RF

Idea Ismo recently shared the https://github.com/CoolNamesAllTaken/adsbee project which is pretty cool. Challenges The ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) system uses a data rate of 1 Mbit/s (1 megabit per second) for its aircraft position and identification transmissions on the 1090 MHz frequency. This is too much for HOPERF CMT2300A and related transceiver chips unfortunately! This got us thinking about the following VFM ADS-B RX chain. Architecture Here is a simple ADS-B RX circuit description. ...

Ismo (OH2FTG) has praised the STM32's ADC quality multiple times, and I finally decided to give it a go. I usually stick with Waveshare RP2350-Zero boards, but the RP2350 ADC performance is limited to under 10 ENOB. With the STM32H562RGT6, we're able to achieve ~13 ENOB using 16× hardware ADC oversampling, with potential headroom to push this even further. By sampling the Si4732's SSB output using the STM32H562RGT6 ADC and exposing the audio samples to the host via a "virtual" USB UAC-2 device, we get the following RX results: ...

The HFDY Active Loop is working extremely well and that too from an indoor location in MK68! Pretty awesome ;) Design I am running the loop at 5V (via a regulated linear power supply) currently where it consumes slightly less than 65mA of current. The recommended voltage is 10V, which I will shift to soon. Results I am using Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR for this experiment. ...

Related articles: Proper Single Transistor LNA for HF A Sustainable Radio Design? Design We are finally going to build a QSD RX! Here is the rough schematic I am thinking about: References MC1496 Information HSDAOH on RP2350 (see internal_adc section) This way we can continue using RP2350 instead of moving to something like STM32H5 immediately PicoRX Simulations (also for DSP code)

Note: This HF LNA design is inspired by PY2OHH designs and mcHF work. Previous article: Single Transistor LNA for HF - it cut a corner when it came to output impedance matching ;) Design The idea that a single-transistor-preamp with 10 dB gain is more than enough for HF comes from Gajendra Kumar (VU2BGS). As a new "designer" I am often overwhelmed by the different possible design paths - so having guidance from an elmer becomes crucial. ...

Future radio receiver design ideas (from Ismo, Pete and other folks): Antenna ➔ (BPF) ➔ BFR93A based pre-amp from mcHF project ➔ MC1496 (Mixer) ➔ 455 kHz IF ➔ Ceramic filter SMD (HCI) ➔ 'IF amplifier' (20-40 dB gain?) ➔ Overclocked Pico 2's ADC (3+ MSPS) ➔ Digital down-conversion and processing in digital domain ➔ Expose the processed audio samples over USB (Pico 2 acts as a sound card). Benefits: This enables reception of SSB and CW signals! The 455 kHz IF with digital processing gives us the best of both analog selectivity (ceramic filter) and digital flexibility. ...

For HF and amateur VHF bands our WiFi VFO works great. But we didn't have a cost-effective UHF signal source until now… Design Thanks to Ismo (OH2FTG), we recently experimented with a HopeRF CMT2119A powered board called HOPERF RF module RFM119W-433S1. Here is the CMT2119A powered board in action producing a CW (OOK) signal at ~433 MHz. The stability is pretty good and a bit surprising considering that the board uses a 20ppm 26 MHz regular quartz crystal - not bad! ...

Shipping hardware internationally is a hard, labor intensive, and overall a frustrating process - especially more so these days. Here is our plan to supply the DDX to customers: Make the hardware files free / low-cost. The users will be able to order fully assembled boards from JLCPCB or other vendors on their own. Required a small licensing fee for the software firmware part. This is how we get to keep the hobby self-sustaining! ...

Circuit: DDX-Commercial-7 Antenna: Small jumper cable attached Initial Results 10m: 36 dB on WSJT-X audio meter, on quiet and also with nearby beacon on !!! 12m: 36 dB on audio meter, on quiet and also with nearby beacon on !!! 15m: 46 dB on audio meter on quiet, 65 dB with nearby beacon on - OK 20m: 44 dB on quiet, 65 dB with beacon on - OK 40m: 40 dB on quiet, 60 dB with beacon on - OK ...

Note: This HF LNA design is inspired by Charlie Morris ZL2CTM's prior work. Design The idea that a single-transistor-preamp with 10 dB gain is more than enough for HF comes from Gajendra Kumar (VU2BGS). As a new "designer" I am often overwhelmed by the different possible design paths - so having guidance from an elmer becomes crucial. It seems even MMBT2222A should work for building a HF LNA! ...