H@MEBuiLDER Amateur and Short Wave Radio Electronics Experimenter's Web Site 'SWL Page || Web Site Log ]| Site info & Links || Junk Box Blog || Guitar Amp || Design Center |[ Email vy v vy vy Double Tuned Receiver Band-pass Filter Design Center This web page is for builders who own EMRED. Assisted by 4 of the Ladpac programs from the EMRFD compact disk, and the information presented in EMRFD Chapter 3, | share some experiments building popcom receiver band-pass fiters. Prior to diving into this material, please read the help fle Ladpac2008 Manual-paf and a fle on the EMRFD compact disk called The Double Tuned Circuit: An Experimenters tutorial by Wes, W7ZOL Preface Derived from experiments, my web content reflects the efforts ofa lay-person, habby-level designer — | make mistakes. | say this not to make excuses or avoid accountabiliy, but to share the truth, My hope is that my experiments inform yours and we al improve overtime. lcorrect reported mistakes and rely on your eyes to see them, ‘Arduous and requiring good math skis, fiter design is out of reach for many builders. Software changes this and learning to apply computer programs in real-world situations is part of our hobby. This web page shares some bench experiences, plus my thoughts about using some programs written by Wes, W7ZOl. | present suggestions and examples based more on ‘empiricism and from reading about band-pass fiter design than scientific methodology. From email regarding my VFO and RF Workbench pages, have become aware that ve lead many builders to think that a perfect sine wave and a high return loss are "must have" bench outcomes. This is false. A clean sine wave proves useful {or accurate measurement, but is not a de rigueur bench outcome. A desire for high return loss reflects my own personal‘obsession; in simple QRP rigs, this may represent faly. Please don't overestimate the importance of return loss from my bias; decide for yourset. Part 1: Experiments with 2 coupled L-C tanks. Goal: A 15 Meter band band-pass fier wth an insertion loss < 4 dB and a return loss of >= 20 dB, Software: Ladbuild08 and GPLADB. The simplest band-pass fiter is an L-C tank. To gat a decent stop band we generally couple 2 or 3 tanks together with series capactor(s). Other fier topologies were ignored. in Part 1, | just connected up a couple of tanks on the bench without the use of software. Some attempts at impedance matching via transformer links were also trialed. 15M Band-pass Filte: coupling cap sou wg oo Le be soa ‘7t T68-6 15-500 pF ‘7t T68-6 lapped al2 tapped at2 insertion oss les than 3 4B with stoop skits, but these filters only had a eturn Joss of 10 - 12 dB! Above — I built @ 5 component fiter for the base experiment. Inductors = 7 turns of #22 AWG on a T88-6; tapped at 2 tums from ground. The inductors turns were expanded or compressed unt = 300 nH. Tuning capacitors = large 15 to 300 pF air variable capacitors, Coupling capacitors trialed = 2 pF, 3.3 pF, 5 pF, and 7.5 pF. ‘After soldering in a coupling capacitor, each tank (also called resonator) was tuned to resonance by looking at the peak- peak output voltage in a 50 ohm terminated oscilloscope, After tuning, I measured insertion and retum loss and then swept teach fer with a tracking generator + spectrum analyzer. On the bench Idetermined that the greatest return loss occurred with 2 transformer taps from ground; the result — a dismal 10-12 dB. What effect does changing the coupling capacitor have?2 pF coupling capacitor Above — A spectrum analyzer + tracking generator sweep of the fiter response wth a 2 pF coupling capacitor between the inductors. Graticules = 2 MHz per horizontal division and 10 dB per vertical division. Click on this zoom to better see the - 3 8 bandwidth. The sweep revealed a sharp peak response wi steep skirts and a 3 dB down BW of ~220 KHz or so. Some of the noise arose from the big air variable caps connected to each tank with short hook up wires, plus no shielding. 3.3 pF coupling capacitor ‘Above — The SA+TG sweep with a 3.3 pF coupling capacitor. The peak isn't as sharp, but stil looks good. As shown, Increasing the coupling capacitor value increases the 3 48 fiter bandvidth with all other components equal5 pF coupling capacitor Above — With a 5 pF coupling capacitor, a double humped response appeared. The bandwidth further increases. ‘Above — A zoom of the double humped fiter response employing a 7.5 pF coupling capacitor. Imagine the difficulty tuning this band-pass fit in a receiver by listening fo band noise. Tuning in either peak skews the filer bandwidth. Additionally, the 308 bandwidth now = ~ 1.6 MHz— Not a good fiter! Optimizing Return Loss Despite trying, | could not obtain a better return loss than 10-12 48 by changing the tap point on the 7 turn inductors. In part this was due to limited potential autotransformer ratios on a 7 turn coil | emailed Wes, W7ZO! and he sent ths flo. | learned that adding a series capacitor to each end wil tune the fiter to 50 ohms impedance. What capacitor value shouls The answer can be found purely experimentally, or wth Ladbuild08 to make a digital file of your fiter and GPLAOB to analyze itcae sereoncer| van tes. | weve ion | —FBSBINaH HEH 3D) ‘Above —I"buill up" my Figure 1 fiter in Ladbuild08 with a 3.3 pF coupling capacitor. hay | guessed at the values for the ‘series end capacitors and knew my tuning capacitor were ~ 165 pF because Iremoved and measured them from the peaked filer from Figure 1 and added a few pF for stray capacitance, Any of these values can be changed in GPLA, so. ‘educated guessing is okay. For size 50 to 68 toroidal inductors, many builders choose a Qu value from 200 - 250 with #6 material. Qu affects insertion loss and to some extent, return loss. Click for a tutorial from Wes', W7ZOl site and consult EMRFD for more information. In order for GPLAOS to display an S11 plot (return loss), a return loss bridge (RLB) must be added as shown, Also check the Plot $11 check boxin GPLAOS.>: [sree __ fut _as= [Sos ste a | (ee crar] CatBoL Daa. ag 211= [5099 cinaven wl ‘Above — The GPLA 08 fiter simulation ofthe fiter "built" with Ladbuild08 above, Click to Review Circuit o [Esp Todds OAFHEGRPHENOT meAbove — in this fiter simutation, Itweaked the end capacitors (parts #1 and #7) from 22 to 23 pF and watched the return loss (S11) improved by 7.34 dB — if wanted, you can optimize the end capacitor values to improve the match into 60 ohms. To re-establish the center frequency, slight retuning of parallel capacitors #3 and 6 is required when changing the series fend capacitors; athough | specifically didn't change them for this example. Increasing the 2 end capacitors to increase $11 renders an option only, you don't have to go for the best St in your filers. Increasing the series end capacitors to bump up return loss tends to increase the 3 dB bandwidth and reduce insertion loss. Ji pF 22 pF ma soa 300 nH wey PF oocv cy a pF CV=5-50 pF ere Ear ery) See) Above — I bull and measured the fiter with 22 pF end capacitors since these are common, standard values. In another experiment, a 1 pF cap was soldered in parallel with each series capacitor and the return loss increased by about 4 dB, Clek for a bench photo of an alternate version of the above fit. Clearly, GPLADB simulation furnishes us popcorn builders witha starting point to make top-notch band-pass fites, Clic for another simulation of after employing a 2 pF coupling capacitor, wth the end capacitors tweaked for the best S11. S-11 is just the negative ofthe return joss. Lwould certainly use this iter inthe front end of a popcorn direct ‘An easier vay to design your band-pass fiters involves using DTC0B to design a raw fier and GPLAOS to substitute in standard value capacitors and tweak your fiter. That's part 2. The material presented in this section supports the siscussion in Part 2 and 3, Part 2: Band-pass Filter Design using DTCO8 Prior to using these Ladpac programs, some numbered design points and a preamble follow. More than anything else, our parts collection dictates what fiter parameters we choose and and up with. For example, if you want fiters wih a low bandwidth such as 150 KHz and under, you'l require inductors and capacitors that provide really high , oF you might suffer from punishing insertion oss. The following are general starting points only — your needs, parts and abiities drive your iter design. Example‘vanances incwae: a ow noise ampimier TovOWs @ Ther, a MIgner iNsertON 1OSS Mgnt De OKAY; & nigh return 108518 NOK alvays required for a low noise figure; especially in popcorn receivers. Alo, it's a viable choice to trade off insertion lass {or steep skirts in some fiers. 41. Areasonable 3 dB bandwidth = 100 to 500 KHz but this depends on the purpose of the fiter. Numerous considerations challenge us. Wil his be a vole band (CW + SSB) fier, or a CW only iter? As a CW op who ses simple equipment, | tend to design moderate bandwidth (200-300 KHz) CW-only ters. f you need CW + SSB, then a bandwidth of 350 KHz or greater might suit you. I's really up to you. ther factors affecting bandwath choice include whether the fiter drives a superheterodyne or a direct conversion receiver. In superheterodyne receivers, your intermediate frequency informs your fiter bandwidth choice. Consider the following 2 diagrams: Click to Review Circuit ‘Above — Using DTC08 and GPLAOS, I designed an example fiter forthe front end of a 14 MHz superheterodyne receiver with an 11 MHZIF. BW = 242 KH CF = 14,060 MHz; a frequency some QRP operators favor.