{"id":179,"date":"2010-05-23T21:30:17","date_gmt":"2010-05-23T21:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ve2cuy.wordpress.com\/"},"modified":"2010-05-23T21:30:17","modified_gmt":"2010-05-23T21:30:17","slug":"project-4-sw-tube-receiver","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/vacuum-tube\/project-4-sw-tube-receiver\/","title":{"rendered":"Project 4 – SW tube receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update \u2013 22.05.2010<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I did a little work on the project:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Replaced 10.7 \u201cIF\u201d cans by 455kc ones.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Selected all 12 volt filament tubes: 12BE6 (converter), 12BA6 (IF), 12AV6 (DET, AVC, AF-PRE) and 12BA6 (AF-AMP).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fixed B+ at 20 volt (-12 + 12 from an ATX-Power supply).\u00a0 Current is around 4ma (yep!).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heaters current = 650ma.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am starting to get results from it!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

[youtube=http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yLlpdj6TKAk]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schematic – version 1<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next steps:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

– add \u00a0rf amp stage
\n–\u00a0add a third \u201cIF\u201d stage (done)
\n–\u00a0add a magic eye tube on the AVC signal (done – but wont make it to the final version)
\n–\u00a0add a regeneration stage on V2 (not shure any more …)<\/p>\n

Update \u2013 28.05.2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the initial concept, I was thinking of a 50C5 35W4 12BE6 12AU6 12AV6 alignment with 10.7 IF.<\/p>\n

Finally, I decided that it was too usual and I did not want it to be 117volts live.<\/p>\n

So, the actual state of the project is:<\/p>\n

Tubes: 12BE6 (converter), 12BA6 (IF1), 12BA6 (IF2), 12AV6 (DET) and 12BY7 (AF-AMP – It as a better sound than a 12BA6),<\/p>\n

2 x IF stages,<\/p>\n

3 x 455kc transformers used in transistor radios,<\/p>\n

Controlled auto-Oscillation of the first IF-AMP (BFO) for SSB and CW reception,<\/p>\n

Interchangeable L1, L2 and L3 for multiband,<\/p>\n

Very low (24volts – from an ATX power supply: +12 + -12) B+. I did some tests with 12volts and it works very well with headphones.<\/p>\n

I will add a frequency counter on the converter tube (LO \u2013 IF) to display the reception frequency using a 74HC161 and an Arduino board to drive Nixie tubes or a LCD display.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking at the following picture, I understand why I love those tube radio projects; they are so great in the dark\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Nixie or LCD ? …<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Schematic – version 2<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Update 20.06.2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made some progress on my 5 tubes shortwave radio.<\/p>\n

The frequency counter prototype is working.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m using a MPF102 as an RF amp, then the signal is feed in a 74HC161 (16x prescaler) and finally into an atmega328p for counting.<\/p>\n

See the frequency counter at work:<\/p>\n

[youtube=http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Wd0NOFe4joQ]<\/p>\n

=====================
\nSource code:
\n=====================<\/p>\n

\/*
\n\u00a0Project:\u00a0\u00a0 Frequency counter for the 5 tubes (3 IF) homemade shortwave receiver
\n\u00a0By:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 VE2CUY – Alain Boudreault
\n\u00a0Date:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 June 2010
\n*\/<\/p>\n

#include <FreqCounter.h>
\n#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
\n#include <stdio.h>
\n#include <string.h><\/p>\n

\/\/#define __debug<\/p>\n

\u00a0\/\/ initialize the library with the numbers of the interface pins
\nLiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 3, 2, 1, 0);\u00a0<\/p>\n

\/\/ Read fz input via Atmega328 pin 11 (arduino digital 5)
\nvoid setup() {
\n\u00a0 lcd.begin(16, 2);
\n\u00a0 lcd.print(\u00ab\u00a0L.O. frequency\u00a0\u00bb);
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0 #ifdef __debug
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Serial.begin(57600);\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \/\/ connect to the serial port
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Serial.println(\u00ab\u00a0Test fz counter\u00a0\u00bb);
\n\u00a0 #endif
\n\u00a0 lcd.clear();
\n\u00a0 delay(500);
\n}<\/p>\n

long int frq;<\/p>\n

void aff_number(long int number){
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 long int divider = 100000;
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 long int reminder;
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 int digit;
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 for (int i=0;i<6;i++){
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 reminder = number % divider;
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 digit = (number – reminder) \/ divider;
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #ifdef __debug
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Serial.print(digit);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #endif
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lcd.print(digit, DEC);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 if ( i == 1 || i == 4) {\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\/\/ format -> 00.000.0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #ifdef __debug
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Serial.print(\u00ab\u00a0.\u00a0\u00bb);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #endif
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lcd.print(\u00ab\u00a0.\u00a0\u00bb);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 }
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 number=reminder;
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 divider\/=10;
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 } \/\/ for i
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #ifdef __debug
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Serial.println(\u00a0\u00bb MHz\u00a0\u00bb);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #endif
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lcd.print(\u00a0\u00bb MHz \u00ab\u00a0);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n} \/\/ void aff_number
\nvoid loop() {
\n\u00a0 FreqCounter::f_comp=1;
\n\u00a0 FreqCounter::start(10);<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 while (FreqCounter::f_ready == 0){
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 frq=FreqCounter::f_freq;
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 }
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lcd.setCursor(0, 0);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lcd.print(\u00ab\u00a0LO:\u00a0\u00bb);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 frq*=16;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \/\/ Adjust for prescaler
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 frq+=90;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \/\/frequency fine tuning
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 aff_number(frq);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 lcd.print(\u00ab\u00a0FZ:\u00a0\u00bb);
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 aff_number(frq-4550);\u00a0 \/\/IF = 455KC
\n\u00a0}\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Update \u2013 22.05.2010\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I did a little work on the project:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Replaced 10.7 \u201cIF\u201d cans by 455kc ones.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Selected all 12 volt filament tubes: 12BE6 (converter), 12BA6 (IF), 12AV6 (DET, AVC, AF-PRE) and 12BA6 (AF-AMP).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fixed B+ at 20 volt (-12 + 12 from an ATX-Power supply).\u00a0 Current is around 4ma (yep!).\u00a0 Heaters current = […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":12,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-179","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/179\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ve2cuy.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}