6/8/2017 AMRadioReceiverUsingtheNE602BalancedMixer"

AMRadioReceiverUsingtheNE602BalancedMixer

PicturedaboveisalittleAMsuperhetrodynereceiverthatcoversthe
broadcastbandfrom550Khzto1650Khz.Thecircuitemploysthe8pin
SigneticsbalancedmixerIC(NE602)whichconvertstheincomingRFsignal
tothestandard455KhzIFsignalandprovidesabout13dBgain.TheIF
signalisamplifiedbyasingletransistorstageandaudioisrecovered
usingabiasedshotkeydiode(5082)andJFETbuffertransistor.TheLM386
audioampisusedtodriveasmall2.5inchspeakeratabout200milliwatts.

ThecircuitcontainsfourLCtunedcircuits,allofwhichneedtobefine
tunedtoobtaingoodresults.AnoscilloscopeandRFsignalgeneratorare
useful,butthecircuitcanalsobesetupusinglocalradiostations
andanadditionalportableAMradio.

Fortestpurposes,thecircuitcanbeassembledonasolderlessbreadboard
sochangescaneasilybemade.TrytouseshortconnectionsfortheRF
sectionwiththeantennaloopacoupleinchesawayfromtheboard.

AssembletheNE602,ferriteantennaloopstick,tuningcap,oscillatorcoil
andassociatedotherpartsonthebreadboard.

Next,connectthebatterythroughaDMMandverify3or4milliampsof
currentflow.

Next,adjustthetuningcapformaximumcapacitance(550KHz)andconnect
ascopetopin6oftheNE602andverifyaapprox1voltppsinewaveform.
AdjusttheredslugoftheT1oscillatorcoilforafrequencyofabout
1MHz.Thenadjustthecapacitortominimumcapacitanceandverifythe

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frequencyincreasestoaround2Mhz.

Toadjusttheoscillatorwithoutascope,useaportableAMradioto
verifytheoscillatorisworkingandthefrequencyisright.Todothis,
placetheportableradioclosetotheantennacoilandtuneittoaAM
stationaround1000ontheband.Setthecircuittuningdialtothestation
frequencyminus455KHz.Forexample,iftheportableradioissetto1100,
thecircuittuningdialshouldpointto(1100455=645KHz).Thisdoesn't
havetobeexact,butsetthingsascloseasyoucan.Next,adjustthered
oscillatorcoilsluguntilabeatfrequencyisheardontheportableradio.
Youshouldhearasquealandthenanullastheoscillatorfrequencygets
nearthestationpointontheband.Thiswillverifytheoscillatoris
runningatabout455Khzabovethedialsetting.

Iftheoscillatordoesn'trun,theproblemmaybetheconnectionstothe
(red)oscillatorcoil.Theredoscillatorcoilwillhave5connections,
3ononesideforthetappedprimary,and2ontheotherforthesecondary.
Thecircuitrequiresonlythesingle,tappedprimaryside,butunfortunately
theprimarytapistooclosetooneendforthecircuittooperate.To
overcomethisproblem,thesecondaryisaddedinserieswiththeprimary
whicheffectivelymovesthetapclosertothecenterandprovidesmore
feedbacktosustainoscillations.Thephasingofthesecondaryconnections
isalsoimportant.Iftheoscillatorfailstowork,tryreversingthe
connectionstothesecondaryofthecoil.Whentheoscillatorissetup,
theremainderofthereceivercanbeassembledandcalibrated.

Ifyouhaveasignalgenerator,setitfor600KHz,30%audiomodulation
and1voltoutput.Connectthegeneratorthrougha1Kresistorandacouple
turnsofwirearoundtheantennaloopstick.Adjusttheyellowandblackcoil
slugsandalsothepositionoftheantennacoilontheloopstickfor
strongestresponse.Reducethegeneratoroutputasthesignalimprovesso
youcanfindapeakforallthreecoils.Youcanalsomakesmalladjustments
totheoscillatorcoiltogetthetuningdialtopointdirectlyat600.
Thiswillcalibratethelowendoftheband.Tocalibratethehighend,
setthegeneratorforsomefrequencynearthehighend,maybe1500onthe
dial.Tunethereceiversoitreceivesthesignalandthenadjustthetwo
trimmercapacitorslocatedonthebackofthetuningcapacitorforbest
response.Youmayfindatthispointthetrimmercapsarealltheway
closedoropenandapeakcannotbefound.Tofixthisproblem,notewhich
waythecapsaresetandslightlyadjustthemaintuningdialtocompensate.
Forexample,ifthecapsareallthewayclosed,movethetuningdialtoa
lowersetting(morecapacitance)andthenrepeakthetrimmers.Continuethis
untilyoucanfindapeakwherethetrimmerscapsarenotfullyclosedor
open.Atthispoint,repeattheadjustmentsatthelowandhighenduntil
bothareoptimum.

Thissameprocedurecanbedonewithoutthegeneratorusingacouplelocal
radiostationsatoppositeendsoftheband.Thefirstthingtodois
identifyastationthatcanbeheardsomewhereontheband.Trytodothis
withoutaddinganexternalantenna,butifnostationsareheard,addashort
2footwireantennatotheantennainputatthegateoftheJFET.Findthe
strongeststationandslidetheantennacoilalongtheloopstickforbest
responseandalsoadjusttheyellowandblackIFcoils.Hereisastepby
stepprocudureIfoundworksreasonablywell.Myteststationwaslocated
at790ontheband.

1.Ifnostationsareheard,connectashort2footwireantennatothe
junctionoftheantennaloopstickandgateoftheJFET.

2.Adjustthetuningcapacitorandslidetheantennacoilforbestresponse
ofsomelocalstation.

3.AdjusttheyellowandblackslugsofT2andT3forloudestresponse.

4.Reducethelengthofthewireantennaandreadjustthepositionofthe
antennacoilforbestresponse.
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antennacoilforbestresponse.

5.Movethetuningdialslightlytowardthecorrectpointwithoutlosingthe
station.(i.e.)Ifthestationislocatedat700andyourtuningdialis
pointinghigherat750,slightlymoveitdowntowardthecorrect700point
(morecapacitance).

6.ReadjustT2,T3andantennacoilforbestresponse.

7.Repeatsteps4,5and6untilthestationisheardloudandclearand
nofurtherimprovementcanbemade.

8.Removethewireantennaandreadjusttheantennacoil,T2andT3forbest
response.Notetheantennacoilshouldnotendupatthecenterofthe
loopstick.Thiswillindicatenotenoughinductanceandafewmoreturns
ofwiremaybeneededontheantennacoil.Theoptimumpositionforthe
coilisnearthecenter,slightlyoffsettowardoneend.Ifitendsupvery
nearoneendofthestick,youmaywanttoremoveafewturnswhichwill
allowthecoiltobeclosertothecenter.

9.Atthispoint,severalstationsshouldbeheardloudandclearbut
minoradjustmentsmaybeneededtooptimizetheentireband.Select
astationnearthebottomoftheband(600KHz)andadjustthe
antennacoilandoscillatorcoilforbestresponse.Notethatonly
verysmalladjustmentstotheredoscillatorcoilmaybeneeded.
Thenselectastationnearthetopoftheband(1500Khz)andadjust
the2trimmercapsonthebackofthemaintuningcapacitorforbest
response.Repeatthisprocessuntilbothendsareoptimized.Besure
the2trimmercapsdonotendupfullyopenorclosed.Iftheydo,
notethepositionandslightlyadjustthemaincapacitortocompensate.
Forexample,ifthetrimmersarefullyclosed,adjustthemaincapacitor
slightlylower(morecapacitance)andthenreadjustthetrimmers
sothepeakoccurssomewherebetweenminandmax.

AMRadioReceiverWithAdditionalIFStage

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PicturedaboveisthesamecircuitwithanadditionalIFstageaddedfor
greatersensitivity.Overallgaincanbeadjustedwiththe1Kresistors
intheemitterlegofthe2N3904transistors.Thecircuitboardwasassembled
usingmultiturn10Kpotsinplaceofthe1Kresistorsandthenadjustedfor
bestperformance.Thepotsarethe2littleblueitemsjusttotheleftof
thetuningcap.IthinkIendedupwithabout750ohms.Theemitterbypass
capsarenotneededsincethereisplentyofgainavailablewithoutthem.
Thecaps(twoyellowitemsnearthepots)arestillintheboardbutnot
connected.Ididn'tknowiftheywereneededornot,soIputtheminthere
anywayandlaterdisconnectedthem.Removingthebypasscapsalsoincreases
theinputimpedancesothatbothIFstagescanusetheblackIFcoilswhich
havehighersecondaryimpedances(andthusmorevoltage)thantheyellowor
whitecoils.Youmightbeabletoreplacetheyellowcoilwithablackone
forgreatersignaltransfersincetheinputtothefirsttransistorismuch
higherwithoutthebypasscap,butIdidn'ttryit.Youmaynoticeoneofthe
blackcoilsisactuallywhiteinthepicturebutitwasrewoundforahigher
secondaryimpedance.Actually,itwasremovedfromajunkradiopurchasedfor
adollaranddidn'thaveanysecondary,soIaddeda27turnsecondarywhich
isclosetowhattheblackcoilsuse.Overall,theperformanceisverygood
exceptfortheAGCcircuit,whichhaslimitedrangeandmaynotbeable
tocompensateforverystrongstationswhichmayoverloadthecircuit.
TheAGCvoltageisderivedfromtheIFamplitudeatthecathodeofthe
detectordiode(outputofT4).AstheIFamplitudeincreases,theDC
voltageatthegateoftheJFETwillmovenegative,belowground.
Theaudiosignalispresentonboththegateandsourceterminalsofthe
JFET,buttheaudioDCoffsetvoltagewillchangeastheIFamplitude
changes.ThisDCvoltage(about2volts)isfedbackthrougha15Kresistor
andthetwoIFcoilsecondariestocontrolthetransistorbiaspoints.
Theaudiosignalisfilteredoutbythe47uFcapleavingastableDC
voltageatthebaseofthetransistors.Asthebasevoltagedrops,the
emittervoltagesalsodropresultinginlessoperatingcurrentandlower
gainfortwoIFstages.Buttherangeislimitedtomaybeonly612dB
whichisn'tenoughtocompensateforverystrongsignals.Onesolution
totheproblemisamanualgaincontrolconsistingofaswitchand
afewturnsofwirearoundtheantennacoilwhichcanbeseeninthe
picture(3turnsofsolidinsulatedwhitewireonleftsideofloopstick).
Closingtheswitchloadstheantennacoilandreducesthesignallevel.
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Notes:

IFtransformerdataandMouserpartnumberscanbefoundat:

http://www.electronicstutorials.com/filters/ifamplifiertransformers.htm

Thereareacoupledifferentversionsoftheyellowandblacktransformers.
Thetotalturnsusedandpositionofthetapvarieswiththeversion.
I'mnotsurewhichisbetter,orwhichonesIusedsincetheywererecovered
fromoldradios.However,eitherversionshouldbedrivenusingthe
shortestsectionoftheprimary.Thismeansconnectingthetransistor
collectortoeitherthetaportheendclosesttothetapandthepower
connectiontotheotherpoint.Leavethetransformerendfarthestfromthe
tapunconnected.YoucanuseaDMMtomeasuretheresistancefromthetapto
eachendoftheprimarytodeterminewhichendisclosesttothetap.
Resistancewillprobablybeacoupleohmsorless.

Acouplesourcesforferriterodsforantennaloopstickscanbefoundatthe
linksbelowbutthelongerrodsareexpensive($25fora5.6inchrod).
Thesecondsourcehas7.5inchrodsfor$20.Youmayalsofindthemonebay.

http://www.stormwise.com/page26.htm
http://www.universalradio.com/catalog/misc/amidon.html

Asourceforaminiturevariabletuningcapacitorwasfoundat
"OceanStateElectronics"http://www.oselectronics.com/ose_p98.htm

Nearthebottomofthepageisthelisting:

Miniature2GangPolyfilmVariableTuningCapacitorForBroadcastBand

"TunesAMbandfrom540Khzto1600Khz.Idealvariabletuningcapacitor
forminiaturecircuitryanduseasexactduplicatereplacementincurrent
transistorreceivers.Rotatesthroughafull180degrees
Maximumcapacity:Antennasection.15140PF,Oscillatorsection,1060PF.
Trimmercapacity:variabletoover12PF.Trimmeradjustmentonrearofcase.
Completelyenclosedtoclearpolyethyleneplasticcasetoprotectplates.
Includescalibrateddial,screw,andknob.
Smallsize,3/4"Squarex1/2"Deep.

BC540...........$3.95"

Ifyouusethiscaporsimilarfromanoldminitureradio,theantenna
loopstickinductancewillneedtobeabout600uHtotune550KHzwiththe
capacitanceatmaximum(140pF).Thisamountstoabout80turnsona4inch,
3/8diameterferriterod.Shorterrodswillneedmoreturns.

LoopAntennaforAMRadio

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Aloopantennacangreatlyimprovemediumwavereception.Loopantennas
aredirectionalandreceivesignalsalongtheplaneofthewindings.The
directionalqualityimprovessignaltonoiseratioofthedesiredsignal
whilerejectingsignalsperpendulartotheplaneofthewindings.Larger
loopsarebetterthansmalleronesbutgoodresultscanbeobtained
frommoderatesizesofoneortwofeetonaside.Theshapedoesn't
makemuchdifferencesotheloopcanbecircular,rectangularor
atriangleshape.Themainideaistocoverasmuchareaaspossible,
soIwouldimagineacircularloopwouldbethebest.Thelooppictured
heremeasures15inchesonasideandisabout1.5incheswide.Itwas
woundwith16turnsof#35copperwire,andhasaQofabout100at
600KHz.Largerguagewiremighthavebeenbetter(lessresistance)
andthereforehigherQandselectivity,butthearrangmenthereworks
prettywellwithabandwidthofabout6Khzat600Khz.Theloopistuned
witha30365pFcapacitorandcoversthestandardbroadcastbandof
5501700KHz.Theantennasignalisinductivelycoupledtotheradio's
internalferriterodantennasonowireconnectionsareneeded.
Simplyplacetheradioneartheloopantennaandadjusttheposition(s)
forbestresults.Youmayhavetoadjustthetuningofboththeradio

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andantennaseveraltimesforoptimumresults.

Moredetailedinformationonloopantennascanbefoundat:
AMLoopAntennas

Acalculatorforfiguringthenumberofturnsneededforvarious
rectangularloopscanbefoundhere:

LoopLoopAntennaCalculatorByBruceCarter

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