3

Instructions
KI0232DC1V1.doc

Stage FM

Transmitter (KI0232)
Page 1 of 5

Assembly
individual blocks of the circuit more closely. Electret microphone: This is a capacitive type of microphone comprising of two dielectric plates. One is a permanently charged dielectric plate made of a ceramic material that has been heated and allowed to cool in a magnetic field. The other plate is formed by the diaphragm on the front of the microphone case. Sound pressure moves the front plate and this vibration of the plate changes the capacitance resulting in a changing voltage that is fed to a Field Effect Transistor amplifier built inside the microphone case. Electret microphones have excellent sensitivity, a wide frequency response, are low in cost and small in size.

TRANSMITTER OPERATION

Output from this first stage is fed into the next which is an oscillator comprising of transistorQ2 and a resonant circuit (L1 coil and the yellow and white trimcaps,C6 and C12). The coil and capacitors are able to be tuned to your desired transmitting frequency.

Junction capacitance of This Three-Stage FM Transmitter has an RF stage in its the transistorQ1, varies output to amplify the modulated signal. By using a with the applied voltage suitable antenna it has a range of up to 1 kilometre. to its base, so the audio The transmitting range is dependent apon a number of from the first stage causes the junction variables. capacitance to 1 Location of the transmitter, (inside, outside, metal vary(modulate) which in buildings). turn causes the 2 Single wire or dipole antenna. frequency of the 3 Power supply voltage. oscillator to vary(modulate). The transmitter is constructed on a single-sided printed The oscillator circuit is circuit board (PCB) with a silk screen overlay on top to connected in whats aid in component placement. A solder mask on the called a Hartley copper side helps in soldering of the components. configuration. The modulated signal CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION from the oscillator is then The transmitter picks up the audio from its surroundings applied to the last stage with an electret microphone, the signal from the using transistorQ3, as an microphone is then fed to the first transistor Q1 which amplifier of the signal to performs as an audio amplifier stage. feed more power to the antenna. Now let us look at the

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Audio amplification stage: Capacitor C1 isolates the microphone from the DC base voltage of the transistor Q1 but allows the alternating audio signal from the microphone pass to be amplified by Q1 which is operating in a self-biasing common emitter mode.The output signal then comes from the collector of L2 (an RFC - radio Q1 and feeds the oscillator stage frequency choke) and capacitor C9 in parallel Oscillator stage: The oscillator stage is where the RF carrier is produced are placed so as to and modulated by the audio signal from Q1. The resonant prevent any RF signal reaching the circuit (L1, C12, and C6), the transistor Q2 and the from feedback capacitor C5 are the oscillator circuit here. An positive voltage rail, if it did then RF would be oscillating current flows around the resonant circuit. fed back to the input The circuit oscillates because of feedback occurring and unwanted though C5. The feedback signal makes the voltage across uncontrolled oscillation R5 vary and hence the base-emitter current of the would occur. transistor Q2 vary at a resonant frequency thus causing and C10 are the emitter-collector current to vary at the same frequency. L3 at the This current helps maintain oscillation in the resonant resonant transmitter frequency circuit. and adjusting L3 to set Resonant circuits are sometimes called LC or tank the resonant frequency circuits. This comes from the ability of the LC circuit to correctly will allow the store energy for oscillations. In a pure resonant LC circuit circuit to amplify the RF (one with no resistance) energy is not lost. However in a signal to its maximum. real AC network the resistive elements will dissipate The adjusting of L3 can electrical energy, such as wire and joint resistance and be done with the peaking dielectric losses. circuit provided and described at the end of The purely reactive elements, the C and the L, just store this set of instructions. energy to be returned to the system later. ASSEMBLING THE KIT Note that the tank circuit does not oscillate just by having The kit can be a DC potential put across it. Positive feedback must be assembled in any order provided in this case by C5. but it is recommended that the coils and Trim Caps: electret microphone be To enable the oscillator to tune the full range of the FM added last. broadcast band two trim caps are fitted into the circuit. To keep the PCB small The Yellow trim cap is used to tune the transmitter to a all resistors are inserted clear part of the band and the White can be used to fine vertically. Use care and tune the transmitter to the desired frequency. make sure the transistors are placed in You can also change the frequency by altering the space their correct positions between the coils of L1. Spread the L1 coil wide apart. and the right way round. The electret microphone is polarized and has to be fitted with the pin that is connected to the microphone case, connected to the - hole at the MIC position on the PCB.

Final Amplification Stage: This RF stage adds power to the RF signal. We use a BF199 RF transistor to accomplish this.

Making the Coils The transmitter uses 3 coils (L1, L2 and L3) and the wire to make them is supplied in the kit. The coils are made out of the red enamel covered wire provided. The red enamel paint insulates the wire so that when it is wound into a coil the turns can touch each other and not create a short circuit. All three coils are wound on a 3mm -diameter former, a 3mm-drill bit for example using the smooth end that usually goes into the drill chuck. It is best to make these coils as you are about to fit them to your circuit board because the drill bit can help you fit the coil to the board without causing any damage to it (fit coil to pcb before removing drill bit).

Coil L1 L2 L3

Wire Type Enamelled Copper Enamelled Copper Enamelled Copper

No of Turns 6 8 6
A 3 4 1 P O P B o x + 4 0 4 3 3 5 , 6 1 h . A 8 4 5 D L I

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When fitting L1 you will The following picture shows the wire wound on a 3mm have to spread the drill bit, note the direction of winding the wire. If wound in windings a little to get it the wrong direction it wont fit properly onto the circuit to fit, about 1mm space between each turn is board.

enough and this can be done while the coil is still on the drill.

A connection (or tap) is required from the middle of the L1 tinned copper wire coil to the pad marked TAP next to the coil. Solder a piece of wire, about 1cm long, into the tap hole. It should be long enough to reach over the top of L1 to the middle turn. Bend the wire so it touches the top of the turn then solder it in place.

Leave about 5mm of wire leading away from the coil so that it can be soldered onto the circuit board,next the red enamel needs to be removed where it is going to be soldered. This can be done with a soldering iron and some solder. Firstly place the coil so that the wire ends point way from the bench top then place the soldering iron tip against the side of the enamelled wire, after about 3 seconds apply a little solder. Moving the tip around the wire should burn off the enamel and tin the copper wire underneath. Depending on how hot the iron is this may take a little longer. Remember to clean the tip of the iron after you have removed the enamel from the wire. Coil L1 also has to have some enamel removed from the top of the centre turn to allow a wire to be soldered to it. You can either scrape away the enamel with a knife while it is on the drill or wait until the coil is soldered into position on the PCB and the windings opened up and use the soldering iron method described earlier. The circuit board is layed out so that you can leave the coil on the drill bit and solder it into place using the bit as a guide to steady and not damage the coil.

Operating Voltage The FM Transmitter was designed to operate from 9V DC, however you can increase the output power by using a 12 or 15V DC supply. If you try this then the values of some resistances will have to change. You can experiment by changing the component values shown.

Supply Voltage 9Vdc 12 to 15V dc

R3 Valu e 4K7 10K

R5 Valu e 470R 560R

R6 Valu e 39K 68K

T

R7 Valu e 100R 150R

R A L 1 8 4 5 P h . I A 4

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Moving the turns of L3 TUNING THE FM TRANSMITTER apart or together will Once you have assembled your transmitter you will have cause the meter reading to tune it to a frequency on the FM broadcast band, a part to change. L3 is tuned of the band that is clear of local stations. when the windings are

spaced to provide the greatest meter reading possible.

1 Tune your FM receiver to a part of

the Note that while you are touching Next you stations. to Turn on yourneed the FM transmitter,tune do not fit theRF antenna just yet,amplifier and preferablyas with an earphoneexplained connected to thebelow. receiver, adjust the Yellow trimPeaking capacitor untilCircuit. you hear yourTo get signal in themaximum earpiece. power out By tapping theof the RF microphone youamplifier will hear yourstage the signal, if you circuit - coil dont then L3 and continue tuning C10 the until you can. 47pF Because the transmitter has acapacitor RF amplifier itneeds to can overload thebe tuned to receiver and itthe may sound likeoscillator you have tunedfrequency. to the right spot but tapping theBy making the microphone willup simple make sure. Use the Whitecircuit trim capacitor tobelow and fine-tune theusing a transmitter to themultimeter receiver. the output

the coil the cannot hear lower, only take reading dial any radio measurements after you where you will be of the RFdirectly soldered to eachhave amplifier other without any PCB.adjusted can beThe output across C2 is tothe coil. measured. be connected to the will multimeters positive andYou find that if negative terminals as shown. Solder the input ofyour the circuit directly to thetransmittin antenna wire hole on theg PCB, using a 5cm lengthfrequency is down of wire. around 90 MHz then The circuit the coil is simply a turns will RF be close detector together, at that uses around 107 diodes to MHz the charge a windings capacitor. may need A to be multimeter spaced so set to 2V far apart or 20V DC that the will end coils indicate are almost the voltage flat on the level on PCB the surface. capacitor. The component s of the RF detector can be

your

When you have peaked L3 for maximum output you can remove the circuit and solder the antenna lead in its place. If you change transmittin g frequency then you will need to

repeat the peaking procedureYou can in order to get maximumget more power output. range as a trade off Want More Range?
P R O B o x

against stability and battery life.

1 reduce R5 to 2
6

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100R reduce R7 to 47R

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3 Stage FM Transmitter (KI0232)

KI0232DC1V1.doc

Assembly Instructions
Page 5 of 5

Dipole Antenna The half-wave antenna (the length of wire about 160cm long) you are supplied with will give you quite good range. However a dipole antenna will work better and this is basically two wires attached to two points in the circuit, each point oscillating 180degrees out of phase with each other. The antenna point and the positive of the battery are two points that you can connect to. A dipole antenna can be made from your existing antenna by cutting it in half, ie, two 80cm lengths, leave the half soldered into the antenna point and soldering the other free half to the +9V pad. Point the two wires in opposite directions. WHAT TO DO IF IT DOESNT WORK Have you turned the switch on? Check your soldering, particularly around the leads of the coils, any enamel left on them can cause problems. Use a strong light if necessary. Check that you have placed the components in their correct positions on the PCB. Is the connection to the middle turn on L1 made cleanly and securely. Check for any solder connections (shorts) across solder pads that are next to each other and shouldnt be there. Are the transistors the correct way round and in their proper places? Have you really spread out the coils of L3? At the high frequency end of the FM broadcast band each end of L3 should just about be bent over and touching the PCB.

COMPONENTS LIST 3 Stage FM Transmitter Components C1,C11 C7,C8,C1 0 C6 C2,C3 C4 C5 C12 C9 MIC Q1,Q2 Q3 R1,R4 R2 R3 R5 R6 R7 R8 SW1 PCB BA9000 HUW L1,L2,L3 RF Detector C1 C2 D1,D2 22nF Ceramic 47pF Ceramic 6.8-45pF Trim Cap Yellow 100nF Mono 1nF Ceramic 4p7 Ceramic(5pf) 3-11pF Trim Cap White 10pF Ceramic Electret Mike, 2 Pin BC547 BF199 47K 22K 4K7 470R 39K 100R 1M DPDT Push ON - Push OFF PC9232 9V Battery Snap Grey Wire For Antenna Enamelled Wire for Coils Circuit - Components 100pF Ceramic 100nF Mono 1N4148 Diode
T Y R O N T I D C S R E S B o x A 4 0 4 3 , P T A U S T R A L I P O 3 3 5 0 , L

2 3 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2m tr 35 cm 1 1 2
l f r e d t o n

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