Supplemental Page for the 10 MHz WWV TRF receiver
I have received a tremendous amount of feedback regarding the 10 MHz WWV TRF receiver. Many builders have constructed their own versions and have improved it. This captures the spirit of the QRP/SWL Homebuilder web site; take an idea and evolve it into something better on the bench.
I will post some of the feedback as well as provide additional comments and images regarding the 10 MHz WWV project on this supplemental web page. Please continue to provide project feedback and help me to improve the QRP/SWL HomeBuilder web site.
Above. Etched Audio amplifier PC board from K5HP.
Terry, K5HP
Hi Todd,
I have just finished (few days ago) your design for the 10 MHz WWV Receiver. I reduced you schematic diagrams to CirCad schematics, drug out the rat-net, positioned and connected everything, and etched the boards. I'll include a photo of the 4 finished boards. They are very roomy for extra tinkering. Except for two solder bridges on two very big pads on the tweeker capacitors in the front end, it all worked perfectly first try. Hmmm, I cannot say that for all my projects in the past. After repairing the two shorts to ground of the RF path, the front end then tuned and worked perfectly also.
I have not taken the project out to the Lab (barn) and put it on my Motorola Service monitor, but the input to the filter board is roughly 500 uV. It can easily hear WWV at this level with a decent antenna connected to the filter input when WWV is fairly strong at my location. Not bad, considering the mismatch at that location.
Above. Audio amplifier PC board overlay for parts placement from K5HP.
Have you or someone else tinkered with an AGC/AVC circuit? At one time I had a nice circuit using an National chip (don't remember the number) which is no longer available that was easy to build and easy to retro-fit into something. It was an AVC which they called an audio AGC.
When I built out the boards I placed proper credit to you and the other developers mentioned on the boards. Should you want my work product it's free for the asking. I'll be glad to send it to you. CirCad in ver 4 is a fairly complete PCB cad program and it's free too. There is a version 5, but I have not tried it out yet.
Above. A layout of the 4 completed boards by K5HP.
My sincere congratulation for producing and error free web article. That is a heck of a more than you can say about many other projects in the past. Most of those in the past had errors a plenty, and some just did not flat work as described. Someone just thought they would as it turned out. Thanks for the fine article and I'll check your site over for more interesting thing to build or learn from. Best wishes and good luck.
"I use the CirCAD to produce the artwork, then take the laser printer output and bond the plastic toner onto the PCB. Works good most of the time. Sure easier than trying to do photo etch, and silk screening is pretty expensive. The bottom copper is viewed as you would look down onto the top of a circuit board, through to the copper side. The side you are seeing is bonded to the copper surface. Print one out, hold it up to a light source looking through non printed side and it becomes apparent."
Terry designed and built printed circuit boards. His photographs, etching and overlay files are all bundled together in convenient zipped files which can be downloaded below.
Above. Schematics diagrams of 10 MHz crystal filters
by Wes, W7ZOI.
I did not experiment with the Butterworth
type filter.
Above. Schematics diagrams by Wes, W7ZOI.
A schematic representation of the 10 MHz xtal is shown
along
with the "popcorn" 10 MHz xtal filter I designed.
Above. A simulation of an L network depicted in the L-Match and AM
Detector schematic
for those interested in driving this detector with a 50 ohm output impedance.
