Estabilizar FT 707 PDF
Estabilizar FT 707 PDF
Estabilizar FT 707 PDF
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The Yaesu FT707 is a good object to add a Huff Puff VFO stabilizer developed by the late Klaas Spaargaren PA0KSB. The version of the Huff Puff that I built is the one modified by PA0FRI Frits Geerligs, another Dutch ham famous for his transceiver modifications and homebrew projects.
Lay-out issues:
Theres not all that much room in the compact FT707. In fact, there is none. Something has to go to make place for the stabilizer PCB. The obvious victim is the internal speaker. Indeed, the speaker is not all that good. On top of that it is faced to the bottom. The FT707 sounds much better with an external speaker, so out it went. This is the price I had to pay for a stable VFO. The huf puf pcb was made on a regular stripboard pcb (with longitudinal tracks). Board lay-out:
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The stabilizer PCB does not touch the bottom cover at all, but to be safe, I mounted a protective transparent cover, also with a strip of double sided tape.
With the double sided tape, the stabilizer is VERY firmly fixed, in fact you will have to take care not to break the pcb if you want to remove it again!
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Ground: just behind the VFO on the AVR pcb. VFO signal: NOT on the VFO connector as this is quite fragile. I got it from the underside of the connector on the RF PCB where the VFO signal is brought in and routed it down to the stabilizer. VARICAP DIODE: I initially used the varicap circuit already there for the clarifier (1S2236). I simply cut the gray wire going from the clarifier pot to the VFO connector and connected the stabilizer to it. This has several advantages: o We know this varicap circuit works, so we can eliminate that error-possibility if we should have problems with the stabilizer. o We dont have to go into the VFO in order to test the stabilizer. o If the circuit works ok with the clarifier Varicap and if you feel you can do without a clarifier, thats the end of the job. Otherwise you can install a n ew separate varicap for the stabilizer and use the original varicap for the clarifier again so you will have no clarifier alignment issues. This involves opening the VFO unit and some soldering inside. Not very difficult, but a job needing care and precision.
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The front panel can now be tilted far enough so the VFO housing can be slid-off after removing the 4 screws holding it.
To avoid further dismantling and to disturb the VFO the least possible, the BB205 varicap and the 6pf capacitor were mounted on the foil side of the pcb and connected to the 15pf adjustable trimmer.
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The rest of the circuit is mounted at the component side in order to avoid detuning as much as possible. To do so, two little slips are to be made in the side of the pcb to pass the component wires to the other side. With a Dremel tool, this is a quite straightforward job. All added components are glued to the pcb with epoxy glue to avoid any movement. Also the extra wire leaving the VFO assembly is glued to the pcb.
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Wire to stabilizer
Re-alignment: After finishing and reassembling the VFO again, the 15pf trimmer need readjustment because of the added varicap capacitance, otherwise the VFO range does not reach the lower part of the amateur bands. This can be done by partly removing the aluminum tape covering the adjustment hole at the side of the VFO. Also, the main dial need readjustment, this can be done by loosening the screw of the appropriate cog-wheel.
Schematics:
1- Huf Puf circuit diagram PA0FRI:
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Results:
Obtained results with the VFO stabilizer are amazing. Before the modification is was simply impossible to do any digital mode with the FT707 because of drift problems. RTTY was barely possible. Drift was in the range of 10Hz/min, especially when the unit warms-up after multiple transmissions. With the VFO stabilizer, the frequency is stable a few seconds after turn-on. It very occasionally jumps a few times (20Hz jumps) during warm-up. After 30 minutes or so it stays put for hours. The stabilizer needs resetting on very few occasions. No problems operating PSK, MFSK, Olivia, JT65, or whatever other frequency-critical mode.
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Frequency locking steps: With the FT707 VFO, the 48MHz reference and the used divider settings these are +/- 19Hz.
The initial drift during turn-on of the transceiver (just a few seconds) is visible at the bottom.
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End of file
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