17/9/2015

Pilar'sProjects

Pilar'sPage
AstableRadioMicrophoneWithLoopAntenna
SuperregenerativeAirBandRadio

AStableRadioMicrophoneWithLoopAntenna
PilarOrtega
Thisarticlebeganasadesignguideforhypercranialerogenicfieldgenerators,however,
yourprimitiveearthbrainsarecompletelyunabletorespondtoerogenicfieldsinthe
100MHzregion.Ipersonallyhadabrainupgrade(forpurelymedicalpurposesofcourse)
soIamabletorespondtothesefields.Butforyoupoorprimitiveearthlingswemust
resignthesedevicestotheonlyuseyouareabletofindforthemshortrange
transmittersforyourFMbroadcastband.OhandtherumourthatIboughtahousenext
toanFMbroadcastingstationiscompletelyfalse.Well,mostly.

IMPORTANTNOTICE:
We,asengineers,donotbuildminiaturetransmittersfortheactualpurposeofusing
them.Theyareengineeringchallengesintendedtoillustrateprinciples.Wedonot
advocatetheiruseforacoupleofreasons.
Firstly,theiruseprobablycontravenesradioregulatoryandlicensinglegislationof
yourcountry.Inotherwordsusingone,forwhateverpurpose,isprobablyillegal.
Secondly,ifusedasacovertlisteningdevice,theyprobablycontravenethe
privacylawsofyourcountry.
Lastly,itissimplyWRONGtousethemforclandestinepurposes.
Readersbuildandoperatethiscircuitentirelyattheirownriskanditisthereaders
responsibilitytodeterminethelegality(orotherwise)oftheuseofthiscircuitintheir
owncountryorstate.Ifthereaderchoosestoignorethiswarning,wehopetheywillat
leasttakeseriouslythenuisancetheycancausewhenoperatingillegaltransmitting
circuits,andheedthesuggestionforwaystoimprovestabilityandreducetheriskof
interferingwithlegitimateservices.

THEPROBLEMPOORSTABILITY
Anyonewhohasconstructedanyofthenumeroustransmittercircuitsonthewebwill
havefoundmostofthemtobeunstable.Thereasontheylackcrystalcontrol.Wide
deviationFM(asemployedontheFMbroadcastband)isnotamenabletocrystal
controlthefrequencydeviationistoogreatandacrystaloscillatorsimplycannotbe
madetodeviatethatfar.Theansweraphaselockedloopiscomplexandtoobigan
undertakingformosthobbyists.
Thestabilityofthesecircuitsismadeworsebytheusualchoiceofantennaapieceof
danglingwire.Butevenarigidwhipantennadoesntimprovemattersverymuch.The
simplepresenceofanantennacausestheimmediateRFenvironmenttobecomepart
http://www.geopodium.com/files/Pilar/index.htm

1/6

17/9/2015

Pilar'sProjects

oftheoscillatorcircuitwiththeconsequencethatanychangeinthatenvironment
resultsinachangeinloadandashiftintransmitfrequency.
Wepresentheretheloopantennasomethingofanoutsideruntilquiterecentlywhenit
foundapplicationinthelargenumberofMP3transmittersonthemarket.Theloopis
fairlyuniqueamongsttheantennatypesinthatitdoesntdependonagroundballast.
ThecirculatingcurrentsintheloopradiateRFenergy,mostofwhichdestructively
interferesforaloopofapracticalsize,butradiateitdoesnonetheless.
Theloop'sindependenceofagroundorcounterpoisebringsaveryconsiderablestability
dividenditisalmostindependentoftheRFenvironment.Asaresult,surrounding
objects(includingyou)arenolongerpartoftheradiatingprocess.Thisyieldsa
transmitterthatdoesn'tshifttransmitfrequencyifyoucomenearitorpickitup!You
caneventouchthe'cold'sideoftheloopwithoutsignificantfrequencyshift!
Tobeeffective,aloopantennaneedstoberesonant.Butiftheloopissubstitutedin
placeofthetransmitter'susualtankinductor,thenresonanceisassuredregardlessof
theactualtransmitfrequency.Theresultisaverycompacttransmitterthatisstable
ANDhasusefulrange.Somethingofadreamcometruereally!

http://www.geopodium.com/files/Pilar/index.htm

2/6

17/9/2015

Pilar'sProjects

Radiomicrophoneusingloopantenna
Thecoretransmittercomponents(thoseinsidethedottedbox)aremountedonasub
board.Thisisfornootherpurposethantomovethecriticaltransmittercomponents
outtoamiddepthpositioninthecase.Notetoohowthehotendoftheloop(that
connectedtothesecondtransistorcollector)ismorecentralthanthecoldend(that
connectedtothesupply).Thesetwostratagemsservetoputdistancebetweenthese
keycomponentsandtheusershand.
Plasticpillarsandtiewrapsservetosecurethelooptothemainboard,thereby
preventingmovementoftheloopintheeventthattheradiomicrophoneisdropped.

SuperregenerativeAirBandRadio
PilarOrtega

CivilaviationstillusesAMcommunicationsbetween108MHzand136MHz.Itis
fairlyeasytobuildareceiverthatoperatesonthesefrequencies,however,it
willalsobefoundeasytobuildareceiverthatwonttunehighenough!The
tricktogettingthetuningrangehighenoughistouseahighfrequency
transistorandVERYshortleads.IusedaBF199transistorbuta2N2369will
probablyworkwelltoo.
Byfarthemostreliableconstructionmethodisuglyconstructionona1inch
by2inchpieceofcoppercladboard(Ibuiltthiscircuitonperforatedboard
manyyearsagoanditonlyjusttunedhighenoughtoreceivemylocalairport
signals).Byusingthecopperfoilasagroundplanewecanmountcomponents
inmidair.Thisismorerobustthanitmightseembecausemanycomponents
connecttodecouplingcapacitorsthatprovideananchortotheboard.Keeping
leadsshortreducesstrayinductanceandcapacitance,andhelpsensure
stabilityandgoodtuningrange.Thecircuitisbasedonanoldoneadvertised
http://www.geopodium.com/files/Pilar/index.htm

3/6

17/9/2015

Pilar'sProjects

inahobbymagazinemanyyearsago,modifiedslightly.

ThetuningcoilLissimplyfourturnsof0.8mmdiameterwirewithadiameter
of5mm.Thereisnoformer.Thecoiliscompressedorexpandedtoadjustthe
tuningrange.Weneedtoarrangethatwecanjusttunetheupperendofthe
FMbroadcastbandwhenthetuningpotentiometerisatminimumsetting
(wiperatthegroundend).ThiswillbringtheAirBandintothemaintuning
rangeofthereceiver.Theantennaisashorttelescopiconeandcoupleswitha
turnlinkturn.Notethat,ifthecouplingistootight(thelinktoocloseto
themaincoil)thentheregenerativestagewillbetooloadedandwont
oscillate.
ThevaricapdiodeDwasanunmarkedcomponentinmyreceiver,however,the
BV409shouldworkadmirablyhere.Allcapacitorswiththeexceptionofthe
electrolyticareceramic.Thetransistorsarebestmountedupsidedownwith
theirleadsbentsideways.

http://www.geopodium.com/files/Pilar/index.htm

4/6

17/9/2015

Pilar'sProjects

Noswitchwasusedinmyreceiver.Instead,astereo3.5mmsocketwasused
andthethirdcontactusedtoswitchthesupply.Notethatthistrickonlyworks
whenamonoplugisinserted!Imountedtheearphonesocketsuchthatit
trapsthebatteryinonecornerofthecase.Iexpectthisapparentlycool
solutionisgoingtocomebacktobitemewhenIdroptheradio,andthe
socketgetssmashedoffbythemomentumofthebattery!
Inoperationtheregenerationcontrolisincreaseduntilarushingsoundis
heard.Thisnoiseindicatesthatthecircuitisoscillatingbutwilldiminishwhen
asignalisreceived.Atthistimethetuningandregenerationpotentiometers
canbeadjustedforbestreception.Thereceiverwillbefoundtobemost
sensitivewhentheregenerationissetsothatthecircuitisjustoscillating.
PuristswilladdanRFgainstagepriortotheregenerativesection,asthis
minimisescouplingofoscillationstotheantennaaswellasaddingsensitivity.
InpractisethecircuitissensitiveenoughbutoneshouldbeawarethatRF
radiationfromtheantennacaninterferewithnearbyequipment,inparticular,
televisions.
Ifthecircuitwereoperatedonaplaneitmightwellinterferewith
communicationssoonnoaccountshouldthiscircuitbeusednearanactual
plane.Inanycase,youwouldrightlybebarredfrombringingsuchitemsona
plane,letalonebepermittedtouseone!!!
http://www.geopodium.com/files/Pilar/index.htm

5/6

17/9/2015

Pilar'sProjects

http://www.geopodium.com/files/Pilar/index.htm

6/6