The central unit in the vif. station combines the modulator, power supply and control circuits. {nthe right front portion of the chassis are the 12AX7 speech amplifier (shielded) ond 6L6G modulator tubes. At the left is the power-supply filter choke. Near the middle of the chas ‘re the rectifier tbe and the modulotion transformer. The power transformer and regulator tube are at the back. Rec plug into socke ng and transmiting assemblies the sides of the chon, A Complete Two-Band Station for the V.HF. Beginner Part III — The Modulator, Power Supply and Standing-Wave Bridge BY EDWARD P. TILTON,* WIHDQ done hore, the author inevitably runs into the problem of covering the various items in logical manner. ‘There is no adeqtate solution to this in connection with our vhf. station, IF you build the tuner first, you have no power to rut it, and if you make the power supply anid control system first, you have nothing to use it on. ‘The tmnsinitters eannot be operated without the power supply; and if you have built. the equip- ment in the ander we bave described it, you still cannot -operate— the whut. convertors ar fo appear! But have patience: the gear is completed and working nicely. ‘Phe trouble is that it would inke an entire isiue of QST, if we were to deseribo it all at once, Construction of the units described herewith will put you on the air, with phone oF ev. on 50 the station will be eamplete equipment I describing equipment serially, us is being 32 for transmitting. The main item of interest this time is a modulator, speech amplifier, power supply and control nnit. It is the contral item of the station, designe! so that the transmitter rf sesemblies plug into its left sido and the reeeiving into the right side, In the audio portion x dual triode speech amplitier strives: 2 GL6G modulator. The microphone may be either crystal or high-inpesdanee dynamic. ‘The power supply for the entire station is included, ss are the virenits for send-reecive switehing, A’ coaxial antenna change-over relay is mounted on the wall, "The standing-wave bridge and test meter isa separate unit Uhut will also be deseribed in this issue Building the Control Unit Tho chasis is T by [2 by 3 inchos in size. Layout of parts is not critical, so no template for drilling this chassis has been made, If the general physical arrangement shown in the photographs OST foris used there should be no problems eneutinterel in building the nit. Looking at the oblique view, we see the speech amplifier tube in the fore ground. To the left is the filter cholo. In buek of the IZAN7 is the GLG modulator, and in line thereafter are the modulation transformer and the voltago-regulator tube. At the rear of the picture are the rectifier tnbe and the power transformer. (On the front wall ab the loft are the ne. switch, Si, and a red pilot light ‘The upper of the two tonule switehes is the dual sond-reccive control, Ss, This switehes the high voltage from transmitter to receiver, wud also applies a. the couxial relay, which is mounted on the of the nnit (see hottom view), Phe second switeb, just below the send-reccive control, is used to upply voltage to the receiver while the trans- miter is on, if desired. This enables the operator to monitor his transimissions, and also ean be used for duplex operation (above BL Me.) if sepanite transmitting and receiving autennees are used. More on this later. At the right are Une microphoue conncetor and the gain control for ‘the speech amplifier. ote 45 ACR, ar Je TR, oe m4 From the bottom view it is obvious that there is plenty of room for the parts. All lends that aro not part of the components themselves are made with shiclded wire (Bolden $885). This may not be entirely necessury, but it is a good preeantion against rf. focdback’ and hum troubles. Liberal use of terminal strips makes for # neat and trouble-free unit. Note that, there are octal power sockets on euch side of the chassis, These the heater and plate voltages for the transn Jy loft, and receiving gear, J, right, ax the unit ‘viewed from the front. In the bottom view the eoasial relay is seen on the rear wall of the chassis. Note that the ac. terminals ure hure in this picture, Before the unit is put into service these leads should be covered securely with plastic tape or insnlnted sleeving. “Phe coaxial eonncetors come in close proximity to them when the cables are connected, and shock is likely if the relay terminals are not: pro twetod, In the upper left of the picture ix the power transformer. Below it are the regulator tube socket and one of the electrolytic filter capacitors. This capucitor was added during the Fig. 5—Schematic diagram and pars information for the modulator ond power supply. Capacitor values in uf. unless otherwise indicated. Resistors Ya watt unless specified. Ci-Cr inch —8 if. 450-volt electrolytic. Ci, Cx end Cs con ibe separate or combined in one housing, Co—10 jh, 25-volt electrolytic. [e—Filot lamp end socket, Ji—Microphone comector (Amphenol 75-PC1M). 4s, 4a—Octal socket (Amphenel 77-MIP-8). 4 Jy Je Coaxial fittings on relay Ki. Ki—Cooxial antenna change-over relay, 115 volts ec. L-A.S-hy. 200-ma. filter choke (Stancor C-1411). September 1961 P.—115.volt plug, Rj—0.5-megohm control, audio taper. St, Si—Togale switch, aps. Se—Toggle switch, dip.du Ti—20-watt modulation transformer, pri. 10,000 ohms, sec. 3, 5, and 8000 ohms {Triad M3X). Power transformer, 270-0-270 volts, 200 may 5 vw, 3 amp.; 6.3 v,, 4 amp. or more (Stancor P-8172). t 33Bottom view of the modulator and power-supply assembly. Note the coaxial antenna changeover relay mounted on the rear wall of the chassis, testing of the equipment, ouly the dual Sf. eapacitor at the upper right having been ineluded originally. A triple Saf. 450-volé capacitor or three separate Saf. 450-volt, capacitors ean he used equally ax well. Phe modulator and speeeh- sunplifier components aro ut the lower right of the hottom view. The main control switch and pilot socket are in the upper right. In the schematic diagram, Fig. 5, the main control switeh is shown in the off position. When it is closed, the power circuits are activated, upplying filament and plate voltage to the recti- fier, und heater voltage to the modulator and to whatever equipment is plugged into it. The send-receive switch, Ss, is shown in the receive position, whieh is the way it should be left when the station is turned off. With the power on, 150 volts, regulated, is applied to the amplifier and deteetor tubes in the tuner and to all tubes in the converters, through Pin 6 of socket Jy. The audio stage in the tuner receives its high-voltage dle, through Pin 2 of Js. When 8: tion, a.c. goes to the coil of the couxial Ky and high-voltaze de, to the transmitter through Pin 2 of socket Js, and to the speech amplifier and modulator tubes, Note that the plate current of the transmitter ‘output stage Hows through the secondary of the modulation transformer, 7}. ‘he tluctuating audio voltage from the modulator, also in this secondary winding, adds to and subtracts from the dc. voltage that reaches the amplifier plate through Pin 6 of Js, This, in simple terms, is the modulation process: making the transmitter am- plifier plate voltage vary in relation to the audio 34 voltage developed in the speceh The switch Ss is shown in the open position, which allows the receiver to go off when the transmitter comes on. Closing Ss keeps the re- er operating during transmitting periods, for monitoring or duplex work. In using the outfit this way you will probably have to use earphones on the receiver to prevent audio feedback. Keep the audio gain control on the tuner turned down, low, or your ears will take a beating. The S.W.R. Bridge Just about every article deseribing v.buf, ‘transmitter or antenna adjustment mentions the advisability of using a standing-wave bridge, yet inany bridges io not. work satisfactorily even on 50 Me, let alone 144. The bridge shown here is v.hf. version of the popular Monimateb. It will work on lower frequencies, but it is primarily intended for v.h.f. use. The pickup at. lower fre- quencies may not he sufficient for low-power operation, ‘Phe bridge ean be left. permanently in the line from the anteno to the coaxial rela and it will show relative power output (forward power) as well as reffected power, depending on the sviteh position, at levels up to 100 watts or 80, The absorbed power is « negligible portion of the transmitter output. ‘The meter is a 13¢inch square plastie-face f-ma, job (Lafayette ‘TM-100). Conneeted shown in Fig. 6, it not only serves ax an indicator for the bridge, but it also may be used for measur plate and tid current in the trensmitters, "This application was covered in detail in Part IT of this sories. Resistor shunts are built into the QST fortransmitters, so that when the meter with its 1000-ohm resistor in series is plugged into the proper tip jacks the meter reals 10 ma. full seale for grid current measurements snd 100 ma. for plate current, The meter reading when the bridge is in the a line indicates relative power only. ‘The ¥y control, Hy, permits use of the bridge at power levels from I to 100 watts. Tt should always be turned down before the meter is used ut an unknown power level. ‘The control is then ndvaneed to give a reading that is convenient for the adjustment purpose ut hwnd. Tn tuning up for maxiniuin power output, you may want to set the eter at about half seale, to allow room for im- provement. If tuning is completed and you are rhecking autenna matching, the forward read- ing should be as neat full seale a8 possible, for maximum sensitivity in the relfected-power position. The bridge is built in a2 X 4 X 6-inch alumi num chassis, The input and output coaxial fit- tings are mounted in the exact centers of the long sides of the chussis, ‘The two button bypass pacitors are 1% inches apart, also on the center line of the chassis. Phicement of the other ‘components is not critical ‘To make the line for the bridge, eut a pioce of RG-58/U coax 74 inches long, und remove the black covering. Push the braid from the ends toward the center, so that it heeomes loose over the inner insulation, At the exact mid-point of the braid, part the strands sufficiently to pass a No. 24 enameled wire. ‘This should be about 10 inches long, preferably Formvar insulated. Clean the insulation from it for about '% inch at th center, and twist this portion into x sinall loop. "This will be the connection point for the 47-ohm. The stonding-wave bridge is o vh. version of the Monimateh, common! used on lower bands. Test leads permit the bridge meter to be used for meas- turing grid end plate currents inthe transmitters. September 1961 resistor. Now feed the ends into the space in the braid, snd bring them out through the opposite veuds, pulling them throngh the braid at about 13 inch from each end. Solder the ends of the inner conductor of the coux to two coaxial fittings. lide the braid back to its original position and solder the braid ends to grounding lugs at each fitting Solder the 1N34 diodes to the outside switeh ferminals, leaving conneetions no more than about '% inch long. If you have the newer type diode, whieh is glassenclosed and color-coded, the end with the black ring should go toward the svitch. The other ends of the diodes connect to the ends of the wire that is threaded inside the braid, Make these connections short and dircety and be sure that the exposed leads are the sume Tongth on cach side. ‘The coax is draped in U shape, so that it just touches the inner end sur- face of the chassis. At this point the 47-ohm resistot is connected from the enamelod-wire tsp fo a ground hug fastened at the center of the end wall of the chassis. Placement. of the other components is not critical. The sensitivity control, My, is mounted in the top end of the chassis, and the meter hole is centered below it, 116 inches down from the top edge of the main chassis surface. ‘Che two tip inch in from the edges of the chassis G inches down from the top. Phe awiteh is inch p fei Sh bathe. Uses ‘The primary purpose uf the bridge is to de- termine when the antenna system is ptoperly matched to its feodline, but it also serves other ends. When in the for ward-power position, theFig, 6—Schematie diagram of the standing-wave bridge, Fixed resistors ote Ya wll. Ci, C0014, butlonstyle capacitor (Centrelab 7Ai02). hi, CRe— NBA diode. Ji, Ss —Coexial receptacle, $0-239, Jn, Je—hnsulated tip lack. Pr, Pe—lsulted fip plug. i —5000-ohm contra. Si—S,p.det rotary swich (Centrale 1460). Wi—PYeinch length of RG-58/U, with No. 24 enameled wire Inserted os per text. Use Fornvar insulated ‘wre If possible. micter gives a sensitive indication of the «mount, of power going throngh the transtnission line, so it is useful in tuning up the transmitter. In fact, once the transmitter is operating according to Lhe information given in Part TT, tuning ean be done merely by watching the bridge meter while ad- ing the final xmplifier plate and loading eipavitors for maximum indication, the bridge should be connected by antenna relay and the line to th shown in Fig. 1, Part 1. V.b.f antennas are tstually designed to he fed with A0-ohm coaxial tine, oF 1300-ohm baluueed line. Various means for making the antenna present 2 50-olim load are beyond tho scope of this series, but whatever the match ing system is, it can be udjustad by setting t bridge sviteh in the reflected-power position ant suljusting for minimum indication. Switeh to the forwant-power position intermittently aud cheek the trassmitter adjustments to see thst th have niot been thrown off by the change in load impedance occurring during antenna wor Vi the antenna is fed with a balanced tine, some form of bulanced-to-unbalaneed. coupling system will be needed. Hore, nguin, a detailed discussion of such devices is not attempted here, hut the reader is referred to the AIRE Handbook and .Lilenna Book for more information, If the line is a 200-ohm type (rarely used), or the antenna presents it 200-ohm balanced! load, 2 coaxial balun can be inserted at the point where it ix desired to chamge from 0-ohun coxx to 200-ohm balanced load or line. Information on the construction of « coaxial hatun ean he found in either of the ubove references. If the load is other than 200 ohms, the best means of matching. het ween 50-ohm coax and any’ value of hulmecit load is an antenna coupler. This is « simple tuned eiween the antenna, 2s Interior view of the bridge, Symmetry cand minimum length of rf. leads are important in making this type of bridge work at 50 and 144 Me, QST forcirenit with a tuned link coupled to it. Again, the Handbook: will sive all necessary information. Au advantage of the tuned antenna coupler is that it. provides considerable rejection ot unwanted frequencies that might, ease interference (0 tele vision and ather services. Tt should he emphasized that 2 ma coupler or antenna matching deviee should al- ways be adjusted for minimum retlected power ins the couxial line, ‘Phis should be zero or very close to it. ‘The bridge is then awitehed to the forwart-power position and the transmitter and. fing adjustments are checkel to he sure that the rig is delivering maximum power to the line. Adjustments to the transmitter have no effect on the standing-wave ratio on the transmission line. If the transmission line is tong, (over 50 foot oF s0) the bridge will give the most sensitive indication of matching adjustment if it is connected at or nar the antenna, Where it is connected in the Tine will have no bearing on its effectiveness as a forward-power indicator. ‘The test leads must be plugged into the bridge tip jacks in order to read cither forward or te- flected power. ‘These leads ean be any convenient: length, as they carry only a very stall dieet current. The bridge may be left conneeted in the sintenna line while the meter is used for trans- mnitter measurements, us removing the leads from, the bridge tip jacks disconnects the meter from the bridge eirenitry. Checking Modulation Some kind of lamp load is helpful in observing. the effects of modulation on the transmitters. Connect. a crystal or high-impedance dynamic microphone to the modulator, and with the wadio vein turned down, adjust the transmitter for maximum ontput’ indication as deseribed on and 34 of August QST. Tf the lamp load fs made of several hue-bead pilot lamps con= nected! in parallel, the bridge ean also be used ss in ausiliary indication of power output. If the load isa {15-volt lamp the misineich may be too high to uso the bridge effectively. Advanee the audio gain slowly while spe: into the mierophono. As the gain is increasod it will be seen that the brilliance of the kamp indi- cation increases with specch. ‘There should be uppreciable brightening, but the plate and grid is should not vary. Adjustment of the sid drive and the lowting affeet the ability of the transmitter to modulate properly. If the rid enrrent is too high or too low, modulation may ease the enrrents to fluctuate, indicating that the voice quality will suffer and the transmitter y ese interference outside its normal pass: hand. Most effective modulation will be obtained aut the highest gain setting that can be used with- ont causing the pluto or grid eurrent to Muctuat. It. ia possible that the modulation may be low, even if the transmitter is working properly, due to limited output from the modulator. ‘Phe modulator will deliver 7 to 8 watts of audio with- out severe distortion. ‘Phis means that the Lr mitter should not run much over 15 watts inpul if fall modulation is to be achieved. If you yet reports of "low modulation” from fellows you work, reduce the transmitter input slightly Ly detuning the loading expacitor «md readjusting the plate tuning for the point that gives the great- est output with the least plate current. A current of 60 to 70 ma, will be about all that the modu lator will baudle well, though on ear. it will be possible to increase the loading to the point where the final stasg runs 20 watts input or more. ‘This is worth having, though the difference betwee it and the 15 watts that can be fully modulated will be just barely noticeable at the receiving OUR COVER Reports, logs, aud photos are flooding the mails to 38 LaSalle Road as a result. of the uetivity on the annual Hield Day of 1961. Our cover this month shows some of the typical scenes, and in alter issue we'll have more photos and info. ‘On the cover, ut the left top, we see the power supply twed by VEZAXO/2. Just helow that, cav, uperators WSEZE and KSJIX keep at it while WSTBZ rests for uuinoment. At the lower left WYWIZ pours himself a cup of coffee, while to his right ubove W7JSY demonstrates a novel micthod of log-kecping, Bottom center is the setup at W3CDI/3. At the top right KGARK and WAGBVO get an antenna lined up. Singing in the rain, center right, ane K2TQS, WAUZE, K2SIN, and K2ADJ. And finally, bottom right, we see WAGCNS on top of Mt. St. Helena, September 1961 end. Se Strays “ys KSRAB (Dan Monaghan, 112 8. Ninth St, P.O, Box 609, Garland, ‘Toxns? wants to he from hams who are optomettists, ‘Two errors in the April, 1961 QST article de- scribing a homebuilt parabolie reflector for 1206 ‘Me, have bee pointed out by alert readers. From KSIVJ: The angle of the supporting, member of the drive is given as the colatitude, little retleetion will show that the north star ix elevated from the horizon by the latitude, and depressed from the zenith by the colutitude. 1t then follows that the angle of this supporting member and the vertical post is cual to the latitude. ‘The nugle of the drive and the post is the colatitud From WA2FGY: “Having just finished work- ing with parebolus in school, T fecl that 1 must correct the formula given for a paraholie curve in April QST, page 11. ‘Che way L learned it, the formula should be ¥2 = Spe, not YP e zpp us stated in the article.” 37