BITX

Home
BITX

BITXAneasytobuild6wattsSSB
transceiverfor14MHz

BITXisaneasilyassembledtransceiverforthebeginnerwithverycleanperformance.
Usingordinaryelectroniccomponentsandimprovisingwherespecificcomponentslike
toroidsarenotavailable,Ithasaminimumnumberofcoilstobewound.
Allalignmentisnoncriticalandeasilyachievedevenwithoutsophisticatedequipment.
Theentireinstructionstoassembletherigaregivenherealongwithrelevanttheory.
TheIndianhamshaveoftenbeenhandicappedbyalackoflowcostequipmenttoget
themonair.Amonoband,bidirectionaldesignusingordinaryNPNtransistorswas
developedtocatertothisdemand.Thedesigncanbeadaptedtoanyparticularhamband
bychangingtheRFsectioncoilsandcapacitorsandtheVFOfrequency.
BITXevolvedoveroneyearfromtheexcellentS7CreceiverdescribedinthenewARRL
bookExperimentalMethodsinRFDesign(anARRLpublication)intoabidirectional
transceiver.Severalhamsacrosstheglobecontributedtoitsdesign.Aseriesofemails
wereexchangedwithOMWesHayward(W7ZOI)duringtheevolutionofthisdesign.
Hiscontributionshavebeeninvaluable.Heurgedmetostriveforhigherperformance
fromthesimpledesign.Theresultantrighassensitivereceivercapableofstrongsignal
handling,astableandcleantransmittercapableofenoughpowertomakecontactsacross
theWorld.
AllthepartsusedinBITXareordinaryelectronicsparescomponents.Insteadof
expensiveandhardtogettoroids,wehaveusedordinarytapwashers.Broadband
transformershaveusedTVbaluncores.TheentiretransceivercanbeassembledinIndia
forlessthanRs.300.IhavedesignedasinglesidePCBwithlargetracksthatcanbe
easilyetchedathomeorbyanyPCBshop.TheyarealsoavailablefromOMPaddy,
(VU2PEP,pepindia@yahoo.com).

Forthosewhodon'treadlongarticles...
Thereareacoupleofthingsyoushouldknowbeforeyoustartassemblingthecircuit:

Thesameamplifierblockisusedthroughout.Buttheemiiterresistorsvaryin
someoftheplaces.Doublecheckthevalues.Ifyouswapvalues,thecircuit
wontstopworking.Itwillworkterribly.Thatmightbealittledifficultto
diagnoseintheend.Checktheemittervaluesandtheresistorsthatgobetweenthe

baseandcollector.
ThereceivingIFamplifierbetweenthefilterandtheproductdetectoriscoupled
totheproductdetectorusinga100pf(not0.1uf).
Thecrystalfilterworkedforme,Iusedcrystalsfromthelocalmarketmarkedas
KDS.Thesearethecheapestandtheyworkwiththecapacitorvaluesgiveninthe
filter.Yourcrystalsmightrequireadifferentsetofcapacitors.Trythevalues
givenhere,ifyoufindthebandwidthtoonarrow,decreasethecapacitances,if
youfindittooopenthenincreasethecapacitances.
Themicrophoneisdirectlycoupledtotheamplifierasmyheadsetmicrophone
needs5Vbias.Ifyourmicrophoneworkswithoutbias,theninserta1ufinseries
withthemicrophone.
Thepicturesshowmyprototypeontwoboards.Dontdothat,splituptheVFO
intoaseparatebox.
Thepredriverisbuiltontothemainboard.ThedriverandthePAareona
separateboard.KeepthesamelayouttokeepthePAstable.
Thereisa50ufonthepowerlinesolderedneartheBFO,don'tforgetit.Itcleans
uptheaudionoisewhichwouldotherwisegetintothereceiver.
OnthePCB,therearejumpersbetweenTlinesandRlinesacrosstheladder
filter.ThereisajumperfromtheBFOsupplytotheVFOsupply.

DevelopmentNotes
Almostallmodesofradiocommunicationsshareanaturalprinciplethatthereceiversand
transmittersoperateusingthesamelineupofcircuitblocksexceptthatthesignal
directionisreversed.TheCWdirectconversiontransceiveristhesimplestillustrationof
thisprinciple.AmorecomplexexampleisthebidirectionalSSBtransceiver.
BidirectionalSSBtransceivershavebeenquitecommoninamateurliterature.A
transceiverwasdescribedintheARRLSSBHandbookusingbipolartransistors.
W7UDMsdesignofbidirectionalamplifier(asthebasisofbidirectionaltransceiver)is
referredtobyHaywardandDeMawintheirbookSolidStateDesign.Thebidirectional
circuitryisoftencomplexandnotapproachablebytheexperimenterwithmodest
capability(likeme).
Thebroadbandbidirectionalamplifier
MycurrentinterestinbidirectionaltransceiversaroseafterlookingatanRCcoupled
bidirectionalamplifierinthebookExperimentalMethodsinRFDesign(p.6.61).An
easilyanalyzedcircuitthatwassimpleandrobustwasrequired.Itbeganitslifeasan

ordinarybroadbandamplifier:

Inanybipolartransistor,thecurrentflowingfromthecollectortoemitterisamultipleof
thecurrentflowingfromthebasetotheemitter.Thus,ifthereisasmallchangeinthe
currentflowingintothebase,thereisabiggerchangeinthecurrentflowingintothe
collector.Whatfollowsisahighlysimplifiedexplanationofworkingoftheabove
amplifier.
Intheabovecircuit,imaginethatasmallRFsignalisappliedthroughR
tothebaseof
in
Q1.AlsoimaginethattheR
voltageisswingingup.Thetransistorwillaccordingly
f
amplifyandincreasecollectorcurrentcausingmorecurrenttoflowthroughtheR
(220
l
ohms)collectorload.Thiswillinturndropthevoltageatthecollector.Thedropin
voltageacrossthecollectorwillalsoresultinadropatthebase(basevoltageisafraction
ofthecollectorvoltageduetothewaythebaseisbiased).Thiscircuitwillfinallyfind
balancewhentheincreaseinbasecurrentflowingfromR
isbalancedbythedecreasein
in
basecurrentduetothevoltagedropacrossR
.IneffecttheRFcurrententeringfromR
l
in
flowsoutthroughthefeedbackresistance(R
).Theimpedanceseenatthebaseis
f
effectivelyverylowandthesignalsourcewillseeanapproximateinputimpedanceof
R
.
in
Thus,Vin/R
=Vout/R
(Eq.1)
in
f
Anotherfactortoconsideristhatthatemitterisnotatground.Atradiofrequencies,it
lookslikethereisa10ohmsresistorbetweentheemitterandtheground.Thus,whenthe
basevoltageswings,theemitterwillfollowit.TheACvoltagevariationsacrosstheR
e
(10ohms)willbemoreorlessthesameasthatacrossthebase.Thecurrentflowinginto
theemitterwillmostlyconsistofcollectorcurrent(andverylittlebasecurrent).Thus,if
theemittercurrentalmostequalscollectorcurrent,
Ie=Vin/R
=Vout/R
(Eq.2)
e
l
Wecancombinethesetwoequationstoarriveat:
Vout/Vin=R
/R
=R
/R
.(Eq.3)
f
in
l
e
Thisisanimportantequation.Itmeansseveralthings.Especiallyifyoujustconsiderthis
part:
R
/R
=R
/R
.(Eq4)
f
in
l
e
Letslookatsomeinterestingthings:
1.

Thevoltagegain,andtheinputandoutputimpedancesareallrelatedtoresistor

valuesanddonotdependuponindividualtransistorcharacteristics.Weonly
assumethatthetransistorgainissufficientlyhighthroughoutthefrequenciesof
ourinterest.Theprecisevalueofthetransistorcharacteristicswillonlylimitthe
upperfrequencyofusablebandwidthofsuchanamplifier.Thisisauseful
propertyanditmeansthatwecansubstituteonetransistorforanother.
2. Thepowergainisnotafunctionofaparticulartransistortype.Weusemuch
lowergainthanpossibleifthetransistorwasrunningflatout.Butthegainis
controlledatallfrequenciesforthisamplifier.Thismeansthatthisamplifierwill
beunconditionallystable(itwontexhibitunusualgainatdifferencefrequencies).
3. Youcanrestatetheeq3asR
*R
=R
*R
.Thatwouldmeanthatforagiven
f
e
l
in
fixedvalueofR
andR
,theoutputimpedanceandinputimpedancesare
f
e
interdependent.Increasingonedecreasestheotherandviceversa!Forinstance,in
figure1,R
=1000,R
=10,ifwehaveR
of50ohms,theoutputimpedancewill
f
e
in
be(1000*10)/50=200ohms.Conversely,ifwehaveanR
of200ohms,the
in
outputimpedancewillbe50ohms!
Inordertomakebidirectionalamplifiers,westraptwosuchamplifierstogether,backto
back.Byapplyingpowertoeitherofamplifiers,wecancontrolthedirectionof
amplification.Thisisthetopologyusedinthesignalchainofthistransceiver.Thediodes
inthecollectorspreventtheswitchedofftransistorscollectorresistor(220ohms)from
loadingtheinputoftheothertransistor.AcloselookwillrevealthattheACfeedback
resistanceconsistsoftwo2.2Kresistorsinparallel,bringingtheeffectivefeedback
resistanceto1.1K.Thus,theaboveanalysisholdstrueforallthethreestagesof
bidirectionalamplification.
Diodemixers
Thediodemixersareinherentlybroadbandandbidirectionalinnature.Thisisgoodand
bad.Itisgoodbecausethedesignisnoncriticalandputting8turnsor20turnsonthe
mixertransformerwillnotmakemuchofadifferencetotheperformanceexceptatthe
edgesoftheentirespectrumofoperation.
Thebadnessisalittletoughertoexplain.Imaginethattheoutputofahypotheticalmixer
isbeingfedtothenextstagethatisnotproperlytunedtotheoutputfrequency.Insucha
case,theoutputofthemixercannotbetransferredtothenextstageanditremainsinthe
mixer.Ordinarily,ifthemixerwasaFETorabipolardevice,itusuallyjustheatsupthe
outputcoils.Incaseofdioderingmixers,youshouldrememberthatthesedevicesare
capableoftakinginputandoutputsfromanyport(andtheseinputsandoutputscanbe
fromalargepieceofHFspectrum),hencethemixeroutputatnonIFfrequenciesstays
backinthemixerandmixesuponcemorecreatingaterriblemessintermsofgenerating
whistles,weirdsignalsanddistortingtheoriginalsignalbystampingalloverit.
AsimpleLCbandpassfilterthatimmediatelyfollowsthedioderingmixerwilldoa
goodjobonlyatthefrequenciesitistunedto.Atotherfrequencies,itwillofferreactive
impedancethatcancausetheabovementionedproblems.Itisrequirementthatthediode
mixersinputsandoutputsseetherequired50ohmsterminationatallthefrequencies.
Inotherwords,theyrequireproperbroadbandtermination.Usingbroadbandamplifiers
isagoodandmodestwayofensuringthat.Adiplexerandahybridcouplingnetworkisa

betterway,butitwouldbetoocomplexforthisdesign.

CircuitDescription
Althoughsimple,everyeffortwasmadetocoaxasmuchperformanceaswaspossible
giventhelimitationsofkeepingthecircuitsimpleandaffordable.
TheReceiver
TheRFfrontendusesatriplebandpassfilterforstrongimageandIFrejection.The
threepolesoffilteringarequiteadequateandtheoutofbandresponseofthereceiveris
onlylimitedbyexternalshieldingandstraypickups.
AnRFamplifierfollowstheRFbandpassfilter(Q1)biasedformodestcurrent.More
currentwouldhaverequiredacostliertransistor.Thereis8mAsthroughtheRFamplifier
andthepostmixamplifierstokeepthesignalhandlingcapacityofthecircuitabove
average.ThePostmixamplifier(Q2)doesthejobofkeepingthecrystalfilteraswellas
thediodemixerproperlyterminated.Thecrispnessofthereceiverismoreduetothis
stagethananythingelse.Animproperpostmixamplifiereasilydegradesthecrystal
filtersshapeandintroducesspurioussignalsandwhistlesfromthediodemixer.Note
thatthemixerissinglybalancedtonullouttheVFOcomponentandnottheRFportand
intheabsenceofproperpreselection,10MHzsignalscaneasilybreakintotheIFstrip.
TheVFOisfedviaabroadbandamplifierintothesinglybalancedmixer.Weusedthe
simplestVFOpossiblewithatwoknobtuningmechanism.Itworksreallywellandfor
those(likeme)usedtoquicktuning,itoffersbestofbothworlds,slowtuningthroughthe
varactorandfasttuningthroughthecapacitorwithoutanyslowmotiondrive.Gettinga
slowmotiondriveisanincreasinglydifficultproblemandthisisanelectrical
substituteforslowmotiondrives.
AwordabouttheVFO:dependinguponcomponentavailability,skillsandpreferences,
everybodyhasafavouriteVFOcircuit.Feelfreetousewhatyouhave.Justkeepthe
outputofthecollectorofQ7tolessthan1.5volts(itwillappearclippedonthe
oscilloscopetrace,thatisokay).For20Metersoperation,youwillneedaVFOthat
covers4to4.4MHz.ThegivenVFOhaslownoisethoughitdoesdriftalittle,butIhave
hadnoproblemswithordinaryQSOs.After10minutesofwarmup,thedriftisnot
noticeable,evenonPSK31QSOs.
AHartleyoscillatorusingaFETlikeBFW10orU310wouldworkmuchbetter.Youcan
substitutethisVFOwithanyotherdesignthatyoumightwanttouse.Ifyouareusingthe
PCBlayout,thenskiptheVFOonboardifyouwanttouseadifferentVFOandbuildit
externallyinaseparatebox.
ThesimpleIFamplifierhasafixedgain.EarlieritwasnotedthatIFampwas
contributingnoiseataudiofrequencies.Itwaslatertracedtonoisefromthepowersupply
andplacinga50ufonthetransceiverpowerlinehascuredit.TheIFamplifierhasa
100pfoutputcouplingtoproviderolloffataudiofrequencies.
TheBFOisaplainRCcoupledcrystaloscillatorwithanemitterfollower.Theemitter
followerhasbeenbiasedto6Vtopreventlimiting.
Thedetectoralsodoublesupasthemodulatorduringtransmitmodehenceitisproperly

terminatedwithanattenuatorpad.Ithasnoimpactontheoverallnoisefigureasthereis
enoughgainbeforethedetector.Theaudiopreamplifierisasinglestageaudioamplifier.
The220pfcapacitoracrossthebaseandcollectorprovidesforlowfrequencyresponse.
ThereceiverdoesnothaveanAGC.Thisisnotamajorshortcoming.Manualgain
controlallowsyoutocontrolthenoisefloorofthereceiverandIpersonallyfinditvery
usefulwhensearchingforweaksignalsorturningitdowntoenjoythelocalragchew.
Transmitter
ThemicrophoneamplifierisDCcoupledtothemicrophone.Thiswasdonetostealsome
DCbiasthatisrequiredwhenusingaPersonalComputertypeofheadset.Ifyour
microphonedoesnotrequireanybias,theninserta1uFinserieswiththemicrophone.
Themicrophoneamplifierisasimplesinglestageaudioamplifier.Itdoesnothaveany
bandpassshapingcomponentsastheSSBfilteraheadwilltakecareofitall.One0.001uf
atthemicrophoneinputandanotheratthemodulatoroutputprovidebypassforanystray
RFpickup.
Thetwodiodebalancedmodulatorusesresistiveaswellasreactivebalancing.Afixed
10pfononesideofthemodulatorisbalancedpreciselybyavariable22pfontheother
side.A100ohmsminipresetallowsforresistivecarrierbalance.Theattenuatorpadat
theoutputwasfoundnecessarytoproperlyterminatethediodemodulatorandkeepthe
carrierleakagearoundtheIFamplifiertoaminimum.Whilethismayseemexcessive,it
producesacleanDSBwithcarriernearly50dbdownwithcarefuladjustmentsonthe
oscilloscope.
Restofthetransmissioncircuitryisexactlythesameasthereceiver.Thereisanextra
stageofamplification(Q14)toboosttheverylowlevel14MHzSSBsignalfromoutput
ofthemicrophonetiptodriverinputlevel.
TheoutputamplifierbooststheSSBsignalto300mVlevel,enoughtodirectlydrivea
driverstage.
ThePowerChain
AsimplepowerchainconsistingofalowcostmediumpowerNPNtransistor(2N2218)
drivinganIRF510for6wattsofpowerat14MHz.TheoutputofIRF510usesatap
washerasanoutputtransformer.Theoutputtransformerhas40turnsofbifilarwinding
thesecanleadtoenoughstraycapacitancetoaffectproperperformanceasatransformer.
Thehalfwavefilterthatfollowsthetransformerabsorbsthesecapacitancesasapartof
thematchingnetwork.
Iusedthispowerchainbecauseitworksformeanddelivers6wattson14MHz.Idont
usemorepowerbecauseIneitherrequiremorenordoIhaveapowersupplythatcan
sourcemore.Ifyouneedmorepower,thereareanumberofthingsthatyoucando,you
cansimplyincreasethesupplyvoltageontheIRF510upto30voltsandextractnearly15
wattsofpowerfromthesameconfiguration.At30volts,thedrainoutputwillbeat30
ohmsimpedanceandthepinetworkwillhavetobedesignedtodirectlymatchthedrain
toa50ohmsantennaload.Alternatively,youcouldtrytwoIRF510sinpushpull.These
arevariationsthatyoucanplaywith.Awordofwarningthough,TheRFenergyatthese
levelscangiveyouaseriousRFburn.RFburnscanbemorepainfulthanfireorsteam

burns.QRPisnotonlyfun,itisalsosafe.

Construction
Iwouldhighlyrecommendthatyouconstructitoveraplaincoppercladboardby
solderingthegroundedendofthecomponentstothecopperandtheotherendsof
componentstoeachother.Lookatthepicturestoseehowithasbeendone.Ifyoudont
knowaboutthismethodofassemblingRFcircuitry,thenyoushouldreadaboutit,there
arequiteafewwriteupsontheInternetaboutthismethodofRFexperimentation.Itdoes
notrequireanyPCB,itisquiterobustandverystable.
AssemblingthePCB
Forthosewhofeelintimidatedbythisuglymethod,IhavedesignedaPCB.ThePCB
layout(componentside)isprovidedwiththisarticle.ItisasinglesidedPCBwithwide
tracksthatcanbeeasilymadeinthehomelab.IammakingarunofthesePCBsbut
shippingthemabroad(outsideIndia)maybeaproblem.Dropamailtomeifyouare
planningtomakesomePCBs,Icanputyourcontactinformationonthewebsite.There
arenocopyrightsovereitherthePCB,thecircuitoreventhisarticle,feelfreetocopy
anddistribute.
ThePCBislaidoutinalongline.Itis81/2inchlongand21/2inchwide.Thecircuit
boardisbigforthecircuitthatgoesontoit.Thiswasdonesothattheboardis
noncriticalanditworkswell.Allthebidirectionalamplifiersaresimilarlylaidout.
WhenyougetyourPCBs,inspectthemthoroughly,preferableintheSun.Checkfor
smallcracksinthetracks.Checkfortracksthatmightbetouchingeachotherortouching
thegroundplane.ThePCBlayoutwasdonetominimizethis,butcheckitanyway.
Especiallycheckforthetracksthatrundiagonallytothebaseofeachtransistorinthe
bidirectionalcircuitry.Thesearelaidoutverycloselyandtheyarecandidatesfor
shorting.
Almostallassemblyinstructionsaskyoutosolderthetransistorsintheend.Iwould
highlyrecommendthatyousolderthetransistorsandthediodesfirst.Youaremostalert
whenyoustartaprojectandifyouplacethetransistorscorrectly,therestofthecircuit
canbesolderedaroundit.Beverycarefulabouttheorientationofeachtransistor.The
microphoneamplifiertransistor(Q10)facesinadirectionoppositetotherestofthe
transistorsandthetransistorpairsinbidirectionalamplifiersfaceeachother.Thediodes
havearingtoindicatewhichwaytheirarrowispointing.
Afterthetransistorsaresoldered,finishtheBFO.Ifyouareassemblingthisfor14MHz
andabove,theBFOwillneedacoilinserieswiththecrystal(USBmode),ifyouare
needLSBoperation,youwillneedatrimmerinstead(seetheschematic).Applypowerto
theBFOandyoushouldbeabletohearitonyourShortwavebroadcastradioaround31
meterband.Itwillsoundlikeasilentradiostation.Itshouldbequitestrong.Switching
theBFOpowersupplyonandoffwillhelpyouidentifyyourBFOsignalontheradio.If
youhaveanRFprobe,oranoscilloscope,youshouldbeabletoseetheoscillations.
ExpectRFof2voltsormore.
Next,assembletheVFO.Winding150turnsoftheVFOcoilisoneofthemosttedious
jobswhileassemblingthisrig.Ithastobedone,sojustdiginanddoit.Youdonthave

toattachthe365pftuningcapacitoryet.Checktheoscillationsonareceiverora
frequencycounter.Youmayhavetodecreasethenumberofturns.Withoutthe365pf,
the22pftrimmershouldbeabletosettheVFOto4.3MHzorso.IftheVFOisoscillating
atalowerfrequency,thenremovesometurnsfromthecoil.IftheVFOisatahigher
frequency,add22pfinacrossthe22pftrimmer(ifyouareusingthePCB,solderinfrom
thefoilside).YouwillrequireawirejumpertocarrypowersupplybetweentheVFOand
theBFO.Theyaretheonlystagesthatremainswitchedonduringbothtransmitand
receive.
Assembletheaudiopreamplifierandtheaudiopoweramplifierandattachthevolume
control.Whenpowerisappliedtotheaudiostages,touchingafingertothebaseofQ4
shouldproducestaticinthespeakertomoveeventhemostdiehardtrashmetalrockers.
Next,assembleallthethreebidirectionalstages!Thisinvolveslotofsoldering.Butall
thesixstagesareexactlythesame.Finishonestageatatime.Thecapacitorsare
symmetricallylaidoutandallofthemare0.1uFwithoneexception(100pfattheoutput
ofQ3).Rememberthattheemitterbiasresistorsare100ohms,220ohmsor470ohms.If
youmixupthevalues,therigwillstillworkbutitwillunderperforminthepresenceof
strongsignalsandthetransmissionwillbesplattered.TherearejumpersforTandRline
acrossthecrystalfilter.SolderthemupandpowerontheRlineandthentheTline
alternatively.Theemittersofbidirectionalstagesshouldshow2voltsapproximatelyand
thecollectorsshouldshowaround8voltsandtheswitchedofftransistorshouldshow
zerovoltageonallthethreeleads.
Forthemomentoftruth,solderthethreecoils,trimmersandcapacitorsoftheRFfilter,
attachanantennaandswitchiton!Checkthatthestagesareworkingstartingfromaudio
end.Ifyoutouchthevolumecontrolscontrolpin,youshouldhearAChumandstatic.
IfyoutouchthebaseofQ4,thereshouldbeaprettyloudstatic.Takealeadfromyour
VOMandtouchQ3,youshouldgetveryloudstatic,probablymixedwithlocalAM
broadcast.TouchthebaseofQ2withthetestleadandyoushouldgetlesserstaticasthe
filterallowsonly3KHzof10MHzthrough.
Finally,connecttheantennaproperlyattheinputoftheRFbandpassfilterandpeakup
thethreetrimmersformaximumatmosphericnoise.Attachthe365pfandstarttuning
aroundtheband,peaktheRFfrontendonastrongsignalandthentuneinaweaker
signalandpeakformaximumclarity(notmaximumsound).
Animportantnote:
Besurethatyouhaveconnectedaproper50ohmsantennaload.
TheRFfilterperformscorrectlyonlyat50ohms.Ifyouusealongwiretodotheinitial
testing,youwillhavetotouchupthetrimmersagainfortheproperantenna.
Takeabreak,spendtheeveninglisteningtoyournewhomebrew.IftheCWsignalstune
todeadbeatandriseontheothersideagain,yourBFOhastomoveitsfrequency.For
USB,addmoreturnstothecoiltotheBFOcoil,forLSB,tweakthetrimmer.Youshould
haveaperfectsinglesignalreception.IfyoutunepastthedeadbeatofaCWsignal,the
signalshoulddropoutcompletely.
Assemblingthemicrophoneamplifier(Q10)andtheoutputamplifier(Q14)will
completetheexciterportionofthetransceiver.Toputthetransceiverintransmitmode,

groundtheRlineandapply12VontheTline.AttachtheoutputofQ14toan
oscilloscopebutdontattachthemicrophoneyet.Nullthecarrierwiththe100ohms
presetandthe22pftrimmer.Eachaffectstheothersoyoumighthavetogobackand
forthbetweenthetwocontrols.
Nowpluginthemicrophoneandspeakintoit.YoushouldbeabletoseecleanSSBof
between200and300mVonthescopeattheoutputofQ14.Insteadoftheoscilloscope
youcanuseanother14MHzreceivertotestyourtransmissionquality.Switchoffthe
AGCoftheotherreceiverwhilesettingthecarriernull.Asoftwhistle(ifyoucan
manage)intothemicrophoneisshouldresultinafullcarrierattheoutput.
Next,assemblethepowerchain.Atthispoint,youwillneedasuitablechassistohouse
yourproject.Anymetalboxwilldo.Ifyoudonthaveany,youcansolderpiecesof
coppercladtogether(likeIdid)andmakeaUshapedchassis.KeepingtheVFOinopen
airmakesitdriftabit.Aclosedboxisreallyveryuseful.
Abigcookie(orchocolate)boxoftinisreallyideal.Withahanddrill,youcaneasily
makeholestofitthetwoPCBsinsideit.Tiniseasilysolderedon.Usethebiggestknob
youcanfindforthemaintuning.Theplasticbroadcastcapacitorsusuallyhaveavery
shortstubthatcannottakeabigknob.Ittakesonasmallplasticdrumthatisheldonto
thecapacitorspindlewitharetainingscrew.Cliponthedrumontothetuningcapacitor,
tightentheretainingscrewwellandwithepoxyglue,stickabigknoboverthedrum.This
willmakeyourmaintuningmechanism.
IuseasimpledoublepoletriplethrowswitchforTransmit/Receiveswitchover.Ifyou
preferPTToperation,youcaneasilysubstitutetheswitchforarelay.Besuretosoldera
reversebiaseddiodeacrosstherelaycoiltopreventreversevoltagefromenteringintothe
transceiverpowerline.
Useshieldedcableforalltheconnectionsbetweenthepoweramplifierandthemain
board.

TuneupandOperation
SettheVFOtocorrectlycover4.0to4.4MHz.Ifyoucan,takeyourrigovertoaham
friendsshack,youcanmonitoryourVFOonhisrigattheedgeof80metersbandat
4.0MHz.SetthetrimmersothatyoucanheartheVFOwhenthefriendsreceiveris
tunedto4.0MHzandyourtuningcapacitorisfullyclosed(asmuchasitwillgo
anticlockwise).Afterthis,connecttheantennaandpeaktheRFcoilsformaximumnoise
inthespeaker.Ifyoucantuneittoaweaksignal,thenpeaktheRFcoilsforbest
reception.
YoumightfindthatalthoughyouareabletotuneinCWstations,youareunabletohear
theSSBstationsproperly.ThisindicatesthatyourBFOisnotproperlyset.Wewilltake
thatupnext.
Onamateurbandsabove10MHz,SSBistransmittedonuppersidebandandonbands
below10MHz,itistransmittedonlowersideband.Totuneauppersidebandsignal,
yourBFOhastobeattheloweredgeofthecrystalpassband.Youwillrequireeitherthe
inductor(forUSB)orthecapacitor(forLSB)inserieswiththeBFOcrystal.IfyourBFO
issettoproperfrequencythenthesignalswilltuneinandasyoucontinuetuningacross

thesignal,theywilldropinpitchanddisappear.Ifthesignalsappearmuffled,thenthe
BFOissetinthecrystalfilterscenter,addmoreturnstothecoil(USB),ortweakthe
trimmer(LSB).Ifthesignalsappearshrillandyouareunabletozerobeatthem,thenthe
BFOistoofarawayfromthefiltersfrequencyDecreasethecoilsturns(forUSB)or
tweakthetrimmer(LSB).
Thetransmittertuneupessentiallyinvolvessettingthecarriernull.Itisbesttotuneup
thetransmitteronadummyload.Iuse8220ohms,2wattsresistorsinparallelasmy
dummyload.Itisworththefewbuckstohaveaproperdummyload.Attachthedummy
loadonthetransmitter,andattachanRFprobetothedummyload(oranoscilloscope).
Asyouspeak,youshouldget20voltsormorepeakvoltageonthedummyloadwhen
youwhistleorjustgohaaaaallow.Onanotherreceiverinthesameroom,connecta
shortpieceofwireasanantennaandmonitoryourownsignal.Youwillprobablybeable
tohearyourowncarrieraswell.Nullitbytweakingthe100ohmspresetandthe22pf
balancetrimmer.Theybothinteract,soyoumighthavetogobackandforthbetweenthe
twocontrols.
Awordofcaution,thediodemixersarepronetogeneratingoddharmonics.Thethird
harmonicof4MHzisat12MHz.So,ifyousimplypeakthecoilsformaximumoutput
ontransmit,youmightwronglypeaktheRFfrontendto12MHz(Ididthat).TheRF
bandpassfilterisbesttunedinreceivemodeoveraweaksignalat14.150MHzorsoand
leftatthat.

Conclusion
Theremightbeakit(componentsandthePCBinabag)soon.Ipersonallydonthave
thetimetoputkitstogether.Ifsomebodyisinterestedindoingso,justgoaheadanddo
it.Thedesignisfree,youdontneedtoaskmyoranybodyelsespermission.Ifyou
candropmealine,Iwilllistyouasakitsupplieronmysite.
ThisisalsothefirsttimeIhaveputoutaPCBdesignformyrig.Thepurposeisto
addresstheneedamongIndianhamsinparticularforanSSBrigthatiseasilyand
cheaplybuilt.MyoriginalaimwastokeepthepriceunderRs.1000.Thecurrentdesign
bringsthecosttowellunderRs.300(lessthan7dollars).ContactOMPaddy(VU2PEP)
forthePCBs.Hisemailispepindia12345@yahoo.com(Ihaveadded12345to
confuseprogramsthatautomaticallygatheremailaddressesfrommysite,thereisjust
pepindiabeforetheatsign).

Pictures


Thetopviewofthetransceiver
Thebigboardhastheentireexciter.Thesmallerboardontherightisthelinear

TheIFandaudiosection
Thepresentwassolderedontoasmallpieceofveroboard(copperside)andthe
veroboardwasinturnsolderedontothegroundplanewithsmallpiecesofwire.


TheRFfrontend
showsonlytwocoilsintheRFfilter,thethirdwasaddedlater.Theuppercoilisthe
VFO.Themixertransformerisseenonthelowerrightpartofthepicture.

ThePowerchain
TheIRF510sheatsinkissolderedontothegroundplane.Useamicawashertoisolate
theIRF510fromtheheatsink.

ThePCBlayouts
Themainboardis8.5inchesby3inches.Thepoweramplifierboardis4inchesby2.5
inches.
DownloadthePCBshere
Note:ThePCBsareinGIFformat.Theyarealsoinworddocformatsothattheyprintat
correctsize.
IfyouaregettingthePCBsmadesomewhere,besuretotellthemtheexactdimensions
ofboththeboards.