23-CM FM TRANSCEIVER This transceiver was designed in response to a need for a simple, easy to build, self-contained radio for use through the local 23-cm (1.3-GHz) repeater, as either a mobile or a fixed station. The design draws heavily on circuitry and techniques employed In 900-MHz portable phones, modified to sui amateur needs. It is hoped that this design will prove of interest to others and create more activity on this largely underused band. By T. Forrester G4WIM Unit operation AAS the design is primarily intended for snobile working the controls have been kept ‘oa minimum whilst maintaining features required for eficient operation “The prototype combined the transceiver ‘on/off with the channel select swith in forder to save front panel space. The design permits diode programming of up to chan nels; this number could obviously be in- creased by using a larger diode matrix or Some form of memory. A toggle switch se leciseither simplex or repeater working. For the latter function a tone burst button i pro vided which also Keys up the transmitter. There ate conventional volume and squelch contzols and sockets for external microphone and speaker, as required, The prototype was slightly modified tobe com patible with the ICOM HSS1 mobile headset Details ofthis modification are available on request from the author Circuit operation Figure 1 shows the simplified overall block siagram, high-ighting the most important teat ofthe design. Figure 2 shows the detail ofthe receiver circuitry. The incoming signal passes through the aerial change-over relay Which is « 960-MHz stripline type having {goed isolation and an insertion loss of less than 05 dB at 13 CHz. The RF preamplifier (TR) is a low-noise Avantek GaAs FET, 0 ensuring excellent sensitivity. The pre-am plifier fod a ready-made three stage heli- BLEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1992 «al filter (Ls) to heavily attenuate the image response 9 MHz boiow the receive fre ‘quency. Following, the Relics iter is 3 low noise MMIC (Cx) providing further 13 4B of gain and 80-0 output impedance to drive the SBLI-X diode ring mixer (Ds). This mine is operated slightly above its maximum fre: quency rating, but experience has shown that the conversion loss increases only slightly and samply compensated forby the preceding low-noise amplifiers, The local escillator signal, which is 45 Miz below the desired. receive fre- quency, ts supplied by a synthesizer, see Below The output of the mixer is passed tothe frst IF amplifier (TR%). This stage isa low= noise grounded gate FET amplifier whose input impedance is approximately 50.0, 10 providing the diode ring mixer with a ren. onable load The drain load of TRIz is tuned and loaded to match the fllowing 45.Mrtzcry=- fal filler. Likewise, the second IF amplifier (TR) has a euned and loaded input excut omaich theoutput ofthe iter. The 45-MiH IP signal is now ata sufficiently high level (0 be futher processed by Cs, The 45-MHEz signal applied to pia 18 of ICs is mixed down to an IF frequency of 455 KH, where it i demodulated and file tered belore being passed on to the audio ower amplifier (1C3). ICs also provides the mute function (Fig, 3). Referring to Fg. 5, on transmit, TRI is turned on, $0 that the relevant transmitter sections are powered, and the simplex or = peater transmit offecis are added in to ICI ough to 1C3: see the notes on program- ming below for further details. The output signalat the collector of TR) is used to operate the PIN diode switch within the VCO, so routeing the signal from the re ceive miver to the RF power amplifier mo dule (PAY). T also powers the microphone stages (TR¢ and TRS), activates the varactor diode used tor FM transmit (Ds) and turns on TRs, so operating RLi which in turn pro- Vides bias for PAL via Tr. The receiver front end is powered down as TRHis turned of. By selecting a jumper between either pins 1 and 2 oF pins 2 and 3 on PLé, itis possible to tun the final stage of the power amplifier from ether 8 Vor 138 V. The latter Supply level generates 2 watts of RF output as opposed to 1 watt The heart of the frequency synthesizer uses @ Motorola MCH5i62?2 (Fig 4) ead a (64/65 prescaler combined with some simple logic 1o provide 25-kHz channel spacing, & MH down shift for repeater access anda 45 Mia offset required forthe receiver loca oscillator ‘The VCOand buffers make extensive use of surface mount pats to create a compact VCO which is very rugged and practically[RADIO AND TELEVISION Fig 1 immune to vibration ICh. At 13 Gl, stile frequency gener- eater the data presented to 1C1! has to be “The prescaler (Ci) is a duabmodulus ationisa must for elable communication. modified according tothe mode in use. s64/ndh type controlled by the modulus "During the tarsition from receive to Assuming thatthe unit is receiving on Control ouput of ICH ICH Is run at 8 V to transmit the synthesizer isunlocked forap- 1297125 MHz, the LO must be on GRlune reliable operation, while ICis needs proximately 100msuunt it sets onitsnew 1297125 MH2~45 MHz i, 1252125 MHz Tenn Gita v\ Love: thifong between these Operating fequency. Av here one crcuitey Also, ence we are working with 9 channel fwoltsis provided by Rey Gisand Ds This todetec synthesizer unlock and disable the Spacing 25 kH2, the LO frequency must be Combination. also munimizes overall mo- RF power amplifier, a carrier momentarily scaled down (ie, divided) by a factor ‘Rus control delay between the two ICs, 2 sweepsonto frequency, While this situation 1252.125 MH2/25 kit = 50085. Ghhcal factor when using, dualsmodulus isnot ideal itwas thought thatthe extra cir- This actor of S85 needs tobe further re fproselingat these very high frequencies. culty involved didnot menitbeingincluded dvced before it 's programmed into the ‘N’ “The Loop fier around ICio needs litle given the low power output and level of and "N’ counters of IC. Since we are using comment, and is designed to the Motorola band accupancy. ‘divide by-64 prescaler, the ‘N’ count for GRunshee attenuating te 25:kHi reference If any constructor wishes to disable the ICin is the integer 50085/68 ie, 782, the re- frequency to below 36 dBe.Thislevel of at- RF power amplifier while the symthesizers_ mainder of 37 is used for the“A’ count fenuation, while not perfec, is more than unlocked, the author ean supply the necess- So, to operate on 1297-125 MHz the ‘N" equate iora low-power radio such asthis, sty detail, count ie 782 and the’A* count i 37, Because Icio's powered from the main 138 V sup- Finally, ICt provides a simple 1750-Hz we only need to cover the 1297 MHs to ply. fitered by Rat and Cs, so providing tone acess for repeater working 1298 Mite section on the band on receive, maximum avalable output sing. is possible to hard-wie some ofthe higher- Se ee ia : relearn ed ee ee rtenaeeeee Programming rca woes a ey cen sac te phat tsto pete ree mest and canbe pean Sl cs fotahdanmliest mide Tharmarata fos cnt Se eal dtceee pes NT of Pde by 8 ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1992Fig 2 Circuit diagram of waner ‘power amplier, and receiver Note: SHA= surface moun assemBy- ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPPEMBER 192RADIO AND TELEVISION REaee att orqe § HPPA ASE af Fig 3 thereby reducing the number of lines that ‘need tobe manipulated. The actual number range becomes 13, 14 oF 15 when covering 1236 MHz to 1298 MHz, and isaccounted for automatically in the adders (IC2, ICs and 1e9, “To operate at 1291.125 Me ‘transmit’ (repeater input for 1297-125 MHz), the syn- thesizer has tobe sifted up by 39 MHz Le, the count has to increase by 39 MiHe/25 kH2=1560. Converting this to 'N’plus’A’ format gives N’=24 and “A’=24 If, instead, transmit on 1297125 ME as required, then45 MHz would need tobe added, ie. the count has to increase by 45 Milz/25 kH2-1800. Converting this to “N’ plus a format gives N’=28 and ‘A’=8, By comparing the above bit pattems re quired for these to offsets, it becomes ap. parent that, on transmit, only the wel ‘heeds tbe changed in the count, and the 16" weight in the A” count, to select either simplex or repeater transmit. All other weights are required regardless of ovhich transmit mode is chosen, “The addition of either ofthese two ofeets to the receive base numbers is easily accom plished by binary adders C1, }Cz and IC, 'So, to cap, to calculate the numbers — ‘Bock dlagram of HCTIES low power narrowband FM IF (courtesy MoToroa). ‘and hence diodes — required for a given ‘channel: 4, Calculate the RX local escillator (LO) fre- quency (Fog 45 MH). 2. Scale down this frequency by a factor (RX LO Freq /25 kz). 3. Convert to 'N’ plus all/64=N'remainder=A 44 Subtract 768 from 'N’. This result should be either 13, 1¢ oF 15 when programming re- ceive frequencies between 1296 and 1298 MHz 5. Convert ‘A’ (remainder from 3. above) to binary, ie, 1,2,4,8, 16.32. 6, Insert diodes from the selected channel ‘number to the binary weights required ‘0 program the given ‘A’ and hence the desired Frequeney. When fing the diodes, ensure hat they all‘point toward 10. Thelineson thesilksercen around the diode matrix area show where diodes need to be inserted to progeam the folowing frequen ‘ies tothe asocioted channel NY (IN! over (Channel 1: 1297.125M Hz (RMS) (Channel 2 1297 000MHz (RMO) (Channel 3: 1297.073MH (RMB) ‘Channel 4 1297.150MHz (RM) Channel 5:1297.S00MHe(SM20) Fitting no diodes atall would eause the radon to operate on 129.200 MHz, and could be ‘Useful for monitoring SSB activity. “To make the radio more Flexible, a small ‘add-on PCBs being designed which wille- place ICh, ICz and IC. This eiruitry will Allow any repeater shift wo be programe, liste on input and will also permit the use ‘of thumburhee of similar switches. The pro- {gramming data will be held in an EPROM ‘mounted on the PCB. Construction Ins easiest 10 fit all the surface mount parts first (onthe tack side of the PCB). A steady hand, a pair of tweezers and some patience ave very necessary to make sound joints ‘Take time to make sure thatthe VCO section in particular 1s well put together as event- tally «will be covered by 2 metal box make ing subsequent repair loss easy. A close-up ofthe VCO are is shown in Fig & [Note that Css and Cot are mounted through the PCB after their holes have been cleared out with @ 5mm dril (to remove the through hoe plate). Thisensures that the ‘source leads of TR are eecively by-passed tothe ground plane ‘Afterall the surface mount parts have been fitted, proceed with the remaining re- sistorsand capacitors followed by the rest of the ICs, Take cate not make any shorts be- tween component leads and the ground plane, Finally, ft the Molex connectors, relay, crystals and ICie bolted toa good heatsink. Do not at this stage fit the RF power ampli- fier. ‘Before applying power forthe fret time check that the board has been correctly 35: Sembled and that there are no obvious wite ing faults Testing and alignment ‘The transceiver is built on one high-quality through plated, silk screened, solder re- sisted PCB of about 127 mm x 185 mm, PEE PPPETTPPET ws romania omsatet Sed tg tq | 4. Block diagram and pinout of HCTASTERP aynthesizer IC (eourlesy Motorola) BLEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1992Fig. 5. Circuit diagram of synthesizer and FM modulator. Note: SMA = surface mounl assembly. FLEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1992which is desig cast box or sim ber of components to build the transceiver areavailabe from the author. Itis possible to align and test most ofthe [PCB without installing it in its case. Only ‘when the RF power amplifiers to be tested ‘does the unit need tobe installed in ts case. THisassumed that te unit hasbeen diode programmed to the desired set of frequen- ‘Make all the connections as shown in Fig. 6 and turn the unit on. The supply cur rent should be circa 250 mA with the re- ceiver muted. ithe current is vastly more ot less there is probably a fault. “Adjust Cs fora volinge of between 4 V and V on pin bof IC. lfnecessary, slightly adjust the height of Ls Turn off the power, and place the VCO cover on the PCB. Mark where the signal tracks seould short to the cover File these areas slightly (05-mm clearance is plenty). Caretuily place the VCO cover box on the PCB and turn on the powcr. The voltage on inside standard die The PCBand anum- 2300, FI TX/R¥~\ ag ce cauin 19918! Fig, 6. External connestions dagram. 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FLD fer 45158 AGRO R YA RAN RET ROOM, ‘082 +250 wine: es PLS ier 17-2108 adage ‘C8 AM che i PLI=1Owey Moi f= 05 at ; PLZPLS «Py Molo: PENIERIe= 2a CTAB SN C227 = ATE ap Fa Sway Moe seca (C8 m 19 chip ® PLS = SMA 00x rocker ORAM: RSeA = 10K0. 680 {009 ci PURPL7PLE~ Sway Moke RETRO? «3040 Creepy : Rlcieareeee Aibwamc 78001 = 29F tne St «ergo ple momentary actor ITD Ree = 1 C7CO1 = pF aap ‘2 =thge poe Sway Rig~ 200 rot 600 =22pF cp" 53 = shige pote change over (282 = 0.65F cp 54 = PTT (sully parte micophene (€86.690:0100 = S396 chip * asooroy) ‘Som cea for PXLO and TX eva ‘ote: C88 an Cari oe connections FCB wrt ola he boon lo ut by ROGAED Sct preset ‘1.5mm cit Neconsary 19 ronow he Note: $2 couid 0 2-pleE-ty the second Rab 220 ‘teaugh ole larg ‘ole beng sod ast power seh as De ROR = eo, protaype. ‘Rens = 880 Somloonducters: Socket as required tor arora merephon, UDR rz ROS Ra = nen chp * TANTRATRT « BATT pecker and power connectors. ‘Re 000, “TRATASTRa « BC100 ra. 700 TaeTAG ~ BC'O7 Hardware: ter «sen Tao = ATFI9404° 401 Tipped 8nm high plas rea- era ‘Tato - Bowes 1 of RF pw apis mourning book Rsd=2700 Thi err 5.38:610m alin oer oma rrincgie {ot at 150m mn 56 e20 Tig 2 ana ce facie: ‘one) masa fom mm bra or sire ‘Réo= toca. inert pec bree rks PLC oe at Park Lane, Broboune, aa ae ts Harts EN10 780, Engin Telphore | RASA R77 = 1040 chip * (0202) 48171, Fa o0ney 44 a08. {Fer PoBasnd component sets, contact tw cuter j ‘WT. Forerer, 12 Lima Gloas, Harel, erage = sac = : ‘Wortham N7 2P5, Engi ih 1016» 7008 sari = zenen 1ov7= MBAg696 * Litt jasve POS are ‘Rey. On these, F-10002. pot. ‘2, Re, Re and PSG become suraoe- Iovot eatery (SMA) pas, This PCB seo | Capatiors: thas provison for aPIN dode atorna BE chi” cxpactors ar. 0605 sz, cangece nd Fe S80 Paes ‘6 chip capacton are 1208 se. = ‘i capacore are sels, 0.1 eal ‘ tig pe uniaas ctor ted, Chena anie tev “o405.c28,020. cra; caccagcas.ct4.css: | | Progaming didee 1N4145 ype mare: ‘o20;006,CoRcT0r amar TOY ‘ured. : Cte : igh Herercececricmmecsece;ce, | inducers: | caricancae = 00° Lins5oisee| SACI TA CCAS re LaLa = 3e-o028t | Ste 1509 Us bee bow | C16 = 20pF Leeda 8080-1) fc19 = 2a a rere FLEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMINER 1009‘sr High Tapped Pilar ZZZIZLcete 1 ‘Side View Fig. 7. ‘on module oF copper tape pin 6 of IC10 will have increased by about 1. This is normal, Tam off the power and lack solder the coverin place every 10 mm ar 0 for the time bing ‘Tur on the power and set the eferenc ‘ccillator 123.2 MHe using C2 Lift the receiver mute and align the re ceiverby tuning toastrong local signal, Peak Co1and FL; followed by Ls, Land L2 Tune Li for best recovered audio. Check that the ute action is smooth and positive. asignal generator isavalable, the mate should lift at less than 0.15 4 and have a SINAD of 12 4B or better. Tnxcessaty, aust ve soference oscilla torusing Caz to ensure that the eceive signal is correctly tuned. Fig. 8. by a mata cover. agp 2910 es | ode Leds FF Power Anpier Module mit nts ey zeeaete Poa ZOO ‘Suggested mounting of AF power ampliller module. Do nol use heatsink compound everything is operating al ight so fa, solder the VCO cover firmly in place to fur ther reduce any residual mictophonic ef Referring to Fig, 7, install the PCB in its case on S-mm pillars. Next, solder the RF power amplifier to the PCB ensuring that Copper tape is used to bond the base of the ‘module tothe ground plane of the PCB (see drawing in Fig. 7) Make sure thatthe power ‘module and IC16 are well heatsinked! tothe case. Insert alink on PLato select either high ow power. Connectan RF power moter to PLs,and select transmit. The current should be citen 111A for2W output on high power, and about 600 mA for 1 W output on low power. (Close-up of the VCO area of the PCB. This part of the circult is norm Set the microphone gain (Ret) midway Next, using a deviation meter or off ar sig ral report, aust Rs fora peak deviation of about 5-H. Set Ros intially midway, then press the tone button and adjusts for 1750 Hz. Re adjust Row for approximately 3-KH2 peak tonedeviation falls well the radios now ready for use and should give very good mobile perfor- mance When used with a suitable aerial, typically an Alford slot as most repeaters and base stations use horizontal polarisa tion. Conclusion ‘The prototype has boon in use by the author for some tinienow and has proved tobeade- {quate for both base station use ane! mobile ‘operation. Obviously, owing, to the relatively low power and higher propaga tion losses at 13 GHz when compared t0, say, 432 MH, the range attainable is less than that available on lower frequencies. However, as a general guide it seems that shen a 23-cm repeater is co-sited with a 70- fam repeater (for instance, GE3NH and GBICN), the 23-cm repeater is acessible by ‘a mobile from locations where the 0-cm re- peater is accessible on a handheld. This as- Sumes that the 23-cm mobile i using a half sized Alford slot aerial providing cca 5-4Bi of aerial gain ‘Another interesting aspect of 23-cm mobile working isthe reduction in mobile ‘Tater’ when moving even at fairly slow speeds, compared to ‘flutter’ observed onthe lower frequencies. ‘Generally, 23-cm repeaters are always in beacon mode when not actualy in use asa repeater. This means thatthe receiver mute {would be permanently lifted when monitor. ing a repeater beacon leading to unnecess> ary idents and noise being received. To ‘overcome this drawback, some repeaters are fited witha sub-audible tone which is only ‘superimposed on the repeater transmit car~ ler when the repeater is accessed, and the ‘mute is lifted on its receiver. Typically, the tone would be between 60 Hz and 250 He at a deviation of less than 1 kHz. A receiver ‘monitoring the repeater which has a tone rune set to the sate Frequerey (129 Tz for GB3CN) would now only respond to voice traffic passing through the repeater, so ig roring unwanted AFSK ident. If there 3 tencugh interest, compatible tone mute ciz> ‘cuit may be developed for this design thor ean supply high quality PCB's (plated through, solder resist, and silk screened), plus parts or kits of parts as re ‘quired. (Exact prices yet to be determined ‘and dependent upon demand). If requited 1 proposed to supply the VCO and synthesizer sections assembled and tested, leaving only receiver and ancil- lary parts to the constrictor. This approach may be more attractive to those amateurs ‘who feel that surface mount techniques are perhaps beyond them! . ELEKTOR ELECTRONICS SEPTEMBER 1992