RF and AF Filters 12.

1
RF and AF
Filters
Chapter 12
This chapter contains basic design in-
formation and examples of the most com-
mon filters used by radio amateurs. It was
prepared by Reed Fisher, W2CQH, and
includes a number of design approaches,
tables and filters by Ed Wetherhold,
W3NQN, and others. The chapter is di-
vided into two major sections. The first
section contains a discussion of filter
theory with some design examples. It in-
cludes the tools needed to predict the per-
formance of a candidate filter before a
design is started or a commercial unit pur-
chased. Extensive references are given for
further reading and design information.
The second section contains a number of
selected practical filter designs for imme-
diate construction.
Basic Concepts
A filter is a network that passes signals
of certain frequencies and rejects or at-
tenuates those of other frequencies. The
radio art owes its success to effective fil-
tering. Filters allow the radio receiver to
provide the listener with only the desired
signal and reject all others. Conversely,
filters allow the radio transmitter to gen-
erate only one signal and attenuate others
that might interfere with other spectrum
users.
The simplified SSB receiver shown in
Fig 12.1 illustrates the use of several com-
mon filters. Three of them are located be-
tween the antenna and the speaker. They
provide the essential receiver filter func-
tions. A preselector filter is placed be-
tween the antenna and the first mixer.
It passes all frequencies between 3.8 and
4.0 MHz with low loss. Other frequencies,
such as out-of-band signals, are rejected
to prevent them from overloading the first
mixer (a common problem with shortwave
broadcast stations). The preselector filter
is almost always built with LC filter tech-
nology.
An intermediate frequency (IF) filter
is placed between the first and second
mixers. It is a band-pass filter that passes
the desired SSB signal but rejects all
others. The age of the receiver probably
Fig 12.1 One-band SSB receiver. At least three filters are used between the
antenna and speaker.
determines which of several filter tech-
nologies is used. As an example, 50-kHz
or 455-kHz LC filters and 455-kHz
mechanical filters were used through the
1960s. Later model receivers usually use
quartz crystal filters with center frequen-
cies between 3 and 9 MHz. In all cases, the
filter bandwidth must be less than 3 kHz to
effectively reject adjacent SSB stations.
Finally, a 300-Hz to 3-kHz audio band-
pass filter is placed somewhere between
the detector and the speaker. It rejects
unwanted products of detection, power
supply hum and noise. Today this audio
filter is usually implemented with active
filter technology.
The complementary SSB transmitter
block diagram is shown in Fig 12.2. The
same array of filters appear in reverse
order.
First is a 300-Hz to 3-kHz audio filter,
which rejects out-of-band audio signals
such as 60-Hz power supply hum. It is
placed between the microphone and the
balanced mixer.
The IF filter is next. Since the balanced
mixer generates both lower and upper
sidebands, it is placed at the mixer output
12.2 Chapter 12
to pass only the desired lower (or upper)
sideband. In commercial SSB transceiv-
ers this filter is usually the same as the IF
filter used in the receive mode.
Finally, a 3.8 to 4.0-MHz band-pass fil-
ter is placed between transmit mixer and
antenna to reject unwanted frequencies
generated by the mixer and prevent them
from being amplified and transmitted.
This chapter will discuss the four most
common types of filters: low-pass, high-
pass, band-pass and band-stop. The ideal-
ized characteristics of these filters are
shown in their most basic form in Fig 12.3.
A low-pass filter permits all frequen-
cies below a specified cutoff frequency to
be transmitted with small loss, but will at-
tenuate all frequencies above the cutoff
frequency. The cutoff frequency is usu-
ally specified to be that frequency where
the filter loss is 3 dB.
A high-pass filter has a cutoff frequency
above which there is small transmission
loss, but below which there is consider-
able attenuation. Its behavior is opposite
to that of the low-pass filter.
A band-pass filter passes a selected
band of frequencies with low loss, but at-
tenuates frequencies higher and lower
than the desired passband. The passband
of a filter is the frequency spectrum that is
conveyed with small loss. The transfer
characteristic is not necessarily perfectly
uniform in the passband, but the variations
usually are small.
A band-stop filter rejects a selected
band of frequencies, but transmits with
low loss frequencies higher and lower than
the desired stop band. Its behavior is op-
posite to that of the band-pass filter. The
stop band is the frequency spectrum in
which attenuation is desired. The attenua-
tion varies in the stop band rising to high
values at frequencies far removed from the
cutoff frequency.
FILTER FREQUENCY RESPONSE
The purpose of a filter is to pass a de-
sired frequency (or frequency band) and
Fig 12.3 Idealized filter responses.
Note the definition of f
c
is 3 dB down
from the break points of the curves.
Fig 12.2 One-band transmitter. At least three filters are needed to ensure a
clean transmitted signal.
Fig 12.4 A single-stage low-pass
filter consists of a series inductor.
DC is passed to the load resistor
unattenuated. Attenuation increases
(and current in the load decreases) as
the frequency increases.
reject all other undesired frequencies. A
simple single-stage low-pass filter is
shown in Fig 12.4. The filter consists of an
inductor, L. It is placed between the volt-
age source e
g
and load resistance R
L
. Most
generators have an associated internal
resistance, which is labeled R
g
.
When the generator is switched on,
power will flow from the generator to the
load resistance R
L
. The purpose of this
low-pass filter is to allow maximum power
flow at low frequencies (below the cutoff
frequency) and minimum power flow at
high frequencies. Intuitively, frequency
filtering is accomplished because the in-
ductor has reactance that vanishes at dc
but becomes large at high frequency.
Thus, the current, I, flowing through the
load resistance, R
L
, will be maximum at
dc and less at higher frequencies.
The mathematical analysis of Fig 12.4 is
as follows: For simplicity, let R
g
= R
L
= R.
L
g
X 2R
e
i
j +
= (1)
where
X
L
= 2 f L
f = generator frequency.
Power in the load, P
L
, is:
2
L
2
L
2
g
L
X 4R
R e
P
+
= (2)
Available (maximum) power will be
delivered from the generator when:
X
L
= 0 and R
g
= R
L
g
2
g
O
R 4
E
P = (3)
RF and AF Filters 12.3
The filter response is:
power generator available
load the in power
P
P
O
L
= (4)
The filter cutoff frequency, called f
c
, is
the generator frequency where
L
R
f or X R 2
c L
t
= =
(5)
As an example, suppose R
g
= R
L
=
50 and the desired cutoff frequency is
4 MHz. Equation 4 states that the cutoff
frequency is where the inductive reactance
X
L
= 100 . At 4 MHz, using the relation-
ship X
L
= 2 f L, L = 4 H. If this filter is
constructed, its response should follow the
curve in Fig 12.5. Note that the gentle
rolloff in response indicates a poor filter.
To obtain steeper rolloff a more sophisti-
cated filter, containing more reactances,
is necessary. Filters are designed for spe-
cific value of purely resistive load imped-
ance called the terminating resistance.
When such a resistance is connected to the
output terminals of a filter, the impedance
looking into the input terminals will equal
the load resistance throughout most of the
passband. The degree of mismatch across
the passband is shown by the SWR scale at
the left-hand side of Fig 12.5. If maximum
power is to be extracted from the genera-
tor driving the filter, the generator resis-
tance must equal the load resistance. This
condition is called a doubly terminated
filter. Most passive filters, including the
LC filters described in this chapter, are
designed for double termination. If a filter
is not properly terminated, its passband
response changes.
Certain classes of filters, called trans-
former filters or matching networks are
specifically designed to work between
unequal generator and load resistances.
Band-pass filters, described later, are eas-
ily designed to work between unequal ter-
minations.
All passive filters exhibit an undesired
nonzero loss in the passband due to un-
avoidable resistances associated with the
reactances in the ladder network. All fil-
ters exhibit undesired transmission in the
stop band due to leakage around the filter
network. This phenomenon is called the
ultimate rejection of the filter. A typical
high-quality filter may exhibit an ultimate
rejection of 60 dB.
Band-pass filters perform most of the
important filtering in a radio receiver and
transmitter. There are several measures of
their effectiveness or selectivity. Selectiv-
ity is a qualitative term that arose in the
1930s. It expresses the ability of a filter
(or the entire receiver) to reject unwanted
adjacent signals. There is no mathemati-
cal measure of selectivity.
The term Q is quantitative. A band-pass
filters quality factor or Q is expressed as
Q = (filter center frequency)/(3-dB band-
width). Shape factor is another way some
filter vendors specify band-pass filters. The
shape factor is a ratio of two filter band-
widths. Generally, it is the ratio (60-dB
bandwidth) / (6-dB bandwidth), but some
manufacturers use other bandwidths. An
ideal or brick-wall filter would have a shape
factor of 1, but this would require an infi-
nite number of filter elements. The IF filter
in a high-quality receiver may have a shape
factor of 2.
POLES AND ZEROS
In equation 1 there is a frequency called
the pole frequency that is given by f
p
= 0.
In equation 1 there also exists a fre-
quency where the current i becomes zero.
This frequency is called the zero fre-
quency and is given by: f
0
= infinity. Poles
and zeros are intrinsic properties of all
networks. The poles and zeros of a net-
work are related to the values of induc-
tances and capacitances in the network.
Poles and zero locations are of interest
to the filter theorist because they allow
him to predict the frequency response of a
proposed filter. For low-pass and high-
pass filters the number of poles equals the
number of reactances in the filter network.
For band-pass and band-stop filters the
number of poles specified by the filter
vendors is usually taken to be half the
number of reactances.
LC FILTERS
Perhaps the most common filter found
in the Amateur Radio station is the induc-
tor-capacitor (LC) filter. Historically, the
LC filter was the first to be used and the
first to be analyzed. Many filter synthesis
techniques use the LC filter as the math-
ematical model.
LC filters are usable from dc to approxi-
mately 1 GHz. Parasitic capacitance asso-
ciated with the inductors and parasitic
inductance associated with the capacitors
make applications at higher frequencies
impractical because the filter performance
will change with the physical construction
and therefore is not totally predictable from
the design equations. Below 50 or 60 Hz,
inductance and capacitance values of LC
filters become impractically large.
Mathematically, an LC filter is a linear,
lumped-element, passive, reciprocal net-
work. Linear means that the ratio of output
to input is the same for a 1-V input as for a
10-V input. Thus, the filter can accept an
input of many simultaneous sine waves
without intermodulation (mixing) between
them.
Lumped-element means that the induc-
tors and capacitors are physically much
smaller than an operating wavelength. In
this case, conductor lengths do not con-
tribute significant inductance or capaci-
tance, and the time that it takes for signals
to pass through the filter is insignificant.
(Although the different times that it takes
for different frequencies to pass through
the filter known as group delay is
still significant for some applications.)
The term passive means that the filter
Fig 12.5 Transmission loss of a simple filter plotted against normalized
frequency. Note the relationship between loss and SWR.
12.4 Chapter 12
does not need any internal power sources.
There may be amplifiers before and/or
after the filter, but no power is necessary
for the filters equations to hold. The filter
alone always exhibits a finite (nonzero)
insertion loss due to the unavoidable re-
sistances associated with inductors and (to
a lesser extent) capacitors. Active filters,
as the name implies, contain internal
power sources.
Reciprocal means that the filter can pass
power in either direction. Either end of the
filter can be used for input or output.
TIME DOMAIN VS FREQUENCY
DOMAIN
Humans think in the time domain. Life
experiences are measured and recorded in
the stream of time. In contrast, Amateur
Radio systems and their associated filters
are often better understood when viewed
in the frequency domain, where frequency
is the relevant system parameter. Fre-
quency may refer to a sine-wave voltage,
current or electromagnetic field. The sine-
wave voltage, shown in Fig 12.6, is a
waveform plotted against time with equa-
tion V = A sin(2 f t). The sine wave has
a peak amplitude A (measured in volts)
and frequency, f (measured in cycles/sec-
ond or Hertz). A graph showing frequency
on the horizontal axis is called a spectrum.
A filter response curve is plotted on a spec-
trum graph.
Historically, radio systems were best
analyzed in the frequency domain. The
radio transmitters of Hertz (1865) and
Marconi (1895) consisted of LC resonant
circuits excited by high-voltage spark gaps.
The transmitters emitted packets of
damped sine waves. The low-frequency
(200-kHz) antennas used by Marconi were
found to possess very narrow bandwidths,
and it seemed natural to analyze antenna
performance using sine-wave excitation. In
addition, the growing use of 50 and 60-Hz
alternating current (ac) electric power sys-
tems in the 1890s demanded the use of
sine-wave mathematics to analyze these
systems. Thus engineers trained in ac
power theory were available to design and
build the early radio systems.
In the frequency domain, the radio
world is imagined to be composed of many
sine waves of different frequencies flow-
ing endlessly in time. It can be shown by
the Fourier transform (Ref 7) that all peri-
odic waveforms can be represented by
summing sine waves of different frequen-
cies. For example, the square-wave volt-
age shown in Fig 12.7 can be represented
by a fundamental sine wave of fre-
quency f = 1/t and all its odd harmonics:
3f, 5f, 7f and so on. Thus, in the frequency
domain a sine wave is a narrowband sig-
Fig 12.6 Ideal sine-wave voltage.
Only one frequency is present.
Fig 12.7 Square-wave voltage. Many
frequencies are present, including
f = == == 1/ // //t and odd harmonics 3f, 5f, 7f with
decreasing amplitudes.
Fig 12.8 Square-wave voltage filtered
by a low-pass filter. By passing the
square wave through a filter, the higher
frequencies are attenuated. The rectangu-
lar shape (fast rise and fall items) are
rounded because the amplitude of the
higher harmonics is decreased.
nal (zero bandwidth) and a square wave is
a wideband signal.
If the square-wave voltage of Fig 12.7
is passed through a low-pass filter, which
removes some of its high-frequency com-
ponents, the waveform of Fig 12.8 results.
The filtered square wave now has a rise
time, which is the time required to rise
from 10% to 90% of its peak value (A).
The rise time is approximately:
c
R
f
0.35
= t (6)
where f
c
is the cutoff frequency of the low-
pass filter.
Thus a filter distorts a time-domain sig-
nal by removing some of its high-frequency
components. Note that a filter cannot dis-
tort a sine wave. A filter can only change
the amplitude and phase of sine waves. A
linear filter will pass multiple sine waves
without producing any intermodulation or
beats between frequencies this is the
definition of linear.
The purpose of a radio system is to con-
vey a time-domain signal originating at a
source to some distant point with mini-
mum distortion. Filters within the radio
system transmitter and receiver may in-
tentionally or unintentionally distort the
source signal. A knowledge of the source
signals frequency-domain bandwidth is
required so that an appropriate radio sys-
tem may be designed.
Table 12.1 shows the minimum neces-
RF and AF Filters 12.5
modulation the transmitted RF bandwidth
will exceed the filtered source bandwidth if
inefficient (AM or FM) modulation meth-
ods are employed. Thus the post-modula-
tion emission bandwidth may be several
times the original filtered source band-
width. At the receiving end of the radio link,
band-pass filters are required to accept only
the desired signal and sharply reject noise
and adjacent channel interference.
As human beings we are accustomed to
operation in the time domain. Just about
all of our analog radio connected design
occurs in the frequency domain. This is
particularly true when it comes to filters.
Although the two domains are convertible,
one to the other, most filter design is per-
formed in the frequency domain.
Table 12.1
Typical Filter Bandwidths for Typical Signals.
Source Required Bandwidth
High-fidelity speech and music 20 Hz to 15 kHz
Telephone-quality speech 200 Hz to 3 kHz
Radiotelegraphy (Morse code, CW) 200 Hz
HF RTTY 1000 Hz (varies with frequency shift)
NTSC television 60 Hz to 4.5 MHz
SSTV 200 Hz to 3 kHz
1200 bit/s packet 200 Hz to 3 kHz
sary bandwidth of several common source
signals. Note that high-fidelity speech
and music requires a bandwidth of 20 Hz to
15 kHz, which is that transmitted by high-
quality FM broadcast stations. However,
telephone-quality speech requires a band-
width of only 200 Hz to 3 kHz. Thus, to
minimize transmit spectrum, as required by
the FCC, filters within amateur transmit-
ters are required to reduce the speech
source bandwidth to 200 Hz to 3 kHz at the
expense of some speech distortion. After
Filter Synthesis
The image-parameter method of filter
design was initiated by O. Zobel (Ref 1) of
Bell Labs in 1923. Image-parameter filters
are easy to design and design techniques
are found in earlier editions of the ARRL
Handbook. Unfortunately, image param-
eter theory demands that the filter termi-
nating impedances vary with frequency in
an unusual manner. The later addition of
m-derived matching half sections at each
end of the filter made it possible to use these
filters in many applications. In the inter-
vening decades, however, many new meth-
ods of filter design have brought both better
performance and practical component val-
ues for construction.
MODERN FILTER THEORY
The start of modern filter theory is usu-
ally credited to S. Butterworth and S.
Darlington (Refs 3 and 4). It is based on
this approach: Given a desired frequency
response, find a circuit that will yield this
response.
Filter theorists were aware that certain
known mathematical polynomials had
filter like properties when plotted on a
frequency graph. The challenge was to
match the filter components (L, C and R)
to the known polynomial poles and zeros.
This pole/zero matching was a difficult
task before the availability of the digital
computer. Weinberg (Ref 5) was the first
to publish computer-generated tables of
normalized low-pass filter component
values. (Normalized means 1- resis-
tor terminations and cutoff frequency
c
=
2f
c
= 1 radian/s.)
An ideal low-pass filter response shows
Fig 12.10 Chebyshev approximation
of an ideal low-pass filter. Notice the
ripple in the passband.
Fig 12.9 Butterworth approximation
of an ideal low-pass filter response.
The 3-dB attenuation frequency (f
c
) is
normalized to 1 radian/s.
no loss from zero frequency to the cutoff
frequency, but infinite loss above the cut-
off frequency. Practical filters may ap-
proximate this ideal response in several
different ways.
Fig 12.9 shows the Butterworth or
maximally-flat type of approximation.
The Butterworth response formula is:
n 2
c
O
L
1
1
P
P
|
|
.
|

\
|
e
e
+
=
(7)
where
= frequency of interest

c
= cutoff frequency
n = number of poles (reactances)
P
L
= power in the load resistor
P
O
= available generator power
The passband is exceedingly flat near
zero frequency and very high attenuation
is experienced at high frequencies, but the
approximation for both pass and stop
bands is relatively poor in the vicinity of
cutoff.
Fig 12.10 shows the Chebyshev ap-
proximation. Details of the Chebyshev
response formula can be found in (Ref 24).
Use of this reference as well as similar
references for Chebyshev filters requires
detailed familiarity with Chebyshev poly-
nomials.
IMPEDANCE AND FREQUENCY
SCALING
Fig 12.11A shows normalized compo-
nent values for Butterworth filters up to
ten poles. Fig 12.11B shows the schematic
diagrams of the Butterworth low-pass fil-
ter. Note that the first reactance in Fig
12.11B is a shunt capacitor C1, whereas in
Fig 12.11C the first reactance is a series
inductor L1. Either configuration can be
used, but a design using fewer inductors is
usually chosen.
In filter design, the use of normalized
12.6 Chapter 12
values is common. Normalized generally
means a design based on 1- terminations
and a cutoff frequency (passband edge) of
1 radian/second. A filter is denormalized
by applying the following two equations:
L
' R
R'
' L |
.
|

\
|
e
e
|
.
|

\
|
= (8)
C
' R'
R
' C |
.
|

\
|
e
e
|
.
|

\
|
= (9)
where
L', C', ' and R' are the new (desired)
values
L and C are the values found in the
filter tables
Fig 12.13 A 3-pole Butterworth filter
scaled to 3000 Hz.
Prototype Butterworth Low-Pass Filters
C1 L2 C3 L4 C5 L6 C7 L8 C9 L10
L1 C2 L3 C4 L5 C6 L7 C8 L9 C10
n
1 2.0000
2 1.4142 1.4142
3 1.0000 2.0000 1.0000
4 0.7654 1.8478 1.8478 0.7654
5 0.6180 1.6180 2.0000 1.6180 0.6180
6 0.5176 1.4142 1.9319 1.9319 1.4142 0.5176
7 0.4450 1.2470 1.8019 2.0000 1.8019 1.2470 0.4450
8 0.3902 1.1111 1.6629 1.9616 1.9616 1.6629 1.1111 0.3902
9 0.3473 1.0000 1.5321 1.8794 2.0000 1.8794 1.5321 1.0000 0.3473
10 0.3129 0.9080 1.4142 1.7820 1.9754 1.9754 1.7820 1.4142 0.9080 0.3129
(A)
Fig 12.11 Component values for Butterworth low-pass filters. Greater values
of n require more stages.
Fig 12.12 A 3-pole Butterworth filter
designed for a normalized frequency of
1 radian/s.
Fig 12.14 Passband loss of Butterworth low-pass filters. The horizontal axis is
normalized frequency (see text).
R = 1
= 1 radian/s.
For example, consider the design of a
3-pole Butterworth low-pass filter for
a transmitter speech amplifier. Let the
desired cutoff frequency be 3000 Hz and
the desired termination resistances be
1000 . The normalized prototype, taken
from Fig 12.11B is shown in Fig 12.12.
The new (desired) inductor value is:
( )
H 2
Hz 3000 2
cond radian/se 1
1
1000
' L
|
|
.
|

\
|
t
|
.
|

\
|
O
O
=
or L' = 0.106 H.
The new (desired) capacitor value is:
( )
F 1
Hz 3000 2
cond radian/se 1
1000
1
' C
|
|
.
|

\
|
t
|
.
|

\
|
O
O
=
or C' = 0.053 F.
The final denormalized filter is
shown in Fig 12.13. The filter response,
in the passband, should obey curve n =
3 in Fig 12.14. To use the normalized
frequency response curves in Fig 12.14
calculate the frequency ratio f/f
c
where
f is the desired frequency and f
c
is the cut-
off frequency. For the filter just designed,
the loss at 2000 Hz can be found as fol-
lows: When f is 2000 Hz, the frequency
ratio is: f/f
c
= 2000/3000 = 0.67. There-
fore the predicted loss (from the n = 3
RF and AF Filters 12.7
ence between 7.15 (bandwidth center) and
7.147 (band-edge geometric mean) be-
cause the bandwidth is small. For wide-
band filters, however, there can be a
significant difference.]
Next, denormalize to a new interim
low-pass filter having R' = 50 and f' =
0.36 MHz.
H 44.2 H 2
10 0.36 2
1
1
50
' L
6
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
t
|
.
|

\
|
=
pF 8842 F 1
10 0.36 2
1
50
1
' C
6
=
|
|
.
|

\
|
t
|
.
|

\
|
=
This interim low-pass filter, shown in
Fig 12.15, has a cutoff frequency f
c
=
0.36 MHz and is terminated with 50- re-
sistors. The desired 7.147-MHz band-pass
filter is achieved by parallel resonating
the shunt capacitors with inductors and
series resonating the series inductor with
a series capacitor. All resonators must be
tuned to the center frequency. Therefore,
variable capacitors or inductors are re-
quired for the resonant circuits. Based on
the L' and C' just calculated the parallel-
resonating inductor values are:
( )
H 0.056
f 2 C'
1
L3 1 L
2
O
=
t
= =
The series-resonating capacitor value
is:
( )
pF 11.2
f 2 L'
1
2 C
2
O
=
t
=
The final band-pass filter is shown in
Fig 12.16. The filter should have a 3-dB
curve) is about 0.37 dB.
When f is 4000 Hz, the filter is operat-
ing in the stop-band (Fig 12.17). The re-
sulting frequency ratio is: f/f
c
= 4000/3000
= 1.3. Therefore the expected loss is
about 8 dB. Note that as the number of
reactances (poles) increases the filter re-
sponse approaches the low-pass response
of Fig 12.3A.
BAND-PASS FILTERS
SIMPLIFIED DESIGN
The design of band-pass filters may be
directly obtained from the low-pass proto-
type by a frequency translation. The low-
pass filter has a center frequency (in the
parlance of band-pass filters) of 0 Hz. The
frequency translation from 0 Hz to the
band-pass filter center frequency, f, is
obtained by replacing in the low-pass pro-
totype all shunt capacitors with parallel
tuned circuits and all series inductors with
series tuned circuits.
As an example, suppose a band-pass
filter is required at the front end of a home-
brew 40-m QRP receiver to suppress pow-
erful adjacent broadcast stations. The
proposed filter has these characteristics:
Center frequency, f
c
= 7.15 MHz
3-dB bandwidth = 360 kHz
terminating resistors = 50
3-pole Butterworth characteristic.
Start the design for the normalized
3-pole Butterworth low-pass filter (shown
in Fig 12.11). First determine the center
frequency from the band-pass limits. This
frequency, f
O
, is found by determining the
geometric mean of the band limits. In this
case the band limits are 7.15 + 0.360/2 =
7.33 MHz and 7.15 0.360/2 = 6.97 MHz;
then
MHz 7.14 7.33 6.97 f f f
hi lo O
= = =
(10)
where
f
lo
= low frequency end of the band-pass
(or band-stop)
f
hi
= high frequency end of the band-
pass (or band-stop)
[Note that in this case there is little differ-
Fig 12.15 Interim 3-pole Butterworth
low-pass filter designed for cutoff at
0.36 MHz.
Fig 12.16 Final filter design consists of the low-pass filter scaled to a center
frequency of 7.15 MHz.
Fig 12.17 Stop-band loss of Butterworth low-pass filters. The almost vertical
angle of the lines representing filters with high values of n (10, 12, 15, 20) show the
slope of the filter will be very high (sharp cutoff).
12.8 Chapter 12
bandwidth of 0.36 MHz. That is, the 3-dB
loss frequencies are 6.97 MHz and 7.33
MHz. The filters loaded Q is: Q = 7.147/
0.36 or approximately 20.
The filter response, in the passband,
falls on the n = 3 curve in Fig 12.17. To
use the normalized frequency response
curves, calculate the frequency ratio f/f
c
.
For this band-pass case, f is the difference
between the desired attenuation frequency
and the center frequency, while f
c
is the
upper 3-dB frequency minus the center
frequency. As an example the filter loss at
7.5 MHz is found by using the normalized
frequency ratio given by:
1.928
7.147 7.33
7.147 7.5
f
f
c
=

=
Therefore, from Fig 12.17 the ex-
pected loss is about 17 dB.
At 6 MHz the loss may be found by:
6.26
7.147 7.33
6 7.147
f
f
c
=

=
The expected loss is approximately 47 dB.
Unfortunately, awkward component val-
ues occur in this type of band-pass filter.
The series resonant circuit has a very large
LC ratio and the parallel resonant circuits
have very small LC ratios. The situation
worsens as the filter loaded Q
L
(Q
L
= f
0
/
BW) increases. Thus, this type of band-
pass filter is generally used with a loaded
Q less than 10.
Good examples of low-Q band-pass fil-
ters of this type are demonstrated by
W3NQNs High Performance CW Filter
and Passive Audio Filter for SSB in the
1995 and earlier editions of this Handbook
(Ref 25).
[Note: This analysis used the geomet-
ric f
c
with the assumption that the filter
response is symmetrical about f
c
, which
it is not. A more rigorous analysis yields
16.9 dB at 7.5 MHz and 50.7 dB at
6 MHz. Ed.]
Q RestrictionsBand-pass Filters
Most filter component value tables as-
Q
U
= unloaded Q of inductor:
R
L f 2
Q
0
U
t
=
(11C)
R = inductor series resistance
L = inductance
Q
L
= filter loaded Q
3
0
L
BW
f
Q = (11D)
BW
3
= 3-dB bandwidth
N = number of filter stages.
This equation assumes that all losses are
in the inductors. For example, the ex-
pected loss of the 7.15-MHz filter shown
in Fig 12.16 is found by assuming Q
U
=
150. Q
L
is found by equation 11D to be =
7.147/0.36 = 19.8 or approximately 20.
Since N = 3 then:
6
O
L
150
20
1
P
P
|
.
|

\
|
=
from equation (11A), which equals 0.423.
Expressed as dB this is equal to 10 log
(0.423) = 3.73 dB.
Therefore this filter may not be suitable
for some applications. If the insertion loss
is to be kept small there are severe restric-
tions on Q
L
/Q
U
. With typical lumped in-
ductors Q
U
seldom exceeds 200. There-
fore, LC band-pass filters are usually
designed with Q
L
not exceeding 20 as
shown in Fig 12.18.
This loss vs bandwidth trade-off is usu-
ally why the final intermediate frequency
(IF) in older radio receivers was very low.
These units used the equivalent of LC fil-
ters in their IF coupling. Generally, for
SSB reception the desired receiver band-
width is about 2.5 kHz. Then 50 kHz was
often chosen as the final IF since this im-
plies a loaded Q
L
of 20. AM broadcast re-
ceivers require a 10-kHz bandwidth and
use a 455-kHz IF, which results in Q
L
=
45. FM broadcast receivers require a
200-kHz bandwidth and use a 10.7-MHz
IF and Q
L
= 22.
Fig 12.18 Frequency range and
maximum loaded Q of band-pass filters.
Crystal filters are shown with the
highest Q
L
and LC filters the lowest.
sume lossless reactances. In practice,
there are always resistance losses associ-
ated with capacitors and inductors (espe-
cially inductors). Lossy reactances in
low-pass filters modify the response
curve. There is finite loss at zero fre-
quency and the cutoff knee at f
c
will not
be as sharp as predicted by theoretical re-
sponse curves.
The situation worsens with band-pass
filters. As loaded Q is increased, the
midband insertion loss may become intol-
erable. Therefore, before a band-pass fil-
ter design is started, estimate the expected
loss.
An approximate estimate of band-pass
filter midband response is given by:
N 2
U
L
O
L
Q
Q
1
P
P
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
(11A)
where:
P
L
= power delivered to load resistor R
L
P
O
= power available from generator:
L
2
g
O
R 4
e
P =
(11B)
Filter Design Using Standard Capacitor Values/Software
Practical filters must be designed using
commercially available components.
Modern computer programs are available
to aid in filter design. Originally, however,
tables based upon standard value capaci-
tors (SVC) were used to facilitate this
design process. These SVC tables are now
located on the CD-ROM included with this
Handbook. It is instructive to understand
how filters are designed using tables so
that you will more easily understand how
to use modern computer-based design
techniques. To illustrate the process of
filter design using filter design tables, the
procedure presented here uses computer-
calculated tables of performance param-
eters and component values for 5-element
Chebyshev 50- filters. The tables permit
the quick and easy selection of an equally
terminated passive LC filter for applica-
tions where the attenuation response is of
primary interest. All of the capacitors in
the Chebyshev designs have standard, off-
the-shelf values to simplify construction.
Although the tables cover only the 1 to
10-MHz frequency range, a simple scal-
ing procedure gives standard-value ca-
pacitor (SVC) designs for any impedance
level and virtually any cutoff frequency.
Extracts from filter design tables are
RF and AF Filters 12.9
off frequency exactly match the desired
cutoff frequency. A deviation of 5% or so
between the actual and desired cutoff fre-
quencies is acceptable. This permits the use
of design tables based on standard capaci-
tor values instead of passband ripple attenu-
ation or reflection coefficient.
STANDARD VALUES IN FILTER
DESIGN CALCULATIONS
Capacitors are commercially available
in special series of preferred values hav-
ing designations of E12 (10% tolerance)
and E24 (5% tolerance; Ref 22) The recip-
rocal of the E-number is the power to
which 10 is raised to give the step multi-
plier for that particular series.
First the normalized Chebyshev and el-
liptic component values are calculated
based on many ratios of standard capaci-
tor values. Next, using a 50- impedance
level, the parameters of the designs are
calculated and tabulated to span the 1-
10 MHz decade. Because of the large num-
ber of standard-value capacitor (SVC) de-
signs in this decade, the increment in
cutoff frequency from one design to the
next is sufficiently small so that virtually
any cutoff frequency requirement can be
satisfied. Using such a table, the selection
of an appropriate design consists of
merely scanning the cutoff frequency col-
umn to find a design having a cutoff fre-
quency that most closely matches the de-
sired cutoff frequency.
CHEBYSHEV FILTERS
1
Low-pass and high-pass 5-element
Chebyshev designs were selected for tabu-
lation because they are easy to construct
and will satisfy the majority of non-
stringent filtering requirements where the
amplitude response is of primary interest.
The precalculated 50- designs are pre-
sented in extracts from tables of low-pass
and high-pass designs with cutoff frequen-
cies covering the 1-10 MHz decade. In
addition to the component values, attenu-
ation vs frequency data and SWR are also
included in the table. The passband attenu-
ation ripples are so low in amplitude that
they are swamped by the filter losses and
are not measurable.
LOW-PASS TABLES
Fig 12.19 is an extract from filter design
tables for the low-pass 5-element
Chebyshev capacitor input/output con-
figuration. This filter configuration is gen-
erally preferred to the alternate inductor
input/output configuration because it re-
quires fewer inductors. Generally, de-
creasing input impedance with increasing
frequency in the stop band presents no
problems. Fig 12.20 shows the corre-
sponding information for low-pass appli-
Try ELSIE for LC!
This Handbook includes an
ELSIE.EXE file as companion
software designed and provided
courtesy of Jim Tonne, WB6BLD
(see the Handbook CD-ROM
contents page). The ELSIE.EXE
software (freeware) is a student
version of the larger commercial
version (to the 21
st
Order and up to
42 Stages!) which allows the user
to design a variety of filter configu-
rations and response characteris-
tics up to the 7
th
Order, 7
th
Stage
level. ELSIE is also a Windows
program. ELSIE software and
some other interesting programs
for hams can also be found at:
http://tonnesoftware.com/
reprinted in this section to illustrate the
design procedure.
The following text by Ed Wetherhold,
W3NQN, is adapted from his paper en-
titled Simplified Passive LC Filter Design
for the EMC Engineer. It was presented at
an IEEE International Symposium on
Electromagnetic Compatibility in 1985.
The approach is based upon the fact that
for most nonstringent filtering applica-
tions, it is not necessary that the actual cut-
Fig 12.19 A portion of a 5-element Chebyshev low-pass filter design table
for 50- impedance, C-in/out and standard E24 capacitor values.
Fig 12.20 A portion of a 5-element Chebyshev low-pass filter design table
for 50- impedance, L-in/out and standard-value L and C.
FREQUENCY (MHz) MAX L1,5 C2,4 L3
No. F
co
3 dB 20 dB 40 dB SWR (H) (pf) (H)
1 0.744 1.15 1.69 2.60 1.027 5.60 4700 13.7
2 0.901 1.26 1.81 2.76 1.055 5.60 4300 12.7
3 1.06 1.38 1.94 2.93 1.096 5.60 3900 11.8
4 1.19 1.47 2.05 3.07 1.138 5.60 3600 11.2
5 1.32 1.58 2.17 3.23 1.192 5.60 3300 10.6
6 0.911 1.39 2.03 3.12 1.030 4.70 3900 11.4
7 1.08 1.50 2.16 3.29 1.056 4.70 3600 10.6
8 1.25 1.63 2.30 3.48 1.092 4.70 3300 9.92
9 1.42 1.77 2.46 3.68 1.142 4.70 3000 9.32
10 1.61 1.92 2.63 3.90 1.209 4.70 2700 8.79
11 1.05 1.64 2.41 3.72 1.025 3.90 3300 9.63
FREQUENCY (MHz) MAX C1,5 L2,4 C3
No. F
co
3 dB 20 dB 40 dB SWR (pF) (H) (pF)
1 1.01 1.15 1.53 2.25 1.355 3600 10.8 6200
2 1.02 1.21 1.65 2.45 1.212 3000 10.7 5600
3 1.15 1.29 1.71 2.51 1.391 3300 9.49 5600
4 1.10 1.32 1.81 2.69 1.196 2700 9.88 5100
5 1.25 1.41 1.88 2.75 1.386 3000 8.67 5100
6 1.04 1.37 1.94 2.94 1.085 2200 9.82 4700
7 1.15 1.41 1.95 2.92 1.155 2400 9.37 4700
12.10 Chapter 12
cations, but with an inductor input/output
configuration. This configuration is use-
ful when the filter input impedance in the
stop band must rise with increasing fre-
quency. For example, some RF transistor
amplifiers may become unstable when ter-
minated in a low-pass filter having a stop-
band response with a decreasing input
impedance. In this case, the inductor-in-
put configuration may eliminate the insta-
bility. (Ref 23) Because only one capacitor
value is required in the designs of Fig
12.20, it was feasible to have the inductor
value of L1 and L5 also be a standard
value.
HIGH-PASS TABLES
A high-pass 5-element Chebyshev ca-
pacitor input/output configuration is
shown in the table extract of Fig 12.21.
Because the inductor input/output con-
figuration is seldom used, it was not in-
cluded.
SCALING TO OTHER FREQUEN-
CIES AND IMPEDANCES
The tables shown are for the 1-10 MHz
decade and for a 50- equally terminated
impedance. The designs are easily scaled
to other frequency decades and to other
equally terminated impedance levels,
however, making the tables a universal
design aid for these specific filter types.
Frequency Scaling
To scale the frequency and the compo-
nent values to the 10-100 or 100-1000 MHz
decades, multiply all tabulated frequencies
by 10 or 100, respectively. Then divide all
C and L values by the same number. The A
s
and SWR data remain unchanged. To scale
the filter tables to the 0.1-1 kHz, 1-10 kHz
or the 10-100 kHz decades, divide the tabu-
lated frequencies by 1000, 100 or 10, re-
spectively. Next multiply the component
values by the same number. By changing
the MHz frequency headings to kHz
and the pF and H headings to nF
and mH, the tables are easily changed
from the 1-10 MHz decade to the 1-10 kHz
decade and the table values read directly.
Because the impedance level is still at
50 , the component values may be awk-
ward, but this can be corrected by increas-
ing the impedance level by ten times using
the impedance scaling procedure described
below.
Impedance Scaling
All the tabulated designs are easily
scaled to impedance levels other than
50 , while keeping the convenience of
standard-value capacitors and the scan
mode of design selection. If the desired
new impedance level differs from 50 by
a factor of 0.1, 10 or 100, the 50- designs
are scaled by shifting the decimal points
of the component values. The other data
remain unchanged. For example, if the
impedance level is increased by ten or one
hundred times (to 500 or 5000 ), the
decimal point of the capacitor is shifted to
the left one or two places and the decimal
point of the inductor is shifted to the right
one or two places. With increasing imped-
ance the capacitor values become smaller
and the inductor values become larger.
The opposite is true if the impedance de-
creases.
When the desired impedance level dif-
fers from the standard 50- value by a
factor such as 1.2, 1.5 or 1.86, the follow-
ing scaling procedure is used:
1. Calculate the impedance scaling ratio:
50
Z
R
X
=
(12)
where Z
x
is the desired new impedance
level, in ohms.
2. Calculate the cutoff frequency (f
50co
)
of a trial 50- filter,
xco co 50
f R f =
(13)
where R is the impedance scaling ratio and
f
xco
is the desired cutoff frequency of the
filter at the new impedance level.
3. From the appropriate SVC table se-
lect a design having its cutoff frequency
closest to the calculated f
50co
value. The
tabulated capacitor values of this design
are taken directly, but the frequency and
inductor values must be scaled to the new
impedance level.
4. Calculate the exact f
xco
values, where
R
' f
f
50co
xco
=
(14)
and f '
50co
is the tabulated cutoff fre-
quency of the selected design. Calculate
the other frequencies of the design in the
same way.
5. Calculate the inductor values for the
new filter by multiplying the tabulated
inductor values of the selected design by
the square of the scaling ratio, R.
FREQUENCY (MHz) Max C1,5 L2,4 C3
No. F
co
3 dB 20 dB 40 dB SWR (pF) (H) (pF)
1 1.04 0.726 0.501 0.328 1.044 5100 6.45 2200
2 1.04 0.788 0.554 0.366 1.081 4300 5.97 2000
3 1.17 0.800 0.550 0.359 1.039 4700 5.85 2000
4 1.07 0.857 0.615 0.410 1.135 3600 5.56 1800
5 1.17 0.877 0.616 0.406 1.076 3900 5.36 1800
6 1.33 0.890 0.609 0.397 1.034 4300 5.26 1800
7 1.12 0.938 0.686 0.461 1.206 3000 5.20 1600
8 1.25 0.974 0.693 0.461 1.109 3300 4.86 1600
9 1.38 0.994 0.691 0.454 1.057 3600 4.71 1600
10 1.54 1.00 0.683 0.444 1.028 3900 4.67 1600
Fig 12.21 A portion of a 5-element Chebyshev high-pass filter design table for
50- impedance, C-in/out and standard E24 capacitor values.
Notes
1
The Chebyshev filter is named after Pafnuty
Lvovitch Chebyshev (1821-1894), a famous
Russian mathematician and academician.
While touring Europe in 1852 to inspect vari-
ous types of machinery, Chebyshev became
interested in the mechanical linkage used in
Watts steam engine. This linkage converted
the reciprocating motion of the piston rod
into rotational motion of a flywheel needed to
run factory machinery. Chebyshev noted
that Watts piston had zero lateral discrep-
ancy at three points in its cycle. He con-
cluded that a somewhat different linkage
would lead to a discrepancy of half of Watts
and would be zero at five points in the piston
cycle. Chebyshev then wrote a paper now
considered a mathematical classic that
laid the foundation for the topic of best ap-
proximation of functions by means of
polynomials. It is these same polynomials
that were originally developed to improve the
reciprocating-to-rotational linkage in a steam
engine that now find application in the de-
sign of the Chebyshev passive LC filters.
From Philip J. Davis, The Thread, A Mathe-
matical Yarn, 2
nd
edition, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovitch, Publishers, New York, 1989,
1983; 124-page paperback.
RF and AF Filters 12.11
Chebyshev Filter Design (Normalized Tables)
The figures and tables in this section
provide the tools needed to design
Chebyshev filters including those filters
for which the previously published stan-
dard value capacitor (SVC) designs might
not be suitable. Table 12.2 lists normal-
ized low-pass designs that, in addition to
low-pass filters, can also be used to calcu-
late high-pass, band-pass and band-stop
filters in either the inductor or capacitor
input/output configurations for equal im-
pedance terminations. Table 12.3 pro-
vides the attenuation for the resultant
filter.
This material was prepared by Ed
Wetherhold, W3NQN, who has been the
author of a number of articles and papers
on the design of LC filters. It is a complete
Table 12.2
Element values of Chebyshev low-pass filters normalized for a ripple cutoff frequency (Fa
p
) of one radian/sec
(
1
/2 Hz) and 1- terminations.
Use the top column headings for the low-pass C-in/out configuration and the bottom column headings for the low-pass L-in/out
configuration. Fig 12.22 shows the filter schematics.
N RC Ret Loss F3/F
ap
C1 L2 C3 L4 C5 L6 C7 L8 C9
(%) (dB) Ratio (F) (H) (F) (H) (F) (H) (F) (H) (F)
3 1.000 40.00 3.0094 0.3524 0.6447 0.3524
3 1.517 36.38 2.6429 0.4088 0.7265 0.4088
3 4.796 26.38 1.8772 0.6292 0.9703 0.6292
3 10.000 20.00 1.5385 0.8535 1.104 0.8535
3 15.087 16.43 1.3890 1.032 1.147 1.032
5 0.044 67.11 2.7859 0.2377 0.5920 0.7131 0.5920 0.2377
5 0.498 46.06 1.8093 0.4099 0.9315 1.093 0.9315 0.4099
5 1.000 40.00 1.6160 0.4869 1.050 1.226 1.050 0.4869
5 1.517 36.38 1.5156 0.5427 1.122 1.310 1.122 0.5427
5 2.768 31.16 1.3892 0.6408 1.223 1.442 1.223 0.6408
5 4.796 26.38 1.2912 0.7563 1.305 1.577 1.305 0.7563
5 6.302 24.01 1.2483 0.8266 1.337 1.653 1.337 0.8266
5 10.000 20.00 1.1840 0.9732 1.372 1.803 1.372 0.9732
5 15.087 16.43 1.1347 1.147 1.371 1.975 1.371 1.147
7 1.000 40.00 1.3004 0.5355 1.179 1.464 1.500 1.464 1.179 0.5355
7 1.427 36.91 1.2598 0.5808 1.232 1.522 1.540 1.522 1.232 0.5808
7 1.517 36.38 1.2532 0.5893 1.241 1.532 1.547 1.532 1.241 0.5893
7 3.122 30.11 1.1818 0.7066 1.343 1.660 1.611 1.660 1.343 0.7066
7 4.712 26.54 1.1467 0.7928 1.391 1.744 1.633 1.744 1.391 0.7928
7 4.796 26.38 1.1453 0.7970 1.392 1.748 1.633 1.748 1.392 0.7970
7 8.101 21.83 1.1064 0.9390 1.431 1.878 1.633 1.878 1.431 0.9390
7 10.000 20.00 1.0925 1.010 1.437 1.941 1.622 1.941 1.437 1.010
7 10.650 19.45 1.0885 1.033 1.437 1.962 1.617 1.962 1.437 1.033
7 15.087 16.43 1.0680 1.181 1.423 2.097 1.573 2.097 1.423 1.181
9 1.000 40.00 1.1783 0.5573 1.233 1.550 1.632 1.696 1.632 1.550 1.233 0.5573
9 1.517 36.38 1.1507 0.6100 1.291 1.610 1.665 1.745 1.665 1.610 1.291 0.6100
9 2.241 32.99 1.1271 0.6679 1.342 1.670 1.690 1.793 1.690 1.670 1.342 0.6679
9 2.512 32.00 1.1206 0.6867 1.357 1.688 1.696 1.808 1.696 1.688 1.357 0.6867
9 4.378 27.17 1.0915 0.7939 1.419 1.786 1.712 1.890 1.712 1.786 1.419 0.7939
9 4.796 26.38 1.0871 0.8145 1.427 1.804 1.713 1.906 1.713 1.804 1.427 0.8145
9 4.994 26.03 1.0852 0.8239 1.431 1.813 1.712 1.913 1.712 1.813 1.431 0.8239
9 8.445 21.47 1.0623 0.9682 1.460 1.936 1.692 2.022 1.692 1.936 1.460 0.9682
9 10.000 20.00 1.0556 1.025 1.462 1.985 1.677 2.066 1.677 1.985 1.462 1.025
9 15.087 16.43 1.0410 1.196 1.443 2.135 1.617 2.205 1.617 2.135 1.443 1.196
N RC Ret Loss F3/F
ap
L1 C2 L3 C4 L5 C6 L7 C8 L9
(%) (dB) Ratio (H) (F) (H) (F) (H) (F) (H) (F) (H)
revision of his previously published filter
design material and provides both insight
to the design and actual designs in just a
few minutes.
For a given number of elements (N),
increasing the filter reflection coefficient
(RC or ) causes the attenuation slope to
increase with a corresponding increase in
both the passband ripple amplitude (a
p
)
and SWR and with a decrease in the filter
return loss. All of these parameters are
mathematically related to each other. If
one is known, the others may be calcu-
lated. Filter designs having a low RC are
preferred because they are less sensitive
to component and termination impedance
variations than are designs having a higher
RC. The RC percentage is used as the in-
dependent variable in Table 12.2 because
it is used as the defining parameter in the
more frequently used tables, such as those
by Zverev and Saal (see Refs 17 and 18).
The return loss is tabulated instead of
passband ripple amplitude (a
p
) because it
is easy to measure using a return loss
bridge. In comparison, ripple amplitudes
less than 0.1 dB are difficult to measure
accurately. The resulting values of attenu-
ation are contained in Table 12.3 and cor-
responding values of a
p
and SWR may be
found by referring to the Equivalent Val-
ues of Reflection Coefficient, Attenua-
tion, SWR and Return Loss table in the
Component Data and References chap-
ter. The filter used (low pass, high-pass,
band-pass and so on) will depend on the
12.12 Chapter 12
application and the stop-band attenuation
needed.
The filter schematic diagrams shown in
Fig 12.22 are for low-pass and high-pass
versions of the Chebyshev designs listed
in Table 12.2. Both low-pass and high-
pass equally terminated configurations
and component values of the C-in/out or
L-in/out filters can be derived from this
single table. By using a simple procedure,
the low-pass and high-pass designs can be
transformed into corresponding band-pass
and band-stop filters. The normalized ele-
ment values of the low-pass C-in/out and
L-in/out designs, Fig 12.22A and B, are
read directly from the table using the val-
ues associated with either the top or bot-
tom column headings, respectively.
The first four columns of Table 12.2 list
N (the number of filter elements), RC (re-
flection coefficient percentage), return loss
and the ratio of the 3-dB-to-F
ap
frequen-
cies. The passband maximum ripple ampli-
tude (a
p
) is not listed because it is difficult
to measure. If necessary it can be calcu-
lated from the reflection coefficient. The
F3/F
ap
ratio varies with N and RC; if both
of these parameters are known, the F3/F
ap
ratio may be calculated. The remaining
columns list the normalized Chebyshev
element values for equally terminated fil-
ters for Ns from 3 to 9 in increments of 2.
Table 12.3
Normalized Frequencies at Listed Attenuation Levels for Chebyshev Low-Pass Filters with
N = 3, 5, 7 and 9.
Attenuation Levels (dB)
N RC(%) 1.0 3.01 6.0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
3 1.000 2.44 3.01 3.58 4.28 6.33 9.27 13.59 19.93 29.25 42.92 63.00
3 1.517 2.15 2.64 3.13 3.74 5.52 8.08 11.83 17.35 25.46 37.36 54.83
3 4.796 1.56 1.88 2.20 2.60 3.79 5.53 8.08 11.83 17.35 25.45 37.35
3 10.000 1.31 1.54 1.78 2.08 3.00 4.34 6.33 9.26 13.57 19.90 29.20
3 15.087 1.20 1.39 1.59 1.85 2.63 3.79 5.52 8.06 11.81 17.32 25.41
5 1.000 1.46 1.62 1.76 1.94 2.39 2.97 3.69 4.62 5.79 7.27 9.13
5 1.517 1.38 1.52 1.65 1.80 2.22 2.74 3.41 4.26 5.33 6.69 8.40
5 4.796 1.19 1.29 1.39 1.50 1.82 2.22 2.74 3.41 4.26 5.33 6.69
5 6.302 1.16 1.25 1.34 1.44 1.74 2.12 2.61 3.24 4.04 5.05 6.34
5 10.000 1.11 1.18 1.26 1.35 1.61 1.95 2.39 2.96 3.69 4.61 5.78
5 15.087 1.07 1.13 1.20 1.28 1.51 1.82 2.22 2.74 3.41 4.25 5.33
7 1.000 1.23 1.30 1.37 1.45 1.65 1.89 2.18 2.53 2.95 3.44 4.04
7 1.517 1.19 1.25 1.32 1.39 1.57 1.80 2.07 2.39 2.79 3.25 3.81
7 4.796 1.10 1.15 1.19 1.25 1.39 1.57 1.80 2.07 2.39 2.79 3.25
7 8.101 1.07 1.11 1.15 1.19 1.32 1.49 1.69 1.94 2.24 2.60 3.03
7 10.000 1.05 1.09 1.13 1.18 1.30 1.45 1.65 1.89 2.18 2.53 2.94
7 15.087 1.04 1.07 1.10 1.14 1.25 1.39 1.57 1.80 2.07 2.39 2.78
9 1.000 1.13 1.18 1.22 1.26 1.38 1.51 1.67 1.85 2.07 2.32 2.61
9 1.517 1.11 1.15 1.19 1.23 1.34 1.46 1.61 1.78 1.99 2.22 2.50
9 4.796 1.06 1.09 1.11 1.15 1.23 1.34 1.46 1.61 1.78 1.99 2.22
9 8.445 1.04 1.06 1.09 1.11 1.19 1.28 1.40 1.53 1.69 1.88 2.10
9 10.000 1.03 1.06 1.08 1.10 1.18 1.27 1.38 1.51 1.67 1.85 2.07
9 15.087 1.02 1.04 1.06 1.08 1.15 1.23 1.34 1.46 1.61 1.78 1.99
The Chebyshev passband ends when the
passband attenuation first exceeds the
maximum ripple amplitude, a
p
. This fre-
quency is called the ripple cutoff fre-
quency, F
ap
and it has a normalized value
of unity. All Chebyshev designs in Table
12.2 are based on the ripple cutoff fre-
quency instead of the more familiar 3-dB
frequency of the Butterworth response.
However, the 3-dB frequency of a
Chebyshev design may be obtained by
multiplying the ripple cutoff frequency by
the F3/F
ap
ratio listed in the fourth col-
umn.
The element values are normalized to a
ripple cutoff frequency of 0.15915 Hz (one
radian/sec) and 1- terminations, so that
the low-pass values can be transformed
directly into high-pass values. This is done
by replacing all Cs and Ls in the low-pass
configuration with Ls and Cs and by re-
placing all the low-pass element values
with their reciprocals. The normalized
values are then multiplied by the appro-
priate C and L scaling factors to obtain the
final values based on the desired ripple
cutoff frequency and impedance level.
The listed C and L element values are in
farads and henries and become more rea-
sonable after the values are scaled to the
desired cutoff frequency and impedance
level.
The normalized designs presented are a
mixture: Some have integral values of re-
flection coefficient (RC) (1% and 10%)
while others have integral values of
passband ripple amplitude (0.001, 0.01
and 0.1 dB). These ripple amplitudes cor-
respond to reflection coefficients of 1.517,
4.796 and 15.087%, respectively. By hav-
ing tabulated designs based on integral
values of both reflection coefficient and
passband ripple amplitude, the correctness
of the normalized component values may
be checked against those same values pub-
lished in filter handbooks whichever pa-
rameter, RC or a
p,
is used.
In addition to the customary normalized
design listings based on integral values of
reflection coefficient or ripple amplitude,
Table 12.2 also includes unique designs
having special element ratios that make
them more useful than previously pub-
lished tables. For example, for N = 5 and
RC = 6.302, the ratio of C3/C1 is 2.000.
This ratio allows 5-element low-pass fil-
ters to be realized with only one capacitor
value because C3 may be obtained by us-
ing parallel-connected capacitors each
having the same value as C1 and C5.
In a similar way, for N = 7 and RC =
8.101, C3/C1 and C5/C1 are also 2.000.
Another useful N = 7 design is that for
RC = 1.427%. Here the L4/L2 ratio is
RF and AF Filters 12.13
Fig 12.22 The schematic diagrams shown are low-pass and high-pass
Chebyshev filters with the C-in/out and L-in/out configurations. For all normalized
values see Table 12.2.
A: C-in/out low-pass configuration. Use the C and L values associated with the top
column headings of the Table.
B: L-in/out low-pass configuration. For normalized values, use the L and C values
associated with the bottom column headings of the Table.
C: L-in/out high-pass configuration is derived by transforming the C-in/out low-
pass filter in A into an L-in/out high-pass by replacing all Cs with Ls and all Ls
with Cs. The reciprocals of the lowpass component values become the highpass
component values. For example, when n = 3, RC = 1.00% and C1 = 0.3524 F, L1
and L3 in C become 2.838 H.
D: The C-in/out high-pass configuration is derived by transforming the L-in/out
low-pass in B into a C-in/out high-pass by replacing all Ls with Cs and all Cs with
Ls. The reciprocals of the low-pass component values become the high-pass
component values. For example, when n = 3, RC = 1.00% and L1 = 0.3524 H, C1
and C3 in D become 2.838 F.
1.25, which is identical to 110/88. This
means a seventh-order C-in/out low-pass
audio filter can be realized with four sur-
plus 88-mH inductors. Both L2 and L6
can be 88 mH while L4 is made up of a
series connection of 22 mH and 88 mH.
The 22-mH value is obtained by connect-
ing the two windings of one of the four
surplus inductors in parallel. Other use-
ful ratios also appear in the N = 9 listing
for both C3/C1 and L4/L2.
Except for the first two N = 5 designs,
all designs were calculated for a reflection
coefficient range from 1% to about 15%.
The first two N = 5 designs were included
because of their useful L3/L1 ratios. De-
signs with an RC of less than 1% are not
normally used because of their poor selec-
tivity. Designs with RC greater than 15%
yield increasingly high SWR values with
correspondingly increased objectionable
reflective losses and sensitivity to termi-
nation impedance and component value
variations.
Low-pass and high-pass filters may be
realized in either a C-input/output or an L-
input/output configuration. The C-input/
output configuration is usually preferred
because fewer inductors are required,
compared to the L-input/output configu-
ration. Inductors are usually more lossy,
bulky and expensive than capacitors. The
selection of the filter order or number of
filter elements, N, is determined by the
desired stop-band attenuation rate of in-
crease and the tolerable reflection coeffi-
cient or SWR. A steeper attenuation slope
requires either a design having a higher
reflection coefficient or more circuit ele-
ments. Consequently, to select an opti-
mum design, the builder must determine
the amount of attenuation required in the
stop band and the permissible maximum
amount of reflection coefficient or SWR.
Table 12.3 shows the theoretical nor-
malized frequencies (relative to the ripple
cutoff frequency) for the listed attenua-
tion levels and reflection coefficient per-
centages for Chebyshev low-pass filters
of 3, 5, 7 and 9 elements. For example, for
N = 5 and RC = 15.087%, an attenuation of
40 dB is reached at 2.22 times the ripple
cutoff frequency (slightly more than one
octave). The tabulated data are also appli-
cable to high-pass filters by simply taking
the reciprocal of the listed frequency. For
example, for the same previous N and RC
values, a high-pass filter attenuation will
reach 40 dB at 1/2.22 = 0.450 times the
ripple cutoff frequency.
The attenuation levels are theoretical
and assume perfect components, no cou-
pling between filter sections and no signal
leakage around the filter. A working
model should follow these values to the 60
or 70-dB level. Beyond this point, the ac-
tual response will likely degrade some-
what from the theoretical.
Fig 12.23 shows four plotted attenua-
tion vs normalized frequency curves for N
= 5 corresponding to the normalized fre-
quencies in Table 12.3 At two octaves
above the ripple cutoff frequency, f
c
, the
attenuation slope gradually becomes 6 dB
per octave per filter element.
12.14 Chapter 12
LOW-PASS AND HIGH-PASS
FILTERS
Low-Pass Filter
Lets look at the procedure used to cal-
culate the capacitor and inductor values
of low-pass and high-pass filters by us-
ing two examples. Assume a 50- low-
pass filter is needed to give more than
40 dB of attenuation at 2f
c
or one octave
above the ripple-cutoff frequency of
4.0 MHz. Referring to Table 12.3, we see
from the 40-dB column that a filter with
7 elements (N = 7) and a RC of 4.796%
will reach 40 dB at 1.80 times the cutoff
frequency or 1.8 4 = 7.2 MHz. Since
this design has a reasonably low reflec-
tion coefficient and will satisfy the at-
tenuation requirement, it is a good
choice. Note that no 5-element filters are
suitable for this application because
40 dB of attenuation is not achieved one
octave above the cutoff frequency.
From Table 12.2, the normalized com-
ponent values corresponding to N = 7 and
RC = 4.796% for the C-in/out configura-
tion are: C1, C7 = 0.7970 F, L2, L6 =
1.392 H, C3, C5 = 1.748 F and L4 =
1.633 H. See Fig 12.23A for the corre-
sponding configuration. The C and L nor-
malized values will be scaled from a ripple
cutoff frequency of one radian/sec and an
impedance level of 1 to a cutoff fre-
quency of 4.0 MHz and an impedance
level of 50 . The C
s
and L
s
scaling fac-
tors are calculated:
f R 2
1
C
s
t
=
(15)
f 2
R
L
s
t
=
(16)
where:
R = impedance level
f = cutoff frequency.
In this example:
12
6
s
10 5.8 79
10 4 50 2
1
f R 2
1
C

=
t
=
t
=
6
6
s
10 1.989
10 4 2
50
f 2
R
L

=
t
=
t
=
Using these scaling factors, the
capacitor and inductor normalized val-
ues are scaled to the desired cutoff fre-
quency and impedance level:
C1, C7 = 0.797 795.8 pF = 634 pF
C3, C5 = 1.748 795.8 pF = 1391 pF
L2, L6 = 1.392 1.989 H = 2.77 H
L4 = 1.633 1.989 H = 3.25 H
High-Pass Filter
The procedure for calculating a high-
pass filter is similar to that for a low-pass
filter, except a low-pass-to-high-pass
transformation must first be performed.
Assume a 50- high-pass filter is needed
to give more than 40 dB of attenuation one
octave below (f
c
/2) a ripple cutoff fre-
quency of 4.0 MHz. Referring to Table
12.3, we see from the 40-dB column that a
7-element low-pass filter with RC of
4.796% will give 40 dB of attenuation at
1.8f
c
. If this filter is transformed into a
high-pass filter, the 40-dB level is reached
at f
c
/1.80 or at 0.556f
c
= 2.22 MHz. Since
the 40-dB level is reached before one
octave from the 4-MHz cutoff frequency,
this design will be satisfactory.
From Fig 12.22, we choose the low-pass
L-in/out configuration in B and transform
it into a high-pass filter by replacing all
inductors with capacitors and all capaci-
tors with inductors. Fig 12.22D is the
filter configuration after the transforma-
tion. The reciprocals of the low-pass values
become the high-pass values to complete
the transformation. The high-pass values
of the filter shown in Fig 12.22D are:
F 1.255
0.7970
1
C7 , 1 C = =
H 0.7184
1.392
1
L6 , 2 L = =
F 0.5721
1.748
1
5 C , 3 C = =
and
H 0.6124
1.633
1
4 L = =
Using the previously calculated C and L
scaling factors, the high-pass component
values are calculated the same way as
before:
C1, C7 = 1.255 795.8 pF = 999 pF
C3, C5 = 0.5721 795.8 pF = 455 pF
L2, L6 = 0.7184 1.989 H = 1.43 H
L4 = 0.6124 1.989 H = 1.22 H
BAND-PASS FILTERS
Band-pass filters may be classified as
either narrowband or broadband. If the
ratio of the upper ripple cutoff frequency
to the lower cutoff frequency is greater
than two, we have a wideband filter. For
wideband filters, the band-pass filter
(BPF) requirement may be realized by
simply cascading separate high-pass and
low-pass filters having the same design
impedance. (The assumption is that the
filters maintain their individual responses
even though they are cascaded.) For this
to be true, it is important that both filters
Fig 12.23 The graph shows attenuation vs frequency for four 5-element low-
pass filters designed with the information obtained from Table 12.2. This graph
demonstrates how reflection coefficient percentage (RC), maximum passband
ripple amplitude (a
p
), SWR, return loss and attenuation rolloff are all related. The
exact frequency at a specified attenuation level can be obtained from Table 12.3.
RF and AF Filters 12.15
have a relatively low reflection coefficient
percentage (less than 5%) so the SWR
variations in the passband will be small.
For narrowband BPFs, where the sepa-
ration between the upper and lower cutoff
frequencies is less than two, it is neces-
sary to transform an appropriate low-pass
filter into a BPF. That is, we use the
low-pass normalized tables to design
narrowband BPFs.
We do this by first calculating a low-
pass filter (LPF) with a cutoff frequency
equal to the desired bandwidth of the BPF.
The LPF is then transformed into the de-
sired BPF by resonating the low-pass com-
ponents at the geometric center frequency
of the BPF.
For example, assume we want a 50-
BPF to pass the 75/80-m band and attenu-
ate all signals outside the band. Based on
the passband ripple cutoff frequencies of
3.5 and 4.0 MHz, the geometric center fre-
quency = (3.5 4.0)
0.5
= (14)
0.5
= 3.741657
or 3.7417 MHz. Lets slightly extend the
lower and upper ripple cutoff frequencies
to 3.45 and 4.058 MHz to account for pos-
sible component tolerance variations and
to maintain the same center frequency.
Well evaluate a low-pass 3-element pro-
totype with a cutoff frequency equal to the
BPF passband of (4.0583.45)MHz =
0.608 MHz as a possible choice for trans-
formation.
Further, assume it is desired to attenu-
ate the second harmonic of 3.5 MHz by at
least 40 dB. The following calculations
show how to design an N = 3 filter to
provide the desired 40-dB attenuation at
7 MHz and above.
The bandwidth (BW) between 7 MHz
on the upper attenuation slope (call it f+)
of the BPF and the corresponding fre-
quency at the same attenuation level on
the lower slope (call it f) can be calcu-
lated based on (f+)(f) = (f
c
)
2
or
MHz 2
7
14
f = =
Therefore, the bandwidth at this un-
known attenuation level for 2 and 7 MHz
is 5 MHz. This 5-MHz BW is normalized
to the ripple cutoff BW by dividing
5.0 MHz by 0.608 MHz:
8.22
608 . 0
0 . 5
=
We now can go to Table 12.3 and search
for the corresponding normalized fre-
quency that is closest to the desired nor-
malized BW of 8.22. The low-pass design
of N = 3 and RC = 4.796% gives 40 dB for
a normalized BW of 8.08 and 50 dB for
11.83. Therefore, a design of N = 3 and RC
= 4.796% with a normalized BW of 8.22 is
C1, C3 = 0.6292 5235 pF = 3294 pF and
L2 = 0.9703 13.09 H = 12.70 H.
The LPF (in a pi configuration) is trans-
formed into a BPF with 3.7417-MHz cen-
ter frequency by resonating the low-pass
elements at the center frequency. The
resonating components will take the same
identification numbers as the components
they are resonating.
( )
( )
H 0.5493
3294 14
25330
C1 F
25330
3 L , 1 L
2
c
=

=
( )
pF 142.5
12.7 14
25330
L2 F
25330
2 C
2
c
=

=
where L, C and f are in H, pF and MHz
respectively.
The BPF circuit after transformation
(for N = 3, RC = 4.796%) is shown in
Fig 12.24.
The component-value spread is
23
549 . 0
7 . 12
=
and the reactance of L1 is about 13 at the
center frequency. For better BPF perfor-
mance, the component spread should be
reduced and the reactance of L1 and L3
should be raised to make it easier to
achieve the maximum possible Q for these
two inductors. This can be easily done by
designing the BPF for an impedance level
of 200 and then using the center taps on
L1 and L3 to obtain the desired 50- ter-
minations. The result of this approach is
shown in Fig 12.25
The component spread is now a more
reasonable
5.77
20 . 2
7 . 12
=
and the L1, L3 reactance is 51.6 . This
higher reactance gives a better chance to
achieve a satisfactory Q for L1 and L3 with
a corresponding improvement in the BPF
performance.
As a general rule, keep reactance values
between 5 and 500 in a 50- circuit.
When the value falls below 5 , either the
equivalent series resistance of the induc-
tor or the series inductance of the capaci-
tor degrades the circuit Q. When the
inductive reactance is greater than 500 ,
the inductor is approaching self-resonance
and circuit Q is again degraded. In
practice, both L1 and L3 should be bi-
filar wound on a powdered-iron toroidal
core to assure that optimum coupling is
Fig 12.25 A filter designed for 200-
source and load provides better values.
By tapping the inductors, we can use a
200- filter design in a 50- system.
Fig 12.24 After transformation of the
band-pass filter, all parallel elements
become parallel LCs and all series
elements become series LCs.
at an attenuation level somewhere between
40 and 50 dB. Consequently, a low-pass
design based on 3 elements and a 4.796%
RC will give slightly more than the desired
40 dB attenuation above 7 MHz. The next
step is to calculate the C and L values of the
low-pass filter using the normalized com-
ponent values in Table 12.2.
From this table and for N = 3 and RC =
4.796%, C1, C3 = 0.6292 F and L2 =
0.9703 H. We calculate the scaling factors
as before and use 0.608 MHz as the ripple
cutoff frequency:
12
6
s
10 5235
10 0.608 50 2
1
f R 2
1
C

=
t
=
t
=
6
6
s
10 13.09
10 0.608 2
50
f 2
R
L

=
t
=
t
=
12.16 Chapter 12
obtained between turns over the entire
winding. The junction of the bifilar wind-
ing serves as a center tap.
Side-Slope Attenuation Calculations
The following equations allow the cal-
culation of the frequencies on the upper and
lower sides of a BPF response curve at any
given attenuation level if the bandwidth at
that attenuation level and the geometric
center frequency of the BPF are known:
2 2
c lo
X f X f + + =
(17)
BW f f
lo hi
+ =
(18)
where
BW = bandwidth at the given attenua-
tion level,
f
c
= geometric center frequency
2
BW
X =
For example, if f = 3.74166 MHz and
BW = 5 MHz, then
2.5 X
2
BW
= =
and:
MHz 2.00 2.5 3.74166 2.5 f
2 2
lo
= + + =
MHz 7 5 2 BW f f
lo hi
= + = + =
BAND-STOP FILTERS
Band-stop filters may be classified as
either narrowband or broadband. If the
ratio of the upper ripple cutoff frequency
to the lower cutoff frequency is greater
than two, the filter is considered wide-
band. A wideband band-stop filter (BSF)
requirement may be realized by simply
paralleling the inputs and outputs of sepa-
rate low-pass and high-pass filters hav-
ing the same design impedance and with
the low-pass filter having its cutoff fre-
quency one octave or more below the
high-pass cutoff frequency.
In order to parallel the low-pass and
high-pass filter inputs and outputs with-
out one affecting the other, it is essential
that each filter have a high impedance in
that portion of its stop band that lies in
the passband of the other. This means that
each of the two filters must begin and end
in series branches. In the low-pass filter,
the input/output series branches must
consist of inductors and in the high-pass
filter, the input/output series branches
must consist of capacitors.
When the ratio of the upper to lower
cutoff frequencies is less than two, the
BSF is considered to be narrowband, and
a calculation procedure similar to that of
the narrowband BPF design procedure is
used. However, in the case of the BSF,
the design process starts with the design
of a high-pass filter having the desired
impedance level of the BSF and a ripple
cutoff frequency the same as that of the
desired ripple bandwidth of the BSF.
After the HPF design is completed, every
high-pass element is resonated to the cen-
ter frequency of the BSF in the same
manner as if it were a BPF, except that all
shunt branches of the BSF will consist of
series-tuned circuits, and all series
branches will consist of parallel-tuned
circuits just the opposite of the reso-
nant circuits in the BPF. The reason for
this becomes obvious when the imped-
ance characteristics of the series and par-
allel circuits at resonance are considered
relative to the intended purpose of the
filter, that is, whether it is for a band-pass
or a band-stop application.
The design, construction and test of
band-stop filters for attenuating high-
level broadcast-band signals is described
in reference 30 at the end of this chapter.
Quartz Crystal Filters
Practical inductor Q values effectively
set the minimum achievable bandwidth
limits for LC band-pass filters. Higher-Q
circuit elements must be employed to
extend these limits. These high-Q resona-
tors include PZT ceramic, mechanical and
coaxial devices. However, the quartz crys-
tal provides the highest Q and best stabil-
ity with temperature and time of all
available resonators. Quartz crystals suit-
able for filter use are fabricated over a fre-
quency range from audio to VHF.
The quartz resonator has the equivalent
circuit shown in Fig 12.26. L
s
, C
s
and R
s
represent the motional reactances and loss
resistance. C
p
is the parallel plate capaci-
tance formed by the two metal electrodes
separated by the quartz dielectric. Quartz
has a dielectric constant of 3.78.
Table 12.4 shows parameter values for
typical moderate-cost quartz resonators.
Q
U
is the resonator unloaded Q.
s s U
r f 2 Q t =
(19)
Q
U
is very high, usually exceeding
25,000. Thus the quartz resonator is an
ideal component for the synthesis of a
high-Q band-pass filter.
Fig 12.26 Equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal. The curve plots the crystal
reactance against frequency. At f
p
, the resonance frequency, the reactance curve
goes to infinity.
RF and AF Filters 12.17
Table 12.4
Typical Parameters for AT-Cut Quartz Resonators
Freq Mode rs Cp Cs L Q
U
(MHz) n () (pF) (pF) (mH)
1.0 1 260 3.4 0.0085 2900 72,000
5.0 1 40 3.8 0.011 100 72,000
10.0 1 8 3.5 0.018 14 109,000
20 1 15 4.5 0.020 3.1 26,000
30 3 30 4.0 0.002 14 87,000
75 3 25 4.0 0.002 2.3 43,000
110 5 60 2.7 0.0004 5.0 57,000
150 5 65 3.5 0.0006 1.9 27,000
200 7 100 3.5 0.0004 2.1 26,000
Courtesy of Piezo Crystal Co, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Fig 12.27 A: Series test circuit for a
crystal. In the test circuit the output of
a variable frequency generator, e
g
, is
used as the test signal. The frequency
response in B shows the highest
attenuation at resonance (f
p
). See text.
Fig 12.28 The practical one-stage
crystal filter in A has the response
shown in B. The phasing capacitor is
adjusted for best response (see text).
A quartz resonator connected between
generator and load, as shown in Fig 12.27A,
produces the frequency response of
Fig 12.27B. There is a relatively low loss at
the series resonant frequency f
s
and high
loss at the parallel resonant frequency f
p
.
The test circuit of Fig 12.27A is useful for
determining the parameters of a quartz
series resonant circuits, if properly offset
in frequency, will produce an approximate
2-pole Butterworth or Chebyshev response.
Crystals A and B are usually chosen so that
the parallel resonant frequency (f
p
) of one
is the same as the series resonant frequency
(f
s
) of the other.
Half-lattice filter sections can be cascaded
to produce a composite filter with many poles.
Until recently, most vendor- supplied com-
mercial filters were lattice types. Ref 11 dis-
cusses the computer design of half-lattice
filters.
Fig 12.29 A half-lattice crystal filter. No phasing capacitor is needed in this
circuit.
resonator, but yields a poor filter.
A crystal filter developed in the 1930s is
shown in Fig 12.28A. The disturbing effect
of C
p
(which produces f
p
) is canceled by
the phasing capacitor, C1. The voltage-
reversing transformer T1 usually consists
of a bifilar winding on a ferrite core. Volt-
ages V
a
and V
b
have equal magnitude but
180 phase difference. When C1 = C
p
, the
effect of C
p
will disappear and a well-
behaved single resonance will occur as
shown in Fig 12.28B. The band-pass filter
will exhibit a loaded Q given by:
L
S S
L
R
L f 2
Q
t
= (20)
This single-stage crystal filter, oper-
ating at 455 kHz, was present in almost all
high-quality amateur communications re-
ceivers up through the 1960s. When the
filter was switched into the receiver IF
amplifier the bandwidth was reduced to a
few hundred Hz for Morse code reception.
The half-lattice filter shown in Fig 12.29
is an improvement in crystal filter design.
The quartz resonator parallel-plate capa-
citors, C
p
, cancel each other. Remaining
12.18 Chapter 12
Monolithic Crystal Filters
SAW Filters
Many quartz crystal filters produced
today use the ladder network design shown
in Fig 12.30. In this configuration, all reso-
nators have the same series resonant fre-
quency f
s
. Inter-resonator coupling is
provided by shunt capacitors such as C12
and C23. Refs 12 and 13 provide good lad-
der filter design information. A test set for
evaluating crystal filters is presented else-
where in this chapter.
Fig 12.30 A four-stage crystal ladder
filter. The crystals must be chosen
properly for best response.
A monolithic (Greek: one-stone) crys-
tal filter has two sets of electrodes depos-
ited on the same quartz plate, as shown in
Fig 12.31. This forms two resonators with
acoustic (mechanical) coupling between
them. If the acoustic coupling is correct, a
2-pole Butterworth or Chebyshev re-
sponse will be achieved. More than two
resonators can be fabricated on the same
plate yielding a multipole response.
Monolithic crystal filter technology is
popular because it produces a low parts
Fig 12.31 Typical two-pole monolithic
crystal filter. This single small (
1
/2 to
3
/4-inch) unit can replace 6 to 12, or
more, discrete components.
count, single-unit filter at lower cost than
a lumped-element equivalent. Monolithic
crystal filters are typically manufactured
in the range from 5 to 30 MHz for the fun-
damental mode and up to 90 MHz for the
third-overtone mode. Q
L
ranges from 200
to 10,000.
Fig 12.32 The interdigitated transducer, on the left, launches SAW energy to a similar transducer on the right (see text).
The resonators in a monolithic crystal
filter are coupled together by bulk acous-
tic waves. These acoustic waves are gen-
erated and propagated in the interior of a
quartz plate. It is also possible to launch,
by an appropriate transducer, acoustic
waves that propagate only along the sur-
face of the quartz plate. These are called
surface-acoustic-waves because they
do not appreciably penetrate the interior
of the plate.
A surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) filter
consists of thin aluminum electrodes,
or fingers, deposited on the surface of
a piezoelectric substrate as shown in Fig
12.32. Lithium Niobate (LiNbO
3
) is usu-
ally favored over quartz because it yields
less insertion loss. The electrodes make
RF and AF Filters 12.19
up the filters transducers. RF voltage
is applied to the input transducer and gen-
erates electric fields between the fingers.
The piezoelectric material vibrates
launching an acoustic wave along the sur-
face. When the wave reaches the output
transducer it produces an electric field
between the fingers. This field generates a
voltage across the load resistor.
Since both input and output transducers
are not entirely unidirectional, some
acoustic power is lost in the acoustic ab-
sorbers located behind each transducer.
This lost acoustic power produces a
midband electrical insertion loss typically
greater than 10 dB. The SAW filter fre-
quency response is determined by the
choice of substrate material and finger
pattern. The finger spacing, (usually one-
quarter wavelength) determines the filter
center frequency. Center frequencies are
available from 20 to 1000 MHz. The num-
ber and length of fingers determines the
filter loaded Q and shape factor.
Loaded Qs are available from 2 to 100,
with a shape factor of 1.5 (equivalent to a
dozen poles). Thus the SAW filter can be
made broadband much like the LC filters
that it replaces. The advantage is substan-
tially reduced volume and possibly lower
cost. SAW filter research was driven by
military needs for exotic amplitude-
response and time-delay requirements.
Low-cost SAW filters are presently found
in television IF amplifiers where high
midband loss can be tolerated.
Transmission-Line Filters
LC filter calculations are based on the
assumption that the reactances are
lumpedthe physical dimensions of the
components are considerably less than the
operating wavelength. Therefore the un-
avoidable interturn capacitance associ-
ated with inductors and the unavoidable
Fig 12.33 Transmission lines. A:
Coaxial line. B: Coupled stripline,
which has two ground planes. C:
Microstripline, which has only one
ground plane.
TEM, or Transverse Electromagnetic
Mode, the electric and magnetic fields as-
sociated with a transmission line are at right
angles (transverse) to the direction of wave
propagation. Coaxial cable, stripline and
microstrip are examples of TEM compo-
nents. Waveguides and waveguide resona-
tors are not TEM components.
TRANSMISSION LINES FOR FILTERS
Fig 12.33 shows three popular trans-
mission lines used in transmission-line
filters. The circular coaxial transmission
line (coax) shown in Fig 12.33A consists
of two concentric metal cylinders sepa-
rated by dielectric (insulating) material.
Fig 12.34 Coaxial-line impedance varies with the ratio of the inner- and outer-
conductor diameters. The dielectric constant, , is 1.0 for air and 2.32 for
polyethylene.
series inductance associated with capaci-
tors are neglected as secondary effects. If
careful attention is paid to circuit layout
and miniature components are used,
lumped LC filter technology can be used
up to perhaps 1 GHz.
Transmission-line filters predominate
from 500 MHz to 10 GHz. In addition they
are often used down to 50 MHz when
narrowband (Q
L
> 10) band-pass filtering
is required. In this application they exhibit
considerably lower loss than their LC
counterparts.
Replacing lumped reactances with se-
lected short sections of TEM transmission
lines results in transmission-line filters. In
12.20 Chapter 12
Fig 12.36 Stub reactance for various
lengths of transmission line. Values are
for Z
0
= 50 . For Z
0
= 100 , double the
tabulated values.
Coaxial transmission line possesses a
characteristic impedance given by:
|
.
|

\
|
=
d
D
log
138
Z
0

(21)
A plot of Z
0
vs D/d is shown in Fig 12.34.
At RF, Z
0
is an almost pure resistance. If
the distant end of a section of coax is ter-
minated in Z
0
, then the impedance seen
looking into the input end is also Z
0
at all
frequencies. A terminated section of coax
is shown in Fig 12.35A. If the distant end
is not terminated in Z
0
, the input imped-
ance will be some other value. In Fig
12.35B the distant end is short-circuited
and the length is less than
1
/4 . The input
impedance is an inductive reactance as
seen by the notation +j in the equation in
part B of the figure.
The input impedance for the case of the
open-circuit distant end, is shown in Fig
12.35C. This case results in a capacitive
reactance (j). Thus, short sections of co-
axial line (stubs) can replace the inductors
and capacitors in an LC filter. Coax line
inductive stubs usually have lower loss
than their lumped counterparts.
X
L
vs " for shorted and open stubs is
shown in Fig 12.36. There is an optimum
value of Z
0
that yields lowest loss, given
by
Fig 12.35 Transmission line stubs.
A: A line terminated in its characteristic
impedance. B: A shorted line less than
1
/4- long is an inductive stub. C: An
open line less than
1
/4- long is a
capacitive stub.
Fig 12.37 The Z
0
of stripline varies with w, b and t (conductor thickness). See
Fig 12.33B. The conductor thickness is t and the plots are normalized in terms of t/b.
c
=
75
Z
0
(22)
If the dielectric is air, Z
0
= 75 . If the
dielectric is polyethylene ( = 2.32) Z
0
=
50 . This is the reason why polyethylene
dielectric flexible coaxial cable is usually
manufactured with a 50- characteristic
impedance.
The first transmission-line filters were
built from sections of coaxial line. Their
mechanical fabrication is expensive and it
is difficult to provide electrical coupling
between line sections. Fabrication diffi-
culties are reduced by the use of shielded
strip transmission line (stripline) shown
in Fig 12.33B. The outer conductor of
stripline consists of two flat parallel metal
plates (ground planes) and the inner con-
ductor is a thin metal strip. Sometimes the
inner conductor is a round metal rod. The
dielectric between ground planes and strip
can be air or a low-loss plastic such as poly-
ethylene. The outer conductors (ground
planes or shields) are separated from each
other by distance b.
Striplines can be easily coupled to-
gether by locating the strips near each
other as shown in Fig 12.33B. Stripline
Z
0
vs width (w) is plotted in Fig 12.37.
Air-dielectric stripline technology is best
for low bandwidth (Q
L
> 20) band-pass
filters.
The most popular transmission line is
microstrip (unshielded stipline), shown in
Fig 12.33C. It can be fabricated with stan-
dard printed-circuit processes and is the
least expensive configuration. Unfortu-
nately, microstrip is the lossiest of the three
lines; therefore it is not suitable for narrow
band-pass filters. In microstrip the outer
conductor is a single flat metal ground-
plane. The inner conductor is a thin metal
strip separated from the ground-plane by a
solid dielectric substrate. Typical sub-
strates are 0.062-inch G-10 fiberglass ( =
4.5) for the 50- MHz to 1-GHz frequency
range and 0.031-inch Teflon ( = 2.3) for
frequencies above 1 GHz.
Conductor separation must be mini-
mized or free-space radiation and un-
wanted coupling to adjacent circuits may
become problems. Microstrip character-
istic impedance and the effective dielec-
tric constant () are shown in Fig 12.38.
Unlike coax and stripline, the effective
dielectric constant is less than that of the
substrate since a portion of the electro-
magnetic wave propagating along the
microstrip sees the air above the sub-
strate.
The least-loss characteristic impedance
RF and AF Filters 12.21
Fig 12.38 Microstrip parameters
(after H. Wheeler, IEEE Transactions on
MTT, March 1965, p 132).
e
is the
effective .
Fig 12.40 This Butterworth filter is constructed in combline. It was originally
discussed by R. Fisher in December 1968 QST.
Fig 12.39 This 146-MHz stripline
band-pass filter has been measured to
have a Q
L
of 63 and a loss of
approximately 1 dB.
Dimension 52 MHz 146 MHz 222 MHz
A 9" 7" 7"
B 7" 9" 9"
L 7
3
/
8
" 6" 6"
S 1" 1
1
/
16
" 1
3
/
8
"
W 1" 1
5
/
8
" 1
5
/
8
"
Capacitance 52 MHz 146 MHz 222 MHz
(pF)
C1 110 22 12
C2 135 30 15
C3 110 22 12
C
c
35 6.5 2.8
Q
L
10 29 36
Performance
BW3 (MHz) 5.0 5.0 6.0
Loss (dB) 0.6 0.7
for stripline and microstrip-lines is not
75 as it is for coax. Loss decreases as line
width increases, which leads to clumsy,
large structures. Therefore, to conserve
space, filter sections are often constructed
from 50- stripline or microstrip stubs.
Transmission-Line Band-Pass
Filters
Band-pass filters can also be constructed
from transmission-line stubs. At VHF the
stubs can be considerably shorter than a
quarter wavelength yielding a compact
filter structure with less midband loss
than its LC counterpart. The single-stage
146-MHz stripline band-pass filter shown
in Fig 12.39 is an example. This filter con-
sists of a single inductive 50- strip-line
stub mounted into a 2 5 7-inch alumi-
num box. The stub is resonated at 146 MHz
with the APC variable capacitor, C1.
Coupling to the 50- generator and load is
provided by the coupling capacitors C
c
. The
measured performance of this filter is: f
o
=
146 MHz, BW = 2.3 MHz (Q
L
= 63) and
midband loss = 1 dB.
Single-stage stripline filters can be
coupled together to yield multistage fil-
ters. One method uses the capacitor
coupled band-pass filter synthesis tech-
nique to design a 3-pole filter. Another
method allows closely spaced inductive
stubs to magnetically couple to each other.
When the coupled stubs are grounded on
the same side of the filter housing, the
structure is called a combline filter.
Three examples of combline band-pass
filters are shown in Fig 12.40. These fil-
ters are constructed in 2 7 9-inch chas-
sis boxes.
Quarter-Wave Transmission-Line
Filters
Fig 12.41 shows that when " = 0.25
g
,
the shorted-stub reactance becomes infi-
nite. Thus, a
1
/4- shorted stub behaves like
a parallel-resonant LC circuit. Proper
input and output coupling to a
1
/4- reso-
nator yields a practical band-pass filter.
Closely spaced
1
/4- resonators will couple
together to form a multistage band-pass
filter. When the resonators are grounded
on opposite walls of the filter housing, the
structure is called an interdigital filter
because the resonators look like interlaced
fingers. Two examples of 3-pole UHF
interdigital filters are shown in Fig 12.41.
Design graphs for round-rod interdigital
filters are given in Ref 16. The
1
/4- reso-
nators may be tuned by physically chang-
ing their lengths or by tuning the screw
opposite each rod.
If the short-circuited ends of two
1
/4-
resonators are connected to each other, the
12.22 Chapter 12
Fig 12.41 These 3-pole Butterworth
filters (upper: 432 MHz, 8.6 MHz
bandwidth, 1.4 dB pass-band loss;
lower: 1296 MHz, 110 MHz bandwidth,
0.4 dB pass-band loss) are constructed
as interdigitated filters. The material is
from R. E. Fisher, March 1968 QST.
resulting
1
/2- stub will remain in reso-
nance, even when the connection to
ground-plane is removed. Such a floating
1
/2- microstrip line, when bent into a
U-shape, is called a hairpin resonator.
Closely coupled hairpin resonators can be
arranged to form multistage band-pass
filters. Microstrip hairpin band-pass fil-
ters are popular above 1 GHz because they
can be easily fabricated using photo-etch-
ing techniques. No connection to the
ground-plane is required.
Transmission-Line Filters
Emulating LC Filters
Low-pass and high-pass transmission-line
filters are usually built from short sections of
transmission lines (stubs) that emulate
lumped LC reactances. Sometimes low-loss
lumped capacitors are mixed with transmis-
sion-line inductors to form a hybrid compo-
nent filter. For example, consider the
720-MHz, 3-pole microstrip low-pass filter
shown in Fig 12.42A that emulates the LC
filter shown in Fig 12.42B. C1 and C3 are
replaced with 50- open-circuit shunt stubs
"
C
long. L2 is replaced with a short section of
100- line "
L
long. The LC filter, Fig 12.42B,
was designed for f
c
= 720 MHz. Such a filter
could be connected between a 432-MHz
transmitter and antenna to reduce harmonic
and spurious emissions. A reactance chart
shows that X
C
is 50 , and the inductor reac-
tance is 100 at f
c
. The microstrip version is
constructed on G-10 fiberglass 0.062-inch
thick, with = 4.5. Then, from Fig 12.38, w is
0.11 inch and "
C
= 0.125
g
for the 50-
capacitive stubs. Also, from Fig 12.38, w is
0.024 inch and "
L
is 0.125"
g
for the 100-
inductive line. The inductive line length is
approximate because the far end is not a short
circuit. "
g
is 300/(720)(1.75) = 0.238 m, or
9.37 inches. Thus "
C
is 1.1 inch and "
L
is
1.1 inch.
This microstrip filter exhibits about
20 dB of attenuation at 1296 MHz. Its
response rises again, however, around
3 GHz. This is because the fixed-length
transmission-line stubs change in terms of
wavelength as the frequency rises. This
particular filter was designed to eliminate
third-harmonic energy near 1296 MHz
from a 432-MHz transmitter and does a
better job in this application than the
Butterworth filter in Fig 12.41, which has
spurious responses in the 1296-MHz band.
RF and AF Filters 12.23
Fig 12.42 A microstrip 3-pole
emulated-Butterworth low-pass filter
with a cutoff frequency of 720 MHz. A:
Microstrip version built with G-10
fiberglass board ( = 4.5, h = 0.062
inches). B: Lumped LC version of the
same filter. To construct this filter with
lumped elements very small values of L
and C must be used and stray
capacitance and inductance must be
reduced to a tiny fraction of the
component values.
Helical Resonators
Ever-increasing occupancy of the radio
spectrum brings with it a parade of re-
ceiver overload and spurious responses.
Overload problems can be minimized by
using high-dynamic-range receiving tech-
niques, but spurious responses (such as the
image frequency) must be filtered out
before mixing occurs. Conventional tuned
circuits cannot provide the selectivity nec-
essary to eliminate the plethora of signals
found in most urban and many suburban
neighborhoods. Other filtering techniques
must be used.
Helical resonators are usually a better
choice than
1
/4- cavities on 50, 144 and
222 MHz to eliminate these unwanted
inputs. They are smaller and easier to build.
In the frequency range from 30 to 100 MHz
it is difficult to build high-Q inductors, and
coaxial cavities are very large. In this fre-
quency range the helical resonator is an
excellent choice. At 50 MHz for example,
a capacitively tuned,
1
/4- coaxial cavity
with an unloaded Q of 3000 would be about
4 inches in diameter and nearly 5 ft long.
On the other hand, a helical resonator with
the same unloaded Q is about 8.5 inches in
diameter and 11.3 inches long. Even at
432 MHz, where coaxial cavities are com-
mon, the use of helical resonators results in
substantial size reductions.
The helical resonator was described by
W1HR in a QST article as a coil sur-
rounded by a shield, but it is actually a
shielded, resonant section of helically
wound transmission line with relatively
high characteristic impedance and low
axial propagation velocity. The electrical
length is about 94% of an axial
1
/4- or
84.6. One lead of the helical winding is
connected directly to the shield and the
other end is open circuited as shown in
Fig 12.43. Although the shield may be any
shape, only round and square shields will
be considered here.
DESIGN
The unloaded Q of a helical resonator is
determined primarily by the size of the
shield. For a round resonator with a copper
Fig 12.43 Dimensions of round and
square helical resonators. The
diameter, D (or side, S) is determined
by the desired unloaded Q. Other
dimensions are expressed in terms of
D or S (see text).
coil on a low-loss form, mounted in a cop-
per shield, the unloaded Q is given by
0 U
f 50D Q =
(23)
where
D = inside diameter of the shield, in
inches
f
o
= frequency, in MHz.
D is assumed to be 1.2 times the width
of one side for square shield cans. This
formula includes the effects of losses and
imperfections in practical materials. It
yields values of unloaded Q that are easily
attained in practice. Silver plating the
shield and coil increases the unloaded Q
12.24 Chapter 12
Fig 12.44 The design nomograph for round helical resonators starts by selecting Q
U
and the required shield diameter. A
line is drawn connecting these two values and extended to the frequency scale (example here is for a shield of about 3.8
inches and Q
U
of 500 at 7 MHz). Finally the number of turns, N, winding pitch, P, and characteristic impedance, Z
0
, are
determined by drawing a line from the frequency scale through selected shield diameter (but this time to the scale on the
right-hand side. For the example shown, the dashed line shows P 0.047 inch, N = 70 turns, and Z
n
= 3600 ).
by about 3% over that predicted by the
equation. At VHF and UHF, however, it is
more practical to increase the shield size
slightly (that is, increase the selected Q
U
by about 3% before making the calcula-
tion). The fringing capacitance at the
open-circuit end of the helix is about
0.15 D pF (that is, approximately 0.3 pF
for a shield 2 inches in diameter). Once
the required shield size has been deter-
mined, the total number of turns, N, wind-
ing pitch, P and characteristic impedance,
Z
0
, for round and square helical resona-
tors with air dielectric between the helix
and shield, are given by:
D f
1908
N
0
= (24A)
2312
D f
P
2
0
=
(24B)
D f
99,000
Z
0
0
= (24C)
S f
1590
N
0
= (24D)
1606
S f
P
2
0
=
(24E)
S f
82,500
Z
0
0
= (24F)
In these equations, dimensions D and
S are in inches and f
0
is in megahertz.
The design nomograph for round helical
resonators in Fig 12.44 is based on these
formulas.
Although there are many variables to
consider when designing helical resona-
tors, certain ratios of shield size to length
and coil diameter to length, provide opti-
mum results. For helix diameter, d =
0.55 D or d = 0.66 S. For helix length,
b = 0.825D or b = 0.99S. For shield
length, B = 1.325 D and H = 1.60 S.
Fig 12.45 simplifies calculation of these
dimensions. Note that these ratios result
in a helix with a length 1.5 times its diam-
eter, the condition for maximum Q. The
shield is about 60% longer than the helix
although it can be made longer
to completely contain the electric field at
the top of the helix and the magnetic field
at the bottom.
The winding pitch, P, is used primarily
to determine the required conductor size.
Adjust the length of the coil to that given
by the equations during construction. Con-
ductor size ranges from 0.4 P to 0.6 P for
both round and square resonators and are
plotted graphically in Fig 12.46.
Obviously, an area exists (in terms of
frequency and unloaded Q) where the de-
signer must make a choice between a con-
ventional cavity (or lumped LC circuit)
and a helical resonator. The choice is af-
fected by physical shape at higher frequen-
cies. Cavities are long and relatively small
in diameter, while the length of a helical
resonator is not much greater than its di-
ameter. A second consideration is that
point where the winding pitch, P, is less
than the radius of the helix (otherwise the
structure tends to be nonhelical). This
condition occurs when the helix has fewer
than three turns (the upper limit on the
design nomograph of Fig 12.44).
CONSTRUCTION
The shield should not have any seams
parallel to the helix axis to obtain as high
an unloaded Q as possible. This is usually
not a problem with round resonators be-
cause large-diameter copper tubing is used
RF and AF Filters 12.25
Fig 12.46 This chart provides the design information of
helix conductor size vs winding pitch, P. For example, a
winding pitch of 0.047 inch results in a conductor diameter
between 0.019 and 0.028 inch (#22 or #24 AWG).
Fig 12.45 The helical resonator is scaled from this design
nomograph. Starting with the shield diameter, the helix diameter,
d, helix length, b, and shield length, B, can be determined with
this graph. The example shown has a shield diameter of
3.8 inches. This requires a helix mean diameter of 2.1 inches,
helix length of 3.1 inches, and shield length of 5 inches.
for the shield, but square resonators re-
quire at least one seam and usually more.
The effect on unloaded Q is minimum if
the seam is silver soldered carefully from
one end to the other.
Results are best when little or no dielec-
tric is used inside the shield. This is usually
no problem at VHF and UHF because the
conductors are large enough that a support-
ing coil form is not required. The lower end
of the helix should be soldered to the near-
est point on the inside of the shield.
Although the external field is mini-
mized by the use of top and bottom shield
covers, the top and bottom of the shield
may be left open with negligible effect on
frequency or unloaded Q. Covers, if pro-
vided, should make electrical contact with
the shield. In those resonators where the
helix is connected to the bottom cover, that
cover must be soldered solidly to the
shield to minimize losses.
TUNING
A carefully built helical resonator de-
signed from the nomograph of Fig 12.44
will resonate very close to the design fre-
quency. Slightly compress or expand the
helix to adjust resonance over a small
range. If the helix is made slightly longer
than that called for in Fig 12.45, the reso-
nator can be tuned by pruning the open
end of the coil. However, neither of these
methods is recommended for wide fre-
quency excursions because any major de-
viation in helix length will degrade the
unloaded Q of the resonator.
Most helical resonators are tuned by
means of a brass tuning screw or high-
quality air-variable capacitor across the
open end of the helix. Piston capacitors
also work well, but the Q of the tuning
capacitor should ideally be several times
the unloaded Q of the resonator. Varactor
diodes have sometimes been used where
remote tuning is required, but varactors
can generate unwanted harmonics and
other spurious signals if they are excited
by strong, nearby signals.
When a helical resonator is to be tuned
by a variable capacitor, the shield size is
based on the chosen unloaded Q at the
operating frequency. Then the number of
turns, N and the winding pitch, P, are
based on resonance at 1.5 f
0
. Tune the
resonator to the desired operating fre-
quency, f
0
.
INSERTION LOSS
The insertion loss (dissipation loss), I
L
,
in decibels, of all single-resonator circuits
is given by
Fig 12.47 The ratio of loaded (Q
L
) to
unloaded (Q
U
) Q determines the inser-
tion loss of a tuned resonant circuit.
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|

=
U
L
10 L
Q
Q
1
1
log 20 I
(25)
where
Q
L
= loaded Q
Q
U
= unloaded Q
This is plotted in Fig 12.47. For the most
practical cases (Q
L
> 5), this can be closely
approximated by I
L
9.0 (Q
L
/Q
U
) dB. The
selection of Q
L
for a tuned circuit is dic-
tated primarily by the required selectivity
of the circuit. However, to keep dissipa-
tion loss to 0.5 dB or less (as is the case for
low-noise VHF receivers), the unloaded
Q must be at least 18 times the Q
L.
12.26 Chapter 12
Band-Pass Filter
Pick K, Q,
o
= 2f
c
where f
c
= center freq.
Choose C
Then
C K
Q
1 R
0 0
e
=
( ) C
0

0
K
2
2Q
Q
R2

=
C
2Q
3 R
0
e
=
Example:
K = 2, f
o
= 800 Hz, Q = 5 and C = 0.022 F
R1 = 22.6 k (use 22 k)
R2 = 942 (use 910 )
R3 = 90.4 k (use 91 k)
High-Pass Filter
( ) C 1 K 8 a a
4
R
C
2
1
e
(

+ +
=
1
2 2
C
2
R C
1
R
e
=
( ) 1 K
1 K
KR
R
1
3
>

=
1 4
KR R =
where
K = gain
f
c
= 3 dB cutoff frequency

c
= 2f
c
C = a standard value near 10/f
c
(in F)
Note: For unity gain, short R4 and omit
R3.
Example:
a = 0.765 (see table, first of two stages)
K = 4
f = 250 Hz

c
= 1570.8
C = 0.04 F (use 0.039 F)
R1 = 11,123.2 (use 11 k)
R2 = 22,722 (use 22 k)
R3 = 14,830.9 (use 15 k)
R4 = 44,492.8 (use 47 k)
Fig 12.48 This response curve for
a single-resonator 432-MHz filter
shows the effects of capacitive and
inductive input/output coupling. The
response curve can be made
symmetrical on each side of
resonance by combining the two
methods (inductive input and
capacitive output, or vice versa).
Unless otherwise specified, values of R are in ohms, C is in farads, F in hertz and in radians per second. Calculations
shown here were performed on a scientific calculator.
Low-Pass Filter
( ) | |
4
C 1 K 4 a
C
2
2
1
+
s
( ) | |
C

2
C
1
4C
2
2
C 1 K 4
2
a
2
aC
2
1
R
(

+
+
=
2
C 1 2 1
2
R C C
1
R
e
=
( )
( ) 1 K
1 K
R R K
R
2 1
3
>

+
=
( )
2 1 4
R R K R + =
where
K = gain
f
c
= 3 dB cutoff frequency

c
= 2f
c
C
2
= a standard value near 10/f
c
(in F)
Note: For unity gain, short R4 and omit R3.
Example:
a = 1.414 (see table, one stage)
K = 2
f = 2700 Hz

c
= 16,964.6 rads/sec
C
2
= 0.0033 F
C1 0.00495 F (use 0.0050 F)
R1 25,265.2 (use 24 k)
R2 = 8,420.1 (use 8.2 k)
R3 = 67,370.6 (use 68 k)
R4 = 67,370.6 (use 68 k)
Fig 12.49 Equations for designing a low-pass RC active audio filter are given at A. B, C and D show design information for
high-pass, band-pass and band-reject filters, respectively. All of these filters will exhibit a Butterworth response. Values of K
and Q should be less than 10.
COUPLING
Signals are coupled into and out of he-
lical resonators with inductive loops at the
bottom of the helix, direct taps on the coil
or a combination of both. Although the
correct tap point can be calculated easily,
coupling by loops and probes must be de-
termined experimentally.
The input and output coupling is often
provided by probes when only one resona-
tor is used. The probes are positioned on
opposite sides of the resonator for maxi-
mum isolation. When coupling loops are
RF and AF Filters 12.27
Factor a for Low- and High-Pass Filters
No. of
Stages Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4
1 1.414
2 0.765 1.848
3 0.518 1.414 1.932
4 0.390 1.111 1.663 1.962
These values are truncated from those of Appendix C of Ref 21, for even-order
Butterworth filters.
Band-Reject Filter
R1C1 2
1
F
0
t
=
4Q
1
1 K =
( )R1 K 1 R >>
where
0
f
F 10
2
C3
C2 1 C

= = =
R1 = R2 = 2R3
R4 = (1 K)R
R5 = K R
Example:
f
0
= 500 Hz, Q=10
K = 0.975
C1 = C2 = 0.02 F (or use 0.022 F)
C3 = 0.04 F (or use 0.044 F)
R1 = R2 = 15.92 k (use 15 k)
R3 = 7.96 k (use 8.2 k)
R >> 398 (390 )
R4 = 9.95 (use 10 )
R5 = 388.1 (use 390 )
used, the plane of the loop should be
perpendicular to the axis of the helix
and separated a small distance from the
bottom of the coil. For resonators with
only a few turns, the plane of the loop can
be tilted slightly so it is parallel with the
slope of the adjacent conductor.
Helical resonators with inductive cou-
pling (loops) exhibit more attenuation to
signals above the resonant frequency
(as compared to attenuation below reso-
nance), whereas resonators with capaci-
tive coupling (probes) exhibit more
attenuation below the passband, as
shown for a typical 432-MHz resonator
in Fig 12.48. Consider this characteristic
when choosing a coupling method. The
passband can be made more symmetrical
by using a combination of coupling meth-
ods (inductive input and capacitive out-
put, for example).
If more than one helical resonator is
required to obtain a desired band-pass
characteristic, adjacent resonators may be
coupled through apertures in the shield
wall between the two resonators. Unfortu-
nately, the size and location of the aper-
ture must be found empirically, so this
method of coupling is not very practical
unless youre building a large number of
identical units.
Since the loaded Q of a resonator is
determined by the external loading, this
must be considered when selecting a tap
(or position of a loop or probe). The ratio
of this external loading, R
b
, to the charac-
teristic impedance, Z
0
, for a
1
/4- resona-
tor is calculated from:
|
|
.
|

\
|
= =
U L 0
b
Q
1
Q
1
0.785
Z
R
K (26)
Even when filters are designed and built
properly, they may be rendered totally
ineffective if not installed properly. Leak-
age around a filter can be quite high at
VHF and UHF, where wavelengths are
short. Proper attention to shielding and
good grounding is mandatory for mini-
mum leakage. Poor coaxial cable shield
connection into and out of the filter is one
of the greatest offenders with regard to
filter leakage. Proper dc-lead bypassing
throughout the receiving system is good
practice, especially at VHF and above.
Ferrite beads placed over the dc leads may
help to reduce leakage. Proper filter ter-
mination is required to minimize loss.
Most VHF RF amplifiers optimized for
noise figure do not have a 50- input im-
pedance. As a result, any filter attached to
the input of an RF amplifier optimized for
noise figure will not be properly termi-
nated and filter loss may rise substantially.
As this loss is directly added to the RF
amplifier noise figure, carefully choose
and place filters in the receiver.
ACTIVE FILTERS
Passive HF filters are made from com-
binations of inductors and capacitors.
These may be used at low frequencies, but
the inductors often become a limiting fac-
tor because of their size, weight, cost and
losses. The active filter is a compact, low-
cost alternative made with op amps, resis-
tors and capacitors. They often occupy a
fraction of the space required by an LC
filter. While active filters have been tradi-
tionally used at low and audio frequen-
cies, modern op amps with small-signal
bandwidths that exceed 1 GHz have ex-
tended their range into MF and HF.
Active filters can perform any common
filter function: low pass, high pass,
bandpass, band reject and all pass (used
for phase or time delay). Responses such
as Butterworth, Chebyshev, Bessel and
elliptic can be realized. Active filters can
be designed for gain, and they offer excel-
lent stage-to-stage isolation.
Despite the advantages, there are also
some limitations. They require power, and
performance may be limited by the op
amps finite input and output levels, gain
and bandwidth. While LC filters can be
designed for high-power applications,
active filters usually are not.
The design equations for various fil-
ters are shown in Fig 12.49. Fig 12.50
shows a typical application of a two-
stage, bandpass filter. A two-stage filter
is considered the minimum acceptable for
CW, while three or four stages will prove
more effective under some conditions of
noise and interference.
CRYSTAL-FILTER EVALUATION
Crystal filters, such as those described
earlier in this chapter, are often con-
structed of surplus crystals or crystals
12.28 Chapter 12
Fig 12.50 Typical application of a two-stage active filter in the audio chain of a QRP CW tranceiver. The filter can be
bypassed, or another filter can be switched in by S1.
whose characteristics are not exactly
known. Randy Henderson, WI5W, devel-
oped a swept frequency generator for test-
ing these filters. It was first described in
March 1994 QEX. This test instrument
adds to the ease and success in quickly
building filters from inexpensive micro-
processor crystals.
A template, containing additional infor-
mation, is available on the CD included
with this book.
An Overview
The basic setup is shown in Fig 12.51A.
The VCO is primarily a conventional
LC-tuned Hartley oscillator with its fre-
quency tuned over a small range by a
varactor diode (MV2104 in part B of the
figure). Other varactors may be used as
long as the capacitance specifications
arent too different. Change the 5-pF cou-
pling capacitor to expand the sweep width
if desired.
The VCO signal goes through a buffer
amplifier to the filter under test. The filter is
followed by a wide-bandwidth amplifier and
then a detector. The output of the detector is
a rectified and filtered signal. This varying
dc voltage drives the vertical input of an
oscilloscope. At any particular time, the
deflection and sweep circuitry commands
the VCO to run at this frequency. The
same deflection voltage causes the oscillo-
scope beam to deflect left or right to a posi-
tion corresponding to the frequency.
Any or all of these circuits may be elimi-
nated by the use of appropriate commer-
cial test equipment. For example, a
commercial sweep generator would elimi-
nate the need for everything but the wide-
band amplifier and detector. Motorola,
Mini-Circuits Labs and many others sell
devices suitable for the wide-band ampli-
fiers and detector.
The generator/detector system covers
approximately 6 to 74 MHz in three
ranges. Each tuning range uses a separate
RF oscillator module selected by switch
S1. The VCO output and power-supply
input are multiplexed on the A lead to
each oscillator. The tuning capacitance for
each VCO is switched into the appropriate
circuit by a second set of contacts on S1.
C
T
is the coarse tuning adjustment for each
oscillator module.
Two oscillator coils are wound on PVC
plastic pipe. The third, for the highest fre-
quency range, is self-supporting #14 cop-
per wire. Although PVC forms with Super
Glue dope may not be state of the art
technology, frequency stability is com-
pletely adequate for this instrument.
The oscillator and buffer stage operate
at low power levels to minimize frequency
drift caused by component heating. Crys-
tal filters cause large load changes as the
frequency is swept in and out of the pass-
band. These large changes in impedance
tend to pull the oscillator frequency and
cause inaccuracies in the passband shape
depicted by the oscilloscope. Therefore a
buffer amplifier is a necessity. The wide-
band amplifier in Fig 12.52 is derived
from one in ARRLs Solid State Design
for the Radio Amateur.
S2 selects a 50-, 10-dB attenuator in
the input line. When the attenuator is in
the line, it provides a better output match
for the filter under test. The detector uses
some forward bias for D2. A simple unbi-
ased diode detector would offer about
50 dB of dynamic range. Some dc bias
increases the dynamic range to almost
70 dB. D3, across the detector output (the
RF and AF Filters 12.29
Fig 12.51 The test set block diagram, lower left, starts with a swept frequency oscillator, shown in the schematic. If a
commercial swept-frequency oscillator is available, it can be substituted for the circuit shown.
scope input), increases the vertical-am-
plifier sensitivity while compressing or
limiting the response to high-level sig-
nals. With this arrangement, high levels
of attenuation (low-level signals) are
easier to observe and low attenuation lev-
els are still visible on the CRT. The diode
only kicks in to provide limiting at higher
signal levels.
The horizontal-deflection sweep cir-
cuit uses a dual op-amp IC (see Fig
12.53). One section is an oscillator; the
other is an integrator. The integrator out-
put changes linearly with time, giving a
uniform brightness level as the trace is
moved from side to side. Increasing C1
decreases the sweep rate. Increasing C2
decreases the slope of the output wave-
form ramp.
Operation
The CRT is swept in both directions,
left to right and right to left. The displayed
Table 12.5
VCO Coils
Coil Inside Diameter Length Turns, Wire Inductance
(inches) (inches) (H)
large 0.85 1.1 18 t, #28 5.32
medium 0.85 0.55 7 t, #22 1.35
small 0.5 0.75 5 t, #14 0.27
The two larger coils are wound on
3
/4-inch PVC pipe and the smaller one on a
1
/2-inch
drill bit. Tuning coverage for each oscillator is obtained by squeezing or spreading the
turns before gluing them in place. The output windings connected to A1, A2 and A3 are
each single turns of #14 wire spaced off the end of the tapped coils. The taps are
approximate and 25 to 30% of the full winding turns up from the cold (ground) end of
the coils.
curve is a result of changes in frequency,
not time. Therefore it is unnecessary to
incorporate the usual right-to-left, snap-
back and retrace blanking used in oscillo-
scopes.
S3 in Fig 12.53 disables the automatic
sweep function when opened. This per-
mits manual operation. Use a frequency
counter to measure the VCO output, from
which bandwidth can be calculated. Turn
12.30 Chapter 12
Fig 12.53 The sweep generator provides both an up and down sweep voltage
(see text) for the swept frequency generator and the scope horizontal channel.
Fig 12.52 The filter under test is connected to Q3 on
the right side of the schematic. The detector output, on
the left side, connects to the oscilloscope vertical input.
A separate voltage regulator, an LM 317, is used to power
this circuit. Q3, Q4, Q5 and Q6 are 25C1424 or 2N2857.
the fine-tune control to position the CRT
beam at selected points of the pass-band
curve. The difference in frequency read-
ings is the bandwidth at that particular
point or level of attenuation.
Substitution of a calibrated attenuator
for the filter under test can provide
reference readings. These reference read-
ings may be used to calibrate an other-
wise uncalibrated scope vertical display
in dB.
The buffer amplifier shown here is set
up to drive a 50- load, and the wide-
bandwidth amplifier input impedance is
about 50 . If the filter is not a 50- unit,
however, various methods can be used to
accommodate the difference. For ex-
ample, a transformer may be used for
widely differing impedance levels,
whereas a minimum-loss resistive pad
may be preferable where impedance
levels differ by a factor of approximately
1.5 or less presuming some loss is ac-
ceptable.
References
A. Ward, Monolithic Microwave In-
tegrated Circuits, Feb 1987 QST, pp
23-29.
Z. Lau, A Logarithmic RF Detector for
Filter Tuning, Oct 1988 QEX, pp 10-11.
BAND-PASS FILTERS FOR 144 OR 222 MHZ
Spectral purity is necessary during
transmitting. Tight filtering in a receiving
system ensures the rejection of out-of-
band signals. Unwanted signals that lead
to receiver overload and increased
intermodulation-distortion (IMD) prod-
ucts result in annoying in-band birdies.
One solution is the double-tuned band-
pass filters shown in Fig 12.54. They were
designed by Paul Drexler, WB3JYO. Each
includes a resonant trap coupled between
the resonators to provide increased rejec-
tion of undesired frequencies.
Many popular VHF conversion
schemes use a 28-MHz intermediate fre-
quency (IF), yet proper filtering of the
image frequency is often overlooked in
amateur designs. The low-side injection
RF and AF Filters 12.31
Fig 12.56 Filter response plot of the
222-MHz band-pass filter, with an
image-reject notch for a 28 MHz IF.
Fig 12.54 Schematic of the band-
pass filter. Components must be
chosen to work with the power level
of the transmitter.
Fig 12.55 Filter response plot of the
144-MHz band-pass filter, with an
image-reject notch for a 28 MHz IF.
Component Values
144 MHz 220 MHz
C2 1 pF 1 pF
C1, C3 1-7 pf piston 1-7 pF piston
L2 27t no. 26 enam 15t no. 24
on T37-10 enam on T44-10
L1, L3 7t no. 18,
1
/4-in 4t no. 18,
1
/4-in
ID, tap 1
1
/2t ID, tap 1
1
/2t
Switched Capacitor Filters
The switched capacitor filter, or SCF,
uses an IC to synthesize a high-pass,
low-pass, band-pass or notch filter. The
performance of multiple-pole filters is
available, with Q and bandwidth set by
external resistors. An external clock fre-
quency sets the filter center frequency,
so this frequency may be easily changed
or digitally controlled. Dynamic range
of 80 dB, Q of 50, 5-pole equivalent
design and maximum usable frequency
of 250 kHz are available for such uses as
audio CW and RTTY filters. In addition,
all kinds of digital tone signaling such
as DTMF and modem encoding and de-
coding are being designed with these
circuits.
frequency used in 144-MHz mixing
schemes is 116 MHz and the image fre-
quency, 88 MHz, falls in TV channel 6.
Inadequate rejection of a broadcast carrier
at this frequency results in a strong,
wideband signal at the low end of the 2-m
band. A similar problem on the transmit
side can cause TVI. These band-pass fil-
ters have effectively suppressed undesired
mixing products. See Fig 12.55 and 12.56.
The circuit is constructed on a double-
sided copper-clad circuit board. Mini-
mize component lead lengths to eliminate
resistive losses and unwanted stray cou-
pling. Mount the piston trimmers through
the board with the coils soldered to the
opposite end, parallel to the board. The
shield between L1 and L3 decreases
mutual coupling and improves the fre-
quency response. Peak C1 and C3 for
optimum response.
L1, C1, L3 and C3 form the tank cir-
cuits that resonate at the desired fre-
quency. C2 and L2 reject the undesired
energy while allowing the desired signal
to pass. The tap points on L1 and L3 pro-
vide 50- matching; they may be ad-
justed for optimum energy transfer.
Several filters have been constructed
using a miniature variable capacitor in
place of C2 so that the notch frequency
could be varied.
AN EASY-TO-BUILD, HIGH-PERFORMANCE PASSIVE CW FILTER
Modern commercial receivers for ama-
teur radio applications have featured CW
filters with digital signal processing
(DSP) circuits. These DSP filters provide
exceptional audio selectivity with the
added advantages of letting the user
change the filters center frequency and
bandwidth. Yet in spite of these improve-
ments, many hams are dissatisfied with
DSP filters due to increased distortion of
the CW signal and the presence of a con-
stant low-level, wide-band noise at the
audio output. One way to avoid this dis-
tortion and noise is to switch to a selective
passive filter that generates no noise! Al-
though the center frequency and band-
width of the passive filter is fixed and
cannot be changed, this is not a serious
problem once a center frequency preferred
by the user is chosen. The bandwidth can
be made narrow enough for good selectiv-
ity with no ringing that frequently occurs
when the bandwidth is too narrow. This
passive CW filter project was designed,
built and refined over many years by
ARRL Technical Advisor Edward E.
Wetherhold, W3NQN.
The effectiveness of an easy-to-build,
high-performance passive CW filter in
providing distortion-free and noise-free
12.32 Chapter 12
Fig 12.57 Schematic diagram of the five-resonator CW filter. See Table 12.6 for capacitor and inductor values to build a
filter with a center frequency of 546, 600, 700, 750 or 800 Hz.
P1 Phone plug to match your
receiver audio output jack.
J1 Phone jack to match your
headphone.
R1 6.8 to 50 ohms,
1
/4-W, 10%
resistor (see text).
S1 DPDT switch.
T1, T2 200 to 8- impedance-
matching transformers, 0.4-W,
Miniature Core Type EI-24, Mouser
No. 42TU200.
Note: The circled numbers identify the
circuit nodes corresponding to the
same nodes labeled in the pictorial
diagram in Fig 12.58.
CW reception when compared with
several commercial amateur receivers us-
ing DSP filtering was experienced by
Steve Root, KSR. He reported that when
he replaced his DSP filter with the passive
CW filter that he assembled, he had the
impression that the signals in the filter
passband were amplified. In reality, the
noise floor appeared to drop one or two
dB. When attempting to hear low-level
DX CW signals, Steve now prefers the
passive CW filter over DSP filters.
1
The
CW filter assembled and used by KSR is
the passive five-resonator CW filter that
has been widely published in many Hand-
books and magazines since 1980, and most
recently in Rich Arlands, K7SZ, QRP
column in the May 2002 issue of QST (see
references 2-11 at the end of this text).
If you want to build the high-perfor-
mance passive five-resonator CW filter and
experience no-distortion and no-noise CW
reception, this article will show you how.
This inductor-capacitor CW filter uses
one stack of 85-mH inductors and two
modified separate inductors in a five-reso-
nator circuit that is easy to assemble, gives
high performance and is low cost. Al-
though these inductors have been referred
to as 88 mH over the past 25 years, their
actual value is closer to 85 mH, and for
that reason the designs presented in this
article are based on an inductor value of
85 mH.
Five bandpass filter designs for center
frequencies between 546 Hz and 800 Hz
are listed in Table 12.6. Select the center
frequency that matches your transceiver
sidetone frequency. If you are using a di-
rect conversion receiver or an old receiver
with a BFO, you may select any of the
designs having a center frequency that you
find easy on your ears. The author can
provide a kit of parts with detailed instruc-
tions for assembling this filter at a nomi-
nal cost. For contact information, see the
end of this text.
The actual 3-dB bandwidth of the filters
is between 250 and 270 Hz depending on
the center frequency. This bandwidth is
narrow enough to give good selectivity,
and yet broad enough for easy tuning with
no ringing. Five high-Q resonators pro-
vide good skirt selectivity that is adequate
for interference-free CW reception.
Simple construction, low cost and good
performance make this filter an ideal first
project for anyone interested in putting
together a useful station accessory, pro-
vided you operate CW mode of course!
DESIGNS AND INTERFACING
Fig 12.57 shows the filter schematic
diagram. Component values are given in
Table 12.6 for five center-frequency de-
signs. All designs are to be terminated in
an impedance between 200 and 230
and standard commercial 8- to 200-
audio transformers are used to match the
filter input and output to the 8- audio
output jack on your receiver and to an
8- headset. Details are discussed a bit
later in this text to interface using head-
phones with other than 8- impedances
that are now quite common.
Table 12.6
CW Filter Using One 85-mH Inductor Stack and Two Modified 85-mH
Inductors
Center Freq. (Hz) 546 600 700 750 800
C1, C5 (nF) 1000 828 608 530 466
C2, C4 (F) 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
C3 (nF) 333 276 202.7 176.5 155
L2, L4 (mH) 85 70.36 51.69 45.0 39.6
Remove Turns* NONE 66 160 200 232
*The total number of turns removed, split equally from each of the two windings of L2. Do the
same also for L4. (E.g., for a 700-Hz center frequency, remove 80 turns from each of the two
windings of L2, for a total of 160 turns removed from L2. Repeat exactly for L4.)
For all designs: L1, L5 = 85 mH; L3 = 3 (85 mH) = 255 mH; T1,T2 = 8/200 CT; R1 = 6.8 to
50 . Although the surplus inductors are commonly considered to be 88 mH, the actual value
is closer to 85 mH. For this reason, all designs are based on the 85-mH value. L2 and L4
have white cores, Magnetic Part No. 55347, OD Max = 24.3 mm, ID Min = 13.77 mm, HT =
9.70 mm; = 200, AL = 169 mH/1000T 8%. The calculated 3-dB BW is 285 Hz and is the same
for all designs; however, the actual bandwidth is 5 to 10-percent narrower depending
on the inductor Q at the edges of the filter passband.
RF and AF Filters 12.33
Fig 12.58 Part A shows a pictorial diagram of the lead-
connection details for L2 and L4. Part B shows the filter
wiring diagram, including the inductor stack wiring of L1,
L3 and L5. Part C is a photo of the assembled filter
installed in a Jameco H2581 plastic box. The bypass
switch (S1) and input/output transformers (T1, T2) are on
the right side of the box.
(C)
CONSTRUCTION
The encircled numbers in Fig 12.57 indi-
cate the filter circuit nodes for reference.
Fig 12.58A shows the L2 and L4 inductor
lead connections for the 546-Hz design
where no turns need to be removed; the two
inductors are used in their original condi-
tion. For all other designs, turns need to be
removed from each of the windings. The
number of turns requiring removal from the
L2 and L4 windings is listed in Table 12.6.
Fig 12.58B shows a pictorial of the filter
assembly and the connections between the
capacitors and the 85-mH stack terminals.
Inductors L1, L3 and L5 are contained
within the inductor stack and are intercon-
nected using the terminal lugs on the stack
as shown in the pictorial diagram. The en-
circled numbers show the circuit nodes
corresponding to those in Fig 12.57.
After the correct number of turns are re-
moved from L2 and L4, the leads are gently
scraped until you see copper and then the
start lead (with sleeving) of one winding is
connected to the finish lead of the other
winding to make the center tap. The center
tap lead and the other start and finish leads
of L2 and L4 are connected as indicated in
Fig 12.58B. L2 and L4 are fastened to op-
posite ends of the stack with clear silicone
sealant that is available in a small tube at
low cost from your local hardware store.
Use the silicone sealant to fasten C2 and C4
to the side of the stack. The capacitor leads
Table 12.7
Node-to-Node Resistances for the 546-Hz CW Filter
Nodes Component Resistance
From To Designation (ohms 20%)
1 GND T1 hi-Z winding 12
2 GND L1 + 1/2(L2) 12
3 GND L2 8
4 GND 1/2(L2) 4
5 GND L3 + 1/2(L4) 28
6 GND 1/2(L4) 4
7 GND L4 8
8 GND L5 + 1/2(L4) 12
9 GND T2 hi-Z winding 12
2 4 L1 8
5 6 L3 24
6 8 L5 8
2 3 L1 + 1/2(L2) 12
8 7 L5 + 1/2(L4) 12
Notes
1. See Figs 12.57 and 12.58 for the filter node locations.
2. Check your wiring using the resistance values in this table. If there is a significant difference
between your measured values and the table values, you have a wiring error that must be
corrected!
3. The resistances of L2 and L4 in the four other filters will be somewhat less than the 546-Hz
values.
For accurate measurements, use a high-quality digital ohmmeter.
of C1, C3 and C5 are adequate to support
the capacitors when their leads are soldered
to the stack terminals. Fig 1C is a photo of
the assembled filter installed in a Jameco
plastic box. Transformers T1 and T2 are
secured to the bottom of the plastic box with
more silicone sealant and are placed on
opposite sides of the DPDT switch. See the
photograph for the placement of the phone
jack and plug.
After the stack and capacitor wiring is
completed, the correctness of the wiring is
checked before installing the stack in the
box. To do this, check the measured node-
to-node resistances of the filter with the
values listed in Table 12.7.
12.34 Chapter 12
Fig 12.59 Measured attenuation responses of the 546- and 750-Hz filters. The
responses are plotted relative to the zero dB attenuation levels at the center
frequencies of the filters. The other filter response curves are similar, but centered
at their design frequency.
INTERFACING TO SOURCE AND
LOAD
The T1 and T2 transformers match the
filter to the receiver low-impedance audio
output and to an 8-ohm headset or speaker.
If your headset impedance is greater than
200 , omit T2 and connect a
1
/2-watt re-
sistor from node 9 (C5 output lead) to
ground. Choose the resistor so the parallel
combination of the headset impedance and
the resistor gives the correct filter termi-
nation impedance (within about 10% of
230 ).
PERFORMANCE
The measured 30-dB and 3-dB band-
widths of the 750-Hz filter are about 567
and 271 Hz, respectively. The 30/3-dB
shape factor is 2.09. Use this factor to
compare the selectivity performance of
this filter with others. Fig 12.59 shows
the measured relative attenuation re-
sponses of the 546-Hz and 750-Hz filters.
These responses were measured in a
200- system without the transformers.
All attenuation levels were measured
relative to a zero-dB attenuation level at
the filter center frequency.
The measured insertion loss of these
passive filters with transformers is
slightly less than 3 dB and this is typical of
filters of this type. This small loss is com-
pensated by slightly increasing the re-
ceiver audio gain.
R1 is selected to maintain a relatively
constant audio level when the filter is
switched in or out of the circuit. The correct
value of R1 for your audio system should
be determined by experiment and probably
will be between 6.8 and 50 . Start with a
short circuit across the S1A and B termi-
nals and gradually increase the resistance
until the audio level appears to be the same
with the filter in or out of the circuit.
Thousands of hams have constructed
this five-resonator filter, and many have
commented on its ease of assembly, ex-
cellent performance and lack of hiss and
ringing!
ORDERING PARTS/CONTACTING
THE AUTHOR
The author can provide a kit of parts
with detailed instructions for assembling
this filter at a nominal cost. The kit in-
cludes an inductor stack and two induc-
tors, a pre-punched plastic box with a
plastic mounting clip for the inductor
stack, five matched capacitors, two trans-
formers, a phone plug and jack and a
miniature DPDT switch. Write to Ed
Wetherhold, W3NQN, 1426 Catlyn Place,
Annapolis, MD 21401-4208 for details
about parts and prices. Be sure to include
a self-addressed, stamped 9
1
/2 4-inch en-
velope with your request.
Notes
1
Private correspondence from Steve Root,
KSR, in his letter to the author dated 5
September 2002. (Permission was re-
ceived to publish his comments.)
2
1994 ARRL Handbook, 71st edition, Robert
Schetgen, KU7G, Editor, pp 28-1,-2,
Simple High-Performance CW Filter.
3
Radio Handbook, 23rd edition, W. Orr,
W6SAI, Editor, Howard W. Sams & Co.,
1987 (1-Stack CW Filter), p 13-4,-5,-6.
4
Wetherhold, Modern Design of a CW Filter
using 88- and 44-mH Surplus Inductors,
QST, Dec. 1980, pp 14-19 and Feedback,
QST, Jan 1981, p 43.
5
Wetherhold, High-Performance CW Filter,
Ham Radio, Apr 1981, pp 18-25.
6
Wetherhold, CW and SSB Audio Filters
Using 88-mH Inductors, QEX, Dec 1988,
pp 3-10.
7
Wetherhold, A CW Filter for the Radio
Amateur Newcomer, RADIO COMMUNI-
CATION (Radio Society of Great Britain),
Jan 1985, pp 26-31.
8
Wetherhold, Easy-to-Build One-Stack CW
Filter Has High Performance and Low
Cost, SPRAT (Journal of the G-QRP
Club), Issue No. 54, Spring 1988, p 20.
9
Piero DeGregoris, I3DGF, Un Facile Filtro
CW ad alte prestazioni e basso costo,
Radio Rivista 12-93, pp 44, 45.
10
QRP Power, Rich Arland, K7SZ, contribut-
ing editor, May 2002 QST, p 96, Passive
CW Filters.
11
Ken Kaplan, WB2ART, Building the
W3NQN Passive Audio Filter, The Key-
note, Issue 7, 2002, pp 16-17, Newsletter
of FISTS CW Club.
12
MPP Cores for Filter and Inductor Applica-
tions, MAGNETICS 1991 Catalog, Butler,
PA, p 64.
RF and AF Filters 12.35
A BC-BAND ENERGY-REJECTION FILTER
Inadequate front-end selectivity or
poorly performing RF amplifier and mixer
stages often result in unwanted cross-talk
and overloading from adjacent commer-
cial or amateur stations. The filter shown
is inserted between the antenna and re-
ceiver. It attenuates the out-of-band sig-
nals from broadcast stations but passes
signals of interest (1.8 to 30 MHz) with
little or no attenuation.
The high signal strength of local broad-
cast stations requires that the stop-band
attenuation of the high-pass filter also be
high. This filter provides about 60 dB of
stop-band attenuation with less than 1 dB
of attenuation above 1.8 MHz. The filter
input and output ports match 50 with a
maximum SWR of 1.353:1 (reflection co-
efficient = 0.15). A 10-element filter yields
Fig 12.61 The filter fits easily in a 2
2 5-inch enclosure. The version in the
photo was built on a piece of perfboard.
Fig 12.60 Schematic, layout and response curve of the broadcast band
rejection filter.
adequate stop-band attenuation and a rea-
sonable rate of attenuation rise. The design
uses only standard-value capacitors.
BUILDING THE FILTER
The filter parts layout, schematic dia-
gram, response curve and component val-
ues are shown in Fig 12.60. The standard
capacitor values listed are within 2.8% of
the design values. If the attenuation peaks
(f2, f4 and f6) do not fall at 0.677, 1.293
and 1.111 MHz, tune the series-resonant
circuits by slightly squeezing or separat-
ing the inductor windings.
Construction of the filter is shown
in Fig 12.61. Use Panasonic NP0 ceramic
disk capacitors (ECC series, class 1) or
equivalent for values between 10 and
270 pF. For values between 330 pF and
0.033 F, use Panasonic P-series poly-
propylene (type ECQ-P) capacitors. These
capacitors are available through Digi-Key
and other suppliers. The powdered-iron
T-50-2 toroidal cores are available
through Amidon, Palomar Engineers and
others.
For a 3.4-MHz cutoff frequency, divide
the L and C values by 2. (This effectively
doubles the frequency-label values in Fig
12.60.) For the 80-m version, L2 through
L6 should be 20 to 25 turns each, wound
on T-50-6 cores. The actual turns required
may vary one or two from the calculated
values. Parallel-connect capacitors as
needed to achieve the nonstandard capaci-
tor values required for this filter.
FILTER PERFORMANCE
The measured filter performance is
shown in Fig 12.60. The stop-band attenu-
ation is more than 58 dB. The measured
cutoff frequency (less than 1 dB attenua-
tion) is under 1.8 MHz. The measured
passband loss is less than 0.8 dB from 1.8
to 10 MHz. Between 10 and 100 MHz, the
insertion loss of the filter gradually in-
creases to 2 dB. Input impedance was
measured between 1.7 and 4.2 MHz. Over
the range tested, the input impedance of
the filter remained within the 37 to 67.7-
input-impedance window (equivalent to a
maximum SWR of 1.353:1).
12.36 Chapter 12
A WAVE TRAP FOR BROADCAST STATIONS
Nearby medium-wave broadcast stations
can sometimes cause interference to HF
receivers over a broad range of frequencies.
This being the case, set a trap to catch the
unwanted frequencies.
OPERATION
The way the circuit works is quite
simple. Referring to Fig 12.62, you can see
that it consists essentially of only two com-
ponents, a coil L1 and a variable capacitor
C1. This series-tuned circuit is connected
in parallel with the antenna circuit of the
receiver. The characteristic of a series-
tuned circuit is that the coil and capacitor
have a very low impedance (resistance) to
frequencies very close to the frequency to
which the circuit is tuned. All other fre-
quencies are almost unaffected. If the cir-
cuit is tuned to 1530 kHz, for example, the
signals from a broadcast station on that fre-
quency will flow through the filter to
ground, rather than go on into the receiver.
All other frequencies will pass straight into
the receiver. In this way, any interference
caused in the receiver by the station on
1530 kHz is significantly reduced.
CONSTRUCTION
This is a series-tuned circuit that is adjust-
able from about 540 kHz to 1600 kHz. It
is built into a metal box, Fig 12.63, to shield
it from other unwanted signals and is con-
nected as shown in Fig 12.62. To make the
inductor, first make a former by winding two
layers of paper on the ferrite rod. Fix this
in place with black electrical tape. Next, lay
one end of the wire for the coil on top of
the former, leaving about an inch of wire
protruding beyond the end of the ferrite rod.
Use several turns of electrical tape to secure
the wire to the former. Now, wind the coil
along the former, making sure the turns are
in a single layer and close together. Leave
an inch or so of wire free at the end of the
coil. Once again, use a couple of turns of
electrical tape to secure the wire to the
former. Finally, remove half an inch of
enamel from each end of the wire.
Alternatively, if you have an old AM
transistor radio, a suitable coil can usually
be recovered already wound on a ferrite
rod. Ignore any small coupling coils. Drill
the box to take the components, then fit
them in and solder together as shown in
Fig 12.64. Make sure the lid of the box is
fixed securely in place, or the wave traps
performance will be adversely affected by
pick-up on the components.
CONNECTION AND ADJUSTMENT
Connect the wave trap between the
antenna and the receiver, then tune C1
Components List
Inductor
L1 80 turns of 30 SWG
enamelled wire, wound
on a ferrite rod
Fig 12.62 The wave trap consists
of a series tuned circuit, which
shunts signals on an unwanted
frequency to ground.
Fig 12.63 The wave trap can be
roughly calibrated to indicate the
frequency to which it is tuned.
Fig 12.64 Wiring of the wave trap. The ferrite rod is held in place with
cable clips.
Capacitor
C1 300 pF polyvaricon
variable
Associated items
Case (die-cast box)
Knob to suit
Sockets to suit
Nuts and bolts
Plastic cable clips
until the interference from the offending
broadcast station is a minimum. You may
not be able to eliminate interference com-
pletely, but this handy little device should
reduce it enough to listen to the amateur
bands. Lets say you live near an AM trans-
mitter on 1530 kHz, and the signals break
through on your 1.8-MHz receiver. By
tuning the trap to 1530 kHz, the problem is
greatly reduced. If you have problems
from more than one broadcast station, the
problem needs a more complex solution.
RF and AF Filters 12.37
SECOND-HARMONIC-OPTIMIZED (CWAZ) LOW-PASS FILTERS
1
The FCC requires transmitter spurious
outputs below 30 MHz to be attenuated by
40 dB or more for power levels between
5 and 500 W. For power levels greater
than 5 W, the typical second-harmonic
attenuation (40-dB) of a seven-element
Chebyshev low-pass filter (LPF) is mar-
ginal. An additional 10 dB of attenuation
is needed to ensure compliance with the
FCC requirement.
Jim Tonne, WB6BLD, solved the
problem of significantly increasing the sec-
ond-harmonic attenuation of the seven-
element Chebyshev LPF while maintain-
ing an acceptable return loss (> 20 dB) over
the amateur passband. Jims idea was pre-
sented in February 1999 QST by Ed
Wetherhold, W3NQN. These filters are
most useful with single-band, single-device
transmitters. Common medium-power
multiband transceivers use push-pull power
amplifiers because such amplifiers inher-
ently suppress the second harmonic.
Tonne modified a seven-element
Chebyshev standard-value capacitor (SVC)
LPF to obtain an additional 10 dB of stop-
band loss at the second-harmonic fre-
quency. He did this by adding a capacitor
across the center inductor to form a reso-
nant circuit. Unfortunately, return loss
(RL) decreased to an unacceptable level,
less than 12.5 dB. He needed a way to add
the resonant circuit, while maintaining
an acceptable RL level over the passband.
The typical LPF, and the Chebyshev
SVC designs listed in this chapter all have
acceptable RL levels that extend from the
filter ripple-cutoff frequency down to dc.
For many Amateur Radio applications, we
need an acceptable RL only over the ama-
teur band for which the LPF is designed.
We can trade RL levels below the amateur
band for improved RL in the passband, and
simultaneously increase the stop-band
loss at the second-harmonic frequency.
THE CWAZ LOW-PASS FILTER
This new eight-element LPF has a to-
pology similar to that of the seven-element
Chebyshev LPF, with two exceptions: The
center inductor is resonated at the second
harmonic in the filter stop band, and the
component values are adjusted to main-
tain a more than acceptable RL across the
amateur passband. To distinguish this new
LPF from the SVC Chebyshev LPF,
Wetherhold named it the Chebyshev with
Added Zero or CWAZ LPF design.
You should understand that CWAZ
LPFs are output filters for single-band
transmitters. They provide optimum sec-
ond and higher harmonic attenuation
while maintaining a suitable level of
Table 12.8
CWAZ 50- Low-Pass Filters
Designed for second-harmonic attenuation in amateur bands below 30 MHz.
Start
Band Frequency C1,7 C3,5 C4 L2,6 L4 F4
(m) (MHz) (pF) (pF) (pF) (H) (H) (MHz)
1.00 2986 4556 680.1 9.377 8.516 2.091
1659 2531 378 3.76
160 1.80 1450 + 220 2100 + 470 5.21 4.73
1500 + 150 2200 + 330 330 + 47 3.78
853 1302 194 7.32
80 3.50 1150 + 150 2.68 2.43
470 + 390 1200 + 100 150 + 47 7.27
427 651 97.2 14.6
40 7.00 1.34 1.22
330 + 100 330 + 330 100 14.4
296 451 67.3 21.1
30 10.1 0.928 0.843
150 + 150 470 68 21.0
213 325 48.6 29.3
20 14.0 0.670 0.608
220 330 47 29.8
165 252 37.6 37.8
17 18.068 0.519 0.471
82 + 82 100 + 150 39 37.1
142 217 32.4 43.9
15 21.0 0.447 0.406
150 220 33 43.5
120 183 27.3 52.0
12 24.89 0.377 0.342
120 180 27 52.4
107 163 24.3 58.5
10 28.0 0.335 0.304
100 82 + 82 27 55.6
NOTE: The CWAZ low-pass filters are designed for a single amateur band to provide more than
50-dB attenuation to the second harmonic of the fundamental frequency and to the higher
harmonics. All component values for any particular band are calculated by dividing the 1-MHz
values in the first row (included for reference only) by the start frequency of the selected band.
The upper capacitor values in each row show the calculated design values obtained by dividing
the 1-MHz capacitor values by the amateur-band start frequency in megahertz. The lower
standard-capacitor values are suggested as a convenient way to realize the design values. The
middle capacitor values in the 160- and 80-meter-band designs are suggested values when the
high-value capacitors (greater than 1000 pF) are on the low side of their tolerance range. The
design F4 frequency (see upper value in the F4 column) is calculated by multiplying the 1-MHz
F4 value by the start frequency of the band. The lower number in the F4 column is the F4
frequency based on the suggested lower capacitor value and the listed L4 value.
Fig 12.65 Schematic diagram of a CWAZ low-pass filter designed for maximum
second-harmonic attenuation. See Table 12.8 for component values of CWAZ 50-
designs. L4 and C4 are tuned to resonate at the F4 frequency given in Table 12.8.
For an output power of 10 W into a 50- load, the RMS output voltage is
V 22.4 50 10 = Consequently, a 100 V dc capacitor derated to 60 V (for RF
filtering) is adequate for use in these LPFs if the load SWR is less than 2.5:1.
.
12.38 Chapter 12
Fig 12.66 Schematic diagram of a 20-meter SVC Chebyshev LPF.
Fig 12.67 The plots show the ELSIE computer-calculated
return- and insertion-loss responses of the seventh-order
Chebyshev SVC low-pass filter shown in Fig 12.66. The
20-meter passband RL is about 21 dB, and the insertion loss
over the second-harmonic frequency band ranges from 35 to
39 dB. A listing of the component values is included.
Fig 12.68 The plots show the ELSIE computer-calculated
return- and insertion-loss responses of the eight-element
low-pass filter using the CWAZ capacitor and inductor
values listed in Table 12.8 for the 20-meter low-pass filter.
Notice that the calculated attenuation to second-harmonic
signals is greater than 60 dB, while RL over the 20-meter
passband is greater than 25 dB.
return loss over the amateur band for
which theyre designed.
Fig 12.65 shows a schematic diagram
of a CWAZ LPF design. Table 12.8 lists
suggested capacitor and inductor values
for all amateur bands from 160 through
10 meters. If you want to calculate
CWAZ values for different bands, sim-
ply divide the first-row C and L values
(for 1 MHz) by the start frequency of the
desired band. For example, C1, 7 for the
160-meter design is equal to 2986/1.80 =
1659 pF. The other component values for
the 160-meter LPF are calculated in a
similar manner.
CWAZ VERSUS SEVENTH-ORDER
SVC
1
The easiest way to demonstrate the supe-
riority of a CWAZ LPF over the Chebyshev
LPF is to compare the RL and insertion-
loss responses of these two designs.
Fig 12.66 shows a 20-meter SVC Chebyshev
LPF design based on the SVC tables on the
Handbook CD-ROM. Fig 12.67 shows the
computer-calculated return- and insertion-
loss responses of the LPF shown in
Fig 12.66. The plotted responses were
made using Jim Tonnes ELSIE filter
design and analysis software. The Win-
dows-based program is available from this
web site http://tonnesoftware.com.
1
Fig 12.68 shows the computer-calculated
return- and insertion-loss responses of a
CWAZ LPF intended to replace the seven-
element 20-meter Chebyshev SVC LPF. The
stop-band attenuation of the CWAZ LPF
in the second-harmonic band is more than
60 dB and is substantially greater than that
of the Chebyshev LPF. Also, the pass-band
RL of the CWAZ LPF is quite satisfactory,
at more than 25 dB. The disadvantages of
the CWAZ design are that an extra capacitor
is needed across L4, and several of the de-
signs listed in Table 12.8 require paralleled
capacitors to realize the design values. Nev-
ertheless, these disadvantages are minor in
comparison to the increased second-har-
monic stop-band attenuation that is possible
with a CWAZ design.
Notes
1
Those seriously interested in passive LC fil-
ter design can experience the capabilities
of ELSIE software. The student version of
this software permits filter design configu-
rations up to the 7
th
Order, 7
th
Stage level.
The software can be downloaded from the
web site of Jim Tonne (WB6BLD) at this
URL: http://tonnesoftware.com/.
RF and AF Filters 12.39
THE DIPLEXER FILTER
This section, covering diplexer filters,
was written by William E. Sabin, WIYH.
The diplexer is helpful in certain applica-
tions, and Chapter 11 shows them used as
frequency mixer terminations.
Diplexers have a constant filter-input
resistance that extends to the stop band as
well as the passband. Ordinary filters that
become highly reactive or have an open or
short-circuit input impedance outside the
passband may degrade performance.
Fig 12.69 shows a normalized prototype
5-element, 0.1-dB Chebyshev low-pass/
high-pass (LP/HP) filter. This idealized fil-
ter is driven by a voltage generator with zero
internal resistance, has load resistors of
1.0 and a cutoff frequency of 1.0 radian
per second (0.1592 Hz). The LP prototype
values are taken from standard filter tables.
1
The first element is a series inductor. The
HP prototype is found by:
a) replacing the series L (LP) with a
series C (HP) whose value is 1/L, and
b) replacing the shunt C (LP) with a
shunt L (HP) whose value is 1/C.
For the Chebyshev filter, the return loss
is improved several dB by multiplying the
prototype LP values by an experimentally
derived number, K, and dividing the HP
values by the same K. You can calculate
the LP values in henrys and farads for a
50- RF application with the following
formulas:
R f 2
KC
C ;
f 2
R KL
L
CO
P(LP)
LP
CO
P(LP)
LP
t
=
t
=
where
L
P(LP)
and C
P(LP)
are LP prototype
values
K = 1.005 (in this specific example)
R = 50
f
CO
= the cutoff (3-dB response) fre-
quency in Hz.
For the HP segment:
KR f 2
C
C ;
f 2
R L
L
CO
P(HP)
HP
CO
P(HP)
HP
t
=
t
=
K
where L
P(HP)
and C
P(HP)
are HP prototype
values.
Fig 12.70 shows the LP and HP re-
sponses of a diplexer filter for the 80-meter
band. The following items are to be noted:
The 3 dB responses of the LP and HP
meet at 5.45 MHz.
The input impedance is close to 50 at
all frequencies, as indicated by the high
value of return loss (SWR <1.07:1).
At and near 5.45 MHz, the LP input re-
actance and the HP input reactance are
conjugates; therefore, they cancel and
produce an almost perfect 50- input
resistance in that region.
Fig 12.69 Low-pass and high-pass prototype diplexer filter design. The low-pass
portion is at the top, and the high-pass at the bottom of the drawing. See text.
Fig 12.70 Response for the low-pass and high-pass portions of the 80-meter
diplexer filter. Also shown is the return loss of the filter.
Because of the way the diplexer filter is
derived from synthesis procedures, the
transfer characteristic of the filter is
mostly independent of the actual value
of the amplifier dynamic output imped-
ance.
2
This is a useful feature, since the
RF power amplifier output impedance
is usually not known or specified.
The 80-meter band is well within the LP
response.
The HP response is down more than
20 dB at 4 MHz.
The second harmonic of 3.5 MHz is
down only 18 dB at 7.0 MHz. Because
the second harmonic attenuation of the
LP is not great, it is necessary that the
amplifier itself be a well-balanced push-
pull design that greatly rejects the
second harmonic. In practice this is not
a difficult task.
The third harmonic of 3.5 MHz is down
almost 40 dB at 10.5 MHz.
Fig 12.71A shows the unfiltered of a
solid-state push-pull power amplifier for
the 80-meter band. In the figure you can
see that:
The second harmonic has been sup-
pressed by a proper push-pull design.
The third harmonic is typically only
15 dB or less below the fundamental.
The amplifier output goes through our
diplexer filter. The desired output comes
from the LP side, and is shown in Fig 12.71B.
In it we see that:
The fundamental is attenuated only
about 0.2 dB.
The LP has some harmonic content;
however, the attenuation exceeds FCC
requirements for a 100-W amplifier.
12.40 Chapter 12
Fig 12.71 At A, the output spectrum of a push-pull 80-meter amplifier. At B, the spectrum after passing through the
low-pass filter. At C, the spectrum after passing through the high-pass filter.
(A) (B)
(C)
Fig 12.71C shows the HP output of the
diplexer that terminates in the HP load or
dump resistor. A small amount of the funda-
mental frequency (about 1%) is also lost in
this resistor. Within the 3.5 to 4.0 MHz
band, the filter input resistance is almost
exactly the correct 50- load resistance
value. This is because power that would
otherwise be reflected back to the amplifier
is absorbed in the dump resistor.
Solid state power amplifiers tend to
have stability problems that can be diffi-
cult to debug.
3
These problems may be
evidenced by level changes in: load im-
pedance, drive, gate or base bias, B+, etc.
Problems may arise from:
The reactance of the low-pass filter out-
side the desired passband. This is espe-
cially true for transistors that are
designed for high-frequency operation.
Self resonance of a series inductor at
some high frequency.
A stopband impedance that causes volt-
age, current and impedance reflections
back to the amplifier, creating instabili-
ties within the output transistors.
Intermodulation performance can also
be degraded by these reflections. The
strong third harmonic is especially both-
ersome for these problems.
The diplexer filter is an approach that
can greatly simplify the design process,
especially for the amateur with limited
PA-design experience and with limited
home-lab facilities. For these reasons, the
amateur homebrew enthusiast may want
to consider this solution, despite its
slightly greater parts count and expense.
The diplexer is a good technique for
narrowband applications such as the HF
amateur bands.
4
From Fig 12.70, we see
that if the signal frequency is moved
beyond 4.0 MHz the amount of desired
signal lost in the dump resistor becomes
large. For signal frequencies below
3.5 MHz the harmonic reduction may be
inadequate. A single filter will not suffice
for all the HF amateur bands.
This treatment provides you with the
information to calculate your own filters.
AQEX article has detailed instructions for
building and testing a set of six filters for
a 120-W amplifier. These filters cover all
nine of the MF/HF amateur bands.
5
Check
ARRLWeb at: www.arrl.org/qex/.
You can use this technique for other fil-
ters such as Bessel, Butterworth, linear
phase, Chebyshev 0.5, 1.0, etc.
6
However,
the diplexer idea does not apply to the el-
liptic function types.
The diplexer approach is a resource that
can be used in any application where a
constant value of filter input resistance
over a wide range of passband and
stopband frequencies is desirable for some
reason. The ARRL Radio Designer pro-
gram is an ideal way to finalize the design
before the actual construction.
7
The coil
dimensions and the dump resistor wattage
need to be determined from a consider-
ation of the power levels involved, as illus-
trated in Fig 12.71.
Another significant application of the
diplexer is for elimination of EMI, RFI and
TVI energy. Instead of being reflected and
very possibly escaping by some other
route, the unwanted energy is dissipated
in the dump resistor.
7
Notes
1
Williams, A. and Taylor, F., Electronic Filter
Design Handbook, any edition, McGraw-
Hill.
2
Storer, J.E., Passive Network Synthesis,
McGraw-Hill 1957, pp 168-170. This book
shows that the input resistance is ideally
constant in the passband and the stopband
and that the filter transfer characteristic is
ideally independent of the generator im-
pedance.
3
Sabin, W. and Schoenike, E., HF Radio
Systems and Circuits, Chapter 12, Noble
Publishing, 1998. This publication is avail-
able from ARRL as Order no. 7253. It can
be ordered at: www.arrl.org/catalog/.
Also the previous edition of this book,
Single-Sideband Systems and Circuits,
McGraw-Hill, 1987 or 1995.
4
Dye, N. and Granberg, H., Radio Frequency
Transistors, Principles and Applications,
Butterworth-Heinemann, 1993, p 151.
5
Sabin, W.E. WIYH, Diplexer Filters for the
HF MOSFET Power Amplifier, QEX, Jul/
Aug, 1999. Also check ARRLWeb at:
www.arrl.org/qex/.
6
See note 1. Electronic Filter Design Hand-
book has LP prototype values for various
filter types, and for complexities from 2 to
10 components.
7
Weinrich, R. and Carroll, R.W., Absorptive
Filters for TV Harmonics, QST, Nov 1968,
pp 10-25.
OTHER FILTER PROJECTS
Filters for specific applications may be
found in other chapters of this Handbook.
Receiver input filters, transmitter filters,
interstage filters and others can be sepa-
rated from the various projects and built
for other applications. Since filters are a
first line of defense against electromag-
netic interference (EMI) problems, the
following filter projects appear in the
EMI/Direction Finding chapter:
Differential-mode high-pass filter for
75- coax (for TV reception)
Brute-force ac-line filter
Loudspeaker common-mode choke
LC filter for speaker leads
Audio equipment input filter
REFERENCES
1. O. Zobel, Theory and Design of Elec-
tric Wave Filters, Bell System Techni-
cal Journal, Jan 1923.
2. ARRL Handbook, 1968, p 50.
3. S. Butterworth, On the Theory of Filter
Amplifiers, Experimental Wireless
and Wireless Engineer, Oct 1930, pp
536-541.
4. S. Darlington, Synthesis of Reactance
4-Poles Which Produce Prescribed In-
sertion Loss Characteristics, Journal
of Mathematics and Physics, Sep 1939,
pp 257-353.
RF and AF Filters 12.41
5. L. Weinberg, Network Design by use of
Modern Synthesis Techniques and
Tables, Proceedings of the National
Electronics Conference, vol 12, 1956.
6. Laplace Transforms: P. Chirlian, Basic
Network Theory, McGraw Hill, 1969.
7. Fourier Transforms: Reference Data for
Engineers, Chapter 7, 7th edition,
Howard Sams, 1985.
8. Cauer Elliptic Filters: The Design of Fil-
ters Using the Catalog of Normalized
Low-Pass Filters, Telefunken, 1966.
Also Ref 7, pp 9-5 to 9-11.
9. M. Dishal, Top Coupled Band-pass Fil-
ters, IT&T Handbook, 4th edition,
American Book, Inc, 1956, p 216.
10. W. E. Sabin, WIYH, Designing Nar-
row Band-Pass Filters with a BASIC
Program, May 1983, QST, pp 23-29.
11. U. R. Rohde, DJ2LR, Crystal Filter
Design with Small Computers May
1981, QST, p 18.
12. J. A. Hardcastle, G3JIR, Ladder Crys-
tal Filter Design, Nov 1980, QST, p 20.
13. W. Hayward, W7ZOI, A Unified Ap-
proach to the Design of Ladder Crystal
Filters, May 1982, QST, p 21.
13a. J. Makhinson, N6NWP, Designing
and Building High-Performance Crystal
Ladder Filters, Jan 1995, QEX, pp 3-17.
13b. W. Hayward, W7ZOI, Refinements
in Crystal Ladder Filter Design, June
1995, QEX, pp 16-21.
14. R. Fisher, W2CQH, Combline VHF
Band-pass Filters, Dec 1968, QST, p 44.
15. R. Fisher, W2CQH, Interdigital Band-
pass Filters for Amateur VHF/UHF
Applications, Mar 1968, QST, p 32.
16. W. S. Metcalf, Graphs Speed Inter-
digitated Filter Design, Microwaves,
Feb 1967.
17. A. Zverev, Handbook of Filter Synthe-
sis, John Wiley and Sons.
18. R. Saal, The Design of Filters Using the
Catalog of Normalized Low-Pass Fil-
ters, Telefunken.
19. P. Geffe, Simplified Modern Filter
Design (New York: John F. Rider, a di-
vision of Hayden Publishing Co, 1963).
20. A Handbook on Electrical Filters
(Rockville, Maryland: White Electro-
magnetics, 1963).
21. A. B. Williams, Electronic Filter De-
sign Handbook (New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1981).
22. Reference Data for Radio Engineers,
6th edition, Table 2, p 5-3 (Indianapolis,
IN: Howard W. Sams & Co, 1981).
23. R. Frost, Large-Scale S Parameters
Help Analyze Stability, Electronic De-
sign, May 24, 1980.
24. Edward E. Wetherhold, W3NQN,
Modern Design of a CW Filter Using 88
and 44-mH Surplus Inductors, Dec
1980, QST, pp14-19. See also Feedback
in Jan 1981, QST, p 43.
25. E. Wetherhold, W3NQN, CW and
SSB Audio Filters Using 88-mH Induc-
tors, QEX-82, pp 3-10, Dec 1988; Radio
Handbook, 23rd edition, W. Orr, editor,
p 13-4, Howard W. Sams and Co., 1987;
and, A CW Filter for the Radio Amateur
Newcomer, Radio Communication, pp
26-31, Jan 1985, RSGB.
26. M. Dishal, Modern Network Theory
Design of Single Sideband Crystal Lad-
der Filters, Proc IEEE, Vol 53, No 9,
Sep 1965.
27. J.A. Hardcastle, G3JIR, Computer-
Aided Ladder Crystal Filter Design,
Radio Communication, May 1983.
28. John Pivnichny, N2DCH, Ladder
Crystal Filters, MFJ Publishing Co, Inc.
29. D. Jansson, WD4FAB and E.
Wetherhold, W3NQN, High-Pass Fil-
ters to Combat TVI, Feb 1987, QEX,
pp 7-8 and 13.
30. E. Wetherhold, W3NQN, Band-Stop
Filters for Attenuating High-Level
Broadcast-Band Signals, Nov 1995,
QEX, pp 3-12.
31. T. Moliere, DL7AV, Band-Reject Fil-
ters for Multi-Multi Contest Opera-
tions, Feb 1996, CQ Contest, pp 14-22.
32. T. Cefalo Jr, WA1SPI, Diplexers,
Some Practical Applications, Fall 1997,
Communications Quarterly, pp 19-24.
33. R. Lumachi, WB2CQM. How to
Silverplate RF Tank Circuits, Dec 1997,
73 Amateur Radio Today, pp 18-23.
34. W. Hayward, W7ZOI, Extending the
Double-Tuned Circuit to Three Resona-
tors, Mar/Apr 1998, QEX, pp 41-46.
35. P. R. Cope, W2GOM/7, The Twin-T
Filter, July/Aug 1998, QEX, pp 45-49.
36. J. Tonne, WB6BLD, Harmonic Filters,
Improved, Sept/Oct 1998, QEX, pp 50-
53.
37. E. Wetherhold, W3NQN, Second-Har-
monic-Optimized Low-Pass Filters,
Feb 1999, QST, pp 44-46.
38. F. Heemstra, KT3J, A Double-Tuned
Active Filter with Interactive Coupling,
Mar/Apr 1999, QEX, pp 25-29.
39. E. Wetherhold, W3NQN, Clean Up
Your Signals with Band-Pass Filters,
Parts 1 and 2, May and June 1998, QST,
pp 44-48 and 39-42.
40. B. Bartlett, VK4UW and J. Loftus,
VK4EMM, Band-Pass Filters for Con-
testing, Jan 2000, National Contest
Journal, pp 11-15.
41. W. Sabin, WIYH, Diplexer Filters
for the HF MOSFET Power Amplifier,
July/Aug 1999, QEX, pp 20-26.
42. W. Sabin, WIYH, Narrow Band-Pass
Filters for HF, Sept/Oct 2000, QEX, pp
13-17.
43. Z. Lau, W1VT, A Narrow 80-Meter
Band-Pass Filter, Sept/Oct 1998, QEX,
p 57.
44. E. Wetherhold, W3NQN, Receiver
Band-Pass Filters Having Maximum
Attenuation in Adjacent Bands, July/
Aug 1999, QEX, pp 27-33.