamen, whom
really
rendered useful advice that helped with the successful completion of this work.
I sincerely appreciate the support of Mr. Robinson Edeh, whose experience with
electronic
components really helped in the construction of this FM transmitter. I am also very
grateful
for the support of my wife, Ruqayyah Akinwande without whom the successful
completion
of this work may have been impossible.
And my utmost gratitude goes to Almighty Allah, for making the completion of this
project a
success.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT...........................................................................
..................................................... i
DECLARATION .......................................................................
................................................ii
CERTIFICATION .....................................................................
.............................................. iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................
.................................... iv
LIST OF
TABLES ............................................................................
.......................................vii
LIST OF
FIGURES ...........................................................................
......................................vii
CHAPTER
1 .................................................................................
............................................. 1
1.1
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................
................................ 1
1.2
WHY FREQUENCY
MODULATION ...................................................................... 1
1.3
FM TRANSMISSION
SYSTEM ............................................................................
.... 2
a)
Microphone: .......................................................................
......................................... 2
b)
Audio
Amplifier: ........................................................................
................................. 3
c)
RF
Oscillator: .......................................................................
....................................... 3
d)
Modulator: ........................................................................
........................................... 3
1.4
1.5
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
PROJECT ........................................................................ 4
1.6
METHODOLOGY .......................................................................
............................... 4
1.7
SCOPE OF THE
PROJECT............................................................................
............ 5
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE
REVIEW ............................................................................
. 6
2.1
ORIGIN OF FM
TRANSMISSION ......................................................................
..... 6
2.2
2.3
DIRECT FM
TRANSMITTER........................................................................
........... 6
2.3.1
ADVANTAGES OF DIRECT
FM ...................................................................... 7
2.3.2
DISADVANTAGES OF DIRECT
FM ............................................................... 7
2.4
2.4.1
ADVANTAGE OF INDIRECT
FM .................................................................... 9
2.4.2
DISADVANTAGE OF INDIRECT
FM ............................................................. 9
2.5
INDIRECT FM
TRANSMITTER .......................................................................
....... 7
2.5.1
2.5.2
2.5.3
SOUND
SENSOR ............................................................................
......................... 13
3.2.1
3.3
AUDIO
AMPLIFIER .........................................................................
....................... 15
3.3.1
3.4
AUDIO AMPLIFIER
DESIGN ......................................................................... 15
3.4.1
3.5
YAGI ANTENNA
DESIGN ............................................................................
......... 21
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................
.............................. 24
4.2
TEST
EQUIPMENT .........................................................................
........................ 24
4.3
4.4
CONSTRUCTION AND
ASSEMBLY .................................................................... 25
4.5
COMPONENT
LIST...............................................................................
.................. 25
4.6
TEST
RESULT ............................................................................
............................. 27
4.6.1
WAVEFORM
MEASUREMENT .....................................................................
27
4.6.2
4.6.3
CONCLUSION ........................................................................
................................. 30
5.2
LIMITATION ........................................................................
................................... 30
5.3
RECOMMENDATION ....................................................................
........................ 30
REFERENCES ........................................................................
................................................ 32
6
APPENDIX ..........................................................................
............................................ 33
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1
RESISTORS .........................................................................
........................................... 25
Table 4.2
CAPACITORS ........................................................................
........................................ 26
Table 4.3
INDUCTORS..........................................................................
......................................... 26
Table 4.4
TRANSISTORS .......................................................................
....................................... 26
Table 4.5
DIODES ............................................................................
............................................... 27
Table 4.6 VOLTAGE AND CURRENT
MEASUREMENT........................................................... 29
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 BASIC BLOCK OF A FM
TRANSMITTER .......................................................... 2
Figure 2.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF DIRECT FM
TRANSMITTER ....................................... 7
Figure 2.2 PORTABLE MULTICHANNEL FM TRANSMITTER BY F. Mc SWIGGAN .. 10
Figure 2.3 SINGLE TRANSISTOR FM TRANSMITTER BY D. MOHANKUMAR .......... 11
Figure 2.4 2 WATT FM TRANSMITTER BY
SINNER ........................................................ 12
Figure 3.1 BUILDING BLOCK OF THE FM
TRANSMITTER............................................ 13
Figure 3.2 ELECTRET MICROPHONE
BIAS....................................................................... 14
Figure 3.3 AUDIO-AMPLIFIER
CIRCUIT ...........................................................................
. 15
Figure 3.4 VARACTOR TANK
CIRCUIT ...........................................................................
.. 17
Figure 3.5 COMPLETE FM TRANSMITTER CIRCUIT WITH DESIGN VALUES .......... 21
Figure 3.6 YAGI ANTENNA STRUCTURE
[24] .................................................................. 23
Figure 4.1 PRE-AMPLIFIED VS AMPLIFIED AUDIO
WAVEFORM ............................... 28
vii
CHAPTER 1
1.1
INTRODUCTION
In the last 30 years wireless communication has deeply changed the human
lifestyle[1]; it has
enhanced the exchange of information across the globe quickly and efficiently.
Transmission
of audio message wirelessly provides the exchange of information in real time.
Wireless audio
transmission involves the transfer of audio (acoustic) energy over a distance
through the
atmospheric medium, while maintaining or allowing minimal distortion to the
characteristics
of the audio signal, such that the integrity of the information being conveyed is
maintained.
An audio signal is a naturally occurring analogue signal with frequencies in the
audiofrequency range of roughly 20 to 20,000 Hz. Audio signals (Sound Waves) are
mechanical
waves generated from vibrations within a medium. It travels at a relatively slow
speed of about
350m/s and it is also affected by attenuation caused by the medium they travel in,
hence
limiting the distance to which they can travel and remain intelligible.
Long range audio message transmission can be achieved with the use of frequency
modulation
technique, which involves the process of imposing the audio signal (low frequency
signal) onto
a higher frequency signal (carrier signal) by varying the frequency of the carrier
wave in
accordance with the audio signal, in order to produce a modulated signal with the
characteristics of an electromagnetic wave, which is more suitable for long range
transmission.
This method was pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong for FM broadcasting[2].
1.2
Audio signals are inherently low frequency signals; and when they are converted
into an
electrical signal with the aid of a transducer (e.g. Microphone); they produce low
frequency
electrical signals with low amplitudes. At low frequencies radiation is poor and
the signals get
highly attenuated, also transmission of low frequency signal requires large antenna
sizes[3].
However, at higher frequencies (> 20 kHz), radiation of electrical signal is
efficient and
practical antenna sizes are smaller[4]; hence if the audio signal can be translated
to a signal of
higher frequency, then transmission of the audio signal becomes practicable.
1
Modulation provides the technique by which the audio message can be embedded within
a high
frequency signal (i.e. carrier wave); thereby allowing us to take advantage of the
benefits of
transmitting at high frequency. The process of modulating an audio signal onto a
carrier signal
involves causing a variation in one of the 3 variables (i.e. amplitude, phase,
frequency) of the
carrier signal in accordance with the modulating signal while keeping the other two
variables
constant.
Modulation of audio signals, is commonly achieved using Amplitude Modulation (AM)
and
Frequency Modulation (FM). Frequency modulation is achieved by varying the
frequency of
the carrier wave with respect to amplitude changes in the audio signal (i.e.
modulating signal);
while AM is the variation of the amplitude of the carrier wave with respect to the
audio signal.
AM provides wider coverage than FM, but frequency modulation is more resilient to
noise and
signal strength variation compared to AM, and this makes FM more suitable for
mobile
applications.
1.3
FM TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
Microphone
Audio
Amplifier
Modulator
Antenna
RF Oscillator
Practical antenna length: The Length of the antenna is directly related to the
wavelength of the wave; and the higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength.
Hence the smaller the antenna required[5]
II.
Higher Energy Transmission: The energy carried by a wave depends upon its
frequency. The higher the frequency of the wave, the greater the energy possessed
by
it. As the audio signal frequencies are small, they cannot be transmitted over
large
distances if radiated directly into space .[4]
1.4
The purpose of this project is to design and build a FM transmitter for the
transmission of an
audio message wirelessly to a receiver up to 1000 meters apart; for the purpose of
communication or information conveyance.
3
The objectives of this project are:
I.
II.
III.
Transmission of the carrier wave (electromagnetic wave) from the transmitter to the
receiver wirelessly and reproduction of the audio message at the receiver.
1.5
METHODOLOGY
This project report consists of five chapters. The chapter one contains
Introduction of the
project, chapter two: Literature Review and theoretical background of the project,
chapter
three: system design and calculation, chapter four: construction, testing and
packaging, and
finally, chapter five: conclusion and recommendation.
5
2
2.1
ORIGIN OF FM TRANSMISSION
FM signals can be produced by either directly varying the frequency of the carrier
oscillator,
or by converting phase modulation to frequency modulation (indirect method).
Depending on
the method employed, FM transmitters are classified into 2 types: Direct and
Indirect frequency
modulation transmitter.
2.3
DIRECT FM TRANSMITTER
Modulating
Signal
Carrier
Oscillator
Modulator
FM Signal
2.4
INDIRECT FM TRANSMITTER
7
the carrier frequency.[11] This is commonly achieved by first amplitude modulating
the
modulating signal in order to produce a constant frequency signal with varying
amplitude. The
AM signal is then phase shifted by 900 and then added to the carrier signal, which
is usually
generated by a crystal oscillator. Since both the produced AM signal and the
carrier signal have
the same frequency the generated output is a FM signal. The concept is best
illustrated
mathematically as shown:
If the modulating signal em and carrier signal ec is expressed as
em = Em cos wmt
ec = Ec sin wc t
## (#)
##
------------------------------ 2;
The 2nd term in the equation represents the frequency shift with respect to centre
frequency
i.e. fc + ∆f [11]
This shows that frequency of the phase modulated signal varies around the carrier
frequency
fc with the deviation of ∆f = m fm sin(2πfmt). It can be seen that if modulating
frequency fm
8
remains constant then frequency deviation is directly proportional to m. Thus as
long as the
modulation frequency does not change, phase modulation produces FM output. [11]
This is
the basis of indirect modulation.
2.5
A quick review of some of the past works done in this field will be evaluated. The
results
obtained and the method used will be described.
9
Figure 2.2 PORTABLE MULTICHANNEL FM TRANSMITTER BY F. Mc SWIGGAN
10
Figure 2.3 SINGLE TRANSISTOR FM TRANSMITTER BY D. MOHANKUMAR
11
Figure 2.4 2 WATT FM TRANSMITTER BY SINNER
The goal of this project is to build a low cost FM transmitter with good quality
sound output at
the receiver and enough power to transmit over a radius of 1KM. A varactor diode
modulator
and a cross-coupled LC oscillator design similar to the design employed by SINNER
will be
adopted, as a basis for our design. The cross-coupled LC oscillator presents a
relatively lower
phase noise compared to the other designs reviewed. [15]
The following modifications will be made to the 2 watt FM transmitter in order to
address the
high collector current in the 2N3533 NPN transistor, which leads to excessive heat
dissipation
but still transmit enough power for a 1KM range.
I.
The base current will be reduced so that the current drawn by each transistor will
be
limited such that a 9V battery will be enough to power the circuit without
excessive
heat dissipation.
II.
A yagi antenna will be used for increased directivity gain and better transmission
range.
12
3
3.1
The FM Audio transmission system consists of different basic building blocks, which
have to
be designed to fit our goals. Figure 3.1 shows the building blocks adopted for the
design of
this FM transmitter.
SOUND
SENSOR
AUDIO
AMPLIFIER
VARACTOR
MODULATOR
CARRIER
OSCILLATOR
ANTENNA
Frequency Modulator
3.2
SOUND SENSOR
A Sound sensor is a device that converts sound into an electrical signal. The most
common
sound sensor is a microphone, it produces an electrical analogue output signal
either in the
form of a voltage or current which is proportional to the actual sound wave. The
most common
types
of
microphones
available
as
sound
transducers
are
Dynamic,
Electret
13
3.2.1 BIAS DESIGN FOR THE ELECTRET CONDENSER MICROPHONE
Specification from Pro-Signal ABM-713 RC Datasheet:
Standard Operating Point = [2V, 0.1mA]
Max. Current Consumption = 0.5 mA
Max. Operating Voltage = 10V
To provide appropriate bias conditions for the electret microphone, a resistor R1
will be
connected in series with the electret microphone as shown in Fig 3.1
### #
#
#
----- (I)
----- (II)
14
Standard value chosen for R1 = 68 KΩ
3.3
AUDIO AMPLIFIER
The output waveform from the electret microphone is typically between 3 – 30mV,
depending
on how close it is to the source of the sound. This is too low to provide the
desired level of
modulation. In order to produce a good signal to noise ratio a larger frequency
deviation of the
carrier signal is desired[3], since the amount of frequency deviation produced
during
modulation is proportional to the amplitude of the modulating signal, it is
desirable to increase
the amplitude of the produced audio signal before modulation. A voltage divider
bias transistor
amplifier will be designed for this purpose.
3.3.1 AUDIO AMPLIFIER DESIGN
----- (I)
VE = 0
----- (II)
VBE = VB – VE
----- (III)
## ##
----- (IV)
IB =
##
IC = βIB
----- (V)
Where:
VC – Collector Voltage
VB – Base Voltage
The transistor quiescent collector voltage needs to be about half of VCC so that
the output
signal can swing by equal amounts above and below this value without driving the
transistor
into saturation.[17]
Therefore
RC =
###
##
###
#
≈ IC RC
------ (VI)
#.#
= #∗#.#∗#### = 9KΩ
##
#
#.#∗####
###
= 3.33 ∗ 10 " A
## ##
#
$.$% #.%
3.4
The basic concept of FM is to vary the carrier frequency in accordance with the
modulating
signal. The carrier signal can be generated by an LC oscillator, whose frequency is
determined
by the components of a tank circuit (i.e. parallel connection of inductor and
capacitor). The
carrier frequency can be varied by varying either the inductance or the capacitance
of the tank
circuit. It is however desired that the variation should be as a result of the
modulating signal
and proportional to it. In order to achieve this we would require a circuit that
converts the
modulating voltage into a corresponding change in capacitance of the oscillator
tank circuit.
The design employed is a varactor modulator as seen in fig 3.4, which is a cross-
coupled BJT
transistor setup in parallel with a LC tank circuit. A varactor diode which
produces the
modulating effect due to changes in its capacitance as a result of the modulating
signal is also
placed across the LC tank.
3.4.1 DESIGN OF VARACTOR-DIODE TANK CIRCUIT
17
(a)
)2 ×
##
)*
$.#(+##,
µH [18]
----- (I)
----- (II)
√[#/ (#.#(+#, )]
n=10 ×
√[#(#) (#.#(##)+#(#) )]
##
= 9.74 turns
n ≈ 10 turns
fc = #1√/2
----- (III)
Desired operating Frequency fc = 80 MHz
From equation (IV) C5 is calculated as:
18
#
C5 =
$1/45*
----- (IV)
C5 =
= 12.43 × 10-12 F
c) DC – ANALYSIS
Under typical geographical conditions a 1 watt transmitter can be received up to 3
KM away
[20]. Therefore we would choose that the transmitted power would be equal to 1 watt
(i.e Pt =
1 watt).
d=
7&# × 89
[21]
----- (I)
( # ×: )*
&#
( #### × ## × ###' )*
&#
= 83.33 × 10-6 W
Considering only about 1 % of the power in the tank circuit get transmitted in
small wire
antenna. [21] Therefore the required Ptank will be:
Ptank = 100 × 83.33 × 10-6 = 8.3 mW
The impedance Z of the tank circuit ≈ Rinductor
Rinductor = 1Ω
19
Power in the tank circuit (Ptank) = I2Z
89<=>
I=;
6.& × ####
=;
= 0.091 A
Since the two cross-coupled transistors will supply the current, hence the
collector current of
each 2N3533 transistor will be:
#
Ic = = 0.046A
#
Design Parameters:
IC = 46mA; VCC = 9v; R3 = R4 = 4.7 KΩ
VR1 = VR2 = VBE = 0.7 V
----- (I)
----- (II)
IC = βIB
----- (III)
#@A
----- (IV)
R1 =
#A
I1 = I2 = I3 – IB
----- (V)
VR3 = I3 R3
----- (VI)
#@#
#5
##
6.&
= 0.31 × 10-3 A
20
Standard values chosen: R2 = R1 = 470 Ω; R4 = R3 = 4.7 KΩ
3.5
The antenna parameters element lengths and spacing are given in terms of
wavelength, so an
antenna for a given frequency can be easily designed. The lengths of various
antenna
elements are related to the frequency (f=106 MHz) is as follows:
Planned frequency of transmission f = 100MHz
The following equations will be used to derive the appropriate length of the
elements that will
make up the yagi antenna and the spacing between them. Fig 3.7 will be used as the
reference.
The equations for length of the elements are: [24]
First Director Length
###
= 4(BCD)
----- (I)
21
###
----- (II)
#&#
----- (III)
#&6
----- (IV)
#$&
----- (V)
###
----- (VI)
4(BCD)
4(BCD)
= 4(BCD)
Dipole Length
Reflector Length
= 4(BCD)
4(BCD)
The Spacing between the elements can be found from the following equations: [24]
"#
----- (VII)
$#
----- (VIII)
&#
----- (IX)
&#
----- (X)
$6
----- (XI)
A = 4(BCD)
B = 4(BCD)
C = 4(BCD)
D = 4(BCD)
E = 4(BCD)
###
###
= 1.2 meters
###
#&#
Dipole Length
Reflector Length
#&6
#$&
###
"#
&#
###
= 0.3 meters
&#
$6
###
= 0.48 meters
23
4
4.1
INTRODUCTION
This section will discuss tests carried out on the final circuit and the results
obtained. Measured
waveforms from the oscilloscope will be used to illustrate the performance at each
stage of the
circuit and the method used to evaluate the obtained result will be described.
4.2
TEST EQUIPMENT
At various stages of the circuit different test were required to confirm the
performance of the
stages. The following test tools were used:
a) Digital Multimeter: This is an electronic device used to measure continuity,
voltage
and current. The multimeter was particularly useful for measuring the base-emitter
voltage of each transistor in order to verify if it was within the voltage range
(i.e 0.6V
to 0.7V) of the transistor active region.
b) Oscilloscope: This is a type of electronic test instrument that allows
observation of
constantly varying signal voltages with respect to time. It allows the observation
of
signal amplitude and the period of the signal. The oscilloscope was used to check
if the
oscillator part of the circuit was oscillating as desired. Also the performance of
the
audio amplifier and the output of the electret microphone was evaluated with the
oscilloscope.
c) Analogue FM Radio Receiver: An analog FM receiver was required to tune to the
transmitting frequency of the transmitter. The FM receiver will intercept the
transmitted
FM signal and demodulate it to reproduce the original sound input. With the FM
radio
receiver it was possible to determine the range of the FM transmitter and also its
sound
quality.
4.3
4.4
COMPONENT LIST
a)
Electret Microphone
b)
Resistor
Table 4.1
Component
68 KΩ
Type
Carbon Film
RESISTORS
Quantity
Use
Bias for electret
microphone
4.7 KΩ
Carbon Film
25
10 KΩ
Carbon Film
Provide Modulating
voltage
c)
Capacitors
Table 4.2
Component Value
47 nF
CAPACITORS
Type
Quantity
Ceramic
Use
For stabilising D-C input
voltage
22 pF
Ceramic
Feedback Capacitor to
enhance voltage swing of
Oscillator
22 µF
Ceramic
2 – 10 pF
Variable
capacitor
d)
circuit
Inductor
Table 4.3
Component
Type
INDUCTORS
Quantity
Use
Value
0.1 µH
Inductor
e)
Transistor
Table 4.4
Component Value
Type
TRANSISTORS
Quantity
26
Use
2N3553
BJT
Carrier Oscillator
Transistor
f)
Diode
Table 4.5
Component Value
BB204
DIODES
Type
Quantity
Variable Capacitance
Use
Carrier Oscillator
To provide protection
Diode
Diode
PN Diode
against reverse DC
polarity
f)
Yagi Antenna
g)
Vero Board
h)
9.0V Battery
4.6
TEST RESULT
The following tests were carried out to evaluate the performance of the circuit.
I.
II.
III.
Waveform Measurement
Voltage and current measurement
Transmission Range
Fig 4.1 shows the combined waveform of the audio signal before amplification and
after
amplification. The upper waveform is the waveform measured at the collector of the
first
stage transistor, which is the output of the audio amplifier circuit. The bottom
waveform is
the waveform measured at the output of the electret microphone. The time per
division
setting was 1 milli-second; while the volts per division was 50 milli-volts.
27
Volts
Time
/ Div
/ Div
50
1 ms
mV
28
Table 4.6 VOLTAGE AND CURRENT MEASUREMENT
Operational
Voltage (V)
Current (mA)
Parameter
( V)
(I)
Battery
165
Transistor
VBE
IB
1.1
IC
97
Transistor VBE
2
0.67
0.68
IB
1.1
IC
97
R1
0.69
R2
0.69
R3
8.31
R4
8.31
29
5
5.1
CONCLUSION
LIMITATION
5.3
RECOMMENDATION
30
dissipated by the transistors and a cooling fan will be required to prevent the
transistors from
getting damaged.
31
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
32
6
APPENDIX
33