The Clapp Oscillator

Objective:
Oscillators come in many forms. In this lab activity we will explore the Clapp configuration which uses a
taped capacitor divider to provide the feedback path and a series LC resonator.

Background:
A Clapp oscillator is in effect a series tuned version of the Colpitts oscillator. The Clapp oscillator is much like
a Colpitts oscillator with the capacitive voltage divider producing the feedback signal. The addition of a
capacitor C3 in series with the inductor L1 results in the difference in the two designs and distinguishes the
Clapp Oscillator from the Colpitts and Hartley configurations. As with all oscillators, the Barkhausen criteria
must be adhered to requiring a total gain of one and a phase shift of zero degrees from input to output. The
frequency of oscillation can be calculated in the same way as any resonant circuit, using:

Ignoring the transistor capacitive effect between the base and collector, the resonant frequency may be
calculated using the total equivalent capacitance (CTOT) given by:

Figure 1 shows a typical Clapp oscillator. The frequency determining series resonant tuned circuit is formed by
L1 and CTOT and is used as the collector load impedance of the common base amplifier Q1. A large inductance,
L2, provides a DC path for the collector current while presenting a high impedance at the resonate frequency.
This gives the amplifier a high gain only at the resonant frequency. This configuration of the Hartley oscillator
uses a common base amplifier, the base of Q1is biased to an appropriate DC level by resistor divider R1 and
R2 but is connected directly to an AC ground by C4. In the common base mode the output voltage waveform at
the collector, and the input signal at the emitter are in phase. This ensures that the fraction of the output signal
from the node between C1 and C2, fed back from the tuned collector load to the emitter provides the required
positive feedback.
 Figure 1, Basic Clapp Oscillator

The combination of C1and C2 also forms a low frequency time constant with the emitter resistor R3 to provide
an average DC voltage level proportional to the amplitude of the feedback signal at the emitter of Q1. This
provides automatic control of the gain of the amplifier to give the closed loop gain of 1 required by the
oscillator. The emitter resistor R3 is not decoupled because the emitter node is used as the common base
amplifier input. The base is connected to AC ground by C4, which will provide a very low reactance at the
oscillator frequency.
 A
CLAPP OSCILLATORS TRAINER MODEL NO. :
Product of
AL-E851
ISO 9001:2008 Co.

POWER SUPPLY
230V,50Hz
+15VDC

L1
30mH
R1
8.2K
ON

Q1 C5
DC REGULATED 2N 2222 100uF
POWER SUPPLY

C1 L2
0.1 F 100uH
+15V

R2 C3
4.7K 0.01 F
R3
1K C2
0.1 F

GND

Figure 2 Clapp Oscillator

Procedure:
 Switch on the trainer
 Connect the output to the CRO one channel
 Observe the waveform
 Measure the frequency of oscillation
 Calculate the theoretical frequency of oscillation to observed frequency.
 Figure 4 Clapp Oscillator plot

RESULT

. Compare this measured frequency to what you calculated by:.