XR2206 Function Generator

Assembly & Operations Manual

By Steven Vagts

Z-100 LifeLine
Insert, Issue #132

XR2206 Function Generator Description:

As I described back in issue #130 of the Z-100 LifeLine, test equipment can be quite
expensive pieces of hardware, especially for hobbyists or beginners. But fortunately,
there are some really cheap Do It Yourself (DIY) kits from China that are available
for less than $10-20.00 on Ebay.

One such kit is the XR2206 Function Generator Kit. The kit does not require a lot of
soldering experience, so it makes a great learning project in soldering and kit
assembly, while also providing a great addition to the electronics workshop. It uses
only though-hole components. Nevertheless, a soldering iron with a needle point tip
would be very helpful here. Additionally, there are silk-screened labels on the
circuit board that show you where each component should be placed.

The XR2206 Function Generator can generate three types of stable wave forms (sine,
triangular, and square wave) with a frequency range from 1Hz to 1MHz and an adjustable
amplitude. It uses an AC/DC power adapter (9-12Vdc, 30mA of current).

Please note, this item ships from an international seller. Expected delivery is 10-15
days.

XR2206 Function Generator Features:

* Based on the XR2206 chip.

* Small Size: Finished case measures 2.19" wide x 2.81" long x 1.3" high
* Adjustable Frequency Range: 1 Hz to 1 MHz.
* Generates three waveforms:
- Sine Wave:
+ Adjustable Amplitude: 0-3Vdc at 9Vdc input
+ Distortion: Less than 1% (at 1KHz)
+ Flatness: +0.05db 1Hz - 100KHz
- Triangle Wave:
+ Adjustable Amplitude: 0-3Vdc at 9Vdc input
+ Linearity: Less than 1% (up to 100KHz) 10mA
- Square Wave:
+ Amplitude: 8V (no load) at 9Vdc input
+ Rise/Fall Time: Less than 50ns/30ns (at 1KHz)
+ Symmetry: Less than 5% (at 1KHz)
* An easy to construct acrylic case in included.
* Power Supply Required: 9-12Vdc (not included)

Caution: At voltages greater than 12Vdc, the output waveform becomes unstable.
Physical Layout of the XR2206 Function Generator:
Power:

The XR2206 Function Generator requires

power from an external 5-9Vdc AC/DC
power supply or a 9V battery with
modified cable adapter to connect to
the 2.1mm x 5.5mm power jack. There is
no ON/OFF switch. When power is
applied, the unit is ON.

Controls:

The Function Generator uses three

adjustment potentiometers:

* Amplitude Adjustment
* Fine Frequency Adjustment
* Coarse Frequency Adjustment

Assembly:

Note: For a full, more detailed article on the assembly of the XR2206 Function
Generator, please check out the website:

https://www.makeradvisor.com/xr2206-function-generator-diy-kit-review

It was created with the novice in mind,

with plenty of photographs.

The following description is provided

here in the event that the website
mentioned above is removed or becomes
unavailable. This description also
assumes a more experienced hobbyist and
will provide more of a summary of
procedures, with some details and hints
that I found were omitted during my
construction.

All the parts needed to construct the

Tester are provided, with a two page,
nearly unreadable instruction sheet.
This manual will guide you through the
rather simple construction and operation
of this Generator.

A schematic is included at the end.

Assembly will require the following tools:

Ohmmeter and Capacitor Checker (recommended)
Needle tip soldering iron or gun
Thin electronics solder w/flux core
Fine solder wick or desoldering braid for mistakes
Needle nose pliers
Diagonal side cutters
Phillip’s head screwdriver
5-9Vdc AC/DC power adapter or 9Vdc battery
Before beginning construction, identify and compare the parts you received with the
following list. I also suggest that you check those parts that you can with an ohm-
meter and capacitor checker, if they are available. All parts are new; however, in the
two frequency counter kits that I have constructed, I found I was missing a 3-pin
header and had an extra push button switch. In the other China kits that I have
constructed so far, I also found a shorted capacitor and a resistor included in one
kit of the wrong value. A little extra time here to check components now, will save
considerable time trying to troubleshoot a malfunctioning assembly.

Parts List: (Numbers in parentheses show component markings)

ID: Component Description: Number:

R4 330 ohm, 1/4W, 1%, Metal Film Resistor 1 [ ]
R1 1K ohm, 1/4W, 1%, Metal Film Resistor 1 [ ]
R3,R5,R6 5.1K ohm, 1/4W, 1%, Metal Film Resistor 3 [ ]
R2,R7 50K ohm (B503), Adjustable Potentiometer 2 [ ]
R8 100K ohm (B104), Adjustable Potentiometer 1 [ ]
C8 100pF, 20%, (101), Ceramic Capacitor 1 [ ]
C7 2200pF, 20%, (222), Ceramic Capacitor 1 [ ]
C6 0.047uF, 20%, (473), Ceramic Capacitor 1 [ ]
C2 0.1uF, 20%, (104), Ceramic Capacitor 1 [ ]
C5 1.0uF, 20%, (105), Ceramic Capacitor 1 [ ]
C3,C4 10uF, 20%, Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor 2 [ ]
C1 100uF, 20%, Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor 1 [ ]
U1 XR2206, Integrated Circuit 1 [ ]
JK1 DC Jack, 2.1mm (ID) x 5.5mm (OD) 1 [ ]
J1,J2 Jumper cap, 2-pin, XM2.54 2 [ ]
P1 Connector Block, 3-pin, screw type 1 [ ]
Main Circuit Board, 3" x 2.4" 1 [ ]
10-pin double Header 1 [ ]
4-pin double Header 1 [ ]
Acrylic Case Parts 6 [ ]
Machine Screws, 3mm x 15.8mm 4 [ ]
Machine Screws, 3mm x 6.35mm 4 [ ]
Nuts, 2mm 4 [ ]

Assembly Procedures:

Begin assembly by inspecting the bare board.

Get a feel for the layout of the parts,

part numbers, and what is going to go
where. The component side is the side
with the silk screening, and while there
may be some silk screening on the solder
side, for our small kits, all the parts
will be installed on the component side
of the circuit board (left board in the
picture).

Hint: I always suggest installing those

components with the lowest vertical
profile first. This keeps the circuit
board flat and stable for as long as
possible during the assembly and
soldering process. So, I usually start
with any surface mounted components,
while the board is empty and most
stable. This kit does not have any.

Hint: Using a spare cotton towel under the circuit board helps protect the work
surface and stabilize the board during soldering.
Hint: All the solder pins on this board are adequately separated, however, if you
accidently create a solder bridge across 2 or 3 pins, place solder wick over the
solder bridge and carefully heat the wick only until solder flows into the wick.
Take care not to overheat the component!

As this kit has no surface mounted

components, begin with installation of
the resistors. You may install them one
at a time, but I suggest inserting all
the resistors, bending the leads
slightly to keep them in place. Then
turn the board over and solder all the
leads at once, clipping off the excess
leads as you go.

For a small project such as this, the

group method also ensures that all of
the resistors are of the correct value,
used correctly and in their proper
location, BEFORE soldering any in place!

Next, install the ceramic capacitors

(next in the height profile) and use the
same techniques we used for the
resistors - inserting them all, bending
the leads to ensure they stay in place,
then soldering and clipping the leads at
one time, if you desire.

Next, install the IC socket.

Hint: When you install multi-pin components, such as the 16-pin IC socket, always
solder one lead at each end of the component first, check to insure the component is
fully inserted in the board (not tilted to one side or one end is not fully seated),
before soldering the remaining pins. It is much easier to fix a tilted socket with
only one pin to heat to reposition the socket.

When installing the 16-pin IC socket,

watch for the half-moon notch on one
end! Install the socket so that this
notch is over the similar notch symbol
on the silk-screened circuit board. Do
not install the IC until after the rest
of the components have been installed
and the solder side of the board has
been inspected and cleaned.

Install the electrolytic capacitors and

any transistors (there are no transis-
tors in this kit).
 The next parts (in height profile) are
the DC jack at position JK1, the 3-pin
screw-type connector terminal at position
P1 and the 10-pin and 4-pin headers.

We have only the potentiometers left to

install and we leave them to last to
avoid damage during cleaning.

It is time to visually check your work

looking for solder bridges, parts with
cold solder joints (meaning a poor
connection; not having the same appear-
ance of smooth solder flow as the other
solder joints), or open, unsoldered
joints.

If you have an ohmmeter, check joints near each other for shorts.

Next, clean the solder side of the board. Many use a special flux cleaner product to
clean the soldering side. Personally, I check each solder connection and use a fine
screwdriver or dental pick to scrape away any flux residue, then use a damp toothbrush
to remove the scraped residue.

When you are satisfied that the board

is as good as you can make it, it is
time to install the three adjustable
potentiometers. Double check the values
stamped on the sides of each unit and
place in their respective holes.

Install the integrated circuit, look

for a dot or notch to indicate where
pin 1 is located. Watch that you do not
bend any pins under as you carefully
insert the IC into its socket (see
Hint, next).

Hint: IC's generally come with their pins spread apart just a little further than the
width of the IC socket. You can carefully bend these pins closer together by placing
the IC on its side on the work table, and gently pressing the pins toward the center
of the IC by rotating the IC just slightly. Do the same with the other side.

Leave the knobs until testing is completed and you are ready to assemble the case.

Congratulate yourself on a fine job!

Operation:
Operation is simple. There is no ON/OFF switch. Plug in the 5-9Vdc power supply or a
9v battery with a cable adapter and the device turns ON.

The frequency generator comes with three knobs. One for amplitude adjustment, and
other two for fine and coarse frequency adjustment. There’s a jumper cap you use to
select a frequency range. The other jumper cap should be placed to select one of the
three waveforms for the output.

To test the function generator, apply a 9 to 12V power supply. You will need an
oscilloscope to test this kit, such as the low-cost DSO138 digital oscilloscope, which
will be reviewed in another, future issue. This following pictures are from my Z-100
Heathkit Digital Scope.

Here are the sinusoidal (left), triangular (right), and square wave signals.

The function generator performed quite well

producing very stable sinusoidal, triangular
and square wave signals. When testing the
kit, we have noticed that the leading edge
of the square wave was slightly rounded
(possibly due to the length of the input
cable).
Theory of Operation:
The heart of this circuit is the integrated circuit XR-2206, which has a structure
consisting of three main parts.

1. Voltage Control Oscillator (VCO) that has a frequency that depends upon the value
of the capacitor between pin 5-6 and the resistor between the pin 7-8.
The output is a synchronous signal or a square wave signal. The synchronous signal is
supplied to the management waveform circuit.

2. The Management Waveform Circuit permits having a sinusoidal waveform or a

triangular waveform as required by changing the resistance of the legs 13-14.

3. The Buffer Circuit is responsible for managing the output impedance of the circuit
at low values, and for the extension to other circuits as well.

From the generic XR2206 function generator circuit shown, it can be seen that switch
S1 selects the frequency range by selecting the capacitance value between pins 5-6:
* 1-100 Hz
* 100-10,000 Hz
* 10,000-1,000,000 Hz

Adjust the frequency desired by changing the value achieved by the VR3.

Next, VR2 is used to adjust the gain ratio of the circuit by the fine control, VR1, to
get the maximum output 1V. Then VR5 is adjusted to balance the waveform.

Switch SW2 is selects the signal output of a sine wave or sawtooth waveform.

The signal output is entered through the buffer circuit Q1 and Q2 to C9.

For the square wave signal, output will be out to pin 11 of IC2, and then to the
transistor buffer circuit for output at the emitter pin. The square wave signal will
have a signal strength of about 12 volts peak to peak, depending upon the input
voltage. So if you want to use TTL circuits using a 5Vdc voltage, you must add a DC
converter circuit with IC-SN74LS00.
How to Use a Function Generator
A function generator is generally used for testing the response of circuits to common
input signals. The function generator produces a variety of voltage patterns at
different frequencies and amplitudes. You connect the function generator’s electrical
leads to the ground and the signal input terminals of the device under test (DUT).

Function Generator Controls:

* Amplitude Control: The Amplitude Control changes the signal strength, which
is the voltage difference between the output signal’s high and low voltage. Its direct
current (DC) offset control changes the signal’s average voltage with regard to the
ground.

* Frequency Control: Frequency Control is used to manipulate the output

signal’s rate of oscillation, and may have two controls; one to select the frequency
range and another to select an exact frequency. This enables the function generator to
handle the dramatic variation in frequency scale required for signals.

* Waveform Select: This control selects the type of waveform desired. More
advanced waveform generators use direct digital synthesis techniques to generate any
waveform and, in addition to the three basic waveforms of ours, often include
waveforms like ramp, noise, and pulse as well as specialized waveforms.

* Duty Cycle: The Duty Cycle is its ratio of high to low voltage time, as it
concerns square wave signals. The XR2206 does not include this.

You use a function generator by powering it on and configuring the output signal to
your intended shape. This will require connecting the ground and signal leads to an
oscilloscope to check the controls. You adjust the function generator until you get
the appropriate signal and attach the function generator’s ground and signal leads to
the device under test’s input and ground terminals.

To see our Function Generator in action, we need our XR2206 Function Generator, an
oscilloscope and a device or circuit that you wish to test. For my testing I used
three of my kits - the XR2206 Function Generator, the DSO138 Oscilloscope, and the
DL4YHF2 Frequency Counter, as pictured:

Just power ON the

generator and select
the desired output
signal: square wave,
sine wave or triangle
wave.

Connect the output

leads to an oscillo-
scope to visualize
the output signal and
set its parameters
using the amplitude
and frequency
controls.

Attach the output

leads of the function
generator to the
input of the circuit
you wish to test - in
this case, the
frequency counter.
 In the closeup on the left,
you can see the waveform and
the frequency on the frequency
counter match nicely.

For more information on the

other kits in the picture,
please refer to their
respective articles on my
website:

z100lifeline.swvagts.com

Please note the 0.1uF capacitor on the output of the XR2206 Function Generator. When I
first put this circuit together, I was very disappointed with the DL4YHF2 Frequency
Counter. While the oscilloscope showed that the waveform was nicely square and stable,
the frequency counter would not stabilize, if I got any frequency at all! Yet, when I
used the frequency counter to test an oscillator, it was nicely stable at the correct
value.

Looking at the circuit diagram for the DL4YHF Frequency Counter, I saw that the
circuit for the crystal & oscillator tester used a 0.1 uF capacitor to eliminate any
unwanted DC voltage. But for the input of external frequencies, a capacitor was not
included. Perhaps a cyclic DC voltage was confusing the counter?

So, on a whim, I included a 0.1 uF (104K) capacitor (type is not critical) at the
output of the generator.

The capacitor fixed the unstable counter, as you can see - a nice solid 3.020 KHz
display, but I found that at the much higher frequencies, the waveform was distorted
by the charging and discharging capacitor.

I moved the 0.1 uF capacitor to the input of the frequency counter, between the input
jack and the circuit board, and now all the test equipment were happy. I have included
the new capacitor in an update to the DL4YHF2 Frequency Counter article.
Final Assembly:
With testing complete, remove the paper
cover from the case pieces and assemble
the acrylic case using the hardware
provided.

The smaller screws and nuts are only

used on the circuit board to provide a
spacer for the bottom of the circuit
board. Trim off any lengths of wire that
are too long and interfere with the
circuit board sitting flat on the bottom
cover.

Place the four sides in the slots of the

bottom cover, insuring that the short
sides are correctly installed and not
blocking the access to the power jack
and terminal block.

Use the longer screws to attach the

cover to the base while trapping the
side pieces between the covers. The
holes of the bottom cover are threaded,
so no nuts are required.

Conclusions:
This is a simple circuit giving excellent performance given its price. For less than
$15 dollars you can get a function generator with amplitude and frequency adjustment.

The XR2206 function generator DIY kit is great for electronics hobbyists for repairing
and debugging circuits, and for learning purposes. The kit comes with through-hole
components, and it is easy to solder and assemble. You can have it built in
approximately half an hour. While it could never provide the functions of a high-end
function generator, for most purposes of a hobbyist, it is an excellent product.

To take full advantage of this unit, you should also invest in a reasonably priced
oscilloscope kit, such as the DSO138 and DSO150, which will be reviewed in future
issues of the “Z-100 LifeLine”.

Enjoy.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me at:

[email protected]