VHF TECHNIQUE

Published by the
INCORPORATED RADIO SOCIETY OF GT. BRITAIN
New Ruskin House, Li ttle Russell Street, London , WCl

June , 1948

&
RSGB
CD
CONTENTS

Page
FOREWORD .. 3

Chapter I
PROPAGATION OF VHF WAVES 4

Chapter 2
VHF AERIAL SYSTEMS 9

Chapter 3
VHF TRANSMJITERS 24

Chapter 4
VHF RECEIVERS 36

Chapter 5
VHF MEASUREMENTS 66

Chapter 6
FREQUENCY MODULATION 73

Co Authors: A. J. BAYLISS, B.Sc. (G8PD), and

E. J . WILLIAMS, B.Sc. (G2XC).

General Editor : JOHN CLARRICOATS (G6CL),

Genual Sl!,·retm·J' 11t('t>rporatcd Radio S ocitty of (;,.·cut /JriltJl11
FOREWORD
V HF TECHN IQUE presents in convenient form a comprehensive
account of the techniques which arc employed for the generation,
. propagation, and reception o f frequench:s lying between 30 and
300 Mc/ s.
For many years prior to 1940 radio amateu rs had shown a great interest
in such frequencies, and it is on record th at their practical experience of
operating conditions at tha t part of the spectrum proved of considerable
value during the recent war.
The propagation characteristics of waves of very high frequency are now
fa irly well-known as the result of long-term amateur and prnfessioaal
investigation, but it would be unwise to assume that the full stoey has been
written. As recently as the winter of 1947-48 radio amateurs succeeded
for the first time in establishing two-way trans-Atlantic communications o n
frequencies of the order of 50 Mc/ s. The importance of their achievement
has been acknowledged by scientific bodies in Great Britain and the United
States, who are well aware that the amateur fraternity, by reason of its
numbers, enthusiasm and an urge to improve, is in the unique position of
being able to make valuable contri butions to existing k nowledge. Scientific
organisatio ns are invariably limited in their scope because their observations
arc con fined to a few widely-separated sites; amateur stations are found in
almost eveey town and village.
Interest in VHF work is to some extent handicapped by the lack of
suitable equipment, but, as the authors of this book have shown, it is
frequent ly possible to obtain veey satisfactoey results with standard com-
ponents and valves.
During 1948 and 1949 several new frequency bands will become available to
radio amateurs including an allocation between 144 and 146 Mc/ s. (2 Metres)
This band will offer opportunities to the amateurs of the United Kingdom
wh o h ave so far had no oppcrtunity of exploring this part of the spectrum.
The authors of VHF Technique have shown how this new band can be used
to good eflect.
The following is a list of the frequency allocations above 30 Mc.1 s. d ue
to be released to British Jsles amateurs : -
144-146 Mc/ s. (2 Metres) Exclusive.
420-460 Mc;'s. (70 cm.) Shared.
1,215- 1,300 Mc/ s. (25 cm.) Exclusive.
2,300- 2,400 Mc/ s. (12 · 5 cm.) Exclusive.
5,650- 5,850 Mc/ s. (50 mm.) Exclusive.
10.000-10.500 Mc/ s. (30 mm.) Exclusive.
The band 2,300-2,450 Mc.'s. is already available to British amateurs.
Readers who are interested in frequency bands higher than 300 Me/ s. arc
referred to Microwave Technique- a compa nion book let in this series.
J . c.

3
CHAPTER 1 PROPAGATION OF VHF WAVES
IONOSPHERIC PROPAGATION ---TROPOSPHERIC PROPAGATION
--OTHER PHENOM ENA.
ADI O waves of very high frequency (i.£'. 50 to 500 Mc/s.) arc subject
R to the same laws of propagation as other radio waves, but due to their
higher frequency and rnrrespondingly shorter wavelength the results
achieved by their use o ften d iffer considerably from those obtained with
waves of somewhat lower frequency. On the norma l short-wave bands the
dominating feature is io nospheric reflection and refraction. whi le on the
VHF band s troposphcri..: propagation become' of major imponancc.
lonospheric Propagation
T he ionosphere consists of two main ionised la yers. the E layer at abo ut
90 miles height. and the F layer a t abo ut 200 miles . During daylight the
F layer u ~ u a lly divides into the Fl and F2 layers, and it is the F2 layer, at a
height of up to about 300 miles. which is responsible for long distance short-
waw communication o ver thousands o f miles, by bending (or refracting) the
waves sufllciently to return them to ea rt h. As frequenc y is increased a
greater degree of ionisation is required to effect the necessary degree of
refraction, and a limiting frequency is reached above which waves arc not
bent sufficiently to be returned. This limit depends on time of day, season,
direction and sunspot activit y but is usually between 15 and 50 Mc/ s. The
upper li mit is reached only al periods of high sunspot activity. and may on
very rare occasio ns exceed 50 Mc.:s. However, it is very unlikely that waves
o f frequ encies exceeding 60 Mc .'s. will ever be propagated around the earth's
curvature by F2 layer ionisatio n.
The upper frequency limit for the E layer is nom1ally much less than that
for the F layer. but during the summer months in daylight hours a very
intense ionisatio n known as "Sporadic E " occasionally occurs within the
E layer. This ionisation is capable o f rctlecting frequencies up to about
100 Mc/ s. and enables communication to be effected over distances from
aho ut 400 to 1,200 miles. On lower frequencies, e.f[. 14 Mc/ s. the .. skip
distance " may disappear altogether. Signals received by this means are
frequent ly very strong. but may be subject to severe fading. The appearance
and disappearance of ·•Sporadic E" is quite erratic and unpredictable .
Further. it may be local in occurrence. It is thus not able to produce reliable
channels of communicatio n. When using rota ry beam aerials best results
are not always obtained by pointing the beam in the great circle direction
o f the distant station.
During intense ionosphere storms, such as arc accompanied by auroral
di sp lays, s ignals of the o rder of 30 to 60 Mc/ s. have been received by reflection
from some northerly point. Such signals arc characterised by a noise modula-
tion. perhaps best descri bed as a ··burble." To enable contact to be made
by this means both transmiuer and receiver aerials must be directed to the
same northerly direction if beams are employed. It is presumed that these
reflections arc from the stream of ionised corpuscles entering the earth's
atmosphere after their journey from the sun. The upper frequen cy limit for
this phenomenon is uncertain, and there is scope for investigation.
Tropospheric Propagation
The troposphere is that part of the atmosphere where weather is the pre-
dominating feature. As height is increased the density of the atmosphere

4
slowly deneases. and in consequence the refractive index of the air also
decreases. This means that the paths of rays travelling through the atmosphere
wi ll be slightly curved, the curvature being towards the eanh. This curvature
results in the actual horizon being mo re distant than the geometrical horizon.
This is shown in Fig. l. The actual increase in distance is normally about
o ne-seventh. Beyond this extended ho rizon, signals can be received by
diffraction- an effect which decreases in intensity as the freque ncy is increased.
The range of the extended horizon depends upon (11) the height of the trans-
mitting aerial, (b) local topography, (c) obstructions (all of wh ich arc 1)robably
stable), (d) the temperature. and ( e) the humidity characterist ics or the layer
of air near the earth's surface. These las t two factors arc variable from
day to day, a nd even minute lO minute, and affect the val ue of the refractive
index of the air. Hence, there may be noticeable changes in the extended
hori zon d istance which will cause arprcciable fluctuations in ticltl strength
at any given roint in its neigh bou rhood. T hc normal e' temkd hori7on
T

h
sr"-,
41c ,
c ur; "'r D ,.,
1tr R'4;-- '
rr..q >-
G ROUN o ' ,

EXTENDED HORIZON
DUE TO REF RACTION

Fii. I .
Oiairam 1howing the extension of horizon dlstanc<! due to r efracti on in th~ fow<!,. atm osphere.

distance, neglecting obst ructions, is given by the formula I · 42 \/ /z, where h is

the height in feet of the transmitting roint, the horizon distance being in
miles. If both transmitter and m.:eivcr arc eleva ted, the extended horizon
distances should be added to ascertain whether they a re within " line of sight."
Due to the greater height of thc aeria l compan:d with wavelength, the field
strength at the hori zon may increase when frequency is increased, an effect
which will be considered in more detail when dealing wi th aerials. Beyond
the horizon, however, the field strength will fall off more rapidly 011 higher
frequencies.
Transmission to places beyond the ex tended horizon and diffraction
area is possible when certain types of abnormal humidity and temperature
gradients occur in the troposphere, below a bout 5,000 feet. The normal
rate of decrease of refractive index in the atmosphere with height is of the
order of 12 x 10- 6 per 1,000 feet. The decrease required to make a
horizontally radiated ray curve sufficiently to follow the earth's curvature

5
 is 48 x 10- G per 1,000 feel. The rate of decrease is more rapid when
the water vapour content of the air decreases rapidly, that is, when a layer
of dry air overlies a moist layer. A temperature inversion accompanying
such a humidity gradient may assist, but an inversion without a humidity
gradient can have an adverse effect.
Fig. 2 shows the effect of humidity and temperature changes on the
refractive index of the air during the night of October 11 / 12, 1946. It will
be seen that from about 1,800 feet to 2,600 feet the rate of fall of the refractive
index averages 44 x 10- 6 per 1,000 feet. On that particular night signals
were received on 60 Mc/ s. at distances up to 250 miles. It is probable that
these signals were returned to earth by partial reflection in the layer. the
increased refraction assisting a condition of grazing incidence (i.e. only a
fractic>n of a degree from horizontal), an essential for adequate reflection at a
diffuse boundary. Since the incident radiation in this case is that which left
the transmitting aerial in a very nearly horizontal direction. the vertical polar

REFRACTIVE INDEX.
10.000Hi
f

Fie. 2.
Tropospheric cha.racterlstks for midnight October 11 / 12, 19~6.

diagram of the aerial must be such as to provide as much near-horizontal

radiation as possible if full advantage is to be taken of these conditions.
This will be considered further in the chapter describing aerial systems.
With increased intensity of the incident radiation some reflection is obtain-
able with refractive index gradients much less than that shown for October
11/12, and in consequence some stations operating on 60 Mc/ s. have found it
possible to maintain almost unbroken schedules at distances well beyond
the normal diffraction area. Field strengths are, however, liable to large
day-to-day variations. Due to the shorter wavelength the intensity of such
reflections will be less on higher frequencies, but at these higher frequencies
there may form around the layer a duct of sufficient width to act as a wave
guide, in which the very short waves are trapped and travel round the earth's
curvature. Fig. 3 shows this on an exaggerated scale. From a height HJ
up to H2 above the earth the rate of decrease of the refractive index exceeds
48 x 10- 6 per 1,000 feet and can, therefore, produce a bending of rays
greater than the curvature of the earth. The effect of this on three rays is
shown. Ray I enters the layer at too large a grazing angle and passes through
the layer without reaching a horizontal path. Ray 2, at a smaller grazing
angle, is bent just to horizontal at the top of the layer and will, therefore,
6
continue to follow the earth's curvature. Ray 3 a t a still smaller angle reaches
horizontal condition at point A where the rate of decrease of refractive index
is near its maximum and it continues to increase its curvature and bends
towards the earth. From point B the rate of curvature of the ray falls off
considerably and , with a suitable gradient of refractive index, point C, where
the ray is once more horizontal, may be reached before the ray reaches the
ground. It will then be bent upwards again and continue its oscillatory
pa1h around the earth. T he effect is greatly enhanced whe n the transmitter
is actually in the duct, i.e. when 1he duct is a t ground level, or the transmitter
elevated.
Investigations made in southern England during 1946 showed that gradients
of refractive index in excess of 48 x 10- G per 1,000 feet are extremely ra re,
and thus it is considered that the " partial reflection " theory offers the better
explanation of the fairly regular reception of 60 Mc/s. signals a t distances
up to JOO miles.

fie. J.
An cx.)cier1.U!d illustration of ductin1.

Other Phenomena
Rapid a nd severe fading is occasionally experienced on VHF signals
-including even local signals-due to reflection from aircraft. As the aircraft
moves, the reflected signal cha nges its phase with respect to the directly
received signal due to the changing path-difference. The periodicity of this
fading depends upon the speed of the aircraft. its course and the frequency
of the transmission involved, but periodicities of the order of one second
are not uncommon.
Another phenomenon often encountered when listen ing to weak trans-
missions is sudden short bursts of signal (usually, only for a fraction of a
second) at great strength. This is sometimes known as the "shooting-star "
effec t, because it is thought to be due to reflections from the trail of ionisation

.7
left behind a meteor as it passes through the ionosphere. During big displays
of shooting stars the ionisaiion may become sufficiently continuous to permit
telephony communication to take place over distances up to about 1,000 miles,
although c.w. transmission~ may be too mutilated to be readable.
Sununary
Reception of signals o f frequencies between 60 and 100 Mc / s. and possibly
higher, a t dista nces up to 1.200 miles is occasionally possible due to
ionospheric abnormalities, while the normal ground wave range is frequen tly
extended by several hundred miles by tropospheric phenomena. This
extension applies 1hroughout the VHF band although 1hc exact mechanism
may differ bclwecn 60 and 500 Mc. s.

8
 CHAPTER 2 VHF AERIAL SYSTEMS
LOW ANGLE RADIATION - PO L ARISATION - SIMPLE AER fALS-
B EAM AERf.ALS-FEEDING PARASITIC BEAM AERIALS-FEEDER
LOSSES-ADJUSTING THE BEAM--COUPLI NG TO TH E TRANS-
MITTER- OTHER AER I A L S.

HE principles underlying the design of aerial systrms for use on very

T high frequencies arc in no way different from those which apply to
somewhat lower frequencies, therefore types of aerial used o n such
hands (viz. 7 to 30 Mc. s. ) can also be employed at VHF. However, due to
the smaller physica l dimensions involved. certain types which are
impracticable on lower frequencies become reasonably easy to build and
erect fo r use in the VHF bands, and it is with this latter type that this
chapter will be mainly concerned.
Low Angle Radiation
A perusal of the previous chapter, where the propagation of VHF waves
was considered, shows that it is desirable to radiate as much energy as
possible at extremely low angles. For tropospheric propagation, radiation
at angles above I 0 fro m horizontal is wasted power. On the high frequency
band~ where ionospheric transmission occurs. the desired radiation angles
are from about 5° to 15°. T his, of course, appl ies to·• Sporadic £," but most
VHF aerials will radiate at these angles without any trouble, and it is not
usual to design aerials especially for that type of propagation.
The intensity of very low angle radiation is effectively increased by elevating
the transmitter aerial. Fig. 4 shows the vert i£al polar diagrams for a horizonta l
half-wave aerial at various heights above a surface of perfect conductivity-
sea water being the nearest approach to such a surface actually encountered.
It will be noted how the vertica l angle of the lowest lobe decrea ses as the
aerial is raised . These lobes are due to reflection from the ground and
Fig. 5 enables the derivation of these diagrams to be understood. It will
be seen that the path difference between the direct and reflected waves is
equal to 2H sin A, where A is the angle above horizont al and His the height
of the aerial. For ground of perfect conductivity and horizontal polarisation
there is a phase-reversal at reflection, so that for the direct and reflected waves
to reinforce each other 2H sin A must be equal to an odd number of half
wavelengths, or for the bottom lobe,
).
Sill A= 4H
both ). and H being in the same units. For example, to make A as small
as 1°, using a frequency of 60 Mc/s., the aerial needs to be more than 200 feet
high . This is, of course, the major poi nt of the lobe and there is radiation
at angles below this point. For ground other than that of perfect conductivity
the polar diagram is somewhat d istorted and the minima may not drop to
zero due to the coefficient of reflection departing from unity, but the same
general principle holds.
The desired increase in height may be obtained by careful choice of trans-
mitter site. In this respect high ground sloping away rapidly, in order to
avoid ground reflections in antiphasc from levels comparable with trans-
mitter height, appears to be particularly suitable. Such has been borne out

9
 by the success of amateur stations
working on 60 Mc/ s. from such
locations. Most amateurs will
not be in a position to operate
I from such sites except during field
davs. in which case the aerial
I should be erected as high as
30°~30° possible and clear of all ground
o bstruct ions. The trouble in-
volved in doing this is well
repaid. and the principle applies
to both transmitting and receiving
H = >- aerials. Fig. 6 shows the aerial in
use at one of the most successful
2 60 Mc ·s. stations in southern
England a nd gives a good illus-
tration of the desirable position
I for a VHF beam aerial.
I The above remarks should not
I completely discourage amateurs
who arc unable to erect such high
1 aerials fr om using the VHF
I 490 bands, for useful results have
~
I
I
°""" ob"'"'' wiili
attics and o n low b<•m• '"
garden masts,
but stations using low aerials
0 must not expect to be able to
15 work consistently much beyond
horizon range. Low aerials
should only be used when a higher
H = A aerial is an impossibility.

10
 although at lower frequencies vertical polarisatio n may give greater intensity
of radiation at near-horizontal angles. at VHF there is often litt le to choose
between vertical and horizontal, while sometimes horizontal po larisation
may be superior.
Some tests madi:: from the
Empire Stale Building, New
Yo rk, using fn:quencies of 49 · 5.
83 · 5 and 142 Mc/ s., over land
and inducting both town and
coun try a reas showed that hori-
zontal polarisation (I ) varied
H o ver a greater range, (2) had
higher m•1x imum values, (3)
produced a higher a verage field
GROUND strength than vert ica l. other
things being eq ual. Resu lts o ver
a sea pa th migh t, of course,
produce different conc lusions.
In addition. vert ical polarisa-
Refl ection from rroun~i.c. t;,h diffe r t nc e between lion is s ubject 10 more inter-
di r ect • nd refl ected vn ve is se en t o be 2H sin A. fe rence from man-made stat ic.
Considaa blc fluctuations in
signal strength over short distances may be expected in towns- particularly
when the aerial is low- due to ri::flections from build ings, overhead wires,
etc. Both polarisations are liable to trouble from th is source. Finally,
whichever type o f polarisation is used, it must be the same at both tra nsmitting
and receiving stations. On 60 Mc.'s. most British amateur stations employ
horizontal polarisation .
Simple Aerials
H a lf-wave and long wire aerials may be used for VB F work with similar
methods of feed to those used on higher frequencies. The length of a half-
wave ca n be found from t he
formula:-
5540
Length (i11 inches)
F
where Fis the frequency in Mc,'s.
On the higher freq uencies it may
be necessary slight ly lo reduce the
fi gure obtained by this formula ,
while a long wire containing /1
half-waves will be rather longer
than 11 times the figure given by
the formula . The discrepancy
obviously increases with the
number of ha lf-waves and the
approximate length required is
shown in Table J.
Tuned fe eders are not genera lly
a dvised, but if they are used the
spacing must be reduced from
f l1. 6.
The )-element rotary b. .m used at GSMA Ashstead, that employed on lower fre-
Surrey, on 60 Mc /s. quencies. Six inches is no longer

11
a n.:gligible fraction of a wavelength at JOO M<.:/ s. and with feeder spadng of
that order there will be radiation from the feeders.
The directional properties of aerials arc usually found to be very marked o n
these frequenci.:s. This is due to th.: reliance on very low angle radiation,
TABLE I.
Propertfrs of Long Wire Radiators.
I
No. of length Angle of Angles of I Gain in Major
Half- in feet Major Zero Lobe over Half-
\\JVeS. (fin M<.:/ s.). Lobe. Radia tion. wave (db).
- ------- - - --------
462 · f 90
~ 954~ r 5-1 . 90 0·6
3 1,4~6 .·
r 43"' 70' I·I
.j 1,940: r '.16 ' 60 '. 90 ' I ·6
6 2,920/ r 30 ' 49. 71". 90 2·6
8 3,906/ f 26 ' 41 -. 60 ', 3·5
75 '90
10 4 ,890/ f 22 · 5 37°, 53\ 66 ' 4·3
78°,90°

The angles are meuured from the dlrcclion Gf the wire. In :addition to the anglt s or zero
radiation &ivcn above, In all cases there Is ;i minimum of r adiation from the ends (i.e. at O').

so that the high angle and end-tire radiation, often useful in ionospheric
propagation, is non -effective. For this reason it is desirable to make half-
wavc horizontal aeria ls rotatable. and care must be taken to sec that the
major lobes of long-wire aerials are positioned in useful directions and nulls
do not fall on centres of activity. Long-wire aerials cannot be considered as
omni-directional, and can, with more accuracy, be described as fixed beams,
with appreciable gain in the major lobes over a half-wave. The angles of the
major lobes from the line or the aerial are given in Table I together with
the directions of zero radiation and other useful information, while some
examples of horizontal polar diagrams for long wires are given in Fig. 7.
IL should be noted that the major lobe is always that nearest the direction
of the aerial.

90° 71°
36°

- - - - '2 >.-- - -
Fis. 7.
Polar diairams o( some Ion, w ire aerials.

J}.
Beam Aerials
Although the simple aerials mentioned ahO\e will gi\'C results on the
VHF bands, most amateurs working on these frequencies will wish to take
advantage of the more efficient aerial systems made possible by the shorter
wavelengths in use. On the 60 Mc/s. hand it is probably no exaggeration to
say that 80% of the stations regularly active use a rotary heam. Usually the
beam is one making use or half-
wavc parasitic elemcr11s. A
parasitic element is one which is
not energised directly from the
transmitter, but which receives its
power by induction or radiation
from a ncighboming clement,
usually known as the driven
element. This driven clement
naturally derives its power from
the transmitter usually l'it1 some
type of feeder. Such beams are
easy to construct and no great
ditticultv should be enco untered
in adj usting them for satisfactory
operation. They give worthwhile
gains (up to about 9 db for 3
elements), particul;irly at low
horizontal angles.
Parasitic elements can be
The rotatlni mechanism of th e be•m array shown arranged to act as directors Or
in fig. 6. reflectors. An element forward
or the driven clement in the direction of maximum radiation is called a
director, while an clement to the rear is a reflector.
Considering first the requirements for a reflector it might appear that the
correct spacing between the
driven element and the reflector
would be a quarter wavelength,
allowing for the time of travel of
the radiation between the ele-
ments and the phase reversal at
the reflection. There arc two
main reasons why this spacing is
not the correct one for maximum
gain in the forward direction.
Firstly, the voltage induced in the
reflector is due not only to radia-
tion from the driven element, but
also to the electric a nd magnetic
fields surrounding it. This has
serious effects on the phase of the
induced e.m.f. and current.
Secondly, moving the reflector
closer to the driven clement
increases lhe current induced,
which more lhan compensates Ge nenl view of the mut and routln& mcchan ·sm
for the incorrect phasing thereby of the bevn array shown In Fis. 6.

13
 produced, so that the radiation in the desired direction is increased.
The optimum spacing is found in practice to be between · 15 and ·25:1..
The phase of the reflected radiation will be slightly leading on the radiation
from the driven element du~ to the close spacing. This can be corrected to
some extent by mistuning the reflector so that its reactance is inducti ve,
i.e. by lengthening it. An increase in length of about 5% is usually found to
be about correct, with the spacing at ·I Si..
If the parasitic element is brought closer than about · 14:1. then radiation
is reinforced in the opposite direction and the clement becomes a director.
This effect is enhanced if the length of the dircc!or is shortened by about 4~{.
A spacing of · 1i. is commonly used.
Both director and reflector may be used a l the same time, and more than
one director is not uncommon. As additional clements arc added the beam
becomes sharper so that small errors in directivity cause a large reduction in
signal strength, although at the same time the gain in " the line of shoot "
is increased. Some measurements made on a 3 element close-spaced beam
on 60 Mc/ s. showed the field strength to be 6 db down at appoximately 30°
either side of the line of shoot. At angles greater than this the strength fell
rapidly, being more than 30 db down at right angles to the forward direction.
for beams employing more
TABLE II. than two elements, the optimum
Gains to be expected from simple beams. spacings given above require
modification. The gains to be
! expected from a number of
No. of iDirector Reflector Possible different spacings of 3 and 4
Ele- ' Spac- Spac- Gain element beams, adjusted for
ments. ings. ings. (db). maximum performance arc given
t-------- - -- - - --- - in Table 11. From this it will be
3 ·l · 15 7 to 8 seen that although useful gain
3 ·2 · 15 8 to 9 can be obtained with close
3 ·2 ·2 9 spacing of elements, for best
4 ·1 · 15 8 to 9 results, spaci ngs of the order of
4 ·2 ·2 9 to 10 · 2:1. a re advisable.
I When constructing a beam, it
should be arranged so that some
slight adjustment (say 5%) of element length is possible after erection. Jn this
way maximum performance can be obtained, and it is recommended that these
adjustments be made by observing the effects on a field-strength meter placed
as far as possible from the beam. The reading on the meter can be observed
through field glasses, or by bringing back the actual meter to the neighbour-
hood of the beam by means of flex. Jn this latter case precautions must be
taken to ensure that no radiation is being picked up by the flex, as this will
give misleading results.
It should be noted that. due to the compromises between co rrect phasing
and maximum induced currents, the position and lengths of the elements
will not generally be found to give maximum forward gain and maximum
front-to-back ratio at the same time. For transmission purposes maximum
gain is the usual requirement, and this adjustment will be fou nd to be accom-
panied by a very reasonable front-to-back ratio. More detailed notes on
the adjustment of element lengths, etc., will be given later, a fter methods of
feeding multi-element beams have been considered.
For reliable operntion, beams should be constructed from material that will
not bend excessively in high winds. It is imponant that the spacings remain
constant, otherwise erratic results will be obtained. On 60 Mc/ s. t* tubing
14
is recommended, while on higher frequendes some reduction in diameter is
permissible from the rigidity point of view, as the total length of tubing
becomes less. Duralumin tube is very suitable, being both light a nd a good
conductor, but it is liable to severe corrosion and a protective coating of
aluminium pa int may be desirable. Before paint is applied to duralumin the
surface m ust be treated in such a way as to provide a key to the paint. This
can be done by roughing in a sand blast or wi th a scratch brush. Further
details on this subject may be obtained on application to the A/11111i11ium
Devefop111e111 Association, 67, Brook Street, London, W. I. Care must be
taken with joints to obtain as much contact a rea as possible because, due to
the presence of a strongly adherent oxide film, such joints are liable to show
a high resistance. The three elements of the beam may be held together
by a wooden frame-work. suitably t reated to withstand the weather, the
elements being mounted on stand-off insulators. Alternatively. the centres
of the clements can be joined together rigidly by a length of wide d uralumin
tubing, needing no insulators. This is possible since the centres of the
ckmcnts arc all al the same RF potent ial.

...., Fi1. 8 •
u
20·~ Input resistance of dri ve n elemen t fo r
·:r. \larious leniths of director a.t
different spacings In a fou r element beam
two
.~ Curve A wu w ith directors spaced O·l\
ct
reflector O· IS\ . Curve 8 for directors 0 · I\
reflector 0 · I Sx ~ Note.-Th1s diagram
should not be used to desicn a beam as the
input resisunce d epends also on other
factors.

d?i. d4>. ~o' ·ASJ. ~·

DIRECTOR LENGTHS

Feeding Para~itic Beam Aerials

The problem of exciting the multi-clement beam. particularly when close
spacing is in use, is complicated by the extremely low centre-impedance of
the driven clement. The exact value of this impedance depends o n numerous
factors, including the length and spacing of the directors and reflectors.
Fig. 8 shows some figures obtained experimentally with a 4 clement beam.
This diagram is not intended to provide data for designing a beam, but to
emphasise the large variations which may occur when spacings or lengths of
elements arc altered. The low impedance not only makes direct feed difficult
but means tha t the beam will only be effective over a narrow band of fre-
quencies. Delta matching can be used, and has been used effectively on
60 Mc/ s., the tapping points being found by tria l and error, but the excessive
fanning-out may result in appreciable radiatio n and so have a detrimental
effect on the polar diagram of the beam.
In order to facilitate feeding, the most general method is to use a folded
dipole. In addition to making possible feed from the more usual types of high
and low impedance line, the folded dipole method broadens the frequency
band over which the aerial can be used. In this system a number of radiators

15
 are closely spaced (usually about 5 times their diameter) and arranged so
that they contribute in-phase components of radiation. Fig. 9 shows a
folded dipole consisting of two wires. The radiation resistance at the feed
point increases in proportion to the square of the numher of wires used,
>-
- ---- - - ~-- ~ ---- - - ·-
Fig. 9.
Th•::two:wire folded dipole.

FEED
II
providcd they arc all the same di;1metcr, and hence wi th a two wire system it
is four limes that of a single win:. Thus by employing a folded dipole as the
driven clement of a beam a more reasonable fi gure of radiation resistance is
obtainable. The figure is also affected by the wire or tube-spacing, particularly
if this is too small, while a further variation is possible by the use of
different diameter conductors fo r the two sections of the folded dipole.
By making the broken (or "fed ") cond uctor narrower than the unbroken
one the impedance multiplying factor is increased. Provided the two con-

x y
Fig. 10.
The " T " match aer ioaL
Al IS
FEED
ductors arc not too close the approximate multi plying factor c.1n be found
from the fo rmula
~
(I + 7.7·12 ).
where Z 1 is the characteristic impeda nce of a line formed by two conductors
both like clement I and with same centre-to-centre spacing as clements
I and 2, and Z 9 is the characteristic impedance of a line similarly formed by
conductors like element 2. In this, element 1 is the "fed "clement. Thus•
with the unbroken clement made of -\." tube and the fed element 12 S.W.G·
wire the multiplying fa cto r becomes i ·8. Using a narrower gauge wire will
produce a greater multiplying facto r. By choice of a suitable combination of
conductors it is, therefore, possible to obtain almost any desired input
resistance.
A second method of feeding a close spaced beam aerial, which is worthy of
mention is by "T match". This is shown in Fig. JO which will be seen
to be somewhat similar to the folded dipole already considered. High
impedance feeders may be used, and the position of the feed points X and Y
obtained experimentally so that standing waves on the feeder are eliminated.
The spacing may be about 1t" to 2" at 60 Mc/ s. and proportionately less
at higher frequencies. The matching sections AX and BY can be either
heavy gauge wire or tubing similar to the rest of the beam. The gauge of this
conductor will affect the positions of X and Y, but XY will be of the order
of p, when using a 300 ohm line.

16
 QUARTER W AVE MATCHING SECTION
Zs 1000 Zo 100 0

500

- -- - - -
w
N
0
-- - ---
v l.&J
</) z u
N 4
0 z
<{
UJ
w 0.. 0
CJ ~ w
~
z
~
~
w
<.)
I-
~
\/') _J
~ a:
....
UJ -<
a::
UJ
u uJ
<( <(
z ex
<(
...J :I: 5-0 5
u }..
0 - 1'4 -
UJ
UJ Zr ; Zo '
u. Zs
2 2·0 -vr-;---:y-
Zr Zs = Zc 2

I· -
fii. 11.
MHchin& section chart. This cha.ft m::ly be used to obnin t ht sv r&:e. impedance of :a quarter-wave
m atchini: section used u an impe danc e transformcf" from one real impedance to another. In
the example shown, Zr is 72 ohms and Z s ts 200 ohms, ind!cating a quar ter-wave matchin ' section
of 120 ohms is needed.

17
 Dirccl feed to the centre of the beam is possibk by using a quarter-wave
matching transformer. whk:h <.:an convenientl y .:onsist of an clcc1rical quarter
wavelength of low impedance feeder. Such a kngth or 75 ohm cahlc will
<.:orrcctly match a 600 ohm line into 8 · 5 ohms a nd will give a standing wave
r;itio of less than 2 to 1 over a range of from .5 to 16 ohms. A chart , enabling
correct combinations of cable for the matching transformer and for the feed
line to be employed. is given in Fig. 11, but as the e xact impedance at the
input to the beam is a matter of some doub1, the linal correct combination
must almost certainly he found by t rial and c r-ror. 1i should be noted that
an electrical quarter-wave of cabk is less th<in a ph ysical quarter-wave due
to the slower speed of travel of waves in the cables 1han in air. The physical
length . corresponding to a required elcctril.:al length , can be ob1;tined from
manufacturer' s data or ascerwined experimentally as Lkscribed below.
With 75 ohm cable, using high quality dielcctric. an electrical wav.:leng1h
is usually about 60 10 70" ., or a rhysical wavelength.

Feeder Losses
In c hoosing cabk" for use on
very high frequencies it must be
n:membercd th<it, main ly as a
result or the increasing •·skin
dl'cct... transmission losses in -
crease as freq uc ncy is inereascd.
and cable which has negligible
loss on, say. 7 o r 14 Mc s . may
show up very badly at 100 Mc s .
Losses of 5 db per 100 foct arc
c ommon at this frequency in
cables of quite good quality,
<'.if. the 80 ohm line shown in
f;g, 12. fig . 11. This is, of course, the
A bJ.IOlnced 80 ohm reeder cable . Loss at 56 M < s. loss under conditions or perfect
4 db per 100 foot r un. (B~lling and Lee, Ltd.)
matl·hing to the aerial. but if the
matching is incorrect the loss may increa se very considerably and in very bad
cases ve ry little po wer indeed will reach the aerial itself.
Fig. I J shows. in grarhical form, the effect of standing v.aves of vario us
magnitudes on the total feeder losses. the loss under matl·hed condition
being that given al the extreme left of each curve. For example, curve A
is for a length of cable having ;i to tal loss under perfect matchi ng conditions
of I db . With <{ standing wave rati o or 4 to l the total loss increases lo
2 · 5 db (probably not very seriou s). but if the matched line has a loss of 2 db
then a similar standing-wave ratio increases the total losses 10 7 db. Hence
it will be seen that standing-waves bcL·ome a serious mailer if the cable length
is large. Thus. it is useless lo expect 10 gain in tidJ strengt h al a dist<int
poin t by inc reasing the height of the aerial if losses arc thereby incurred in the
i'ced..:r.
W ith a ILlW a..:rial. usin~ 30 fo..:t of' ciblc c·orrectlv rnat~h..:d. the i'c..:dcr
loss will he of' the or(.tcr o(J · 5 db. If there is a misnlalch of 2 lo I thi s los~
increases lO 2 · 5 db. If the same aerial is raised to IOO feel then with corre..:t
matching the total loss is now 5 db, while with 2 to 1 mismatch the loss is as
large as 8 db. This must be offset ag;1insl any radiation gain due 10 the extra
height.
 Adjusting the Heam
Before attempting to a dj ust
db. 1he pa rasitic clement le ng ths it
LOSS i' essentia l 10 ensure 1ha1 the
driven d cment is resonant and
IS
:i lso fairly c losely matche d
10 the feeden;. As a ll director
anJ reflector adjustments are
liah lc to atll."Ct both the reson-
ance and impedance o f the
driven ele ment it is also
10 necessary to be able to mak e
rrequcnl die.:ks. It is suggcstt:d
tha1 lhe si mple cin.:ui1 shown in
fig. 14 h..: const ructcJ .i ml
lCOupkJ to 1he transm itler power
a m plilkr. The points X aml Y
5 should be con nected by a non-
inductiw resistor o f approxi-
ma1ely the samc value as the
feeder s urge impedance. Due
to skin eflect the actual resist-
anc.: to r.f. c urrents will not
be exactly the same as that
l 2 3 4 ~ ~ given on the resistor. The
T T T circuit should be tuned to
STANDING WAVE RATIO resonanct: as indi<.:ated by the
Fi g . 13. maximum reading on the
lncrc;a.sc or loss with sun dlng waves on feeders. anln)Ch! r, the coupling being
Sec •••t. a djusted to a suitable value for
1hc wa1tagc o f the resistor in use. It is now necessary 10 connect
a Jcng1h o f fe eder an cxalCt n umber o f electrical half-waves long ro
points X and Y , in place of the resistor. This is done by connec ti ng
a length ra ther longer tha n that a nticipated and culling off pieces u ntil
the tuni ng of the circuit fo r resonance is exactly the $amc as with the resistor.
(The reading on the merer may be slight ly different due 10 sk in effect in the
resistor. ) If only one half-wave is required the starling length may be
about 80° ~ of a physical half-wave. Havi ng ob1aincJ a le cdcr a number of
half-waves Jong, con nect the aerial to the fa r end, when, if it is resonant the
tuning or the coupling circuit
should remain uncha ngc.:d. To
chc.:ck for matL·hing, l..:ngthcn the
feeder by a quarter wavelengt h. x
With th is done 1hc tuning anJ L
meter readi ng shou ld rema in the y
same.
The feeder should now be
connected 10 the transmiucr in
the normal way, a field s trength
meter p laced al a suita ble distance
and the director and reflector Fi&. 14.
adjusted for maximum reading. Simple device for checking resonance ol a e da.I and
accuracy o f rmnching o f feeders to 1erlaf. L and C
It will probably be found tha t 1hc should be o f 1uitablc value.s to be resonant :u
length of the direc tor is m uch frequen cy In use. for met hod i ce te x t .

19
rnnn: niti..:al than the n:nc..:tor. While doing these h:sts it is m:C"essary to
make frequent c hecks to sec that the driven ckmcnl is still in resona nce and
c:orrco.:tly matched otherwise misleading results may be obtained . Wi1h
m on: 1han one din:o.:tor it may be found !hat making 1hc forward dite..:w1 a
l1t1 lc longer than the others wi ll give improved re sul t~ .
Fig. 15 s h ow~ the effect of mcreasing and decreasing the di rector length
fro m a ba~ 1 ..: length o r ·4 Xi .. - the d riven clement hcing maintai ned rc.>onant.
These curves a rc for two d ifferent spacings and 4 clement beams similar
to those considered in Fig. 8. Although some slight ex tra gain may be
ohtainable with certain spacings by ma king the direc tor longer than the usual
shorte ned kngth. 1hc sudden dc.:rcas..: in performance at sli ghtly long..-r
il"nJ!t li- will rc,trit·t th.: ha nd of frt·4ut•1H:it:~ ove r whi.:h the ht:am ..:a n he u~t:d .
10 d Bs GAIN

·aa>. ·46X ·48 >-

DIRECTOR LENGTHS
fl& . 15.
A ctual gJ.ins obu i n e~ wit h two different spJcincs in four clement beam arnys, with various
director le ngths. For deuils of array see fig. 8 .

Coupling to the Transmitter P.A . Circuit

When coupling the transmission li ne to the output circuit of the tmnsmitter.
care must be taken to avoid undesira ble capacity coupling. This can cause
the radiation of strong harmonics and se riously upset the working of the
a.:rial system on the funda mental frequency. Due to the fac t that capacitive
reactance decreases when freq uency increases these clfects assume larger
proportions o n the VHF ranges than on lower frequ encies.
The most usual me thod of coupling the feeder to the transmitter output
o.:irc uit is by means of a one or two turn coupl ing coil. The voltages produced
at the two ends of this coil arc in antiphase and hence current in antiphase
flows in the two feeder lines and no fee der radiation occurs. When stray
capacitat ive .:oupling is present it produces voltages or substantially the
same phase throughout the coupling co il and the two feeders arc fed in
20
para.llcl, i.c'. currc·nt in phase <Hl 1h.: two lin.:s and therefore. radiation from
ihe leeder o.:rnrs. This radiation will become large if the length of the feeder.
plus aerial lop, 1s resonant at the freq uency in use and the polar diagram 0r
1he acnu l system will be altered. Th i ~ means wasted power. C.apacitali\'r
coup!in gs should be suspcc1ed if. in spite of all attem pts to match the feed er~
10 t~c aeri:tl, the line ~·urrcn t s rcnrnin unba la nced and larµe \1't11d ing wa ve'
persist.

Harmonic radiation is also frcq u.:ntly du.: to 1his cause. 1he k.:der length
being resonant at the harmonic frequency. Since ha rmonics from amateur
rrc4uenc ics in the VHF r.:gion a lmost always fall in bands a llotted to other
\crviccs. the desirability of eliminating them is obvious. Lt mus! he stressed
here that the use of push-pull output stage~ is no guarantee that even
harmuni..:s ..:annot gct into the a.:rial srtcm .

·73 A
Fig. 17.
The Si-conical aerial.
As frequenc y is increased it becomes more difficult to choose a feeder length
which wil l not resona te at either the fundamental or one o f its lowe r value
harmon i c~ . The remedy in such <:ases is to prevent the fecdc:r being exci ted,
at its resonant frcqucnl·y . The simplest, but nevertheless quite effective
method is to earth the middl.: point of the coupling coil. which sho uld , or
course. alway~ he at the" earthy" point of the ouput circui t inductan<:c.
21
 Other Aerial Systems
The systems described above are those most commonly used hy amateurs
in the 60 Mei s. band, but many other arrangements can he used with good
effect. Parasitic type beams of a m ore complex type can he built hy stacking
arrays one above the other. half a wavelcng1h apart. and fed in phase. This
gives a noticeable increase in low angle radiation. A suggestion fo r such an
array for 144 Mc ,'s. is given in Fig. 16. This array should work equally well
either horizontally or vertically. Construction can be of :1 • tubing and the
matching can he adjusted by varying the spacing of the J ). matc hi ng sections.
Bi-fo nical Aerial
Fig. 17, which ill ustrates an ae rial suitable for wide-band operation.
cons ists of two multiple wire cones anJ has a n input impedance of aholll
60 to 70 ohms.
Co-axial Aerial
An efficient aerial with an omn idirectional c haracterist ic a nd low angle
radiation, suitable for use when vertical polarisation is desired is shown in
fig . 18. The centre cond uctor o f a 72-ohm co-axial cable is extended for l ).
tn a ct as the upper h a lf of a half-wave vertical a erial. The lower half "is

r METAL ROD

t=i
~ ;

L .i
METAL SLEEVE

''
I
I
I

' CO-AXIAL
CABLE 72oHM

Ft1. 18.
The coaxial aerlill. This aerial produces sood lo w ang le radiatlon wit h vertical polarisation.

22
obtained by arranging a metal sleeving around the lop l i. of the cable with
the sleeve connected lo the top of the outer conductor of the cable. There is
thus a perfect match from feeder to aerial.
Corner Reflectors
DIPOLE The corner reflector consists or
SPACING two flat conducting sheets which
intersect at an angle. The sheets
can be continuous metal or made
of a number of parallel wires.
DIRECTION OF which need not be electrically
MAX. RADIATION connected. The radiator is placed
- ---- ~ on the bisector of the ·•corner:·
and this bisector wil l be the
REFLECTOR direct ion of maximum radiation.
ELEMENTS The distance between the p.
ANGLE I) (CLOSELY SPACED) radiator and the vertex for a
OF CORNER (
60° corner angle shou ld be a half
RADIATOR wavelength, and under this con-
DIPOLE dition the input impedance will
ARMS OF
ANGLE be 70 ohms and a gain of about
10 decibels has been obtained
Fir. 19.
The corner reflecco r aetial. in pract ice at 250 Mc / s. The
cover illustration s hows a
150 Mc, ·s. 60 corner reflector aerial. The len gth of each arm of the angle
should preferably be about three times the spacing of the dipole from the
apex; and the ·· herringbone .. reflector elements should be longer than a
half wavelength. Various angles and dipole spacings may be used and further
information may be obtained from the original paper by Kraus in Proc.
l .R.E., Vol. 28, p. 513, November, 1940, or from Terman's R(ldio £11gi11eer'.1·

METAL SLEEVE SOU>ERED

TO OUTER OF CO-Al\IAL
CABLE AT LEFT HANO ENO,
OPEN AT OTHER ENO

Foi . 20.
A iirnple bal~nced-to-unb.Jl.1.nctd
mitching transformer.
·--'-·--·------
:.-:.;,-----=- ====-.:-----

CO-AXIAL
-b- ..
FEEDER

Handbook, pp. 8 19-82 1. The salient features of the corner reflector arc
shown in Fig. 19. Practically, the corner reflector is feasible at frequencies
above about 100 Mei s. Below this freq uency it is rather large. It may be
.:onstructcd on an "A" shaped wooden frame, details of which can be
gleaned from the cover illustration. Fig 20 shows a suitable balanced-to-
unbalanced matching device which may be used to feed a dipole such as
that used in a corner reflector. from ao unbalanced co-axial line. Some
distortion of the theoretical polar diagram must be expected if a dipole is
fed from a co-axial line without the special matching arrangement.
 CHAPTER 3 VHF TRARSMITIERS
INTRODUCTION - BY-PASSING - VALVES - NEU TRALI SING
F REQ UENCY MULTIPLIERS- TUNED C IRC UITS- PRACTICAL
TRANSM ITTERS MODULATION - BC L INTERFER ENCE -
420 Mc s.

Introduction
H E arricarancc during recent years of a number of valves especially
T designed fo r use in low power VHF transmitters has grea tly sim plified
the design and constructio n of such equirment. Frequency stability of a
high order is readily obtainable on freq uencies u p to about 200 Mc s .. a nd
with the increased activity o n VH F bands every effort should be made
to obtain such s tability to avoid interference with other transmissions.
In addition, receiver selectivity is ofte n as high as that used on the lower
amateur bands a nd u nstable transmissions wi ll present reception di tlkulties.
The use of simple oscilla tors is. therefore. not advised on frequenc ies
below 200 Mc 's. On such frequencies the technique is very sim ilar to
that on lower frequencies. namely, a stable osci llator followed by a
number of frequ ency multiplying stages . The stability of the ost.:il lator
hec.:omes increasingly impor tant as the ou tput freq uency of the transmi tte r is
increased, since any variatio ns in the osci llator frequency will be corres-
rondingly multi plied. For example. using an oscillator on 7 . 5 Mc 's. in a
60 Mc ·s . transmitter. a variation of I kc 's. in the osci llato r becomes 8 kc s .
\'ariation at the o utput frequency. Th us. crysta l heating, volta ge c hanges.
etc.. in a variable fre quency osci llator as well as ··chirpy" keying methods
must be carefully avoided .
If satisfactory results arc to be obtained carefu l choice of componen ts and
layout is essential. Parasitic oscillations a re likely to be of the same
frequency order as the desired o utput. and suppressio n of these parasitics
may a lso suppress the wanted frequency, hence the desirability of arranging
the c ircuit so that parasitics do not occur.
By-passing
Among the points to be watched is the selection o f non-inductive conde nsers
for by-pass use. It is usua lly better to c hoose small m ica. silvered mica or
ceramic condensers of low capacity rathe r than bulkier. higher capacity
c.:ondensers. If a large capacity is essential. then it may he advantageou s to
nmnect a small non-ind uctive condenser in parallel wi th the larger one. A ll
leads. whether in tuned circuits o r by-pass ci rc uits, sh o uld be as sho rt as
possible, and there should be one common earthing point for each s tage.
Where cathode bias is used, by-passing should be to cathode r ather than
chassis, but unless a really high quality by-pass condenser is available for the
c athode circuit , the use of cathode bias is no t advised as it is liahlc to introd uce
a common impedanct' into ho th grid :ind anode c i rcuit~.
\ alves
Furth.:r, ii' l>r.:, t n;, ulr- a r.: 10 lie o l>tai11cJ oll l)' ,...dv.:, Jc,ign.:J fot u,,:
at very h igh frequencies sho uld be employed . Some su itable valvl!S with thei r
main characteristics arc given in Table 111. Base connections arc given in
Table JV . F urther details of British valves in this list arc o btainable from the
 Mu \.
CATHOD[. M.i x. Max. i M a~. Mu x. M:lX. Dri\'C Output Freq. ; Max .
Class. .. Anode Anode I An.o de Sac en Grid Power , Power Mc, s. Freq.
v. /\. Volts. Current: Diss. Vohs. mA. \V<.11IS. \Vatt s. ( rull ( rcduccol
rnA. ' Walls. ratings). rating~).
--- - -- - ----- - - - - - - - -- - - -- - -· .. - - -~· - - · - ·- - -~ --- - - - ____ ,

Twin Trio de 6. J 0 .8 J OO . 50 ·. 5 IR I .8 lb 100 )lKl

·----- -- --------
Tetrode
----
6.3
- -·- ··
I. 27 600 100 25 JOO tl.4 40 60
- · --
150
19 .4:! ';,
- - -- - - - · -- · -~ ---·- ~ -- - ~---
:::.
Triode 7 .5 .1.J USO 100 50 17 90 IOIJ .100 ~
.:::..,
·---- --'- - -·-- ---- . . - - -- -- :-- --· ... · -··· - - - "'
::i
Triode 1,500 120 ! 50 88 100 250
- ---· ·---- ·---··-- i- - - - -- ·- - - . -- - - - -- ~
Triode

- ---- - ------1---·
l!c rn1 Tetrode ' 6 . J
- - ·····
. 61
---·
300
----
4
- - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - · -·-·- - · -
Triode 6 3 2,000 75
'· ·-
so• ' 1.S
25
2.000

·-··
-
150
25
---·-·-···
150
4 5
70
·-··· - - - · - - - - - - -- --
100
-····- - - 6-·---
. .1
60 ,
35

··-I 50-· .___ ~

.10 :!25 60 ISO
- ,..
:::: -l
--:-- E
~
- - - -- - -- ·-- -- - - --
~~---:----
~
Twin Beam
Te1rode 6.J l. 6 400 2. 10 0 . .2 .10 22~ 140 ~
- - - - -- - - - - --· - - -·- - ·- - - - - - - - -- --- -- - - - - ----·- - - - ::::·
·- ~
:::·
Twin Tetrode td 1.6 300 2 . 45 2 . 7. s 200 O.::? 20 60 150
~
Twin Beam
Tetrode :
- - - - - ---!- -- :- - -
6 . .1
----- - --
2.25 750
· - -····
2 . 120 2 ,. 20 225 1. 7 . ~ 0 .8 87 250
--
.:
~
Beam Tctro<lc 6. J I. 27 600 95 15 )00 6 U. 5 .\~ 60 1 1~

- - - ----· - - - - -- . -- ·- ----· --~ -- - -- - - -·

480
Triode 6 .3 . 0 .2 JOO 25 3. 5
- -- - - ----··- - -»----- ·----- ----··- - - - - - - - - - - - --- - · - ·- ·- - --- ---
Tetrode 6.3 ' 0.8 JOO 50 7.5 250 0. 1 6 .7 100 150
----- ------- - - -·- -- ---- - - -
6.J 1.6
- - - -- - --·- -- --·- - -·-
Twin Tetrode 12 . 6 .8 soo 2 x 40 2 >- 7 . 5 250 2.~ U. 2 15 100 150
 manufacturers. For most economical results the use of beam tctrodes is
recommended as the drive requi red is very small and hence low power driving
stages will suffice. As a typical example, the Mulford QV04--20 requires
only O. 2 walls grid drive to give 30 walls RF_ output as a Class C_ amplifier
For those who prefer triodes a number of sunabh: valves arc available but
somewhat more drive is required.
TABLE IV.
Base co1111ectio11s of Va!l'es list eel in Table 111 .

}~: 1~
~
"®" ®
OE T 19. 4074A: RK34 Hl\MG; 4)04CA; 834;
DEnJ, 5 JSTG
4304 CB 4356 A

:~ 'G: :fl: :•
DE TIB : 3ST ; HK24 QVO!J-7 0V04-20; 815 OV07-40; 8'29B

:@:,~:,~::i~~tl@'
TTll TT 12 TTl5 DET20 TT14
Neutralising
With carerul layout and efficient screening of grid and anode circuits, many
of the beam tetrodes will operate as power amplifiers on 60 Mc/ s. without
neutralising, but as frequency is increased or if screening is not adequate, then
neutralisation becomes necessary. The anode-grid interelectrode capacity
is very sm all in these valves, being less than · 2 µi.LF in some cases, and hence
normal neutralising condensers are useless. A simple method, particularly
suita ble to twin beam tetrodes, is to use the anode of the valve as one side of
the neutralising condenser, and a length of 12 or 14 SWG copper wire,
connected to the appropriate end of the grid circuit, as the other side of the
condenser. By altering the spacing between the wire a nd the anode, the
capacity can be adjusted. With the grid circuit under the chassis and anode
above Denco feed-through insulators will be found useful. With an RCA8 15
using 4• of wire above the chassis the correct spacing between the neutralising
wire and the valve envelope will be found to be about 1•. Some modification
of this method is required for single-ended stages, the neutralising wire
requiring to be placed close to the end of the ta.nk. coil n: mot.c from the

26
<1nodc. A small metal dis.: atta.:hcd to the wire <.:an he used to in<.:rcasc the
.:apacity if desired. These methods arc sho wn diagramatically in Fig. 21.
Ai A2

Cn Cn

( a)
Fig. 21.
Method o( ncutralisin& beam tetrode1. (o) and (b) twin utrode:s, (c) sin&le tetrodes .

Frequency Multipliers
Most of the valves shown in Table Ill can be used as frequency multipliers,
the bias and drive being increased for efficient operation. The DETI 9 and
its equivalents are useful as push-push doublers (see Fig. 22). Two QV04-7's
or two 807's can be used in a similar circuit with good efficiency and the aerial
can be fed direct from such a stage if desired, although the use of a straigh t
power amplifier is advised whenever possible. The QV04-20 and QV07-40,
(Fig. 23), with their equivalents make good trebkrs, while the QV04-7 works
well as a doubler, trebler or quadrupler. For the lower frequency stages of the
transmitter, valves normally used at those frequencies, e.g. 6F6, 6V6, 6L6,
can, of course, still be employed, trebling and quadrupling replacing the
more usual doubling in o rder to reduce the number of stages required.
+

Fie. 22.
Push.push doubler, suitable for use with
OETl9 or RKJ4, etc.

27
 Tum.>d Circuits
Al 60 M c s. ordinarv coil and colllknscr
tuned circu its (as shown in Fig. '.241 a rc
reasonably ctlkient and, due to their
compac tness. arc usua lly employed i n
preference to resonant lines. but as fre -
quency is increased 1he losses due 10
radiation and the difficulty of o b tain ing a
reasonable sil.ed coil for the normal type
o r tuned circui t give an increasi ng advanlagc
to the linear circ u it. In this type t wo
conductors- usually 1· or ~ • tubing or even
large diameter copper wire- arc run
parallel to each other and ~paced ahou1
their own diameter. The circuit is tuned
by adjust ing the lengths or the conductors
by mi:ans of a shorting ba r. the D.C.
input heing made a t 1he s ame point. The
effect on efficiency 0f using linea r lank
c ircui ts i ~ well s hown by 1hc c urves of
Fig. 25 which indicate rhc efficiency of rhe
S1amlard Tl!ll!p/11111<'.1· 4 J56A lriode used as a
Class C oscillator on various frequencies.
Al 100 Mc ~. borh coil and line ci rn 1i1s
give 66°0 efficicrH.:y. hut al 200 Mc ~. 1hc
coil ci rcuit efficiency has dropped to 46'\,
while the line circuit still has an ctfa:iency o f 62 °,,. This a lso means rhat
1hc highe~t frequency at which the va lve can he used is grcarcr with a line
,·ircu it than "'ith coils.
The lengths of the lines required for resonance arc ! i. but due to the kngrh
or leads inside the valves and to the interelectrode capa<:iries t he acru~ I
lengt h in practice is less than this figure. Using twin beam tctrodes. such as

Fig. 2).
The Mullord family of VHF beam tetrodcs. QV0~-7. QV04-20 and QV07-40.

28
the QV04-20, the length required is about 15" on 144 Mc,'s. Thi: lengths
will, of course, be slightly affected by the size of conductor used ;ind th.:
spacing.
An alternative to the adjustable shorting bar method of tuning is to use a
small. low-loss. tuning condenser at the open end (i.e. anode end). With this
method rather shorter lines will be required due 10 the extra capacity. High-
quality neutralising type condensers arc suitable for this function. Resonance

fig. 24.
A 60 Mc .'s. power ;;amplifier using an Osram DETIS or Eimac 35T in use Jt G2WS.

can be determined by the usual mean s. such as dip in anode current or striking
of a neon lamp, etc. Aerial coupling to such a circuit can be by tapping on to
the lines 1·ia high-voltage type condensers. or better. by means of a coupling
loop, hairpin shape, placed near 10 the shorted end of the lines. This is
shown in Fig. 26.
In coil type circuits it is possible lo employ a larger coil by using the anodc-
cathodc capacity of the valve in series with the tuning condenser, instead of
the more usual parallel arrangement, as is shown in Fig. 27.

Three Valve Crystal Controlled Transmitter for 60 Mc .;s.

Fig. 28 shows the circuit diagram of a three valve transmitter designed fo r
use on frequencies around 60 Mc s. Ji can. however. be readily adapted
for use on frequencies up 10 144 Me is. by employing a higher frequency crystal
and ' or increasing the frequency multiplication of the second stage from two
to three. By adding a further stage operation up to 200 Mc s. is obtainable.
The two driver stages use beam tetrodes (1W11//ard type QV04 -7) giving
ample output lo drive the power amplifier (M11//ard QV04-20 or RCA815),
to 25 watts or more.
The first stage is a quadrupling trite!, using a 7 · 5 Mc/ s. crystal. With an

29
 anode voltage of 160. the anode and scn.:..:11 currents ol' thc QV04--7 101<11
ahout 20 mA., and under these conditions crystal heating is negligiolc and
the rrcquency is stable even after multiplication by eight. lf the anode voltage
is raised to 300 (the maximum permissible) this is no longer true and frequency
drift becomes noticeable. Since adequate output on 30 Mc/ s. is obtained with
the lower voltages it is recommended that these be used. Parallel feed to the
anode is recommended but there is no objection to the use of the more usual
series feed .
~o 80~~~~~~~~~~~~

ffFICIENCY~===t:~~~"-<--_J
Fig . 25 .
Ve.riatton of efficiency or S. T. & C. 4356A
triode, wtth frequ~ncy when using lines and
coHs in the tune:d ci r cuit. (S. T. & C. Ltd.)

100 200 300

Mc/s.
The second ()V04- 7 doubles the fre411cncy to Ml Mc \. As apprcciahk:
third harmonic output is obtainable with this valve. care must be taken 10
ensure 1hat the correct harmonic is selected. Plate and screen current 101al
25 mA . when !he anode DC voltage is 300 and the grid bias - - 72 volts.
For CW operation the screen supply to 1his stage is keyed, and it is for this
reason that the resistance R5 is incorporated. Provided that grid bias is
maintained at the figure given above, no" space-wave" is radiated, and the
keying will be found to be free of" chirp." A simple filter of · 01 µF and
100 ohms across the key will ensure thac no key clicks are radiated . No
voltage stabilising device is employed; when the key is depressed the current
drawn by VJ changes by Jess than 1 mA.
The grid circuit of V3, which is untuned, consists of a two-turn coupling coil
pushed between the centre turns of the coil of 1hc 60 Mc/ s. circuit in the
anode of V2. About 50 volts or negative bias arc applied to the centre
point of this coupling coil for the grids of VJ. The drive can be adjusted oy
altering the coupling ; with tight coupling it will be found that there is far
too much drive. It is possible to drive the QV04-20 to 12 mA. grid current,
which is three times the makers' recommended figure. Further adjustment is
possible by varying the tuning of VI. .
The screen grid is fed from a potentiometer connected between the
modulated side of the modulation transformer and HT negative. This
cn<ibles modulation of hoth plate and screen grid to be effected, and also
minimises the rise in voltage on the screen grid when the key is up for CW

Fig. 26.
• Inca,. unk circuit, suitable for ll.SC on 14'4 Mc /s. Tonini I s by adjustment of position ofshortin&:
bar. Alternatively, a small variable condenser may be conntcted between X and Y.

30
 operation. For 25 watts input the m a kers· tigun:s of .l25 volts on the anode
and 165 on the screen grid will be found ample. For higher powers the
anode voltage can be increased to 400.
No neutralisation was necessary in the original of this transmitte r. All
wiring and tuned circuits, with the exception o f the PA o utput, were placed
under the chassis so that screening was as complete as possible. Should it be
found necessary to neutralise, the mdhod dcs..:rihed earlier in this chapter
should he employed.

EQUIVALENT

Coe
HT+
c

Fi, . 27.
Showing how :a l.1r-g c c:oil cJ:n b e used :u VHF by placing the :mode .cathode capacity of the
vaJ..-c in se ri es with the tuning capacity.

By substituting parallel lini:s for the output c ir..:u it. and increasing the bias
on the QV04 - 20 10 110 volts. as well as increasing the drive, good ou tpu t is
obtainable on 180 Mc. s. By us ing an 8 M<:. s. crystal, and making VI and V.I
treble, while retaining V2 as :1 doubler, output can bc obtained on 144 Mc . s .
It is, however, advised that a further QV04- 20 be added, when rt:ally good
output should be ot11aincd on this frequency . A linear lank circuit or parallel
lines will he found to give superior results to the coil and condenser type.
Medium Po"er Transmitter for 60 lo 70 Mr/ s.
fig. 29 shows a circuit which may be used on 60 to 70 Mc/ s. with an input
to the power amplifier of 80 to 100 watts. It may also be used as a driver
unit for a high-power transmitleron 120 to 150 Mc/ s. by converting the;: final
stage to a doubler. There will be sufficient outpu t to drive, say, two DET12's
in push-pull. or a lte rnatively, the ou1pu1 of the double r may be fed direct to
the aerial. Other output frequencies a rc available by changes in the frequency
multiplication of one or more stages, and as with all VHF transmitters
employing frequency multipliers, care must be taken to ensure that the o utput
frequency fro m the final stage is that intended.
The oscillator stage, using a small audio freq uency type pentode, is crystal
controlled on about 7 Mc/ s. Oscillation is assisted by the small feedback
condenser Cl. Satisfacto ry operation m ay be possible without this condenser,
but results arc more certain with it. The anode circuit is tuned to the crystal
frequency and capacitively coupled to the second stage. Both second and
. third stages are treblers using KT8 or 807 types valves. Better omput may be
obtained by tapping the anode one or two turns up the coils. Small hy-pas.~
condensers should be connected across the heaters of the valves in the fi rst
three stages, one side of the heater wiring being earthed. This is not shown
in the circuit diagram. A capacity of 500 µµ F is adequate.
Tht: fourth s tage can be operated as a straight power amplifier or as a

'.H
LI

fl&. 28.
Thrte· valve crystal-co ntrolled transmitt e r for 60 Mc .'s .. easily ad:apcable to hicher frequencies.
RI 50,000 ohms I watt . Cl 60 ppf var. C l2 ·OJ µ Fin para.JI el with
Rl 100 ohms ~ w1tt. Cl 20 JIJlf YU. ·000511F.
Rl, ~ 15,000 ohms I wut. Cl IS - IS 1;µf vor. Cll. 11 ·0005 µF.
RS 10,000 ohms I watt. C1 10 + 10 1111F var' . VI QV04-7.
R6 100.000 ohms I wact. cs ·OOl 11F. Vl QV04-7.
R7 6,000 ohms 5 w.itu. C6, 7, 8 , Vl QV04-20.
RS S0,000 ohms vu. 9, 10, 11 ·OOOS 11f.
S watts (see text).
LI 9 turns, 24 S.W.G .• close wound on I"' former .
ll 9 tu rns, 14 S.W.G., f"' dl1meter spaced to occupy I~-.
Ll 7 turns, 18 S.W.G., r diameter spaced to occupy 1r.
L4 2 <urns, ln<erwound with L3 a< cen<re.
LS 6 turns, I"' copper tube, 1• diameter spaced !'' between turns, unn1ed 3 ;ind 3 ¥Jich
i"' gap at centre for L6.
L6 2 turns, 12 S.W.G., 1• di•meter.

doubler. In the latter case the neutralising condenser should be adjusted to

give greatest RF output. It may be found desirable lo insert chokes in the
filament leads to this stage at the points .marked X. Such chokes must be
capable of carrying the 3t amps. of fi lament current. It should be noted
that this stage needs a separate filament supply from the other three stages.
Cathode bias has been included in each stage, sufficient to limit the anode
current to a safe value when the drive is removed, but battery bias can be used
instead if desired.
In constructing this transmitter the genernl notes on layout at the beginning
of this chapter should be borne in mind. When V4 is used as a power
amplifier there must be adequate screening between the tuned circuits in the
anodes of VJ and V4. Any parasitic oscillations occurring in stages V2 and V3
may be eliminated by inserting 50 ohm I watt resistors in the screen grid
leads (i.e. between the valve terminal and the junction of the feed resistor
and by-pass condenser.

Other Circuits
Many other circuit arrangements are, of course, possible and the two
described here are intended mainly to show the type of valve line-up, c:tc.,

32
 Fig. 29.
Transmitter c ir cui t fo r 60 to 70 Mc 's., or dri..,cr unit ror 120 to ISO Mcls.
RI S0,000 ohms I watt . Rf S 1,500 ohm$ 20 w.JtU . C l7 500 ,,,,f.
Rl 250 ohms I w.ltt. CI I f't' F Ceramic. Cl8 '4 1111F neutralts1n, .
Rl 80.000 ohms I watt. Cl, 7, 8 . Cl 9, l0 · 001 11F.
R1 10.000ohms IOw>Cu. 10. ll, 13. C21 15 !- 25 l't'f v;ir .
RS, 8 100.000 ohms l watts. IS, ll ·005 11F. R.f.C. RF Chohs.
R6, 9 500 ohms 5 wuu. Cl. 5 ·01 11F. VI EL32.
R7, 10 "40,000 ohm.s 2. wuu . C4 60 1111F ..,. ar . V2, ) KT8C, 807.
Rll 1,000 ohms I 0 watts . C6, II , 16, I 00 1111F . V'4 130KB. DETll or
Rll 20.000 ohms 10 watts. C9 "40 1111F \rar. 831.
R 13, 11 IOOohms I watt Cl4' 1()1111Fvar .

which will give results on frequencies up to 200 or 250 Mc/ s. For operation
on frequencies in the 144 to 146 Mc/ s. band an 8 Mc/ s. crystal can be
employed followed by two trebling s tages and one frequency doubling s tage,
the o rder bei ng a matter to be decided by the valves avai lable. Alternati vely,
a 6 Mc.'s. funda mental freq uency followed by quadrupling, trebling and
doubling stages will produce the necessary output frequency.

Modulation
Modulation. to provide telephony trans1111ss1ons. may be hy any of the
accepted methods. Due to the difficulty of providing adequate earthing
connections for V H F the p roblem of keeping RF voltages out of the
speech amplifier may be encountered . Two poin ts on the chassis only a
few inches apart may be at very d ifferent R F potentials. Large voltages
may develop on the screening of s creened microphone leads. etc .. if these
happen to be a half-wave long a nd earthing at more than one point may be
necessary, as well as the inclusion o f suitable chokes and by-pass condensers
in the amplifier input. G rid stoppers arc advisahle in most, if not a ll. A l;
stages.

BCL Interference
For similar reasons, broadcast intcrli:n.mce can be ~cvc re in thc inuneJiatc
 neighbourhood of a VHF transmitter.
Di sconnecting aerial and earth from th..:
broadcast receiver mav make no <lifferen..:c.
and in all probability the se tting of the
volume control will have no effect on the
interference. The trouble is due to the
receiver chassis acting as a receiving aerial at
VHF and the vo ltage variations produced
between various points in it become applied
to the audio stages and rect ified. An RF
choke in the grid of the first audio stage. as
dose to the grid terminal as possihlc will
sometimes remedy this. Receivers using top-
cap grid valves in the audio stages arc par-
ticularly prone to trouble. The connection
lo the grid is usually made by means or a
screened connector which mav be 6 inches
o r more long. Jt is dcsiral)le that hoth
ends of the screening should be connected
to the chassis as directly as possible. In
fact , all earthing and by-passing must he·
suitable for VHF operation. Jt may he
found necessary to by-pass the mains lea ds
to the chassis 1·ia 500 tJ.!1 F condensers tn
Fie. 30.
The 38 401J double disc seal v;il,..cfor make the c ure complete. but the conden-
operation up to 650 Mc . s. sers on thei r own will not usually c.:urc
(S. T. & C., ltd.) the trouble.
420 Mc s.
Val ves of normal design will not operate at fr..:quenc ic:s much in excess or
300 Mc: s. Thi s is due to electron transit-time effects and to the inductance
of the leads inside the valves. At the time of writing the band of frequencies
from 420 to 460 Mc.-s. had not been made available to British amateurs,
and with the necessity of a technique differing considerably from that used on
lower frequ encies. much experimental work will undoubtedly be required to
evolve the most suitable circ.:uits for use in amateur transmiuers in thi s band.
Valves of the disc-seal type, sometimes known as " lighthouses." seem
to rrcscnt rossihilitics. Several tyres arc made by S111mlard Telepho11"s
;111d Cil'11cro/ Elcclri,. Co .. from whom details arc ava ilahk. Onc of the se.
thl· JA 401.1. is shown in Fig. JO. Provided adequate ventilatipn is available,
up to 40 watts anode dissipation is permissible. These valves arc designed
for use in <:Om:entric: line cin:uits, but at 420 Mc; s. good results will probably

r ;g. 11.
S. u 1a::r~tf'd c-11 cu1t
fo r 420 Mc . ... 01c dl J.lor· .
The par:all€'1 lines can bt" of i .. tube- l nd :.bout
. 5~ long Tuning ii by adj ustm ent of ~ho11
ftLAM~NT in f bJt po sition R. S.000 ohm \ , C I, lfKJ
CHOKES 1. .. 1 , < J, 10 1 ... (.

LT+

HT-

34
be ohtain,'d wi1h parallel line ..:ircui1s. Fig. JI shows a lypkal arrangement.
Thc lcngth o r lhc parallel lines will bc only a fi:w inchcs, so the need for 1.:arc.:ful
lay-out of the c ircuit w ill be cviden1. Stray capacities and any unnecessa ry
kngth in 1.:Qnncc1ing leads mu~ t be avoided at all cosb. Hcca u ~ « ,,f lhc
;rppn;ciablc induc1ancc of even \hon connecting wires. R r c hokes, consisting
o f a few turns or suitable gauge wire, a rc <"Onncctcd in grid and tilame111 !cad'
10 ensure that these dcc1rodcs arc al the crnTc<.:I Rr po1cn1ial,.

a
t
'-..__O.C
ANODE ISOLATING
CAPACITY
(MICA)
Fig. 32.
Disc seal tr iod e in concentric line ctrcuit suicable for use on 420 Mc j s.

ror those desirous of using concentric tuned circuits, Fig . 32 s hows such a
circui1. A common tube forms the inner clem ent of the anode-grid line and
the outer clement of the grid-cathode line. The anode is joined by a con-
denser 10 1hc o u1er lube of !he resonator, so !hat no DC reaches the grid.
Frequency is adjusted by a sliding pislOn (A) in the anode-grid line, and
another (8) in the grid-cathode line to maintain resonance. Arrangemc111s
must be made, when cons1ruc1ing the oscillator, 10 adjust these pisto ns .
The ends of the filamen1 and the centre tap a re all connected 1hrough
100 µ!LF condensers to the centre conductor of the concentric syslem a nd leads
arc brought om from the filamenl and centre tap through 1he middle con-
duc1or in order to e nable DC connections 10 be made.
RF power m ;1y be extracted by means of a pick-up loop inscned in ono.: of
a se ries of holes in !he ou1c r element of the anode-grid line.

35
CHAPTER 4 VHF RECEIVERS
INTROOUCTION COMPONENTS STRi\ICiHT R ECEIVERS
SUPER-R EGENERATIVE R ECE IVERS SUPE RH ETERODYNF
RECEIVE RS -- THE DO U BL E SUPER H ETERODYNF REC EIVER -
SUPERH ET EROOYNE CONVE RTERS
Introduction
H F RECE IVE RS may be grouped into tivc main ..:alegorics: -
V 11) Straigh t Receivers.
(2) S u per-regenerative Receivers.
Ol Supcrhetcrodyne Receivers.
14) Double Surerhete rodyne Receivers.
(51 Supcrhctcrodync Converters.
The actual ti:chniqucs of design and construction of these rc..:eivc rs dcrcnds
on the frequc111.:y which is requi red to be received . Broad ly speaking ordinary
valve and ci n:uit technique may be used at freque ncies up to aho ut 100 1\1<.: .'s..
:1bove this frequc ncy specia l valves a nd circuits have to be u sed.
The performance of a VHF re..:civer depends to a large extent on the care
a nd thought put into t he m echanical layout. construction a nd choice of com -
ponents. O nly the best components sh ould be used. rigidly mounted and
laid out so as to keep lead-lengths as sho rt as possible when: RF currents flow.

Components
It is very important to choose only the best quality components for use in
the RF sections of VHF equipment. Low Q d ielectrics. such as cbonite
and bakelite, sho uld be a voided in coi l formers. variable condensers and
valv..:holders, where such m a terials may cause excessive losses and poor
frequency stability with changes of temperature.

(a) Coils
Whenever p ossible. ceramic insula tio n should be used for coil formers
where frequency stability is important, for example in supcrhcterodyne local
oscillator circui ts, heterodyne wavemeters, transmitter oscilla tors. etc. For
best results stable coils should be wound in grooves on ceramic formers. The
windings should be made with bare o r silver-plated copper wire, and wound
under great tension. Unde r these conditions the finished coil will have a
cyclic, or repeatable, temperature coefficient nearly equa l to that of the
ceramic former itself. In this way coil s with a temperature coefficient o r
between 5 a nd IO parts in 10' rcr degree Centigrade can be construc ted.
Coils wound on ·• distrene" or similar plastic m a te rial formers, a nd coils
which are self supporting arc no t recommended where high frequency stability
is requ ired , although they are q uite suitable in RF amplifier circu its a nd in
super- regenera tive receivers, which a re of poor selectivity.

(b) Variable Condensers

Variable co ndensers for osci llator circuits o f high stability should be
carefully chosen to have low-loss insulation and a eyclic temperature
coefficient. As it is almost impossible fo r the ama teur to carry out measure-
ments on variable condensers, the fo llowing points sho uld he borne in mind
when making a choice.

36
 The condenser should be of sound, rigid mechanical design and of the
same material throughout. Homogeneous construction eliminates relative
expansion troubles. Single condensers are usually made all of brass with a
single bearing; ganged condensers arc usually constructed with a steel frami.:
and a stccl rotor shaft. Wide spacing of the condenser vanes is an advantage.
The type of condenser illustrated in Fig. 33 is of all brass constructi on with
ceramic insulation. Such condensers have a cyclic temperature coefficien t
of about + 40 parts in 10" rcr degree Cent igrade. and shou ld not be confused
with similar condensers. having distrene or similar plastic insulation, which
have unpredictable thermal characteristics.
(c) Fixed Condensers
The choice of filled condensers depends on the scrvico.: for which they arc
rcquircd. Ceramic condensers. which usually have high tempcraturo.:
wdlicicn ts ( - 750 or -! 125 parts in 10" po.:r degree Ct•ntigradc) should hl'

Fie . 33.
Stable vari~blc condensers suiuble for
VHF applic><ions. (Radiomut, GSN I
(Blrmincham) Ltd. ).

fig. 3'4.
A group of differe nt types o( condensers

- -
.....-
....
n described In the te.xt: A. Silvered mica
condensers; B, Stacked foil type mica con-
denser ; C. Cu p and disc type cer1.mlc
A
,, .. ~f
---
condensers : D. Tubular cenmlc conden·
sers. (Dubiller Condenser Co. Ltd.). B c

···-·----
D

Fir. JS.
Special VHF bypau condensers ..-chusls
mountine and feed through t ypes.
(United Insulato r Co. Ltd.).

37
avoided wherever they may influence os..:illator sta bility. e.g. as grill ..:ondcn-
scrs. padders, etc. A ceramic condenser of' suitable size may, however. be
used to compensate for the slightly positiv.: tempera ture coefficient associa ted
with coils 1md \'ariablt: ..:ondcnscrs tn ~i,-,. a n c.\ trcm cl\' stable os,·illat" r
•:ombination. • ·
Single-plate silvered mica .:ondensers arc rl·n1mn1c11 dcd for use in the
positions just mentioned. Su1:h 1:ondcnsers have ,·yc lic tc·mpc·r;i turc c·octticicn1'
of about 25 parts in 10• per degree Centigrack.
Ordinary stacked foil-type mica or cerami..: ..:ondcnsc rs may be used as
by-pass condensers in VHF equipment. The condenser lead-lengths shou ld
be kept short. It will be found that 500 1i.~.1.F is a suitable capacity for use a t
60 Mc/ s. The best <.:apacity for use at other frequencies may be chosen
proportionally (e.g . 250 !L!.tF for 120 Mc s., etc.}. Rece n tly se vera l spec·ial
Y HF by-pass 1.'0ndcnscrs have appeared on the marke t. These a rc ol'
,·cramic: or mi.a const ruction and provide a really low im p,·d anct· hy-pass 1<>
earth. Typical nmdcnsers or this type arc shown in Fig. 35.
(dl HF Chokes
HF chokes for use in VHF equipment may easily be constructed by the
amateur. A useful criterion for HF choke design. w hich a p peared in the
Marco11i Rel'ie11', July, 1945. is to take one-third of a wavelength o f fine w ire

fig. 36.
A 5-metrc tuned radio frequency receiver.

38
 and winJ it to form a solenoid whose length is at least twice its diameter.
It will be found quite convenient lo wind such chokes on the outside of a
I megohm ceramic 1ube-1ypc ! watt resistance.

Fig. )7.
Photoiraph showing the layout of the pr\ncipal componenu of the TRF r cctiYcr.

::3
AERIAL

foz. 18.
C"11< U1t J1atr.u11 c1f .i tuned r.ufio fr"ctu~: n cy r~cei'tltr .
C l. i ~ 1 111f . Cl2 2S ,,f 2S v, R7 10,000 ohms.
L l . I. i
C.5
·OOJ ,.r.
J-15 1•1•f.
VI./
VJ
803 (Srim.H I
6JSGT (Br1111l1 >.
R~
R9
~.OOOohm• .
lS0,000 ohm~.
C7 ·OOOl 1•f . RI ISO ohms. Rll J,000 ohms.
ca · OOl 11F. RJ. 5 100,000 ohms. RFCI, 2 RF Chokes.
C9, II 411F, R1 I megohm. Coib Sec text.
CIO ·Ol 1•f. R6 25.000 ohms.

39
 (e) Valve-holders
Valveholders should be o f the ceramic or mica loaded distrcnc types
especially when used in local oscillators.

~1·------

Fig. 39.
Constructional details of screens for TRF receiver.

Straight Receivers
A slraight receiver is a receiver which employs some form of dd.:ctor.
usually with reaction, preceded by one or mo re stages of radio frcqucrn.: y
amplifica tion . Such receivers arc well known in ordinary short-wave
practice, and by carefu l design, constructio n and choice of components, may
be made to operate quite satisfactorily up to 60 Mc/ s. Straight receivers
have the advantage of being simple and economical in the number of valves
employed. The straight receiver. however, suffers from poor adjacent
channel selectivity and is rather tricky to construct and adjust so as to have a
smooth reaction control.
Straigh t receivers are seldom used in modern VHF practice because of
their poor select ivity and difficulty of adjustment. They have a place in the
amateur's shack because of their low cost. Straight receivers arc not
recommended, however, even for amateur purposes, at frequencies higher
than 60 Mc/ s.
A modem strnight receiver covering 56- 60 Mc/ s. using the new seven-pin
miniature valves is illustrated in Figs. 36 a nd 37. The circu it (Fig. 38 )
uses one RF amplifier stage followed by a regenerative detector and a triode
LF amplifier. The ci rcuit is conventional b ut care has been taken with the lay-
o ut a nd construction to give maximum performance, smooth control and
freedom from hand capacity effects (Fig. 39). The whole receiver. excluding
power supply, is assembled in a metal cabinet, measuring r x s· x 61' .
T he s ub-panel and partition are made from 16 or 18 SWG aluminium sheet.
When wiring-up the signal frequen cy stages, care should be taken to return
all earth connections to single points on the chassis, one for each stage.

40
 The coils are wound on ~ · diameter formers with 18 or 20 SWG wire, the
ends of the coils being anchored to small screws set in the formers at suitable
points. Both coils are wound with 7 turns of wire, the detector coil being
tapped one turn from the earthy end. The aerial coil has a primary winding
of I~ turns interwound at the earthy end of the 7 tum coil.
Smooth reaction should be obtained when the reaction control is rotated;
any harshness on the theshold of oscillation may be reduced by altering the
resistance across the LF choke, and the value of the detector grid leak.
The tuning of the RF stage is quite fiat, in fact it will be found when
listening between 58 · 5 and 60 Mc/ s. that no adjustment is required.
Super-Regenerative Receivers
A supcr-regencr.u ive recei ver is a receiwr using a su per-regenerat ive
detector with or without preceding radio frequency amplification. The
principle of super-regeneratio n is outlined below.
The steady oscillation of the detector valve is interrupted by some means
at a supersonic frequ ency. This stopping and starting of the oscillations is
called "quenching" and the rat<: at which it is performed is called the
.. quench frequency. "
The quenching of the detector oscillations may be performed either by
means o f a separate quenching o scillator or by choosing the valve's grid leak
and condenser combination so tha t blocking of the oscillation s occurs at a
rate depending on the grid circuit time-constant.
Normally the oscillations are initiated by thermal no ise-pulses present in
the detector tuned circui t. The incidence of a signal on the detector, however.
modifies the timing and/ or duration of the bursts of oscillation, depending
upon the amplitude of the received signal, thus giving rise to an audio signal
in the output circuit in the case of reception of a modulated signal. A more
detailed description of the modes of super-regeneration may bc found in
Tcrman's Radio £11gi111't'rs' Handbook, pp . 662- 664 (McGraw-Hill). which
book also gives references to original papers on the subject.
In the logarithmic mode o f operation, with separate or self-quench method
of operation, the audio output waveform will be distorted, especially on
deeply modulated signals. The logarithmic input-output characteristic has
the effect of giving the super-regenerative receiver a measure of ignition noise
suppression. The small change of audio output for large variations of input
signal level is well known 10 those who have had experience with super-
regenerative receivers. The curve shown in Fig. 40 shows the output of a
typical logarithmic mode super-regenerative detecto r plotted against the
relative input.
The super-r.:generative receiver has always appea led lo the radio amateur
beca use of its extreme simplicity and ease of tuning. Super-regenerative
reL"f!ivers have been constructed to operate at frequencies up to about
600 Mc/ s. using .. aco rn " type valves and "line " type tuned circuits.

rT~T ~-----'Sup~r recencratlv~l1;e'! ·iver

~-
...
ch•r•c<•ristit.
input / output

RELATIVE INPUT

41
 The supcr-rcgcncrativ.: n:cciv1:r. 1ht'n. has the advant;1!!C of ext rem<'
simplicity anJ ecnomy in constrrn.:tion, high sensitivity, a measure nf ignition
interference suppression. flat tuning (enabling unstable signals lo be held in
tune) and a wide l'requcncy coverage as evidenced by the well known
.. National 1- 10" rece iver, covering JO 10 300 Ml· s. '' i1h plug-in coils.
Such receivers. however. possess certain disadvantages which arc bccomin!!
more and more serious as the VI-IF spectrum lx:comcs more heavily
populated. These tlisadvanlagcs arc : a lack of adjacent channel sdcctivity.
a rather high noise level, inability lo receive CW signals, and spurious
radiation. The last mentioned disadvantage may be reducctl. to within
tolerable limits. by careful screening anti the addition of RF amplifier s tages.
although it becomes diftkult to design suitable RF amplifiers to operate at
frequencies above 200 Mc :s. The frequency stabilit y of the super-regenerative
n.:ceiver is generally poor but as the set is at the o;amc 1imc very unselective
•his dcfrct is no1 usually no1ic<."ablc.

Fig. 41.
Circuit diagnm of J iimplc VHF super·rcgcneracive receiver .
VI. DETlO, 9002, Rll6, l63, •«. V2. l63. L2. 7 turns!• di•. approx. for 60 Mc, 's.

The circuit of a simple super-regenerative receiver which will work satis-

factorily up to 300 Mc/ s. is shown in Fig. 41. The detector stage uses an
Osmm type DET20 or some similar VI-IF triode conne<.'ted in a sell'- quenching
circuit. Jf the 60 Mei s. band only is required the DET20 valve may be
replaced by a valve of the L63 type. Super-regeneration is controlled by
means of the 50.000 ohm potenliomcter. anti is adjusted by rotating this
potentiometer until a loud rushing noise is heard in the headphones. Some
experiment with 1he values of the choke ( RFCI ). the detector grid leak and
the aerial coupling may be necessary before smooth super-regeneration is
obtained.
The two chokes (RFCI and RFC2) together with the by-pass condensers
form filters to reject signal frequency and quench frequency currents from the
LF circuits. A single L63 LF stage will give ample volume for a pair of
headphones.
It is recommendetl that the receiver be constructed on an aluminium
chassis and panel, care being taken to keep all RF and by-pass leads as s hort
as possible. · A simple set as described without an RF stage will give a good
performance on signals as weak as 5 microvolts but the constructor is urged
to be careful when using it to avoid interference, due to radiation, with
amateurs and other VHF services which include air navigational aids, etc.

42
 The disadvantage of radiation from a simple super-regenera tive <letei.:tor
may be overcome to a large extent by the addition o f one or two RF amp lifier
s tages. A suitable i.:ircuit using the new seven-pin m iniatu re valves is shown
in Fig. 42. A n RF pcntode is used as an amplifie r. followed by a triode super-
regenerativc detector. The screeni ng or the detector should be as complete
as possible, as indicated in the circuit diagram . ir rndiation is to be reduced
to a minimum. C hassis by-pass i.:ondensers. similar to those shown in
Fig. 35. may be used with ad vantage to fi lte r all supply leads passing in to
the screened ..:ompartment.
.... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
I I 200
I v.
I
I
I
I
I
1R.H
I

fig. ~2 .
A supcr~rcgcnc rat ivc r ece iver circ uit wich an RF :s tage: to r educe radiation and impro ve
selectivity.
VI . 277, 803, CVl38. ZA2, etc. V2. DET"20, 9002. RL l 6, etc. V3. l6 ).

Supcrhctcrodyne Receivers
The superheterodyne is the most suitable type o f rc1.-eiver for genera l
amateur use on the VHF band s. Its sensitivity. selectiv ity and good signal-to -
noise ratio coupled with wide frequency cove rage, extending to the shortest
wavelengths yet explored, speak for themselves.

(a ) Basic Principles
In a superhetcrod ync rc<:civer an incom ing signal voltage is m ixed with a
local oscillator voltage in a suitahlc mi xing device. or frequency changer.
producing an intermediate freq uency signal which resembles the incom ing
signal in every way except that the carrier freque ncy has been changed. The
fundamental advan tages arising from this frequency change are that by carefu l
choice of the intermediate frequency a high gain and a narrow bandwid th
(good selectivity) may be obtained in the IF ampl ifier. A high gain is required
in order to amplify signa ls which may be very weak . and a narrow band-
width is required 10 give a high signa l-to-noise rati o and good adjacen
channel select ivity.
The basic superhctaodyne i.:irl'l1it. in b lock d iag ram fo rm. is shown in
Fig. 43. where it <:an nc seen that the signa l and local oscillator voltages are
fod into a mixing device. The exai.:t form of the mixer depends to a great
extent on the signal frequency. Modern triode-hexodes may be used up to

43
ioo M..: 1 s. and penlodes up lo about 200 Mt.:/ s. Ahov..: this frequency. triode,
diode and crystal mixers are used. Sharp cul-off pentodes arc less noisy as
mixers than triode-hcxodcs; triodes arc quieter sti ll.
SIGNAL INPUT

fig. 43.
Sasic supcrhcterodync receiver block
diagram .

The mixer stage may or may not be preceded by an RF amplilicr stage.

depending upon the wavelength and availability of suitable amplifying valves.
Pentode valves perform satisfactorily up to about 200 Me i s. above which
frequency neutralised grounded-cathode, or grounded-grid, triode valves
may be used. The useful upper frequency limit with modern grounded-grid
valves of conventional construction is in the region of 300 Mc/ s. Special
types of grounded-grid triode are, however, available for operation up to
frequencies of several thousand megacycles per second. Either one or two RF
stages are recommended where possible on account of the incre;1sc in signa l-
to-noise ratio that may be achieved.
Output from the mixer valve- being the difference frequem:y between
the signal frequency and local oscillator frequency-is amplified by the
intermediate frequency amplifier and then passed on to some form of demodu-
lator or detector. The basic problem in superheterodyne design is to choose
the various circuits which go to make up the units of Fig. 43, to fulfil the
constructor's particular requirements.

(b) Design Requirements

The following list of requirements, which should be met in the design of a
VHF superheterodyne for amateur purposes, is given as a guide.
(i) Receil'er Gain
Receiver gain should be sufficient to receive signals at levels down to the
inherent noise level of the RF stage. In the case or frequency modulation
receivers the gain should be sufficient to satura te the limiter stage with the
noise originating from the RF stage.
(ii) Recefrer Bandwidth
The narrowest possible bandwidth should be used, consistent with suffa:icnt
width to cope with transmitter and receiver local oscillator frequency-drift.
A narrow bandwidth makes for an increase in signal-to -noise ratio.
(iii) Image Ratio
There should be suffkient RF tuned-circuits to give a high image ratio
using an intermediate frequency chosen with consider.Ilion of the requirements
of stage gain and bandwidth. Three RF tuned circuits will give ample image
rejection and two (i.e. one RF stage) will usually be sufficient. (See " Double
Superheterodyne. ")
(i11) Tu11i11g Co111rol
Bandsprcad tuning is preferable in amateur type receivers, covering just
a little over each end of the band chosen. This arrangement simplifies ganging
problems and makes possible a higher L to C ratio, giving greater stage gain.

44
(1·) AVC
Automati1,; volume control is dcsirabl..: and this shou ld he capable of
handling signals ranging from a few microvolt s lo one hundred m illivo Its
without distortion.
( 1'i) Noise: Silenct•r
In order to red uce the effec ts of ignition a nd other p ulse types o f inter-
fe rence a noise limiting circu it is usually conside red essential in a receiver
used in built-up areas or near main roads .
(1·ii) LF Gain
The low frequency gain of the receiver s ho uld be sutlkient to o perate a
loudspeaker, or 'phones, al fu ll strength on the signa l level corresponding
to the knee of the A VC c urve .
(1'iii) CW Recep1io11
The re1,;eption of CW Mo rse signals is possi ble a l fre quencies as high as
150 Mc/ s. Fo r this purpose a beat freque ncy osci ll;11or may be incorpo rated.
(ix) LF Respo11.,·e
In the interests of ohtaining the highest si !,(n a l-to- no isc ra tio the audio
bandwidth of the receiver should be restrictcLI lo ap pnn imatcly 300 to 3,000
cycles per seco nd.
( 1· ) Tuning S('(l/t•
An adequa te dircl·t ly calibrated tuning ":a le with a go od slO\~ -r m >t io n
dri ve, free from hack-lash , is of prime importance.
(xi) Aerial Trim/I/I'/'
An aerial trimmer, mounted on the cont rol pa nel and connected in parallel
with the first RF stage tuned c ircuit, is an adva ntage in compl!nsa ting for
different aerials and the variation of aerial rcactanc e over the band .
(x ii) Local Oscillator
The local oscillator should be designed to have a high degree o f freque ncy
stability.
The extent to which these requirements can be met depe nds largely o n
economic resources a nd the individual amate ur's co nstructional fac ilities,
scien tific knowledge and skill.

(c) Choice of Intermediate Frequency

The choice of intermed iate frequency for use in a \'HF receive r is a
compromise between the requireme nts of a n;1rrow ba ndwidth fo r selectivi ty
and good signal-to-noise ra tio, a high IF for good image rat io, a nd a wide
bandwidth to cope with freq uency dri ft. It ha s been foun d in pract ice that
dn IF of l ·6 M c1 s., using coils with a Q of abou t 100, critically coupled in
pairs, gives satisfactory result s at 30 Mc, s. The tigure of 100 is found to he
the Q of solenoid coils of economical size and construct ion o ver a wide r ange
or frequencies. Since the Q of the circuits anJ the mid-band fre que ncy fixes
the bandwidth of c ritica lly coupled I F transformers it wi ll be seen that the
bandwidth of prac tical transforme rs is roughly proportional to the m id-ba nd
frequency. F requency drift is found to be a pproxima tely proportional to
signal frequency thus giving the usefu l crite rio n that the inte rmediate
frequency should be chosen proportional to the signal frequency, using a
l ·6 Mc/s. IF for a 30 Mc/ s. signal frequency a s a basis.
When a VHF receiver is required to cover m ore than one of severa l widely
spaced frequency bands, some furth er compromise must be made, e.g. an IF
of about 5 M c/ s. could be used for signal frequencies between 30 a nd 150
Mc/ s. An I F of 10 Mc/ s. would be more suita ble for a receiver operating
in the I50 to 300 Mc/ s. band.

45
(d) The IF Amplifier
The IF a mplifier or a VHF receiver is called upon IO provide the m~t io r
portion of the overall gain of the ~ct as well as the req uired degree of adjacent
c hannel selecti vity.
It is common practice to employ two or three If amplifier stages in a VHF
S\1perheterndyne receiver using pairs of slightly less than critically coupled
circuits in the IF transforme rs. C ircuits which arc over-coupled shou ld he
avoided as they arc difficult to tune-up. It may be shown that the ga in of an
If stage depends only on the han<lwidth and tuning capacity. Now a s the
handwidth is fixed by s m:h matters as oscilla to r stability. ease of tu ning, etc..
the gain per stage may only he inc reased hy reducing the tu ning capacity.
1-kre agai11 a compromise must he sought if the effects of detuning, d ue to
change of valve input capacity with A VC b ias voltage. arc to be avoided .
A further lim itati on of stage gain is caused by instabil ity du.: to Iced-back
through the lF valve grid -anode ca pacity. A total tuning capaci ty of not less
than 75 !L(J.F (induding strays) is recommended for use in amateur practice
in IF amplifiers up to 12 Mc 's.
Fixing the bandwidth and tuning carn1<.:ity in this way tixcs the dynamic
impedance or the IF t ransformer and the stage gain which may he cxpc~·tcd .
The theoretical stage gain is seldom achieved in practice in multi-stage
arnpl ilie rs owi ng to feed-hack. A stage gain of 20 10 30 times may he
considered very satisfactory in a three stage amplifier opera ting at 5 Mc s.
using KTW61 or EF39 type valves. Higher gains can he obtained using
Ef50 type valves with very careful screen ing. hut the absence or the
variable-11111 characteristic may introduce distortion.
Great care should be taken with the lay-o ut. screening. and by-passing
of the IF amplifier stages in a VHF receiver. Grid and anode kads must he
kept s hort and by-pass conde nsers chosen to provide a low impedance path
to earth near the point where the cathode or the va lve is earthed. Mica con -
d ensers with a capacity of ·O J !.LF will be fo und satisfacto ry for use as by-passes
in TF circuits operating between 2 and JO Mc:"s. If possible the JF amplifier
should be laid out in a straight line. and o n no account s hould the ou tput or
the IF·• c hain ·· finish near the mixer stage, which is at the input end or the
amplifier.

(cl A Practical If Transformer Design

T here are several IF transformers on t he market su itable for use in amateu r
VHF s upcrhctcrod yne receivers. but they can easily be cons tructed at home
by the amateur himself. The following design is for a 5 Mc 's. transformer,
suitable for use in a receiver covering 30 to 150 Mc s.
The primary a nd second ary windings consist of 30 t urn s o f No. 36 SWG
enamelled w ire. dose-wound on a l" d iameter polystrcnc or distre ne former.
Roth coils are wound in the same direction, the spacing between the windin!(s
being r. It is important that the two inner ends of the coils s ho uld be
made the earthy i.:onnections (i. e. HT and GB ·) o therwise the coupling
factor will be altered. Fig. 44 illustrates an amateur constructed transformer
made to the above specifications. The ci rcuit and d etails arc given in Fig. 45.
Mui/arc/ 3--30 11µ F concentric trimmers in parallel with 68°µ1.LF silvered mica
condensers make up the tuning capacity . Ceramic fixed condensers and
compression-type trimmers s hould be avoided as both are prone to large
capac ity changes with temperature . giving rise to detuning troubles.

46
 (f) lff and l\l ixt•r S t 3g<'S
The tlcsign ol" the radio l"requcm:y section or a V11 F receiver for amatcu r
purposes depends "cry largely upon the valves whit:h arc available. There
a1°l' "tcvcrttl vahT~ ;ind n1:inv l'nnlponcnh. which c an he 1n;tcJt"? to ''r~rat('

Fif . 1~ .
Pho(oir:iph of home conscru(:tc-d C) Mr ' "'
tr 1 rJ1h.r1> 1· 1nt·r.

satisfactorily up to about '.!00 Mc 1s., and this frequency may be regarded as

the practical upper limit at wh ich amplitic-.ition can be obtained using easily
procurable valves and straightforward circuit technique.
At frequencies above 200 Mc. s. it is common practice to use sets with
either grounded-grid triode RF ampli fier stages or no RF a mplifier stage at
all. In the lat1er case the signal is fed straight into a suitable diode or crystal
mixer c ircuit. The re is no definite dividing line between the two techn iques
a lthough there is an overlap region between 150 and 250 Mc:'s.

Ci) RF and Mixer Stages Below 200 Mc s.

The M u/Jard EF50 and O.m1111 Z90 valvi:sstand out · · a-;-nuids-of-all -work "

1 1JJ ~(,
J-30
/'"I"'~
68
LI l2

68
3-30
1"1"..f:
PLAN Of: T RI MMER BA6E
PL.AT ' HT+ C.6.-
MAT(A14 L .• 1/.-POL.'r~TVQ f,.._(

L 1 • L2 a: JOT N I? 36 swc e ...... MELLEo

INDUCTANCE • llrH ...,,q<
cp • 100 APPROJ<
(d )
(.1~curT "'"'D COMPoNENl'
VAl..VfS vS£0 , ,.,. U =.T.

(C) Et..IV ATION (,.. EMO \fl(W 01= COIL ~OAM!A

MATERIAL:- 1 /~ · OIA POLY.T VAl:J114e ROD
Fie. ~5
Constructional d•ulls of IF transformer.

47
 for VHF equipment up to about 200 Mc/ s. Valves of this type have been
produced in enormo us quantities for Servi..:c appli.:ations and are readily
obtainable. The Scrvkc equivalent type numbers a rc: R.A.F., VR91;
Army. ARP35, CV I091 or CVJ578. The Afu/lard RL7 or EF54 (Service
type YR 136 or CV I I J6) possesses an advantage over the EF50 in that it has
a lowe r noise level. Additionally, by using four cathode leads improved
performance at the higher fn:qucnc ics is obtained.
Both these valves are steep
slope RF pentodes mounted on a
pressed glass (B9G) base, and
covered externally hy an alu-
minium screening ca n. The ring-
seal construction. well illustrated
in Fig. 46, ensures that the leads
from the valve pins to the
electrode structure arc short and,
therefore, have low inductance.
EF50 and EF54 valves can be
used as RF amplifiers without
any trouble providing that care
is ta ken lO sh ield the input
and output circuits. The pin
connections are conveniently
arranged so that a si mple undcr-
chassis screen is <ill that is
required. The disposition of the
screen in ead1 ,·ase can be seen
in Fig. 47. A prac tical tip. of
inten:st to home constructors, is
that tinplat..: is a very handy
material for the construction of
VHF 1.: hassis and screens. It
is easily cut-up and the screens
f ig. ~6. may be soldered in position
Th4! rin& seal type of VHF pcntodc.
(M.0 . Valve Co. ltd .). with an ordinary clc1.:trie soldering
iron.
Although the two valves already mentioned stand o ut as being the
1.:onirr1oncst valves suitable for VH r work. there an: severa l others available.
For example the B9G series o t' valves is being superseded by a new range of
miniature valves mounted on a button type.: (137GJ glass base. The O.m1111 Z77

Fl,. ~7.
Oi2inms show in1 th e co rrect positions or
the under·ch2uis screens for the EFSO and
EF5'4 type v~l ves.

SCREEN SCREEN
Cal EF50 . 190 PIN Cb) Rll'7; EF54 PIN
CONNECT 1
ONS AND . CONNECTIONS AND
SCREEN POSITION. SCREEN POSITION.

4H
 is a n example of ;1 miniature valve which has an improved pcrrormance over
the older EF50.'Z90 lypcs. Acorn type valves have fallen inlo disfavour
owing IO !heir fragile constnll·tion , although they still retain some electrical
advanlages at the upper limits of the VHF spectrum . Table IV lists most
<· of the types of valve which a re available for service between 30 and
300 l\1c/ s.
TAHU IV.
l'alVl'lf Suitabfr fiJr 'fl,.,. in llu· R ,,, and .llixr•r Stagr... uf r Fl F' ReceitJNs.

Upper
Frequency
Valve. T ype. Rase. (approx. ) Maker.
Me is.
I..------·----- -·· . - -- ·--- -- - - -·- --··- --- ~ --- - ---- - - -----
EF50 .. Pcnwdc B9G 200 Mu llan.!
Z90 Pent ode B9G 200 Os ram
VR9 1 . .
ARP35 Pentodc B9G ::oo Service Types
CV1901 (as EF50)
CV l 578
RL7 / EF54 Pc ntodc B9G 250 Mullard
VR JJ6 .. PcntoJc B9G 250 ! Service Types
CV! !Jo (as RL7)
Z77 Pentodc B 7G 250 Os ram
803 Pentode B7G 250 Brimar
CVl38 . Pentode B7G 250 Service Type
9003 Var-mu Pen B7G 250 American
900 1 Pen t ode B7G ::so American
6AK5 Pent ode B7G 250 American
954 Pcntodc Acom 300 American
ZA2 Pcntodc Acorn 300 Os ram
CVl39 .. G.G . Triode B7G 250 Service Type
EC9 1 .. G .G. Triode B7G 250 Mullard
CV66 .. G .G . Triode : B9G 250 Service Type
6J4 G.G. Triode B7G 250 American
3A/ 146J G .G. Triode Special 450 S. T . &C.

Fig. 48 illustrates a well lried circuit employing an RF slagc and mixer

for a VHF superhctcrodync. The aerial is link-coupled to the first tuned
circui l which in turn is wuplcd tightly to lhe grid of the RF valve. The aeria l
circuit will be heavi ly damped by the ai:rial and the valve input resistance and
so will not provide a great measure of selectivity; tight coupl ing is desirable,
however, for the best signal-to-noise ratio. For the optimum signal-to-noise
ratio the aerial shou ld be coupled a lillle tighter to the tuned circuit than is
required for correct impedance matching. As under these conditions little
selectivity is provided it may be desirable to use lwo RF stages.
The following constructional hints may help in giving trouble-free opera-
tion. A ll leads should be kept short and earth returns made direct to the
chassis near the point where the cathode of the valve is earthed. Small mica
condensers, such as the Dubilier type 635, 500 lil.LF, a rc suitable for by-pass
purposes at frequencies from 30 to 100 Mc/s. Smaller capacities may be
found desirable at the higher frequencies. Special VHF by-pass condensers

49
 designed to havt' a very l<1w inherent indut·ta nL·e :ire now :wail:ihle. :ind
samples or these arc illustrated in Fi g . .15 . The m.:t ht>d or tix i ng w ill be
obvious from the photograph.
The RF choke shown in the anode or the Ric" stagt• o f h g. 4X should he
wound to the criterion given earlier in this <.:haptcr (pp. 38 -- .~9). I-or 6() l\k '
work n5 inches or No. 38 SWG ena111dkd wire. wound on a cera m ic typ«
ha lf-watt Erie rcs1St <1•Kt: to w~c up th<: whole length or th<: resista nn:, will h.:
round satisfactory .
The RF stage is capacit y-couplc.:J to the mixer valve grid ci rcui t. An EF50
is shown again as a mixer \'afve, the signa l a nd oscillator vo ltages being fed
into the con trol grid. Exp<.:rkncc has shown that the optimum condition for
this va lve as a mixer is with a grid bias nearly al cut-off ( 4 volts approx.)
and suffki1:nt local oscillator injection to the control grid so that the valve
~~-+~+-~~~~~~~~~-...~...--~~~+

5Mc/s IF.
I.FT GRID

~~
AVC
ETC

INPUT
~

22.rr~
AVC
1.ocAl OSCILLATOR
INJECTION
Fig. ~8.
A we ll tried RF J.nd mi x er circuit ror o per;acion betwe en 30 and 150 H c/ s.

is just short of taking grid c urrent. The onse t of grid current may be observed
by i nserting a microammetcr in series with the earthy end of the grid leak and
noting w hen the meter first shows a reading as the injectio n is increased. The
injection should then be reduced to a figure slightly below this value.
Jt should be remembered that local oscil lator and sig na l frequency com-
ponents are present in the a node current ofa mixer valve in addition to the I F
component. With this in mind the anode a nd screen by-pass conde nsers on
the m ixer valve should be chosen to have a low impedance path to earth fo r
V H F c urrents as well a s IF c urrents. In practice th is means tha t the capaci ty
of these condensers should be a compromise between the I F and VHF
requirements and should be returned to the chassis near the cathode earth
point by the shortest possible leads.
The method of o scillator injection shown in Fig. 48 has been found satis-
factory when a 5 Mc/ s. IF or higher, has been used ; no excessive "pulling "
being evident. O ther possible methods of oscillator i njection are shown in

50
~[Fig. 49. Suppressor griJ injection h<b th..: Jisadvantage of requiring a high
oscillator voltage. whilst cathode injection sometimes causes IF instability.

TLOCAL
4~/"'F 75n COAXIAL LINE TO
LOCAL OSCILLATOR
( 0.) OSCILLATOR ( b)
fi&. 49.
Altcrnati.vc VHF mixer circuits, (a) Suppressor grid injection, (b) Cuhodc m1cct1on.

A recent advance in VHF receiver technique has been die introdm:tion 1>1"
the grounded grid. or common grid, triode amplifier RF stage. Such an
amplifier may· he made to operate as high a~ 3.000 Mc s .. using special valves
and up to about JOO Mc s. using valves or c·onvcntiona l construction. such as
the CV66 and the CV 139 (EC9 1). The great advantage of the grounded-griJ
triode is that it has a much lower equivalent noise resistance than a pentoclc
valve. •'.g. the CV66 is only half as noisy as the RL7 ( EF54J which is one o r
the best pentodes from the noise standpoint.
The input impedance of' a grounded-grid stal!C is very low, of the order of a
few hundred ohms, and a wide band input circuit as shown in Fig. 50 may be
used to couple it to an 80 ohm aeria l feeder. This may he an advantage as
no ganging troubles arc introduced a lthough. of course. the input c ircuit

,-------11 OulPUT
son ==s---..roooo'----11r,
INPUT

fig. 50.
The grounded grid :implifier circuit .

51
provides Jittk second channel rejection. It is g0ud practice. therefore, to
fo llow the grounded-grid stage by a stage o f pentoclc amplilkation where
possible, using selective c ircuits before !ceding in to a mixer.
The c ircuit of a CV66 grounded-grid amplifie r stage suita ble for 60 Mc 's.
operation with m ixer and local oscillator is shown in Fig. 5 1. The inductan..:c
in the anode circuit of the amplifier stage is pretuned to the middle o f the band
by a copper slug- the local oscillator being the only variable tuning control
brought out on the front panel. The CV139 grounded-grid triode may be
used in a similar c ircuit, and layout sketches for both CV66 and CV 139
grounded-grid stages a rc given in Fig. 52. The circ uit shown in F ig. 5 1
may be used as a 60 Mc/ s. converter. o utput from the link of L4 being fed
into a sho rt wave receiver tu ned to an IF or 5 Mc.is. By suitably propor-
tioning the coils, the: convener may be made to operate up to 150 Mc / s.

Fis. 51.
Grounded grid amplifier, m ixer and local osci llator circuit for SS to 60 Hc/ s. operation.
LI. 10 tur ns No. 20 5WG 1· dia. Ll. 5 Mc/ s. If coil.
Ll. 6 tu rns No. 10 SWG !" dia. L4. Oscillator coll to covor 53 to 55 Mc/ s.

(ii) RF and Mixc•r Stages ahore 200 Mc '.f.

The transition from o rdi nary coi l and condenser cin:uits to line cin:uits
tak es place in the region between 150 and 250 Mc/ s. T he trend at the higher
frcquem:ies is to use crystal diode mi xer circuits with or wi thou t grou ndcd-
grid RF stages. Capacity loaded line type circuits arc commonly used up to
frequencies or 400 Mc/ s.
Crystal diode mixers. developed during the war primarily for radar applil:a-
tions. are constructed in ceramic tubes using a silicon crystal and a tungsten
.. cat's whisker."' A typical design is depicted in Fig. 53 which illustrates
(a) the size, and (b) the construction . Diode va lves, such as the EA50 may
be used as mixe rs, but they are · slightly more noisy than the crystal units
quite apart from the difficulty of supplying the heater through R F c hokes,
which is a practical disadvantage.
A crystal mixer circuit suitable for operation in the 300 Mc/ s. region
is shown in Fig. 54. The tuned circuit consists of a coaxial line, shorted at
one end and capacity loaded at the other. A capacity loaded line of this type

52
b prclcrahlc to an ordinary quarter-\\avc l>pen ended fin,· un the '..:o re 1>f
physical silc; fo r examp le the ~00 Mc ·s. cin.:u its shown in 1-'ig. 55 arc only
4· long.
The circuit is tuned to signa l l'requcm:y by adjust ing the knurled s..:rcwcd
cap o n the end or the line, easily discernible in the photograph. The aerial
feeder and mixer crystal are tapped down the line as ~ h own and the position
adjusted to give the desired compromise between 'ckctivity and signa l-
to-noise ratio. Local oscillator injc..:tion is aL·hi.:' cd through ;1 small

HT+

CO.)
Fir. 52.
Layout or c.omponenu in a grounded crid amplifier, (:a.) for a CV66 type valve and {b) for a
CV I )9 t ype valve.

adjustable probe. The crysta l curren t will contain DC. IF. signal rrequcm:y
and local osci llator frequency components. The YI-II"" components are
by-passed to earth through the small capacity condenser C l which is huilt
into the crystal holder. The IF component is selected by the tuned circuit
L2. C2 a nd passed on to the IF amplifier. A jack X in the earthy end of the
IF circuit is used to take a meter which measures the DC crystal current.

Fie. 53.
Photographs ol crysul diode mixer uni ts showing (a) size
a nd (b) a c ut·away view showinr the construction.
(General Electric Co. Ltd.).

53
The la lier may he set to about 0 · 25 ml\. by adjustment of the lo..:al oscillator
injection probe . Mixer crystal s arc easily damaged if 100 large a current is
passed through them.
Another type o f 300 Mc s. t uned circuit which lends itself to experiment al
work, owing to its case of construct ion and adjustment is shown in Fig. 56.
This circuit consists of a copper, brass or aluminium trough of square cros~

LOCAL
05(.IUATOll
PROBE---'-i
Fog. S~ .
80.0. A c ryn:al muccr
INPUT FROM ci rc.v it ro r 300

-
AERIAL Mc , s. opcr;ation.

section closcJ al bo th ends containing an inner conductor l"ixcd to one end

of the trough. A parallel plate tuning condenser i ~ used at the other e nd to
faci li tate tuning over a small band of frequencies. Aerial. local oscillator and
mixer connections may be fed in through the bottom or sides of the trough as
desired. For optimum Q the ratio of the length of the side of the square section
of the trough to the diameter of the inner conductor, should be about 3 · 5 to I.

:
:Jj;.j,
i-'i.~~
Fie. SS.
C:apaclty loaded llne circuits suitable for 300 Mc/ s. operation. (General Electric Co . Ltd.).

54
 The lilllowing l(irmula: may he llSl'd lll calcul:lll' the 1.·apaci1~· required 10
lllm: a given h!ngth of line to a desired frequency: ···

r;,, ( 'onxinl linr r·irrnil.\'.

('

1.,8 fog~ ( 1n11 JI\~ - L )

where C is the capacity required in !J.:1F.

h is the inside radius of the outer conuuctor.
a is the outside radius or the inner conductor in the s:ime units as /J.
L is the length of the line.
i . is the wavelength in same units as L.

ror ()pell l'ara/11'1 ll'irt• /i11e.1·.

c -· 1
10 ~ :1:1.F.
276 fog~ (
360
lt111 ;." l. )
wh<!re symbols arc as above ;1nd:
D is the centre lO centre spacing of the conductors.
r is the radius of each conductor in the same units as D .
For square trough type circuits the coaxial line formula may be used 10 give
an approximate result. using bas the length of one side of the square section
of the trough. Fig. 57 illustrates these formul:r.
(gJ Local Oscillators
There are several valves which are suitable for use in the local oscillator
section of a VHF superheterodync receiver. As with RF and mixer stages
there is a change in oscillator technique from lumped circuits to line circuits
in the region of 200 Me.-'s. Table V gives a list of common British and
American valves suitahlc for use as local oscillators in VHF receivers.
TABLE V .
Vafres .rnitahle for use a.1 Local 0.1cillator.~ in VHF Recei•'<'f's.

Upper
Frequency
Valve. Type. Base. Limit Maker.
(approx.)
I Mc/ s.
EF50
-·-/·-- --
. . . Pentodc B9G 200 Mu Ila rd
Z90 Pentodc B9G 200 Osram
DET20 Triode Octal 350 Osram
CV6 Triode Octal 350 Service Type
Z77 Pentode B7G 250 Os ram
803 Penwde B7G 250 Brimar
CVl38 Pentode B7G 250 Service Type
9002 Triode B7G 400 American
6C4 Triode B7G 300 American
HA2 Triode Acorn 600 Os ram
955 Triode Acorn 600 American
HY6 t 5• Triode Octal 350 American
EC52 .. Triode B9G 400 Mu Ila rd

• Similar 10 Oltam DET20.

55
 The same general remarks, about short leads amt ellicicnt hy-rassing,
arply j u ~ 1 as much 10 1he local osci lla1o r <t.s 1hcy do to the RF anJ mixer
stages of a receiver. For trouble-free opcra1ion p;.irticula r care shou ld
he laken with !he mec hanical Jcsi!,!11 and c o11s1ruc1ion o f 1he oscilla1or
scc1io11. A shoddy arrangcmcn1 makes for critical erra1k lu ni ng a nd excessive
frequency drift. Comrone111s should be chosen wi1h c are . a nd ccr:imic
oUSH INNER CONDUCTOR

i<NO~ /<
i,____·-~·h,,"
SCREWED'"...;..;; . - - - - - - - . . . - \ -
S-Q_UA
_ -RE_ _, SCREW
ROD CIRCUL AR !JOINT ALSO
CONDENSER SECTION , SOLDERED)
Pl ATES TROUGH
Fig . 56.
Plan sketeh o f ;a trough type ca p;i city loaded line circu i t.

CLOSED ENO

LINE CIRCUIT

SHORTED
END

PARALLEL LINE CIRCUIT

CLOSED END

Fie. 57.
Common ~typr s al line circuit to illustrate the for mulz i:lven on p.ige 55.

56
 condensers of the cup. di~ or
tube types should not be used
across the tuned circuit or as
grid condensers 011 account of
their large temperature coctli-
cients. Silvered mica or air
spaced condensers are to be
preferred.
Several local oscillator circuits,
suitable for use up to about
200 Mc/ s. arc shown in Fig. 59.
using conventional L and C
circuit technique. Such coil and
condenser circuits may be used
in n:ceivcrs operating well above
200 Mc s. by inject ing one-half
or one-third of the required
frequency into the mixer stage.
The optimum .:onversion g<iin of
a steep-slope pcntodc mixer
stage will be found to be reduced
by approximately onc:-half or
one-thi rd for o ne-half and one-
t hi rd frequency i njcct ion respcc-
t ivcly. Harmonic mixing in this
way can be used with advantage
to produce a receiver with a
greater frequency stabi lity and
freedom from pulling. Thc
following figures serve as an
indicat ion of the change in
conversion gain of a CV 138
mixer stage with harmonic order.
T hese results were obtained
with a mi xer circuit of the type
shown in Fig. 60.
For high stability. the oscillator
Fig. 58. tuning coils shou ld he wound
The ECSl VHF triode oscillator valve suitabjc on small ceramic formers, suil-
for operation up to 400 Mc / s. {Mullud Wireless ahlc examples of which arc
Service Co . Ltd. ).
offered hy several dealers ;ind
manufacturer,. In order to rcducc thc effec ts of varia tion of valve capacitks
with tempcr;11uro.: and supply vo ltage, the oscillat or valve should be•· rapped

Signa l input for Local oscillator Injection voltage

stan<lurd ou tput rrcquency for optimum
(at 100 Mc. s.J . (I fC I 0 Mc s. I. ,·onvcrsion gain.

I .,y 90 Mc ' · 4V
2 i.1. V 45 Mc s. 7V
31.1.V 30 Mc/ s. 15 v

57
 down·· on the tum:d circuit as far as possible consistent wi th the con-
tinuance.: of reliable osdllation. This tapping down may be performed
directly on the coil or by the use of small grid and anode coupling condensers.
The second method is probably the simplest in practice.
T he local oscillator in a VHF superheterodyne should not be run too hard.
The amplitude of oscillation need o nly be sufficient to provide the required
mixer injectio n voltage. Too s tro ng a local oscillator may give rise to
spurious responses. and for this same reason a m:!asun: of screening round the
oscillator stage is of advantage. Sometimes the same station may be heard al
severa l points on the tuning dial, or the local osci llator may produce a rushing
,-------+--l ~TPUT

1d1 Ce>

:"'~~
R.F.C +
+

<g> ch>
r.r.. 'J9.
Lo<.al osc1ll,.1.tor 'u cuiu \111< 1blt: fu1 u~t.· up to 200 M c/ ':I. .
(:)) Series fed tuned ;mode circuit. (c) Scnct fed Ha.nley cir"cui< .
(b) Shunt fed tuned ~node circuit. (f) Electron coupled oscillator.
(c ) Series fed t uned crid circuit. fc ) Colpitts oscillator circuit .
(d) Shu flt fed tuned grid circ.un (h) Ullr~.iudtn O>cill.uor cirtuit

58
sound wh.:n pi.:k.:d up on ano th.:r re.:civcr. fhc ~e troubles may be Jue to
·· squcggcring ,. of the local o ; cillator which can he .:urcd by dc..:reasing the
value of the oscillator grid leak .
1-"or mobile and po int-to-poinl. 1Jp.:rati<>n. \\h<:r<· li\t•d fre q11enr " npcralit•ll
t ~ required . it is common p ra<.:ticc tn u se rece1\'ers Y.. ith crysta l controlled lonil
o sc illators. A typical c1r.:uit is given in Fig. 60. For operation on 100 Mc s.
with an IF o f 10 M,· s. tht! nys1al frequency used wa s 7 ·5 M<.: s. w ith a
frcqucnr.:y multiplication or twelve · four times in the anode of the crys tal
osci llator and three in the following tripler stage. Crystal controlled m.:eivcrs
of this type arc very useful for systems set-up to s tudy propagation or aerial
problems. as frequcnr.:y drift is s mall. eliminating the need for retuning fro m
time to tim..:. The <.:oupl ing ..:in.:ui t • hetw<!en the RF and mi xer stages has
~tllll<' advantages al VHF. H.T.+

[{
TO l.F.
ST.cGES
IOMc/>

Fie . 60.
Circuit of RF and m ix e r sui~s w ith Cf"ysul con t rolled local oscillitor.

Quarter-wave line ty pe circuits may be used with advantage as tank

c ircuits for VHF receiver local o scillators a t frequenc ies above about 150
Mc ; s. Below this frequency. line c ircuits arc rather large and c um bersome.
Several t ypes of li ne oscillato r c ircuits are shown in Fig. 61 . The c ircuits
fall broad ly into two groups. name ly those usi ng parallel line ci rcuits and
those using coaxial ci rcuits. As the frequency is increased up w the region o r
300 Mc, s. o r higher , the coaxial circuit is preferable a s it has lower losses.
The trough type of cons truction of coaxial lines. already mentioned o n
page 54. may b~ applied 10 osc illator constructilin.
• Cl. 1~·. ( 'u ., Ltd. Prov. Pat. N i.•. 46~1 ; 4 5 .

59
 For maximum stability the line circuits should have the maximum practical
Q, and i n o rder to preserve a high figure the valve shou ld be tapped well down
the line . In the case o f coaxial lines the best value of Q is achieved hy making
1he ratio of the ou1er to inner conductor diameter equal to ~l to I.
~~~)l.-~_4_~~R01 ~~-~
SLIDING CON
At:TS
!iR.F.C.
JT (al

--- - ....
-.s:.= ===== ~arallelline
t ype Colpitts
_ Oscillator

)\/ 4 APPROX .

_ _,..,,ft!> .....,_ + cbi

Similar to cal
SLIDING CONTACTS but HT feed
re -arranged .

>-;4 APPROX .

:~
~
(Cl
Colpitt's
11-,c :*======= ; "' . . 0 ;a~;
____
2
A/4 APPROX

cdl
Similar to <cl
but valve tapped
down circuit to
preserve Q .
............>-tt--"t-~- +

ce1
Coaxial Iine
type cathode tap
oscil lator .
)./ 4 APPROX
Ftc. 61.
Slncl• valve VHF line type oscllfator cl rau lts.
60
 Owing to the fact that the valve and tuning capacities arc placed across the
circuits, the mechanical length will be considerably less than an electrical
quarter wavelength. The discrepanc y will be less when the valve is tapped
down than when it is placed across the open end of the quarter-wave line.
The formula; on page 55 may be used 10 calculate the approximate length of
the line required if the valve intcrelcctrode capacities arc known . The
tuning capacities across lines should he kept as small as possible in order to
preserve the Q of the circuit as a whole. A coupling loop or a probe may be
used to couple the line oscillator to the mixer valve of a receiver.
Another VHF oscillator of high stability is the "pot" type shown in
Fig. 62. The "pot" tank circuit has high Q and a low L to C ratio. By
suitably choosing the materials from which the c ircuit is constructed a high
degree of stability with temperature change may be achieved.
Exact dimensions for a given frcquem:y arc a little diffo:ult Lo .:akulatl'.
but the following dimensions taken from the Radio A11u111•11rs' Ht111dhoo/..,
published by the A.R.R.L., are given as a guide : --

Frequency Outer Inner Inner

Mc/ s. Cylinder. Cylinder. Rod.
112 3" dia. x Ji' 21Hdia. x 2r 1" dia. :-< w
224 r dia. x 3• 2V dia. x 2V i" dia. < 2r
400 2" dia. x 3' if• dia. x Ji• ·V dia. .< w

(h) Beat Frequency Oscillators

The reception of CW signals is possible using crystal controlled transmitters
and stable receivers up to a frequency of about 150 Mcj s. Above this
frequency CW reception is not practic-dl as the beat note is likely lo be too
unstable and is liable to drift beyond the limit of audibility.
For CW reception a beat frequency oscillator is required as in normal
superheterodyne practice. The BFO may consist of an electron coupled
oscillator operating at the receiver intermediate frequency, feeding into the
second detector. The oscillator should be carefully screened and oscillations
R.F.C.

Fig. 62.
•• Pot " type osttlla[or circuit.

61
should he as wc:il.: as pos, ihlc consis1cn t with a loud enough heat rllHc.
The L to C ratio or lhc oscillator tuneLI c in.:uit ,;hc>ul d be low in mJer to
minimi,;c the s1rcngth o r harmonics which may cx1.:nt! up 111 1hc· \ ignal
frequency rq!ion and givt: ri se In "p11ri<'U"- whi -..tl•:'.

(il Aulomatk \ "olume Contnil

Automal ic'. volume ..:ontrol 1s Lles11ahk in .1 VHF " 1pcrhetcrndync receiver
where signals at levels between one microvo lt and several hundreds or milli-
volts arc commonplace. fading, due to m ulti-path transmission, can occur
at VHF, parti cul;1rly when lran\mi \sion i\ being made uver Jistani:cs in excess
n t" the hori;nn d istanc·c.
+

HALF AV.C. VOLTAGE

FULL AVC. VOLTAGE AUDIO
OUTPUT
Fig. 63 .
Circutt of 3 delayed AucomJclc Volume Control syst.cm.

AVC technique in V H F receivers follows normal AVC practice. A portion

of the AVC voltage may be applied quite.: safely to sharp cut-off R F amplitier
stages wher.: the signal is small and. therefore. little distortion w ill occur.
Full A VC voltage may be appl ied to the IF stages ii' va riablc-11111 valves arc
used, but it is not recommended that A VC should be applied 10 mixer valves.
This is for two reasons. First , because change of bias vo ltage on the mixer
may alter the local oscillator frequency. and second, because if the local
oscillator injection is sullicient to cause grid current to fl ow in the mixer
circu it then the ot he r stages would become biased back thereby causing a
decrease in rcccivcr sensitivity.
Simple delayed A VC is recommended for amateur recci ,·ers. using a delay
voltage of some 5 to IO volts. A suitable c ircuit is.shown in Fig. 63.
In the interests or preserving a high signal-to-noise ratio. in an elaborate
set. two A VC supplies may be used with different delays. The A VC supply
with the la rger delay should be.: used to supply the RF stage a nd the.: o ther
for the IF stages. In this way the IF gain is the first to be decreased as the
signal level is increased leaving the RF stage, or stages. a t l"ull a mplification .
The AVC is then allowed to operate on the RF section when the signal lcvd
is high compared with lhc receiver noise.: level.

62
 Amplified A VC may be used if an exceptionally flat A VC characteristic
is desired. A suitable circuit is given in Fig. 64. The circuit operates as
follows. The rectified carrier voltage is smoothed and applied between grid
and cathode of the triode DC amplifier valve . In the absence of a signal this
voltage is zero and the cathode potential of th·: triode is posi tive with respect
to earth, depending on the value of the re~istance RI. In this condition the
diode is non-conducting and the A VC line is biased to a steady ·2 volts.
As the signal increases. the grid potential of the triode. with respect to the
cathode. becomes negative and the cathode potential of the triode first falls
to zero and then becomes negative with respect to earth. The delay diode
will then conduct and an amplified AVC voltage will be applied to the A VC
line. The delay voltage may be adjusted for the desirc.:d carrier level at the
detector by the choice of a su itable value for RI.

• 2S0v SUPPLY
~---~·~------<-~•

---- - 2v
SUPPlY
AVC LINE

.___ __.~__.~'---+-~--------EARTH
' - - - - - - - - - - -tQOv
'--------AUDIO . SUPPL v
F;g. M.
C ircuit of ;in ;i.mplified Automacic Volume Control system.

The Double Supcrhcterodyne Receiver

for several reasons the double supcrheterodyne principle is very attractive
in VHF practice.
(I) A high first IF enables a high degree of second channel rejection to be
achieved.
:2) By splitting-up the receiver gain into sections al signal rrcqucncy, first
IF and second IF, it is easy lo achieve a high overall gain with stability.
(3) The use of a low second IF provides a high degree or adjacent channel
selectivity.
(4) A variable frequency second local oscillator allows for band spreading
over a ·Jimited frequency range (governed by the selectivity of the RF and
first JF circuits). The dcgrec of" bandspreading is the sam..: whatever the
setting of the main tu11ing nrntrol, i.e. thl' same 11111nhcr of kilocycles per
division ;m:: uccommodatl·d on till· ha11,hpr<·;1<l dial :ll all .;i:ttings of the main
tuning control.
The most .-ommon J"aJvantctgc.: .,r tlil· J<>ubk 'up,·1 hdc.:rodyne is th<'
pre:;cncc of spurious responses. Hy cncJ.,,ing thc.: SCL·und local os.-illa1,1r and
mixer. together with its input and output lf transformers. in a screening box.
and by employing filtered HT, LT and A VC leads these spurious rc~pon scs
may be reduced to negligible proportions.

63
 Fig. 65 shows a block diagram ofa double supcrheterodyne receiver suitable
for operation up to about 150 Ml.'./ s. As an example the set is shown receiving
a 60 Mc/ s. signal. The incoming signal is passed through an RF amplifier
into a first mixer where it is mixed with a 50 Mc/ s. local oscillation to produce
a tirst IF of 10 Mc/ s_ A first IF of 10 Me i s. in this example gives a sel.'.ond
channel response 20 Mc/ s. below the signal frequency, i.e. at 40 Mc/ s., which

JS_T LOCAL 2"-0 LOCAL

OSCILLATOR OSCILLATOR
Fig. 65.
Block diagram of i double Juperheterodynt rcc.c1v-c,·.

is easily rejected hy two RF tuned cin.:uits. The 10 Ml/s. IF signal is passed

1hrough an amplifier and then into a second mixer. where it is mixed with an
X A Mc/ s. local oscillation to give a I · 6 Mc/ s. second l F which passes on
to a detector and LF stages as in ordinary superhetcrodyne practice. A
frequency of 1 ·6 Mc,'s. was chosen for the second IF as being the lowest
which will give a suitably wide bandwidth {about 20 kc/ s.) with simple coils
critically coupled.

r - - - - -
1
- - ---------------
n~'h:,~ -1
1
H.T.+
SCREENING
I-" aox
lOMC/S
~----f----~

AVC

LT.+
Fig. l.6.
Circuit diagram of a VHF double superheterodync second frequency chaneer 1howinc the
urccnlnc necessary to avoid 5purious whlstlc1.

64
 rig. 6<i shows lhc second frequency changer and associa1ed circui1s of a
double supcrhclcrodync receiver indicaling dearly 1h.: section which should
he totally screened in a box in order to e limina1e spu·rious responses. The:
feed-through condensers shown in Fi!(. :i~ arc wry ' llit a hk for filtering 1hc
leads cnterin!( the 'nccnin!( l.>nx.
AE.RIAL

SPEAKER
1---10_.M-
c/_s.--t~~OI

SO'"lcfs.

Fie. 67.
Block di3.gr:am of:. VHF svperheterod)"ne converter iystem.

Superhetcrodync Converters
A superheterod yne converter consists essentially of a frequency changer
stage (with or wi1hout an RF stage) used in front of an ordinary communica-
tions receiver to extend its frequency coverage. The communications
rC(.-eiver is tuned to a fixed frequency. say 10 Mc,'s.. at which frequency it acts
as an IF amplifier and audio section of the composi1e receiver. The converter
unit provides an l F output (10 Mc / s . in this case) which is fed into the com-
munications receiver input terminals. This is illustrated in block diagram
form in Fig. 67.
Superheterodyne conveners may be used up to 60 Mc s. but above that
figure the bandwidth o f the average communications receiver is too narrow
to enable signals to be held in tune without some form o f automatic frequcni.:y
control consequently tuning becomes too critical.
The circuits shown in Figs. 51 and 48 with a suitable local osci llator
provided may be used as VHF converters. A coupling link wound round
the earthy end of the IF transformer primary may be used to couple 1·ia a
coaxial lead to the input terminals of the communications receiver.

65
CHAPTER 5 VHF MEASUREMENTS
FREQUENCY MEASURFMENT-- TRANSMITTER POWER OUTPUT
MEASUREMENT--- RECEIVER PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.
H ERE arc a few important but simple measuremen ts which the
T amateur may make to ensure that his apparatus is operat ing correctly.
These measurements include: --
(a ) Frequency measurement.
(/>) Transmitter power output mea-;urcmcnt.
(c) Receiver pcrl'ormancc measurements.
Frl.'quenl·y Measurrment
Above about 100 Mc. s. it is praL·ticablc to mcasure directly the wavekngth
at which a transmiuer or osci llator is operating by using Lecher wires.
Lecher wires consist of a pair of taut parallel win:s, spaced an inch or so
apart to form an open wire transmission line. and a bridge to short ci rcuit
the wires. The latter device can be slid a long the line as required. F ig. 68
shows a convenient method of const ructing such a line.
For tra nsmitter wavelength measurement one end of the line is loosely
coupled by a loop, to the tank circuit of the transmitter, or oscillator. whose
wavelength is required. Starting near the coupling loop end of the line, the
bridge should be slowly moved along towards the open end of the line until a
point of maximum current in the bridge i-; found ; this wi ll be indicated by a
deflection on the transmitter anode current meter. or hy not ic ing when a pea
lamp and loop loosely coupled to the tank coi l passes through a minimum in
hrightncss. This position shou ld hr.: r.:.ircfully noted and the bridge then
COUPLING
LOOP

WAVELENGTH LONG)

fig. 68.
Construction o ( ;a. simple Lecher wire syst~m.

66
moved further a long lhc line unlil the next ..:onsc..:utivc similar posn1on is
found . The dislan..:e between the 1wo poinls will he one-half of the wave-
length al which lhc transmi11cr is oscillating. The cx rcrimcnlal set-u(l is
shown in Fig. 69.
~ BULB (, LOOP

eJjg;,~~" ,. ''1 LECHER WIRES

~ ~ :It
•1
I
I COUPLING
I
~ LOOP I ~' POSITION 2~ 0
POSIT ION
OF BRIDGE or BRIDGE
Fig. 6~.
Hc01surlng wavclc ng[h usin g Lecher wtrcs.
An application \lf the formu la,
, 15.000 I
I ·requency Distann• betll'ee11 bridge pusitiu11s in cm. file, s.
will enable the frequen cy of the oscillation to be determined. For examrl..:
if the distance between the bridge positions is found to be 100 cm., then hy
subst ituting in the formula,
15,000
Frequency = lO(f Mc/ s. = 150 Mc/s.
For the most sensiti ve condition of adjustment, the Lecher wires and the
bulb a nd loop shoulc.l be very loosely coupled to the lank circu it. T h is is
especially important when measuri ng the frequency of a self-exci1cd osci llator
whose frequency may be altered if the coupling is too tight. Although the
accu rncy of frequency measurement by this method is not very high th<.:
method is o f great use to the amateur as the only instrument required is a
good ruler. An accuracy of 0 · 1~~ can be attained wi th care.
In the case of receiver frequency measu rement, with st r.1ight sets and super-
rcgcnera tive sets, the line should be loosely coupled to the detector tuned
circuit, with the receiver reaction control adjusted so that oscillation is just
taking place in the case of the s1raight set, or the c haracteristic hiss is just
present in the case of the super-regenerative set. Sliding the bridge along the
line. as for transmitter measurement, the current maxima in the bridge will be
indica1ed hy noling when oscillation or super-regenera tion ..:cases. Th..:
coupling to 1he receiver tuned circuit should be reduced u ntil the oscillations
arc only just stoprcd :1s the h ri dgc is moved 1hrough the position of the

Fli. 70.
Two absorption wavemeter. clrculu .

67
current maxima. As in the transn\itter case the Jis1ance between the !:>ridge
positions is one-half of the wavelength 10 which the receiver is tuned. The
corresponding frequency may be calculated as already explained.
Jn the case of surcrhctcrodyne receiver frequency measurement the line
may be coupled to the local oscillator tuned circuit. The positions of the
current maxima as the hridge is moved along the line are most conveniently
found hy noting when the reading on a grid current meter. inserted in the
earthy end of the oscillator grid leak. passes through a minimum. The
coupling should only be just tight enough to enable the deflection on the grid
cu rrent meter to be discernible. Having found the frequency at which the
local oscillator of the receiver is operating the corresponding signal frequency
may be found by adding or suhtracting the receiver intermediate frequency.
depending on whether the local oscillator is dcsig1wl to operate below or
above the signal frequency.

f ig. 71.
Photograph of two absorption w ;;avcmccers covering 20 to 60 H c/ s.
Absorption wavemetcrs are very convenient types of measuring instrument
(or rough frequency checks. e.;:. for locat ing the amateur bands. They consist
of a simple tuned circuit of high Q and good stability with some device to
indicate resonance. The resonance indicator usually takes the form of either
a bulb and loop or a diode rectifier and microammcter. In each case the
resonance indicator should be a s loosely coupled to the tuned circuit as
possihle consistent with giving a suitable indication in order that the high Q
of the circuit shall be preserved. Two such wavemctcr circuits arc shown in
Fig. 70. Fig. 71 illustrates one convenient method of constructing an
absorption wavemcter. The coils shown arc tension-wound on ceramic
formers in order to give a high degree of electrical and mechanical stability.
The two wavcmetcrs shown cover the range 20-40 Mc 's. and 40- 60 Mc Is.
Another interesting device is shown in Fig. 72. This type has been called
the·· Barrel·• wavcmeter on account o f its shape. The paxolin hody contains
an Eddystone 100 1;.;iF variable condenser and the inductance is made up of a
G-shaped piece of silver- plated brass easily seen in the photograph. The
variable condenser bush is tixed through a ~" diameter hole in the cross
bar of the G. An arm with a phosphor bronze wiper is also fixed to the rotor.
The wiper runs round the curved ponion of the G as the condenser is rotated.
The top end of the curved portion of the G is fixed to the stator plates of the
tuning condenser. The whole assembly forms a variable inductance and

68
 variable capacity cin:uit or high {}. A pea lam p connected across a port ion
or the rotating arm may be used as a resonance indicator. The instrumen t
shown has a range of from 56-DO
Mc Is. Detai ls o f the size of the
G-shapcd piece of brass arc given
in Fig. 73.
Absorption wavcmcters o f the
types just described may be
calibrated using a sel f exci ted
osci ll a tor which has been p re-
viously calibrated by the Lcch.:r
wire method or some other
means. T he wavcmeter should
be held near the oscillator tank
coil and tuned until the osc illato r
grid cu rrent meter read ing falls
to a min imum o r un til the reson-
ance ind icator on the wavemetcr
shows a maximum indication.
The wavcmeter should thi:n be
moved gradually fu r ther aw;ty
from the tank coil until the
indica tions mentioned above a rc
only just discernible: during this
operation the wavemeter tuni ng
shou ld be continuously adjusted
for resonance. A mark mav
then be made on the wavemetcr
sca le correspond ing to the wave-
length at which the oscil lator is
operating.
He terodyne wavcmcters arc
ve ry useful for checking receiver
frequencies. A simple type
Fig. 72. circuit is shown in Fig. 74. Great
The " Barrel " type wavemcccr covering S6 to
330 M c/s. in one r;rnge. care shou ld be taken with the
construction of the tuned circui t
in order to achieve a high degree o r elect rical a nd mechanical stability.
The me ter shown in Fig. 74 has already been desc ri bed in some detail in
The Amateur Radio Ha11dbook . to which the reade r is referred for fu rther
detilils. Calihration may be accom plished by using Lecher wires, or if higher
accuracy is required by comparing the wavemeter with known harmon ics
or a crystal osci llator. The Lecher wires may be hel pful in deciding which
nystal harmonic is be ing used.
A more am hitious type of heterodyne wavcmcter may employ its own
quartz crystal as a harmonic generator . Harmonics of a I Mc ~ .
i.:rystal-controlled oscillator may be heard up to 150 Mc/ s. The circui t
of Fig. 75 shows a I Mc . s. crystal oscillator driving a harmonic generator
valve. A further refinement would be the p rovisi on of a 10 Me,ls. crysta l
oscillator giving reference harmonics 10 Mc. s. apart. The heterodyne
wavemeter may be chcck<.:d by plugging a pair or headphones into the jack
and tuning the oscillator fo r zero heat wi th one or the crystal harmonics.
It is best to c heck against the 10 Me is. h armonics first a nd then substitute
the l Mc/ s. harmonics, otherwise there may be some ambiguity as to the

69
 particu lar harmo nic again.~( whil.:h the ~cak t•f tho: mo.:lcr is being .:hcd.cd.
When tuned lo .-cro beat with the desired harmoni.:. the poin ter shou ld
exactly coincide with the scale calibr:1 tion corrcspomling to the crysta l
harmonic. Jr the poi nter is arranged so that it .:an he moved relati ve to the
scale, but leaving the tuning con-
denser in the same position, then
any errors in the calib ration
can be taken up by adjustment of
the pointer.
To measure the freq uency of a
transmitter, the calibration of the
wavemeler should first be checked
(near the freq uency at which the
tra nsmitter is operating) against
the crystal calibrator. T uning
the frequency meter fo r zero beat
in the hcaupho nes, with the
on:
crystal oscillator switched the
transmitter frequency may he
read-off directly from the wavc-
meler scale. Measurements
should not be made with the
crystal oscillator operating, as
many spurious whistles may be
MATERIAL :- '1a·· BRASS introduced. For received signal
SI LVER PLATED frequency measurement, after
Fi g. 73 . checking the wavemeter calibra-
Con• tr uctlonat detail• of th e " Barrel " wo vcmeter lio n against the crystal har-
ind uctanc c eleme nt. m onies, the wavemcter should be
sel so as to give zero beat with
the incoming signal of the receiver. A simi lar method may be used to
calibrate a receiver, adjusting the wavemeter fo r zero beat with the receiver
BFO (if it has one). or adjusting the meter to give a maximum read ing on the
tuning indicator of the set.
Transmitter Power Output Measurement
Transmitter power output mcasuremcms at VHF an: important to enable
the operator to ascertai n if th~ output ~tagc of his transmitte r is operating so

fig. 74.
A simple heterodyne wavcmctcr circuit.

MOO ON-oFF
SWITCH
70
as to give the maximum possihle output of RF energy without exceeding the
rated anode dissipation of the va lve . The measurement can conveniently
be carried out by using the Rf power to light a load lamp, and comparing the
brightness of the lamp with tha t of a simila r lamp operated from a known
DC or low frequency AC supply.

IN PUT
Fig. 75 .
A heterodyne wlvemctcr circ.uic with quanz crystal chec ki ng unit.

Fig. 76 shows lhc cxpcrimc·rltal set- up required . LI . C l is the transmitr.:r

lank cin:uit lo whic h the load lamp is coupled by means of a one or two l urn
link coil L2 . in series with a 50 :i:J.F variable condenser C2. The load ci n:u it
should first be tuned to rcsonancc with the lank ci rcui t, using very loose
coupling, by adjusti ng C2 and noting when the load lamp just glows red. Th.:
coupling between the circuits should then be increased until the o utput stage
is drawing the: correct anode current. So mc slight retuning of the load or

LI

TANK
CIRCUIT

Fig. 76,
E)(perimenul SM up ror the me~sureme nt of t r ;insmitter power output.

71
t:tnk circuit m:iy give improwd rcs11lh. Thr c·omp:trison lamp or the s:1mr
make and power as the load lamp may next be switd1cd on and its brilliance
adjusted by means of the variable resistance until it is the same brilliance as
the load lamp. The product of the current and the voltage read from thl'
two meters will give the power in the comparison lamp which may be takeri
as being equal to the power output from the t r;in~mitlcr ,inn· the two lamp~
have heen adjusted to equal hrillia1m:.

Receiver Performance Measurements

It has been customary to express the performance or a VHF rct:.:ivcr by
slating that the sensitivity is so many microvolts input to the aerial terminals
tor a certain signal-10-noisc ratio usually 20 db. The measurement is
carried out in the following way. A signal generator is coupled through a
suitable matching resistance to the input terminal~ or the receiver und.:r t1:.~t.
The 11encrator then tuned to the receiver frequcm:y and the attenuator
turned down until a weak signal is being led into the set. A note o r the noise
output from the set shou ld be made with no modulation using an output
meter or oscilloscope ;is an indkator. The modulation on the signal
generator should then be switched on at a level of 30°-;,. The new
reading on the output meter should be note:! and compared with that
prevailing with no modulation. Repeating the test ill diff.:ren1 carrier input
levels will enable the input level which gives a 20 db signal-to-noise ratio to
be found. In a good VHF communication receiver this figure should be a
few microvo lrs.
In the absence of a signal generator the following test may be app lied
to see if a receiver is of good quality. The aerial circuit should be tuned
through resonance while the noise output of the set is observed on some form
of output meter. In a good receiver the noise \Oilagc wi ll vary ~ Ill I or more
as this test is carried out.

72
CHAPTER 6 FREQUENCY MODULATION
CW TELEGRAPHY- AMPLITUDE MODULATION-- FREQUENCY
MODULATION- PHASE MODULATION- ADVANTAGES OF FM --
DISADVANTAGES OF FM- REACTANCE VALVE MODULATION-
ARMSTRONG'S PHASE MODULATOR- PRACTICAL FM EXCITER
UNIT- FM RECEIV ER CONSIDERATIONS- LIMITERS-RECEIV ER
DESIGN (GENERAL)-NOISE REDUCTION I N FM SYSTEMS-
PRE-EMPHASIS- MEASUREMENT OF FREQUENCY DEVIATION.
first sight the system of transmission known as Frequency Modulation
X may appear lo call for the use of complicated and expensive apparatus.
difficult to adjust outside a laboratory. In point of fact, however.
this is not the case. for as will be shown later. it is a comparatively simple
matter to construct a FM transmiller and receiver using components of a type
normally available to the amateur.
The first experiments with FM were carried out nearly 20 years ago. which
disposes of the myth that it is a new invention. As FM is only one of scvcrnl
methods which are available of conveying intelligence by means of radio
waves, it is proposed to consider briefly the systems in use, with a view to
preparing the way for a detai led description of FM.

WYM on~nij onnnn n~nnnnnnnnnij

umu UUVU] nuwumuu . ::.
- - - -
rictorial r-eprcsenution or the
Fig. 77.
letter .. v
(,AOAi l •

II
C O-. ·~.,
i..ctl.O.'t.""" "'
.._..,.

using the Morse code.

Continuous Wave Telegraphy

In this system a carrier wave at radio frequency is interrupted in a pre-
determined manner by means of a key; different combinations of dots and
dashes representing letters and numerals of the Morse Code. A pictorial
representation of the Morse letter V is given in Fig_ 77.

. :._ . .
.WI·.-,..'".
<-.::: ... , ..

·--1·· ~ o n • ·l_&'L O - · - - -l-...... ~~ &'H _;

i !
l ~ L
.,...,.- "··,,......, - · •••t'
•
1
•
\ i , ....ru -.• 1aut-.<.
•-tu:>e>t o$ WOOU~&'t'I"-' ~,. ,..... ,.
111111avt ..<.•

...Ji·:~·
~.avt•O'ltM

'"°"'........ ~ · ·-"

.
....._,,~ ).>OQ ~
---- - -
.. t. f 't ""'C / 9' 01, C/~
~-ot ••NO
f>lltl olw, ...

'tfl'tC. ' """"

Fii.·78.
Ampli tude modulated wa.vc .;md sidcb.lnd spe:trum of ex.ample referred to io t c•t.
 For the transmission of speech and music a carrier wave at radio frequency
is again employed. but instead of interrupting it, as fo r the CW case, its
amplitude, frequency o r phase is varied in sympathy with audio frequency
speech or music waves, thus giving rise to Amplitude. Frequency or Phase
Modulation.
Amplitude Modulation
In this system a constant fr.:quency carrier wave <at radio frequency) is
used, its amplitude being varied. or modulated by the low frequency voltages
produced at the microphone after suitable amplification. The change in
amplitude of the carrier is made proportional to the instantaneous audio
voltage, and the rate at which the a mplitude is varied is equal to the frequency
of the audio voltage.
It can be shown mathematkall v that an AM wave consists of a carrier
frequen cy and a set of side-bands. - A 7.000 kc 's. carrier, for example, when
amplitude modulated hy a single 5 kc ' s. audio note, is equivalent to (I) a
carrier at 7,000 kc/ s .. (2) an upper side-band al 7,005 kc/ s .. and (3) a lower
side-band at 6,995 kc 's. Such a transmission thus takes up a total band -
width of 10 kc/ s. Fig. 78 sho\\·s the shape of an amplitude modulated
wave and the positions occupied by the side-hands.
In the case of compl icated modulating wa ve form s the side-band spC'ctrum
hccomcs very complex, although the side-bands themselves do not extend
beyond the highest modulating frequency on either side of the carrier
frequency.
Frequency Modulation
After the existence of side-bands had b.:en established , in the t\M case ,
it was anticipated tha t. by varying the carrier frequency in sympathy with the
audio waves, the band-width required for the transmission of speech and

• ....CCU..•t...c..vt'-•~
,.1'o0ve . ~ - •>.c•l•"4;
.. t ... 1u:ur_i;i: ll'Qto..(;"'"'"

Vi I .

,. . . ~."'!
• • to.#....(,
'°"O'«/<
C:&•Q•f;'. 0
(.~,. ....,
.... Pl,,H'UM

'7000 70'00 '°'°'° ..... ""°'°°

.. c.t.lo ...~ ............,.
0
-~I'S
"'0•0
.... , .

r ····· ::::.~::!~T::
I CAAA••A
I 1i.•OC 8•.,.0
I ~PCCT A,,_

: rC '"'Cl"l&QI

J
...~
..L I •flC>
I tJ I
ii:t1111eauc ... .::v
"'°"°
Mc/ • .

f ig. 79.
Fr-cqucncy modulated wav e and side- band spectrum of example referred to in text, showin&
thil the sp~cing between the si dc.b;inds. ts cqu;il to the ;iudio frequency . namely !> kc/s.

74
music could he redm:cd. fo'or example it was thought that hy using a deviation
of :!: 500 c.p.s., a ham.I-width of only 1,000 c.'s ( I k..:/ s.) would bt: required
to transmit any audio frequency. In 1922. however, Ca rson sh owed mathe-
matically that a frequency moduh11ed wave was equivalent to a carrier plus
an infinite number of sidc-ba mls. although in pr<1cticc it is only the fi N few
side-bands that arc large. the remainder heing negligible.
In the case of FM there is a carrier wave at radio frequency whose deviation
from the mean carrier frequency is made proportional to the inst antaneous
audio voltage. The rate at which the carrier frequency is deviated is equal to
the audio modulating frequency.
Consider a numerical example. Suppose a 7,000 kc / s. carrier freque ncy is
modulated by a pure 5 kc 's. tone to produce a peak <.kviation of :l: 10 kc/ s,
then during 100",; modulation the ca rrier will be deviated between 7,010 kc's.
and 6,990 kc 's. at a rate of 5 kc 's. The lower portion of Fig. 79 shows
the side-band spectrum corresponding to this example, whilst the upper
portion gives a pictorial representation of the 1·requency modula ted wave.
The fact that a frequency modulated wave can he shown to con sist of a
carrier and an infinite set o f side-bands. does not mean that in pract ice an
infinitely wide ba nd-width is required lo transmit FM signals. So long as
the del'iarion ratio, i.e. the ratio of the peak deviation to the modulating
frequency, is made greater than unity, then the side-bands outside the peak
deviation become small enough to be neglected. T h is means tha t modulating
frequencies up to 5 kc.'s. can be transmi tted o ver a system having a pass band-
width of ± 5 kc/ s., wi thout excessive distonion, although for a high quality
service such as broadcasting. where a high signal-to-noise ratio is essential,
a greater deviation ratio a nd a wider receiver hand-wid th a rc required.
Phase Modulation
In this system the phase of the carrier wave is altered in sympathy with
the audio modulating voltage. Phase Modulation is not, a t present, used to
any great extent as a means of communication bu t PM transmitters, with
simple corrector network s in the LF stages, arc used to produce frequency
modulation. Such a scheme is used in the Armstro ng system of FM
transmission.
There is a great similarity between frequency and phase modulation, in
fact a person listening to a fixed note on a FM receiver would be unable to
distinguish whether the transmission was frequency o r phase modulated .
The relationship between frequency and phase modulation is simple
and is expressed as:-
8.f = It 0
r
where 8 = frequency deviation in c/ s.
11 "~ modulating frequency in c/ s.
0 = phase deviation in radians (180° ~~ 3 · 14 radians).
Expressed in words this means that phase modulation is a for m of frequency
modulation in which the deviation is proporti ona l to the modu lating
frequency.
Consider the case of a PM transmitter with a constant deviation of ± 5
radians (5 Y. 360,(!;r·), then if the modulating frequency were 1,000 c/s
the equivalent frequency deviation would be :l: 5 kc/ s. If the audio
frequency were raised to 3,000 c/ s the equivalent freq uency deviation would
then be ::!: 15 kc/ s.
Fig. 80 shows the graphical relationship between equivalen t frequency
deviation and modulation frequency, for a consta nt phase deviation of
5 radians.

75
 Havi ng hricny survcycd the dilli:rcnt methods o r 1110Jula1ion. wc sha ll
now proceed 10 disniss the advantages and disadvan ta~c~ o r the FM system.
Advantages of FM
(I) T he great reduction or set and impulse noise wh id1 ..:an be ad11cvcd.
T he former includes circuit and va lve noise emanating fro m the HF stag•·
of the receiver. Impulse noise indudcs motor car ign iti on and other fo rms of
man-made static as well as certain types of atmospherics. A s noise reduction
takes place in l he receiver it will he considered more fully in a later section.

,.,,~

( """' .. 'fl . ..
..... oui.N ~ )

'"f\ Kc/ '-

Flf. 80.
Gr:iph show ing relationsh ip betwten equivale nt freqoency deviation ind modub.t ion
fr equen cy fo r a con stant pha.se: de viation o f 5 radia ns .

(2) The saving of space a nd power in the tra nsm iller.

In a frequency modulated trnnsmincr. m odula tion is pe rformed al low
level in the master-oscillator stage. consequen tly a va lve of the receiving RF
pcmode type is sufficient to modulate the largcst transmiller. Expensive high
powcr audio eq uipment and power supplies are thus dispensed with- the
saving in cost being more marked as the transmitter power is increased.
(3) More ouput is avai lable: from a given type of valve.
Since lhc a m plitude of the fre qwncy mod ulated wave is constan t. the
o utput stage can be run under Class C te legraphic cohd itio ns. No voltage
peaks occur du ri ng modulation as is the case with ampl itude m o du la ted
transmission~ . Thus fo r a given lypc of output valve more output power is
avai lable. Conversely fo r a given outpu t power, smaller va lves and !lining
condensers are required than would be the case fo r an eq u ivale n t amplitude
modulated transmitter. The net resu lt of these economics is that a FM
tra.nsmitter can be made approKimately half the size or a high-level platc-
modulated transmiller using AM and the same carrier power.
Disadvantages of FM
( I ) The difficulty of keeping the mean frequency or the carrier constant in
order not to in terfere w ith transmitters working on neighbour ing channels.
T his disadvantage was gradually o vercome as the tec hnique develope<l .
T he difficulty o f the problem becomes apparent when it is realised that the
carricr frequency has to be c a pable of rapid frequency variation in order
to transmit the intelligence, yet at the same time the 11wa11 carrier frequency
must be held constant. T he methods uscJ 10-day for o htaining th is con-
dition of stahility arc discussed later.

7o
 (2) The larger hand-width required to provide a high signa l-to-noise ratio
scrvil:e. .
This disatlvant;igc has hccn overcome hy using and developing the
frequency spectrum above 30 Mc s. At these high frequencies man~· wide-
h~nd transmitters ,·an operate without mutual interference.
In America, where a ~tan<ia rcl deviation of -:: 75 kc 's. is allowed the FM
hroadcast band fall s around -13 M.- >.. each station being allocated a channcl-
width of :?00 kc/ s.
+

Fig. 81.
A typi()I re1ct:J.nc c v.1.l ve modulJ.cor lhow tn &
the phne shift network '" he;ivy liries .

Methods of Producing FM Transmissions

FM is no new idea, in fact, the old a rc transmitters were in effect frequency
modulated when the frequency was changed from " mark " to ·• spacc ••
during keying. Allempts were even made to frequency moduhuc arc trans-
mitters with speech. but nothing came of the experiments.
With the introduction of the thermionic valve further attempts were made
to modulate oscillators by methods such as that of connecting a cond.:nscr
microphone across the tuned circuit of a self-excited oscillator. Again the
experiments proved aborrive and the doom of frequency modulation seemed
to be sealed whcn Carson expounded his s ide-band theory in 1922.
During 1935 Major Armst rong, in the U.S.A ., conducted some expcrimcnts.
using frequency modulation, with a view to reducing noise on radio trans-
missions. A year later he published his paper in the Froc. 1.H..E.. since when
interest in FM both for broadca.~t and communication purposes has increased
by leaps and bounds.
The most popular forms of FM transmiuer at present in use are:-
(a) those which use the rcactance valve modulator method, and
(h) those which use a phase modulator. with a correcting network
to convert the phase modulation into frequency modulation .
Reactance Valve Modulators
The reactance valve (or reactor) was adapted for frequency modulation by
Murray Crosby in America. In essentials it is a valve connected across an
oscillator tuned circuit in such a way that it behaves as a variablc capacity or
inductance- the change in rcactance being controlled by the grid voltage of
the valve.
The fundamental point about a reactor is that its control grid is fed with
an RF voltage 90" out of phase with the voltage across its anode. A typical
reactor circu it is shown in Fig. 81. the rcsistance R and the condenser C
forming the phase change circuit. The condition that the phase shift should

77
he 90 is that the rcactancc of C shoulJ bc large compared with the resistance
R . fig . 82 shows a typical reactor characteristic ... grid bias voltage being
plotted against osci llator frequency. In practice the reactor is biased at A in
the centre of the linear portion of the c haracteristk. and the modulating
voltage is superimposed on this voltage. As the grid vo ltage varies between
C and D. the frequency of the oscillator is caused to vary between E and F.
the deviation being proportiona l to the amplitude or the audio voltage and the
rate of frequency swing bcing equal to the modulating frequency. Thus pure
frequency modula tion is produced so long as the grid voltage ex.:ursion keeps
to the straigh t part of the characteristic.
The single reactor type of FM transmitter is not altogether sat isfactory if a
high degree of carrier stability is required. although for amateur purposes,
with careful construction and a djustmen t, suc h a simple transmitter olfc rs
great possibilities. Crosby has developeJ a push-pull reactor circuit in which
the effect on fn:qm:m:y brought about by changes or supply voltages is
arranged to cancel out.
Even so, the pu~h-pu ll circuit does not compensate for slow frequen cy
drift c;H1sed by warmin g up or the transmitter, valves, etc. T he American

.......
C..«.Cll~.of:E!.•+_.------J

c .. 0 G A1D 8~S
vOlf&C.f

I
O..C B IAS
t 0f( Clt4'· ..... c. t
POINT"

fl&. 82.
A typical r"e2ctor characterinic for tht circuit or Fie. 8 1.
General Eleclric Company has developed a circuit in which automatic con trol
of the mean carrier frequency is obtained by comparison with a stable quartz
crystal oscillator. T he basic circuit is shown in Fig. 83. The MO-FD- PA
part of the transmitter is quite conventional and is such as might be used in a
10-watt 60 Mc/ s. amateu r transmiuer. The reac tor is of the type already
mentioned, whilst the rest of the circuit provides the automatic frequency
control.
Some portion of the output from the PA is fed into a mixer va lve where it is
combined with a stable reference frequency obtained from a crystal oscillator.
The IF from the mixer is selected by a tuned circuit a nd led into an amplifier
valve. The output from the amplifier is in turn fed into a discriminator or
frequency detector, about which more will be said later. It is sufficient here
to know that a discriminator is a device which gives an o utput depending on
the frequency of the voltage which is fed to it. The circuit is arranged so
that when in tune n o output is obtained, but when the frequency of the
voltage being fed into the device varies, a positive or negative voltage is

78
obtained depending on whether the frequency is above or below the" in tune "
frequency. A discriminator characteristic is shown in Fig. 90. As the stability
of the transmitter is to a large extent decided by the stability of the dis-
criminator a low IF of the order of 500 kc/ s. is used where high stability can
he achieved. The DC output from the discriminator is smoothed to remove
the audio and is then fed back into the reactor grid circuit.

Fig. 83.
A rcacunce moduluor t ypt'! FM . transmitter w ith automuic rrcquency cont r ol.

The com plete action of the AFC circuit is as follows. Suppose the tran,-
mittcr frequency drifts higher. then this causes the IF to increase by the same
amount and give.s rise to a DC output from the discriminator. If this output
is of correct polarity to produce a decrease in the oscillator frequency, the
transmitter frequency will be corrected until there is no output from the
discriminator again. A similar line of reasoning applies to the case of the
transmitter frequency drifting to the low side.
In practice a very high degree of stability, approaching that of the best
crystal controlled transm itters, can be achieved with s uch a system.
The Armstrong Phase Modulation System
The Armstrong phase m odulator system of producing frcqucm:y modula-
tion is designed to achieve a high degree of carrier stability. The system is
crystal controlled and produces phase modula1ion which is tu rned

r· ------- -- ----,
I

_____ _ _ _ _ _ ____ J.tic~

fig. 8'4.
The Armstronc system of frequency modulaUon, 1.bovc, and
det.ils of ph ..c modul•tor st•g•, below.

79
into frequency modulation by means of a simple network in the LF stages of
the transmitter. A transmitter using this system has been in operation ill
Alpine. N.J . (W2XMN). with a power or 40 kW on a c41rrier frequency of
42 ·8 Mc ' s. The system was Rat within 1 db from 30 to 15,000 cycles per
second, and the deviation used was :L 75 kc/ s.

Fig. 85.
Armst ron, ·s b01l1nccd modulator circ.uil.

The elements of the system arc shown in Fig. 84. The output from a crystal
oscillator is fed into a linear amplifier and also into a balanced amplitude
modulator. The la tter is a device from whic h the side-ba nds only are taken,
the carrier being balanced out. The side-ba nds are then amplified and
recombined with the carrier which has undergone simple amplification.
The phase of the side-bands is arranged so that when they are in phase with
each o ther they are 90' out of phase with the carrier. The balanced modulator
circuit as used by Armstrong in his origina l experiments is shown in Fig. 85.
The condensers Cl and C2 arc adjusted to cancel out the carrier frequency.
The secondary winding L has a high resonant frequency compared with the
crystal oscillator frequenc y and this provides the requ isi te phase relationship
already mentioned. A vector diagram of the voltages concerned is shown in
Fig. 86. The carrier is represented by OA and the side-bands by AC and AD.
In the posit ion where the side-hands are in phase with each other and arc 90"
ou t of phase with the carrier, it can be seen that a phase shift O is obtained.

't- - ...(- - ,,_

1"' ____
E _..,9
+
' I
.>
'
'' \
\
\
\}'.-
\
\
\
\
0

Fi&. 86.
V Cctor d11gran\ o f the volu,cs in the Arm~lron, ph3St mcdula tor .

liO
During modulation the side-baml vectors rotate about the point A in opposite
directions and cause a phase deviation of ± o . It will be seen that some
amplitude modulation is also produced, but this is of no consequence as it
is removed in the frequenc y multiplying stages of the transmiller which
follow. If the phase deviation is kept below ::i.: J0° it is found to be sub-
stan tially linear.

0 ---"M"M
A
. ,N' ...
....N''~I- Q
I Nl"Vf

o---------<O
C
I 0Jflltl,IT

fig. fI7.
Cor-recting networ k co produce frequency moduf3tion from a phau? modu!J.tor.

The equivalent frequency l!eviation for a given phase deviation is propor-

tional 10 the modulating frequency, therefore to obtain frequency modulation
a network mllst be inserted in the LF stages of the transmitter, whose output
is inversely proportional to the frequency o f the modulating voltage. A net·
work such as that shown in rig. 87 can be used for this purpose. R is a high
resistance and C is a capacity whose rcactancc is small compared with R
al the lowest modulating frequ ency.
The phase deviation at the lowest modulating frequency is limited to :I: 30°
for reasons of linearity. and the lowest modulating frequency may be as low
as 30 cycles in a hjgh-tidclity broadcasting sys1em. The equivalent frequency
devia1ion in 1his case is only -:: 15 cycles. If a final devia1ion of :.i: 75 kc_ls.
is required it is clear tha1 a frequency multiplication or some 5,000 times is
required ! It is this need for a large number of frequency multiplications
that is the chief disadvantage of the Annstrong system. In practice a
fund amen1al crysta l frequency or about 200 kc.1s. is used and the frequency is
multiplied upwards. Aflcr this firs t set of multiplica1ion stages, the signal
is fed into a mixer (which docs not alter the devia1ion) and is changed
down to about 200 kc/ s. again. More stages of multiplication follow and the
process is repeated until the necessary number of multiplications have been
achieved to give the correct deviation at the final carrier frequency.
In the case of an amateur 1ype of lransmitter the total number of multiplica-
tions can be reduced appreciably. Consider a transmitter designed t0 operate
around 144 Mc/s. The audio frequency band which needs to be transmitted
for good speech quality is from 300 to 3,000 cycles per second . Assume, too,
tha, a final deviation of some :~: 15 kc/ s. will be used . The equivalent
frequency modulation deviation al the lowest audio frequency can be calcu-
la1cd to be ± 150 cycles, calling for a frequency multipl ication of only 100
times to give the desired deviation at the carrier frequency. Thus starting
off with a I ·44 Me/ s. crys1al a simple 144 Mc,'s. transmillcr could be con-
structed, the number or valves required being quite small as with modern
types it is possible to multiply by as much as five times in one stage.

A Practical FM Exciter Unit Circuit

Fig. 88 shows the circuit diagram of a practical FM exciter unit suitable
for driving an amateur VHF frequency modulated transmiller in the 60 Mc/ s.
band. The EF50 oscillator stage is of the cathode tap lype and oscillates at a
frequency of about 7 ·5 Mc/s. The anode circuit is tuned to a harmonic o f
the oscillator frequency. A total frequency multiplication of eight times is

81
 BUFFEy
REACTOR OSC ILLATOR "1>0U6LE R + 300v

Fli. 88.
A pra«lcal frtquency modulation exciter circuit.
required to give an output in the 60 Mc/ s. band. The multiplier stages are
quite conventional and have been described els!where. The usual precautions
should be taken with the construction of the master oscillator in order to
make it as stable as possible. No automatic frequency control equipment
has been built into this exciter.
Another EFSO valve is used as a reactance modulator, the 90° phase shift
network• being made up of a 2 µµF condenser Cl, and the parallel elements
LI. RI and TCI. The audio frequency modulating voltage is applied in
series with the 47,000 ohm grid leak. The cathode and screen grid by-pass
.... r,.......-0,..,rt.
..Q.(~

Fl1. 89.
An early type of frequency moduladon dlscrimlnltor.
• G. E. Co., Lrd. Pat. No. 542,67S.

82
condensers have been made as small as possible in capacity so as to make the
dynamic and static performances of the reactor equal. This enables the
frequency deviation of the oscillator, due to the reactor, to be measured
statically with the knowledge that the dynamic performance using speech
modulation will be the same. Methods of frequency deviation measurement
are described in a section at the end of this chapter.
The tuning condenser TC! across the lower arm of the 90' phase shift
network may be set up as follows. Insert a milliammeter in series with the
oscillator grid leak and press the push button PB, which is arranged so as to
short out a portion of the reactor cathode bias resistance. This in turn bas
the effect of applying a change of potential to the reactor control grid. When
the tuned circuit LI , TCI is correctly tuned there will be no change in oscillator
grid current when the button is pressed. On one side of resona nce pressing
the button will increase and on the other side of resonance decrease the
oscillator grid current.
With the circuit arrangements shown, and an oscillator grid current of
about 0 ·I 5 mA, an audio input of 0 · 35 volts was required to give a deviation
of± 9 ·4 kc/s. at 7 · 5 Mc/s., wh.ich after a multiplication of eight times gives

J.f..

OUTPUT
+

fl1 . 90.
The Seeley Discriminator, above, and
• typical discriminator chuacterlalc, below.

83
 a deviation of ± 75 kc,'s. at the output frequcn r y of 60 Me i s. ll should be
noted that the deviation which is produced by the reactor is inversely pro-
portional lo the oscillator tuning capacity. The circuit shown is suitable
for high fidelity work. the response being flat rrom 50 to 15,000 c/ s. For
communication purposes the speech band may be restricted to 300 to 3,000 c/ s
and the frequency deviation may be reduced as desired hy reducing the audio
input to the reactor as required.
No pre-emphasis is shown in the circuit, but if required the parallel 300 µµF
condenser and 330,000 ohm resistance, which gives a pre-emphasis of
100 microseconds, may be inserted between the points X and Y (Fig. 88).
The exciter just described may easily be adapted for 144 Mc/ s. operation.
Frequency Modulation Receh·er Considerations
An FM receiver diners from an AM receiver in two important ways,
first, in the type of detector used, and sc..:ond in the insertion o f an amplitude
limiting stage or stages.

I ~. T.

ti
OUTPUT

TWO STAGES

l.IMITING THAEA S H OLO INPUT

(APPAO)O. _. I VOLT)

Fig. 9 1.
A t:fpical limiter circuit, above, and chu01cteri1tic. below.

Consider the detector, a device which must produce an output proportiona I

to the deviation of the applied signal. The earliest type of frequency detector
used a detuned parallel tuned circuit, followed by some form of amplitude
detector. Fig. 89 will help lo make the method of operation clear. ABC

84
 represents the pass band of the receiver
IF amplifier, and DEF the response
curve of the detuned circuit which
follows the amplifier. The tuning of the
circuit is arranged so that the straight
portion GH is centred on the inter-
mediate frequency of the receiver. Now
consider what happens when a signal
is applied. As the signal is deviated
during modulation the frequency sweeps
from I to J- the output from the
.. detuned circuit being proportional to
the deviation so long as the deviation is
u x~ kept within the bounds of the straight
- Ill
owi part of the curve. The resulting output
1
"' .
<: which is now amplitude modulated can
be detected in a conventional AM
detector stage. It is this type of detec-
tion which takes place when an FM
signal is received on an AM receiver by
<t>
.J
detuning slightly.
The type of frequency detector or
discriminator in common use is of the
balanced type and was developed by
Seeley in America. It has certain noise-
reducing properties in itself as when it
is exactly in tune it is insensitive to
amplitude modulation. The circuit is
shown in Fig. 90 together with a typical
...
11'
• oJ
discriminator characteristic. The cir-
cuits LI, C l and L2, C2 are both tuned
- l to the receiver intermediate frequency
and arc magnetically coupled as in an
~~ ordinary IF transformer. The " hot "
~.
end of the primary is connected to the
centre tap of the secondary circuit •·iu
a condenser. The secondary centre
tap is also connected to Lhe centre of
the load resistances RI and R2. The
ends of the secondary winding are
connected to two diode rectifiers. The
primary voltage is applied to both
diodes, and each half of the secondary
voltage is applied to one diode.
The phases and magnitudes of the
Fie. 91a. voltages arc such that when exactly in
Block diacn.m of the stages involved In a tune the rectified output developed
1+4 Mc/ s. FM-AM receiver. across each half of the load resistance
RI, R2 is equal and opposite in sign:
VALVES:- lnd IF. KTW61
HF. Z90 Limiters Z6l thus the sum output across the two
1st MIX. Z90 OISCR. 063 diode cathodes is zero. When the signal
ht osc. oeno l.F. Dl63 is deviated, the voltage across one load
1st IF. KTW61 Output KT61
resistance increases and the other
~~~ ~~-: X65
BFO. KTZ63
Ructor KTZ63 decreases, producing a sum output
85
across the two diode cathodes which is proportional lo the deviation of the
signal. The discriminator can be designed to be li near over the range of the
deviation of the signal. There a re other types of freque ncy detector ci rcuit
but they arc in general more difficult to design and adjust a nd so do not lend
themselves to amateur practice.
The discriminator may be tuned by sett ing an ampli tude modulated signal
to the middle of the receiver IF passband tuni ng the prima ry of the discrimi-
nator transformer for maximum output a nd tuning the secondary for
minimum output of the modulating signa l from the loudspeake r. Another
method is to measure the voltage across the primary of the discrim inator
transformer, tune the primary for a maximum with the secondary shorted,
unshort the secondary, and then tune the secondary unti l the primary volta ge
falls to a minimum.
Limiters
The objects of the limiter stage in a FM receiver a rc (I) to remove amplitude
modulation from incoming signals, and (2l to remove noise (which takes the
form of pulses of great amplitude). The convent ional limiter, which precedes
the discriminator, takes the form of one or two stages c onsisting of pen tode
valves operating with low screen and anode voltages and arranged with grid
leak bias. The screen a nd anode voltages used arc between 5 a nd 50 volts,
depending on the level at which the stage is required to limit, a nd the time
constant of the grid leak and condenser is kep t short so that the limiter can
handle very quick pulses such as a rc generated by mo tor car ignition systems.
Time constants of the order of ten m icroseconds or less are common in
practice. The single pentode limiter stage has a characteristic as shown in
Fig. 91 which falls off in output as the input is increased past a certain point.
This is undesirable and two limiters in cascade are o ften used, the second
limiter being called upon to hand le the relatively small amplitude variations
which exist in the output of the first stage. In practice, two such limi ters
give a nearly ideal limiter characteristic as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 91 B.

Receiver Design- General

The only other way in which the FM receiver differs from a n AM set is in
the extra gain which is required to give the best resul ts. The design should
be suc h that the limiters a re in operation on the weakest of signals. As many
signals used in amateur communication arc on ly j ust above the receiver noise
level it follows that sets should be designed so that the valve and circuit noise
originating from the HF stage of the receiver should saturate the limiter
valve. As the equivalent noise level at the grid o f the HF ampli fie r of a good
receiver is of the o rder of ± microvolt and a lim iter requires an input of
one volt to cause saturation, it is clear that a gai n of some 4,000,000 times is
required up to the grid o f the first lim iter ! Using a high carrier frequency no t
much gain can be obtained in the RF stages of a receiver, leaving a ll the gai n
to be o bta ined in the IF stages. As a high intermed iate freq uency is necessary
on the grounds of image suppression, the achieveme nt of th is gain with
stability is a difficult proble m. Jt is desirable to go to the doub le superhet
principle for a solution, splitting up the gain between the RF, !st IF, and
2nd IF stages in order to avoid instability. Such a double supcrhet receiver
is shown in Fig. 92 together with a block diagram of all the stage;:s. The
receiver is suitable for the reception of either FM or AM signa ls in the 144
Mc / s. amateur band. The set will cope with signals using a deviation of
± 15 kc/ s. and the signal-to-noise ratio with an input of one microvolt is
20 db. AM detection takes place in the !st limiter grid circuit.

86
 Fig. 9lb.
Pho tog raph of the receiver rdcrred to in Fig. 92a.

Noise Reduction in Frequency Modulation Systems

It is the limiter stage in an F'v1 receiver wh ich accounts to a large extent for
the reduction of noise in FM sysccms. All amplitude variations are removed
by the limiter. This, however, docs not mean that the background of an
FM receiver is absolutely silent, for chc random-noise components are in
effect phase modulaced , and so are detected ac the discriminator, producing a
noise output at the loudspeaker.
Fig. 93 shows the relative noise in an AM and a FM system of the same
IF band-width. OC represents half the IF band-width, and in the AM case
the noise output would be represented by the rectangle ABCO. In an FM
system with a limiter, however, che noise output is represented by the triangle
OBC. The reason for this " triangular noise spectrum" is that, the noise
being phase modulated, the equivalent deviation is pro portional to the audio
frequency. lf the audio passband is restricted to OF in the diagram it will
be seen that the ratio of AM to FM noise will be as area ADFO is to area
EFO. It should be noted that the improvement using FM increases as the
deviation (and consequently the IF band-wid th) is increased.

f ig. 93.
Th e tria ngular FM. noise spectrum.

I
I
IL-...l------"'~ - - - - - - - _J

In practice there seem to be different optimum deviations for different

purposes. For broadcasting where very good signal-to-noise ratios at high
carrier levels are req uired ·a nd high audio frequencies have to be transmitted
a large deviation of some + 75 kc/s. is p referable. Wider deviations could

87
perhaps be used with advantage but a compromise must be struck with th•
limited number of channels available even in the VHF region.
For amateur communication purposes where receiver noise usually set
the limit of the service area, and many stations have to be accommodated i1
narrow wavebands, a narrower deviation will have to be used. A deviatio1
of some ::!: 15 kc/ s. seems to be most promising on the grounds of carric
stability, channel width and signal-to-noise ratio .
...---+----+

1
·*--"
INP~PUT
(Q)
INPUT

Fie. 9~.
OUTPUT INP~P
o
R

CC>
I o

Pre... cmphasis and de-emph;isis circuits.

Pre~mphasis
Pre-emphasis is a n artifice which is sometimes used in FM practice in order
to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Pre-emphasis is not peculiar to FM
but can also be used on an AM system, but the signal-to-noise ratio improve·
ment on FM is greater than can be achieved with AM.
Pre-emphasis is achieved by placing a filter in the transmitter microphon~
circuit which has the effect of increasing the level or the high modulating
frequencies. Another filter which has the reverse effect is inserted in the
receiver audio circuit. The filter may take the forms shown in Fig. 94.
The value of the. pre-emphasis used in a system is referred to as being so many
microseconds, the value being numerically equal to the time constant in
microseconds. Some common values in use arc 50, 75 and 100 micro-
seconds.
The reason why pre-emphasis gives an increased signal-to-noise ratio is
that it is the high frequency noise components wh ich are prevalent in the out-
put of an FM receiver as can be seen from the triangular noise spectrum of
Fig. 93. Thus if the high modulation frequencies are emphasised in the
transmitter and de-emphasised in the receiver, then the overall signal-to-noise
ratio of the system will be improved. Pre-emphasis is more important in
wide-band high fidelity systems than in communication systems where the
bandwidth is restricted to 300 to 3,000 c/ s.
Measurement of Frequency Deviation
The frequency deviation of an FM transmitter may be measured either
stat ically, .applying a variable DC potential to the reactor control grid and
noting the carrier frequency shift, or dynamically, using a calibrated dis-
criminator, or by the disappearing carrier method. Particular care should
be taken when using the static method of measuremen t to make sure that the
circuit is operating exact ly as under the dynamic conditions met in practice.
For example degeneration, due to the reactor cathode and screen grid circuits,
should not be overlooked, •

88
 The measurement of deviation using a calibrated discriminator is very
simple. A handy deviation meter may be constructed along the li nes of the
block diagram shown in Fig. 95 . Output from the transmitter under test is
mixed with a local oscillator frequency to give an IF of some 10 Mc/ s. After
amplification the IF signal is fed through one or two limiter stages in order to
give a constant amplitude output and then into a stable discriminator. The
discriminator should be calibrated statically using a signal generator. An

Fig. ~5.
Suggested block dia&ram for 01 deviation meter.

amplifier of known gain following the discriminator may operate an AC

voltmeter whose reading will be proportional to the frequency devia tion of the
signal under tesr.
The disappearing carrier method of measuring deviation requires a
communication receiver with a very narrow IF filter, any good communica-
tions receiver will be suitable. and a variable frequ ency LF oscillator, such
as a BFO, as a source of modulating signal. The method is to tune-in the
transmitter carrier, unmodulated. on the receiver. The carrier may be
tuned-in to give a maximum reading on the signal strength meter if the set
has one, or a lternatively the BFO in the set may be switched on and adjusted
to give an audible beat note. Next the audio signal feeding the transmitter
should be adjusted to the desired frequency. T he audio input to the trans-
mitter should then be very carefully increased in amplitude from zero until
either the carrier meter reading passes through a minimum, or the audio beat
note passes through a minimum, depending on the method of observation
used. It will be found that by increasing the amplitude of th<! modulating
signal further carrier disappearances will be found. Th..: order o f the dis-
appearance should be carefully noted, start ing J'rom zero modulation. The
audio signal inrut corresponding to each carrier disappearance and the
frequency of the mod ulating signal may then be substituted in the fornrnl;c
given below to arrive at the transmitter deviation.
lst carrier disappearance. Deviation ~- 2· 4 ;., modulation frequency
2nd -~ 5·5 >-
3rd = 8 ·7 x
4th ., .. ,. = 11 · 8 ..- ,, ,,
The best modulating frequency to use is someth ing higher than one
kilocycle per second. With frequencies below this value it is difficult to
separate out the carrier from the sidebands on even the best types oi' com-
munication receiver.

89
INDEX
Page

Absorption wavemeter 68 Corner R ellcl:tor 23

A e ria l 9 Coupling fecd.:r to P.A. 20
Half-wave 11 Croshv 77
Height 9 Crystal control . . 24, 29
Impedance 17 Mixer . . 54
Aircraft, Reflection by . . 7 D etector (sec also Di.<cri 111i1111tur) 40
Amateur Bands, VHF .. 3 Deviation. Frequency . . 8 1, 88
Amplified A .V.C. 63 Frequency measurement 88
Amplifier, J.F. . . 46 Ratio . . 75
Angle radia tion, Low .. 9 D iode Mixer (see Crystal .~fixer)
Armstrong 79 Dipole beam, Folded . . 15. 16
Automatic Vo lume Con trol 62 Directors 14
Back-to-front ratio 14 .. Disappearing Carrier " 89
Balanced modulator 80 Discriminator 78, 85
Balanced • to - unbalan.:cd Disc-seal type val"c 34
m atching transform er 23 Double superho.:te roJync rcco.:ivcr 63
Band, Amateur . . J Duralumin tubing 15
4:?0 Mc/ s. 34 Elements. Parasitic 13
"Barrel" wavcmetcr . . 68. 69 Exciter. F.M . 81
Base Con.nections, Os;;i llator Extended horizon 5
Valves 55 Fading 7
Rece iving valves 48, 53 Feeders. Impedance: of 17
Transmitting valves 26 Losses in 18
B.C.L. Interference 33 Tuned.. 11
Beam, Adjusting 18 Folded dipole beam 15, 16
Aerials 13 420 M c/ s. valves 34
Bi-conical 21, 22 Frequencies. Amateur Bands 3
Feeding of 15 Frequency deviat ion 8 1, 88
Folded dipo le 15 D-!viation measure ment 88
Four-e lement 14 Measuremen t . . 66
Impedance 17 Modulation . . 73
144 Mc/ s. 21 Multipliers 27
Three-element 14 Front-to -ba-:k ratio 14
Beat Frequency Os<.:i llator 61 Grounded griJ ampli fi er 51
Bi-conical beam .. 2 1. 22 Hair-wave a e rial 11
By-pass condensers 24 Harmonic radiation 21
C haracteristic Impedance 17 Height, Aerial . . 9
Chokes, H .F. 38 Heterodyne wavemctcr . . 69
Co-axial aerial 22 H.F. Chokes 38
Linc 55 Horizon. Extended 5
Coils 36 Humidity 6
Components 36 l.f. Amplifi.:r 46
Concentric tuned circuits 35 Choice of' 45
Condenser, By-pass 24 T ransformo.:r 46
Fixed .. 37 lmpcdan.:c, Charal.'l.:ristic I7
Variable 36 Matching 15- 18
Convener, Supcrh.:terodyn<.: 65 lnjo.:etion (see a lso .\fixer ) 55, 57

90
 Page Pnge

fnterferencc. B.C.L. 33 Ratio. Deviation 75

Ionospheric propagation 4 Front-to-back 14
Storms 4 Standing wave 19
Lecher Wires 66 Rcacta nce valve modulator 77
Lighthouse valve 34 Receiver, Double Supcrhetero-
Limiters .. 86 dyne 63
Lines (tuned circuits) 60 Frequency Modulation 84, 86
Local O sci llator . . 55 Pe rformance measurement 71
Long Wire Ruuiators 12 Straight 40
Losses, Feeder 18 Supcrheterodyne -H
Low angle rauiat ion 9 S uper-regenerative 41
Matching tran sformer. quartcr- Reflection by a ircra ft 7
wave . . 17 Rencctors 13
Measureme nt 66 R .F. Stage 47
Frequency ucviation . . 88 Seeley 83. 85
Receiver performance 71 "Shooting Star·· effect 7. 8
Transmitter power 70 " Skin Effect " . . 18
Meteors .. 7 8 Sporadic " E " 4
Mixer, Crystal 54 Standing wave ratio 19
Mixer Stage 4 7, 52, 65 Straight receiver 40
Modulation 33 Superhcte rodyne Converter 65
Frequency 73 R eceiver .. 43
Phase . . 75 Super-regenerative receiver 41
Modulator, Reacta111.:e valve 77 "T" match aerial 16
Balanced 80 Temperature inversion 5, 6
Multiplier, Frequency 27 Transformer, Quarter-wave 17
Neutralisin1( 26 Transmission line 18
Noise ratio-( receivcrs) 72
reduction (F.M .) 87 Transmitter 24. 29 , 31
144 Mc/ s. Beam 21 T ransmitter/ exciter, F.M . RI
Oscillators 24 Transmitter power measuremen t 70
Beat Frequency 61 T ransmitting valves 24. 25
Painting duralumin tubing 15 Tropospheric propagation 4
Parasitic Elements 13 Tuned circuits 28
O scillations 24 Line 59, 60
Performance measurement . Concentric 35
Receiver 71 " Pot" 61
Phase m odulation 75 Tuned feeders 11
Polar di agrams . . 10, 11 Valveholders 40
Polarisatio n 10, 11 Valves, Base Connect ions 26, 48, 53
••Pot" type tuned c irc uits 61 Disc-seal 34
Power Amplifiers 25, 26 420 Mc s. 34
Measurement, Transmitter 70 Local O scillator 55
Pre-emphasis 8 1, 84, 88 R .F. and Mixer 49
Propagation 4 Transmitting 24, 25
Quarter-wave matching trans- Wavcmctcr 66
formers 17 Absorption 68
Radiation , by Feeder 20 " Barrel " 68, 69
Harmonic 21 Heterodyne 69
Low-angle 9 Wires, Lecher 66

91
 The 'AYO'
VALVE CHARACTER ISTIC METER
An ac~u rah!, co mpac t. co mprehensi ~c Valve
T c~lt: r for E n~ inc:ers a nd Research cstublish·
rncnts "ho rc4 oire to reproduce any o r all o f
the wide fami ly of 1,;h arnctcristics or a vnhr('.
Produces :111 necessary da ta to enable mutual
i:onduc1ancc, la Va, la Vg, I a Vs, clc.,
c u nc~ lo be dra"'" · cathode/ hearer in sula ~
tio n to he me0tsurcd with the heater hot, and
•· ~a~ " chec ks to be made. Adeq ua te com·
pcns.atiun pruvided for line \·oltagc Ouc1ua·
tion~. Anode. screen nnd heater vo lts
a vailable i.:O\'cr the range requi re d for nll
val\..\!s normally c m:uuntcrcd . Rectifying a nd
~ignn l diodc!!i are tested under load c0t1di·
lio ns. Po la r ised relay protects 1he ins1rum cot
against incorrect adjustment or misu se, nod
o ffers a high measure of protect ion to the
\'alvc und e r test.

The 'AYO ' VALVE TESTER

Indicates mutual conduc:t·
nncc direc t in mA/ V. Tc~as
a t makers' specified e lec tro de
vo ltages. One pa nel for a ll
types o f Enl;l i~h and Amcri·
can \•ah·cs, A ny "alvc base
arrangem ent can be S4.~t u p .
Easily o pera ted muft i.roller
Univer~al Selector SwiH:h .
Tests Cath ode / Heater insu· Sup pl i ed
Jation o f a n inJ irc1.:tl y h~acc J compleie with
valve when the \~1 1\ c is ho t: Univcr-$0/ Valve
em issio n of diodes and Pon~' fi ned with
rect ifiers; indica tes ti la ment Scltcror Switch cnablini
continuity nnJ ckc tro Jc all English, American and
.. s horts." Colou red M:ak Conuncntol valv6 co be test ed
indicates condition of valve cau ty. Comprehensive Valve Data
as "Goud," .. Tndiffcrcru." Boak supplie-1 cotHaminr: cesc. details of
o r " R eplace." N o l:11kula- nearly 2,000 English and Amer ican va lves .
tions involved . Works from
A.C. mains. De s t r ;ptivo Leaflets alad ly sen t _o n r equest
Sol~ Proprietors and Monufocturers :
THE AUTOMATIC COIL WINDER & ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT CO. LTD
Winder Hous~ . Oouclu Street, Lond on, S. W. I Phone : VICroria 3'404-9
 VOLTAG E
A MPLIFIERS

' '-- - POW ER

RECTIFIERS

RADIO
a:::-A-- - - - FREQUENCY
POWER
AMPLIFIERS
,,......__ _ __ AUDIO
FREQUENCY
POWER
AMPLIFIERS

Some of the popular

types included in the
wide range of Mu Ila rd
Mullard
T H E M AS T ER VA L V E
valves for Amateurs.

THE MULLAR O WIRELESS SERVIC E CO . LT D.

CENTURY HOUSE. SHAFT ES BUR Y AVENU E, LONDON, W.C.2.
MVT3jA
AND NOW The Imhof Standard Case
fitted with Standard Rack
type panels.
The type J022 case is now
available in two sizes, fined
with heavy gauge Standard
Rack type panels.
1922 A.R. - 21 ! "w. '-: JO!"h .
:- IO!"d.,withonel 9•:< JO§ '
panel £3 14s. Od.
1022 C.R.-21 t"w. '{ 22"h.
,"< IOf'd., with two 19" x JO! •
panels £5 15s. Od.
A Standard Chassis and mount-
ing brackets available fo r use
with the above cases-size
17!" x 10· x 2", plated
finish JS /- the set.
These cases are ideal where
small enclosed rack assem-
bl ies are required for table
or bench mounting.

THE EN.C LOSED RACK

Write to-day for our detailed fist of Standard
/11strume11t Cases, Case and panel Handles, a11d
Open Rack Assemblies.

IMHOF'S
ALFRED IMHOF LTD., 112-116 New Oxford St., London, W.C.I
MUSeum 5944
~oorn osrmn
~@~~@~

The MAG. 2 magnetron is designed

for pulse operatio n giving a peak
output of 45 kW at a wavelengt h
of 3 centime tr es, fr eque ncy
9475 ± 50 Mc s. The anode is of
t he fourteen segme nt " hole and
slot '' type w ith double ring
strap ping and probe output, fee d·
ing directly into an attached wave
guide o utput circu it , w hich Is
adjusted in man ufactu re t o pro-
vide a given load ing of the valve.

The G(ntrof Electric Co. Ltd.. Mainer House, l<inrswdy. W. C. 1.

 Look to QUALITY
and COUNT on
HULTIMATCH MODULATION I
TRANSFORMERS
Wod en Muh imacch Modulation Tnnsformers uc
vacuum impregnated and are fitted in compo und
filled uns for r elia ble a nd silenc workin g. Pri mary

I
impedancu. l ,000 / 18,000 ohms. Secondary im·
ped•nces, 200 i20,000 ohms.
T ype U . H , I. Sult•ble for JO w•tts Aud•o, M>x . Sec.
cur-rent 120 m ,'a.
Type U . M.1. Sutuble for 60 watu A udio. Mu. Sec.
cu,.,.e nt 200 m 'a,
Type: U . M. l. SUlu.ble fo r JlO w.uts Audio, Max. Sec.
curren t 150 m 1a.
Type U .H .4. Suitable for 250 wuu Aud io, M... Sec.
c urrent '400 m /a..

SMOOTHING CHOKES
O.C.S. 11. 12 Hy 60 m ,'a. 0.C. Rtmt. 550 ohms
O. C.S.12. 12 Hy 150 m :a D.C. Res ist . 190 ohms
D.C.S. 13 . 12 Hy 250 m / a D.C. Rtsist. 180 ohms
0 .C.S. 14. 12 Hy 350 m j • D.C. Re sist. 60 ohms
D.C.S. I5. 12 Hy 500 m ,'a O. C. Res ist. BO ohms
D.C.S.16 fl or 60 Hy 100 or 50 m fa.
D.C. Resist. 150 ohms or 1,000 ohms
OTHER TYPES AVAILABLE.

HAIN S TRANSFORMERS
D.T.M. I /. 250-0-250 60 m / a
D.T.M. 12. 275-0-275 120 m /•
D.T.M. 13. 350-0-350 120 m / a
0.T.M. 14. 425-0-425 ISO m .'•
D.T.M. 15. 500.0-500 ISO m ,•
D.T.M. 16. 650 -0-650 200 m /a
D.T. M.1 7. 750-0-750 250 m /a
D.T.M.1 8. 1250-1000-0-1000-llSO 300 m •
D.T.M.19. 1500-0-1500 350 m Ja
D.T.M.20. 2000-0-2000 350 m ; a
AVAILABLE Al.50 IN POTTED TYPES

• Send for Current Price List and Catalogue

WODEN TRANSFORMER CO., LTD.
MOXLEY ROAD, BILSTON, STAFFS. Phone: BILSTON 41959/ 0

J.T. l .4
l'r iuh:d lJy S l w. J lb U 1 11 l:A u s·ru~ & SO.NS, I .Tu., I~ouJo u an<l 1.-;astl ci~b.
"