Filters and Projects

16
his chapter contains basic design information and examples of the most common filters used by

T 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
divided into two major sections. The first section contains a discussion of filter theory with some design
examples. It includes the tools needed to predict the performance of a candidate filter before a design
is started or a commercial unit purchased. Extensive references are given for further reading and design
information. The second section contains a number of selected practical filter designs for immediate
construction.

Basic Concepts
A filter is a network that passes signals of certain frequencies and rejects or attenuates those of other
frequencies. The radio art owes its success to effective filtering. 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 generate only one signal and attenuate others that might interfere with other spectrum
users.
The simplified SSB receiver shown in Fig 16.1 illustrates the use of several common filters. Three
of them are located between the
antenna and the speaker. They
provide the essential receiver
filter functions. A preselector
filter is placed between the an-
tenna 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 re-
jected to prevent them from
overloading the first mixer (a Fig 16.1—One-band SSB receiver. At least three filters are used
common problem with short- between the antenna and speaker.

Filters and Projects 16. 1

wave broadcast stations). The preselector filter is almost always built with LC filter technology.
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 determines
which of several filter technologies 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 frequencies 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 16.2. 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 to pass only the
desired lower (or upper) sideband. In commercial SSB transceivers
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 filter is placed between trans-
mit 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 idealized charac-
teristics of these filters are shown in their most basic form in Fig 16.3.
A low-pass filter permits all frequencies below a specified cutoff
frequency to be transmitted with small loss, but will attenuate all
frequencies above the cutoff frequency. The “cutoff frequency” is
usually 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 considerable at-
tenuation. Its behavior is opposite to that of the low-pass filter.

Fig 16.3—Idealized filter re-

sponses. Note the definition of fc
Fig 16.2—One-band transmitter. At least three filters are needed is 3 dB down from the break
to ensure a clean transmitted signal. points of the curves.

16.2 Chapter 16
 A band-pass filter passes a selected band of frequencies with low loss, but attenuates 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 pass-
band, 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 opposite to that of the band-pass filter. The stop band
is the frequency spectrum in which attenuation is desired. The attenuation 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 desired frequency (or frequency band) and reject all other undesired
frequencies. A simple single-stage low-pass filter is shown in Fig 16.4. The filter consists of an inductor,
L. It is placed between the voltage source eg and load resistance RL. Most generators have an associated
“internal” resistance, which is labeled Rg.
When the generator is switched on, power will flow from the generator to the load resistance RL. 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 accom-
plished because the inductor has reactance that vanishes at dc but becomes large at high frequency. Thus,
the current, I, flowing through the load resistance, RL, will be maximum at dc and less at higher
frequencies.
The mathematical analysis of Fig 16.4 is as follows: For simplicity, let Rg = RL = R.
eg
i= (1)
2R + jX L
where
XL = 2π f L
f = generator frequency.

Power in the load, PL, is:

2
eg R L
PL =
4R2 + X L
2 (2)

Available (maximum) power will be delivered from the genera-

tor when:

XL = 0 and Rg = RL
2
Eg
PO = (3)
4R g
The filter response is:
PL power in the load
= (4)
PO available generator power
Fig 16.4—A single-stage low-
The filter cutoff frequency, called fc, is the generator frequency pass filter consists of a series
where inductor. DC is passed to the
load resistor unattenuated.
Attenuation increases (and
R
2R = X L or fc = (5) current in the load decreases) as
πL the frequency increases.

Filters and Projects 16. 3

 As an example, suppose Rg =
RL = 50 Ω and the desired cut-
off frequency is 4 MHz. Equa-
tion 4 states that the cutoff fre-
quency is where the inductive
reactance X L = 100 Ω. At 4
MHz, using the relationship XL
= 2π f L, L = 4 µH. If this filter
is constructed, its response
should follow the curve in Fig
16.5. Note that the gentle
rolloff in response indicates a
poor filter. To obtain steeper
rolloff a more sophisticated fil-
ter, containing more reac-
tances, is necessary. Filters are Fig 16.5—Transmission loss of a simple filter plotted against
designed for a specific value of normalized frequency. Note the relationship between loss and
purely resistive load imped- SWR.
ance called the terminating re-
sistance. When such a resis-
tance 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 16.5. If maximum power is to be extracted from
the generator driving the filter, the generator resistance 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 “transformer filters” or “matching networks” are specifically de-
signed to work between unequal generator and load resistances. Band-pass filters, described later, are
easily designed to work between unequal terminations.
All passive filters exhibit an undesired nonzero loss in the passband due to unavoidable resistances
associated with the reactances in the ladder network. All filters 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. Selectivity 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 mathematical measure of selectivity.
The term Q is quantitative. A band-pass filter’s quality factor or Q is expressed as Q = (filter center
frequency)/(3-dB bandwidth). Shape factor is another way some filter vendors specify band-pass filters.
The shape factor is a ratio of two filter bandwidths. 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 infinite 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 fp = 0.
In equation 1 there also exists a frequency where the current i becomes zero. This frequency is called
16.4 Chapter 16
the zero frequency and is given by: f0 = infinity. Poles and zeros are intrinsic properties of all networks.
The poles and zeros of a network are related to the values of inductances 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 inductor-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 mathematical model.
LC filters are usable from dc to approximately 1 GHz. Parasitic capacitance associated 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 network. 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 inductors and capacitors are physically much smaller than an oper-
ating wavelength. In this case, conductor lengths do not contribute significant inductance or capacitance,
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 does not need any internal
power sources. There may be amplifiers before and/or after the
filter, but no power is necessary for the filter’s equations to hold.
The filter alone always exhibits a finite (nonzero) insertion loss
due to the unavoidable resistances 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 direc-
tion. 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 mea-
sured and recorded in the stream of time. In contrast, Amateur
Radio systems and their associated filters are often better under-
stood when viewed in the frequency domain, where frequency is
the relevant system parameter. Frequency may refer to a sine-
wave voltage, current or electromagnetic field. The sine-wave
voltage, shown in Fig 16.6, is a waveform plotted against time
with equation V = A sin(2π f t). The sine wave has a peak ampli-
tude A (measured in volts) and frequency, f (measured in cycles/
second or Hertz). A graph showing frequency on the horizontal
axis is called a spectrum. A filter response curve is plotted on a Fig 16.6—Ideal sine-wave volt-
spectrum graph. age. Only one frequency is
present.
Filters and Projects 16. 5
 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 systems 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 flowing endlessly in time. It can be shown by the Fourier transform (Ref 7) that all periodic
waveforms can be represented by summing sine waves of different frequencies. For example, the square-
wave voltage shown in Fig 16.7 can be represented by a “fundamental” sine wave of frequency
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 signal (zero bandwidth) and a square wave is a “wideband” signal.
If the square-wave voltage of Fig 16.7 is passed through a low-pass filter, which removes some of its
high-frequency components, the waveform of Fig 16.8 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:
0.35
τR =
fc (6)

where fc is the cutoff frequency

of the low-pass filter.
Thus a filter distorts a time-
domain signal by removing
some of its high-frequency
components. Note that a filter
cannot distort a sine wave. A
filter can only change the am-
plitude 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 sys-
tem is to convey a time-domain
signal originating at a source to
some distant point with mini-
mum distortion. Filters within
the radio system transmitter
Fig 16.7—Square-wave voltage. Fig 16.8—Square-wave voltage
and receiver may intentionally filtered by a low-pass filter. By
Many frequencies are present,
or unintentionally distort the including f = 1// t and odd har- passing the square wave
source signal. A knowledge of monics 3f, 5f, 7f with decreasing through a filter, the higher
the source signal’s frequency- amplitudes. frequencies are attenuated. The
rectangular shape (fast rise and
domain bandwidth is required fall items) are rounded because
so that an appropriate radio sys- the amplitude of the higher
tem may be designed. harmonics are decreased.

16.6 Chapter 16
 Table 16.1 shows the mini- Table 16.1
mum necessary bandwidth of
Typical Filter Bandwidths for Typical Signals.
several common source sig-
nals. Note that high-fidelity Source Required Bandwidth
speech and music requires a High-fidelity speech and music 20 Hz to 15 kHz
Telephone-quality speech 200 Hz to 3 kHz
bandwidth of 20 Hz to 15 kHz, Radiotelegraphy (Morse code, CW) 200 Hz
which is that transmitted by HF RTTY 1000 Hz (varies with frequency
high-quality FM broadcast sta- shift)
NTSC television 60 Hz to 4.5 MHz
tions. However, telephone- SSTV 200 Hz to 3 kHz
quality speech requires a band- 1200 bit/s packet 200 Hz to 3 kHz
width of only 200 Hz to 3 kHz.
Thus, to minimize transmit
spectrum, as required by the FCC, filters within amateur transmitters are required to reduce the speech
source bandwidth to 200 Hz to 3 kHz at the expense of some speech distortion. After modulation the
transmitted RF bandwidth will exceed the filtered source bandwidth if inefficient (AM or FM) modu-
lation methods are employed. Thus the post-modulation emission bandwidth may be several times the
original filtered source bandwidth. 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 performed in the
frequency domain.

Filters and Projects 16. 7

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 parameter theory demands that the filter terminating imped-
ances vary with frequency in an unusual manner. The later addition of “m-derived matching half sec-
tions” at each end of the filter made it possible to use these filters in many applications. In the intervening
decades, however, many new methods of filter design have brought both better performance and prac-
tical component values for construction.

MODERN FILTER THEORY

The start of modern filter theory is usually 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 availabil-
ity 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-Ω resistor terminations and cut-
off frequency ωc = 2πfc = 1 radian/s.)
An ideal low-pass filter response shows no loss from zero frequency to the cutoff frequency, but
infinite loss above the cutoff frequency. Practical filters may approximate this ideal response in several
different ways.
Fig 16.9 shows the Butterworth or “maximally-flat” type of approximation. The Butterworth response
formula is:
PL 1
= 2n
PO  ω 
1 +   (7)

 ωc 
where
ω = frequency of interest,
ωc = cutoff frequency
n = number of poles (reactances) Fig 16.9—Butterworth approxima-
PL = power in the load resistor tion of an ideal low-pass filter
PO = available generator power. response. The 3-dB attenuation
frequency (f c) is normalized to
1 radian/s.
The passband is exceedingly flat near zero frequency and very
high attenuation is experienced at high frequencies, but the ap-
proximation for both pass and stop bands is relatively poor in the
vicinity of cutoff.
Fig 16.10 shows the Chebyshev approximation. Details of the
Chebyshev response formula can be found in Ref 24. Use of this
reference as well as similar references for Chebyshev filters re-
quires detailed familiarity with Chebyshev polynomials.

IMPEDANCE AND FREQUENCY SCALING

Fig 16.11A shows normalized component values for Butter- Fig 16.10—Chebyshev approxi-
worth filters up to ten poles. Fig 16.11B shows the schematic mation of an ideal low-pass filter.
Notice the ripple in the pass-
diagrams of the Butterworth low-pass filter. Note that the first band.

16.8 Chapter 16
 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

Fig 16.11—Component values for Butterworth low-pass filters. Greater values of n require more stages.

reactance in Fig 16.11B is a shunt capacitor C1, whereas in Fig 16.11C 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 values is common. Normalized generally means a design based
on 1-Ω terminations and a cutoff frequency (passband edge) of 1 radian/second. A filter is denormalized
by applying the following two equations:
 R'   ω 
L' =     L (8)
 R   ω' 
 R  ω 
C' =     C (9)
 R'   ω' 
where
L', C', ω' and R' are the new (desired) values
L and C are the values found in the filter tables
R=1Ω
ω = 1 radian/s.
Filters and Projects 16. 9
For example, consider the design of a 3-pole Butterworth low-pass filter for a transmitter speech am-
plifier. Let the desired cutoff frequency be 3000 Hz and the desired termination resistances be 1000 Ω.
The normalized prototype, taken from Fig 16.11B is shown in Fig 16.12. The new (desired) inductor
value is:
 1000 Ω   1 radian / sec ond 
L' =     2 H
 1 Ω   2 π(3000) Hz 

or L' = 0.106 H.
The new (desired) capacitor value is:
 1 Ω   1 radian / sec ond 
C' =     1 F
 1000 Ω   2π(3000) Hz 

or C' = 0.053 µF.

The final denormalized filter is shown in Fig 16.13. The filter response, in the passband, should
obey curve n = 3 in Fig 16.14. To use the normalized frequency response curves in Fig 16.14
calculate the frequency ratio f/f c where f is the desired frequency and f c is the cutoff frequency.
For the filter just designed, the loss at 2000 Hz can be found as follows: When f is 2000 Hz, the
frequency ratio is: f/f c = 2000/3000 = 0.67. Therefore the predicted loss (from the n = 3 curve) is
about 0.37 dB.
When f is 4000 Hz, the filter is operating in the stop-band (Fig 16.17). The resulting frequency ratio
is: f/fc = 4000/3000 = 1.3. Therefore the expected loss is about 8 dB. Note that as the number of reactances
(poles) increases the filter response approaches the low-pass response of Fig 16.3A.

Fig 16.12—A 3-pole Butterworth

filter designed for a normalized
frequency of 1 radian/s.

Fig 16.13—A 3-pole Butterworth Fig 16.14—Passband loss of Butterworth low-pass filters. The
filter scaled to 3000 Hz. horizontal axis is normalized frequency (see text).

16.10 Chapter 16
BAND-PASS FILTERS—SIMPLIFIED DESIGN
The design of band-pass filters may be directly obtained from the low-pass prototype 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 prototype 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 powerful adjacent broadcast stations. The proposed filter has these characteristics:

• Center frequency, fc = 7.15 MHz

• 3-dB bandwidth = 360 kHz
• terminating resistors = 50 Ω
• 3-pole Butterworth characteristic.

Start the design for the normalized 3-pole Butterworth low-pass filter (shown in Fig 16.11). First
determine the center frequency from the band-pass limits. This frequency, fO, 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

fO = flo × fhi = 6.97 × 7.33 = 7.14 MHz (10)

where
flo = low frequency end of the band-pass (or band-stop)
fhi = high frequency end of the band-pass (or band-stop)

[Note that in this case there is little difference between 7.15 (bandwidth center) and 7.147 (band-edge
geometric mean) because the bandwidth is small. For wide-band filters, however, there can be a signifi-
cant difference.]
Next, denormalize to a new interim low-pass filter having R' = 50 Ω and f' = 0.36 MHz.

 50   1 
L' =     2 H = 44.2 µH
6 
 1   2 × π × 0.36 × 10 
 1  1 
C' =    1 F = 0.0088 µF
6 
 50   2 × π × 0.36 × 10 
This interim low-pass filter, shown in Fig 16.15, has a cut-
off frequency f c = 0.36 MHz and is terminated with 50-Ω 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. There-
fore, variable capacitors or inductors are required for the reso-
nant circuits. Based on the L' and C' just calculated the paral-
lel-resonating inductor values are:
1
L1 = L3 = = 0.056 µH
C' (2 × πfo )
2 Fig 16.15—Interim 3-pole
Butterworth low-pass filter
The series-resonating capacitor value is: designed for cutoff at 0.36 MHz.

Filters and Projects 16. 11

 1
C2 = = 11 pF
L' (2 × π × fO )
2

The final band-pass filter is shown in Fig 16.16. The filter should have a 3-dB bandwidth of 0.36 MHz.
That is, the 3-dB loss frequencies are 6.97 MHz and 7.33 MHz. The filter’s 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 16.17. To use the
normalized frequency re-
sponse curves, calculate the
frequency ratio f/f c. For this
band-pass case, f is the dif-
ference between the desired
attenuation frequency and the
center frequency, while f c is
the upper 3-dB frequency mi-
nus the center frequency. As Fig 16.16—Final filter design consists of the low-pass filter scaled
an example the filter loss at to a center frequency of 7.15 MHz.

Fig 16.17—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).

16.12 Chapter 16
7.5 MHz is found by using the normalized frequency ratio given by:
f 7.5 − 7.147
= = 1.928
fc 7.33 − 7.147
Therefore, from Fig 16.17 the expected loss is about 17 dB.
At 6 MHz the loss may be found by:
f 7.147 − 6
= = 6.26
fc 7.33 − 7.147
The expected loss is approximately 47 dB. Unfortunately, awkward component values 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 QL (QL = f0/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 filters of this type are demonstrated by W3NQN’s High Perfor-
mance CW Filter and Passive Audio Filter for SSB in the 1995 and earlier editions of this handbook.
[Note: This analysis used the geometric fc with the assumption that the filter response is symmetrical
about fc, 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 Restrictions—Band-pass Filters
Most filter component value tables assume lossless reactances. In practice, there are always resistance
losses associated with capacitors and inductors (especially inductors). Lossy reactances in low-pass
filters modify the response curve. There is finite loss at zero frequency and the cutoff “knee” at fc will
not be as sharp as predicted by theoretical response curves.
The situation worsens with band-pass filters. As loaded Q is increased the midband insertion loss may
become intolerable. Therefore, before a band-pass filter design is started, estimate the expected loss.
An approximate estimate of band-pass filter midband response is given by:
2N
PL  Q L 
= 1 − 
PO  QU 
(11A)

where:
PL = power delivered to load resistor RL
PO = power available from generator:
2
eg
PO = (11B)
4R L
QU = unloaded Q of inductor:
2 π × f0 × L
QU = (11C)
R
R = inductor series resistance
L = inductance
QL = filter loaded Q
f0
QL = (11D)
BW3
BW3 = 3 dB bandwidth
N = number of filter stages.
Filters and Projects 16. 13
 This equation assumes that all losses are in the inductors. For example, the expected loss of the
7.15-MHz filter shown in Fig 16.16 is found by assuming QU = 150. QL is found by equation 11D to be
= 7.147/0.36 = 19.8 or approximately 20. Since N = 3 then:
6
PL  20 
= 1 − 
PO  150 
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 restrictions
on QL/QU. With typical lumped inductors QU seldom exceeds 200.
Therefore, LC band-pass filters are usually designed with QL not
exceeding 20 as shown in Fig 16.18.
This loss vs bandwidth trade-off is usually why the final inter-
mediate frequency (IF) in older radio receivers was very low.
These units used the equivalent of LC filters in their IF coupling.
Generally, for SSB reception the desired receiver bandwidth is
about 2.5 kHz. Then 50 kHz was often chosen as the final IF since
this implies a loaded QL of 20. AM broadcast receivers require a Fig 16.18—Frequency range and
maximum loaded Q of band-pass
10-kHz bandwidth and use a 455-kHz IF, which results in QL = 45. filters. Crystal filters are shown
FM broadcast receivers require a 200-kHz bandwidth and use a with the highest Q L and LC
10.7-MHz IF and QL = 22. filters the lowest.

16.14 Chapter 16
Filter Design Using Standard Capacitor Values
Practical filters must be designed using commercially available components. Therefore a set of tables,
based upon standard value capacitors (SVC), has been generated to facilitate this real design process.
The procedure presented here uses eight computer-calculated tables of performance parameters and
component values for 5- and 7-branch Chebyshev and 5-branch elliptic 50-Ω filters. The tables permit
the quick and easy selection of an equally terminated passive LC filter for applications where the
attenuation response is of primary interest. All of the capacitors in the Chebyshev designs and the three
nonresonating capacitors in the elliptic designs have standard, off-the-shelf values to simplify construc-
tion. Although the tables cover only the 1 to 10-MHz frequency range, a simple scaling procedure gives
standard-value capacitor (SVC) designs for any impedance level and virtually any cutoff frequency.
The full tables are printed in the References chapter of this Handbook. Extracts from the tables are
reprinted in this section to illustrate the design procedure.
The following text by Ed Wetherhold, W3NQN, is adapted from his paper entitled 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 applications, it is not necessary
that the actual cutoff frequency exactly match the desired cutoff frequency. A deviation of 5% or so
between the actual and desired cutoff frequencies is acceptable. This permits the use of design tables
based on standard capacitor values instead of passband ripple attenuation or reflection coefficient.

STANDARD VALUES IN FILTER DESIGN CALCULATIONS

Capacitors are commercially available in special series of preferred values having designations of E12
(10% tolerance) and E24 (5% tolerance; Ref 22) The reciprocal of the E-number is the power to which
10 is raised to give the step multiplier for that particular series.
First the normalized Chebyshev and elliptic component values are calculated based on many ratios of
standard capacitor values. Next, using a 50-Ω impedance level, the parameters of the designs are
calculated and tabulated to span the 1-10 MHz decade. Because of the large number of standard-value
capacitor (SVC) designs 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 column to
find a design having a cutoff frequency that most closely matches the desired cutoff frequency.

CHEBYSHEV AND ELLIPTIC FILTERS

Low-pass and high-pass 5- and 7-element Chebyshev and 5-branch elliptic designs were selected for
tabulation because they are easy to construct and will satisfy the majority of nonstringent filtering
requirements where the amplitude response is of primary interest. The precalculated 50-Ω designs are
presented in eight tables of five low-pass and three high-pass designs with cutoff frequencies covering
the 1-10 MHz decade. The applicable filter configuration and attenuation response curve accompany
each table. In addition to the component values, attenuation vs frequency data and SWR are also included
in the table. The passband attenuation ripples are so low in amplitude that they are swamped by the filter
losses and are not measurable. For this reason, they are not shown in the response curves.

LOW-PASS TABLES
Fig 16.19 is an extract from the tables for the low-pass 5- and 7-element Chebyshev capacitor input/output
configuration in the References chapter of this Handbook. This filter configuration is generally preferred to
the alternate inductor input/output configuration because it requires fewer inductors. Generally, decreasing
input impedance with increasing frequency in the stop band presents no problems. Fig 16.20 shows the

Filters and Projects 16. 15

 5-Element Chebyshev 50-Ω Ω Lowpass SVC-Filter Designs
C-In/Out, E24 Capacitor Values
— FREQUENCY (MHz) — MAX C1,5 L2,4 C3
No. Fco 3 dB 20 dB 40 dB SWR (pF) (µH) (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

Fig 16.19—A portion of a 5-element Chebyshev low-pass filter design table for 50-Ω Ω impedance,
C-in/out and standard E24 capacitor values. The full table is printed in the References chapter.

5-Element Chebyshev 50-ΩΩ Low-pass Filters with L-In/Out

and Standard-value L and C
— FREQUENCY (MHz) — MAX L1,5 C2,4 L3
No. Fco 3 dB 20 dB 40 dB SWR (µH) (pF) (µH)
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

Fig 16.20—A portion of a 5-element Chebyshev low-pass filter design table for 50-Ω Ω impedance,
L-in/out and standard-value L and C. The full table is printed in the References chapter.

corresponding information for low-pass applications, but with an inductor input/output configuration. This
configuration is useful when the filter input impedance in the stop band must rise with increasing frequency.
For example, some RF transistor amplifiers may become unstable when terminated in a low-pass filter having
a stop-band response with a decreasing input impedance. In this case, the inductor-input configuration may
eliminate the instability. (Ref 23) Because only one capacitor value is required in the designs of Fig 16.20,
it was feasible to have the inductor value of L1 and L5 also be a standard value. Fig 16.21 is extracted from
the table for the low-pass 5-branch elliptic filter with the capacitor input/output configuration, in which the
nonresonating capacitors (C1, C3 and C5) are standard values. The alternate inductor input/output elliptic
configuration is seldom used and therefore it is not included.

HIGH-PASS TABLES
A high-pass 5-element Chebyshev capacitor input/output configuration is shown in the table extract
of Fig 16.22. Because the inductor input/output configuration is seldom used, it was not included. High-
pass tables for elliptical filters appear in the References chapter.

16.16 Chapter 16
 —–— (MHz) —–— As MAX ———–—— (pF) ———–—— — (µH) — – (MHz) –
No. Fco F-3dB F-A s (dB) SWR C1 C3 C5 C2 C4 L2 L4 F2 F4
1 0.795 0.989 1.57 47.4 1.092 2700 5600 2200 324 937 12.1 10.1 2.54 1.64
2 1.06 1.20 1.77 46.2 1.234 2700 4700 2200 341 982 9.36 7.56 2.82 1.85
3 1.47 1.57 2.15 45.4 1.586 2700 3900 2200 364 1045 6.32 4.88 3.32 2.23
4 0.929 1.18 1.91 48.0 1.077 2200 4700 1800 257 743 10.2 8.59 3.11 1.99
5 1.27 1.45 2.17 46.7 1.215 2200 3900 1800 271 779 7.85 6.39 3.45 2.26
6 1.69 1.82 2.54 45.9 1.489 2200 3300 1800 287 821 5.64 4.42 3.96 2.64
7 1.12 1.44 2.41 49.8 1.071 1800 3900 1500 192 549 8.45 7.25 3.95 2.52
8 1.49 1.73 2.70 48.8 1.183 1800 3300 1500 200 570 6.75 5.62 4.33 2.81
9 2.11 2.27 3.27 47.8 1.506 1800 2700 1500 213 604 4.55 3.64 5.12 3.40
10 1.28 1.66 2.63 46.3 1.064 1500 3300 1200 192 561 7.20 6.00 4.28 2.74
11 1.79 2.06 2.99 44.8 1.195 1500 2700 1200 204 592 5.52 4.42 4.75 3.11
12 2.52 2.70 3.63 43.8 1.525 1500 2200 1200 220 636 3.71 2.82 5.58 3.76

Fig 16.21—A portion of a 5-element elliptic

Ω imped-
low-pass filter design table for 50-Ω
ance, Standard E12 capacitor values for C1,
C3 and C5. The full table is printed in the
References chapter.

— FREQUENCY (MHz) — MAX C1,5 L2,4 C3

No. Fco 3 dB 20 dB 40 dB SWR (pF) (µH) (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 16.22—A portion of a 5-element Chebyshev high-pass filter design table for 50-Ω Ω impedance,
C-in/out and standard E24 capacitor values. The full table is printed in the References chapter.

SCALING TO OTHER FREQUENCIES AND IMPEDANCES

The tables shown are for the 1-10 MHz decade and for a 50-Ω 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 component 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 As and SWR data remain unchanged. To scale the filter tables to the 0.1-1 kHz, 1-10 kHz or the
Filters and Projects 16. 17
10-100 kHz decades, divide the tabulated frequencies by 1000, 100 or 10, respectively. Next multiply
the component values by the same number. By changing the “MHz” frequency headings to “kHz” and
the “pF” and “µH” 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 Ω,
the component values may be awkward, but this can be corrected by increasing 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 Ω, while keeping the
convenience of standard-value capacitors and the “scan mode” of design selection. If the desired new
impedance level differs from 50 Ω by a factor of 0.1, 10 or 100, the 50-Ω 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 Ω), 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 impedance the capacitor values become smaller and the inductor
values become larger. The opposite is true if the impedance decreases.
When the desired impedance level differs from the standard 50-Ω value by a factor such as 1.2, 1.5
or 1.86, the following scaling procedure is used:
1. Calculate the impedance scaling ratio:
Zx
R= (12)
50
where Zx is the desired new impedance level, in ohms.
2. Calculate the cutoff frequency (f50co) of a “trial” 50-Ω filter,

f50co = R × fxco (13)

where R is the impedance scaling ratio and fxco is the desired cutoff frequency of the filter at the new
impedance level.
3. From the appropriate SVC table select a design having its cutoff frequency closest to the calculated
f50co 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 fxco values, where
f'
fxco = 50 co
R (14)

and f'50co is the tabulated cutoff frequency 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.
For example, assume a 600-Ω elliptic low-pass filter is desired with a cutoff frequency of 1.0 kHz.
The elliptic low-pass table is frequency scaled to the 1-10 kHz decade by changing the table headings
to kHz, nF and mH. A suitable design is then selected for scaling to 60 Ω. The 60-Ω design is then scaled
to 600 Ω by shifting the decimal point to complete the scaling procedure. The calculations for this
example follow, using the five steps outlined above and using the table extract in Fig 16.21:

Z x 60
1. R = = = 1.2
50 50
2. f50co = 1.2 × 1.0 kHz = 1.2 kHz
16.18 Chapter 16
 3. From the elliptic low-pass table (Fig 16.21), designs 5 and 10 have cutoff frequencies closest to the
F50co of 1.2 kHz. Either design is suitable and design 5 is chosen because of its better selectivity. The
tabulated capacitor values of 2200 nF, 3900 nF, 1800 nF, 271 nF and 779 nF are copied directly.
4. All frequencies of the final design are calculated by dividing the tabulated frequencies (in kHz) of
design 5 by the impedance scaling ratio, 1.2:

1.27
fco = = 1.06
1.2

1.45
f3dB = = 1.21
1.2

2.17
fAS = = 1.88
1.2
Note that a cutoff frequency of 1.0 kHz was desired, but a 1.06-kHz cutoff frequency will be accepted
in exchange for the convenience of using an SVC design.
5. The L2 and L4 inductor values of design 5 are scaled to 60 Ω by multiplying them by the square
of the impedance ratio, where R = 1.2 and R2 = 1.44:

L2 = 1.44 × 7.85 mH = 11.3 mH

L4 = 1.44 × 6.39 mH = 9.20 mH

The 60-Ω design is now impedance scaled to 600 Ω by shifting the decimal points of the capacitor
values to the left and the decimal points of the inductor values to the right. The final scaled component
values for the 600-Ω filter are:

C1 = 0.22 µF
C3 = 0.39 µF
C5 = 0.18 µF
C2 = 27.1 nF
C4 = 77.9 nF
L2 = 113 mH
L4 = 92.0 mH

How to Use the Filter Tables

1. 50-Ω impedance level: Before selecting a filter design, the important parameters of the filter must
be known, such as type (low-pass or high-pass), cutoff frequency, impedance level, preferred input
element (for low-pass only) and an approximation of the required stop band attenuation. It is obvious
which tables to use for low-pass or high-pass applications, but it is not so obvious which one design of
the many possible choices is optimum for the intended application.
Generally, the Chebyshev will be preferred over the elliptic because the Chebyshev does not require
tuning of the inductors. If the relatively gradual attenuation rise of the Chebyshev is not satisfactory,
however, then the elliptic should be considered. For audio filtering, the elliptic designs with high values
of SWR are preferred because these designs have a much more abrupt attenuation rise than the Chebyshev.
For RF applications, SWR values less than 1.2 are recommended to minimize undesired reflections. Low
SWR is also important when cascading high-pass and low-pass filters to achieve a band-pass response more
than two octaves wide. Each filter will operate as expected if it is correctly terminated, but this will occur
only if both designs have the relatively constant terminal impedance that is associated with low SWR.
Filters and Projects 16. 19
 Once you know the filter type and response needed, select the table of designs most appropriate for
the application on a trial basis. From the chosen table, scale the 1-10 MHz data to the desired frequency
decade and search the cutoff frequency column for a value nearest the desired cutoff frequency. After
finding a possible design, check the stop-band attenuation levels to see if they are satisfactory. Then
check the SWR to see if it is appropriate for the application. Finally, check the component values to see
if they are convenient. For example, in the audio-frequency range, the capacitor values probably will be
in the microfarad range and capacitors in this size are available only in the E12 series of standard values.
Then connect the components in accordance with the diagram shown in the table from which the design
was selected.
2. Impedance levels other than 50 Ω: First calculate a “trial” filter design using the impedance scaling
procedure previously explained. Then search the appropriate table for the best match to the trial filter
and scale the selected design to the desired impedance level. In this way, the convenient scan mode of
filter selection is used regardless of the desired impedance level.

16.20 Chapter 16
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 standard value capacitor (SVC) designs might not be
suitable. Table 16.2 lists normalized low-pass designs that, in addition to low-pass filters, can also be
used to calculate high-pass, band-pass and band-stop filters in either the inductor or capacitor input/
output configurations for equal impedance terminations. Table 16.3 provides the attenuation for the
resultant filter.
This material was prepared by Ed Wetherhold, W3NQN, who has been the author of a number of

Table 16.2
Element values of Chebyshev low-pass filters normalized for a ripple cutoff frequency (Fap)
of one radian/sec (1/2π Hz) and 1-Ω
Ω 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 16.23 shows the filter schematics.
N RC Ret Loss F3/Fap 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/Fap L1 C2 L3 C4 L5 C6 L7 C8 L9
(%) (dB) Ratio (H) (F) (H) (F) (H) (F) (H) (F) (H)

Filters and Projects 16. 21

Table 16.3
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

articles and papers on the design of LC filters. It is a complete 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 ρ) causes the
attenuation slope to increase with a corresponding increase in both the passband ripple amplitude (ap)
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 calculated. 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 independent variable in Table 16.2 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 (ap) 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 attenuation are contained in Table 16.3 and corresponding values of
ap and SWR may be found by referring to the Equivalent Values of Reflection Coefficient, Attenuation,
SWR and Return Loss table in the References chapter. The filter used (low pass, high-pass, band-pass
and so on) will depend on the application and the stop-band attenuation needed.
The filter schematic diagrams shown in Fig 16.23 are for low-pass and high-pass versions of the
Chebyshev designs listed in Table 16.2. 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
16.22 Chapter 16
Fig 16.23—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 16.2.
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.

Filters and Projects 16. 23

and band-stop filters. The normalized element values of the low-pass C-in/out and L-in/out designs, Fig
16.23A and B, are read directly from the table using the values associated with either the top or bottom
column headings, respectively.
The first four columns of Table 16.2 list N (the number of filter elements), RC (reflection coefficient
percentage), return loss and the ratio of the 3-dB-to-Fap frequencies. The passband maximum ripple
amplitude (ap) is not listed because it is difficult to measure. If necessary it can be calculated from the
reflection coefficient. The F3/Fap ratio varies with N and RC; if both of these parameters are known, the
F3/Fap ratio may be calculated. The remaining columns list the normalized Chebyshev element values
for equally terminated filters for Ns from 3 to 9 in increments of 2.
The Chebyshev passband ends when the passband attenuation first exceeds the maximum ripple
amplitude, ap. This frequency is called the “ripple cutoff frequency, Fap” and it has a normalized value
of unity. All Chebyshev designs in Table 16.2 are based on the ripple cutoff frequency 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/Fap ratio listed in the fourth
column.
The element values are normalized to a ripple cutoff frequency of 0.15915 Hz (one radian/sec) and
1-Ω 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 replacing 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 reason-
able 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 reflection 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 correspond to reflection coefficients of 1.517, 4.796 and 15.087%,
respectively. By having 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 published in filter handbooks whichever parameter, RC or ap, is used.
In addition to the customary normalized design listings based on integral values of reflection coeffi-
cient or ripple amplitude, Table 16.2 also includes unique designs having special element ratios that
make them more useful than previously published 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 filters to be realized with only one capacitor
value because C3 may be obtained by using 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 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 surplus 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 connecting the two windings of one of the four surplus inductors in parallel. Other
useful 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.
Designs with an RC of less than 1% are not normally used because of their poor selectivity. Designs with
RC greater than 15% yield increasingly high SWR values with correspondingly increased objectionable
reflective losses and sensitivity to termination 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 con-
figuration. The C-input/output configuration is usually preferred because fewer inductors are required,
compared to the L-input/output configuration. Inductors are usually more lossy, bulky and expensive
16.24 Chapter 16
than capacitors. The selection of the filter order or number of filter elements, N, is determined by the
desired stop-band attenuation rate of increase and the tolerable reflection coefficient or SWR. A steeper
attenuation slope requires either a design having a higher reflection coefficient or more circuit elements.
Consequently, to select an optimum 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 16.3 shows the theoretical normalized frequencies (relative to the ripple cutoff frequency) for
the listed attenuation levels and reflection coefficient percentages 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
applicable 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 coupling 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 actual response will likely degrade somewhat from the theoretical.
Fig 16.24 shows four plotted attenuation vs normalized frequency curves for N = 5 corresponding to
the normalized frequencies in Table 16.3 At two octaves above the ripple cutoff frequency, fc, the
attenuation slope gradually becomes 6 dB per octave per filter element.

LOW-PASS AND HIGH-PASS FILTERS

Low-Pass Filter
Let’s look at the procedure
used to calculate the capacitor
and inductor values of low-pass
and high-pass filters by using
two examples. Assume a 50-Ω
low-pass filter is needed to give
more than 40 dB of attenuation
at 2fc or one octave above the
ripple-cutoff frequency of 4.0
MHz. Referring to Table 16.3,
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 reflection co-
efficient and will satisfy the
attenuation requirement, it is a
good choice. Note that no 5-
element filters are suitable for Fig 16.24—The graph shows attenuation vs frequency for four 5-
this application because 40 dB element low-pass filters designed with the information obtained
of attenuation is not achieved from Table 16.2. This graph demonstrates how reflection coeffi-
cient percentage (RC), maximum passband ripple amplitude (ap),
one octave above the cutoff fre- SWR, return loss and attenuation rolloff are all related. The exact
quency. frequency at a specified attenuation level can be obtained from
From Table 16.2, the nor- Table 16.3.

Filters and Projects 16. 25

malized component values corresponding to N = 7 and RC = 4.796% for the C-in/out configuration are:
C1, C7 = 0.7970 F, L2, L6 = 1.392 H, C3, C5 = 1.748 F and L4 = 1.633 H. See Fig 16.23A for the
corresponding configuration. The C and L normalized values will be scaled from a ripple cutoff fre-
quency of one radian/sec and an impedance level of 1 Ω to a cutoff frequency of 4.0 MHz and an
impedance level of 50 Ω. The C s and Ls scaling factors are calculated:

1
Cs = (15)
2πRf

R
Ls = (16)
2πf
where:
R = impedance level
f = cutoff frequency.

In this example:
1 1
CS = = = 795.8 × 10−12
2πRf 2π × 50 × 4 × 10 6

R 50
LS = = = 1.989 × 10−6
2πf 2π × 4 × 10 6

Using these scaling factors, the capacitor and inductor normalized values are scaled to the desired
cutoff frequency 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 µH = 2.77 µH
L4 = 1.633 × 1.989 µH = 3.25 µH

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-Ω high-pass filter is needed to
give more than 40 dB of attenuation one octave below (fc/2) a ripple cutoff frequency of 4.0 MHz.
Referring to Table 16.3, 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 1.8fc. If this filter is transformed into a high-pass filter, the 40-
dB level is reached at fc/1.80 or at 0.556fc = 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 16.23, 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 capacitors with inductors. Fig 16.23D is the filter
configuration after the transformation. 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 16.23D are:
1
C1,C7 = = 1.255 F
0.7970

1
L2,L6 = = 0.7184 H
1.392
16.26 Chapter 16
 1
C3, C5 = = 0.5721 F
1.748
and
1
L4 = = 0.6124 H
1.633
Using the previously calculated C and L scaling factors, the high-pass component values are calcu-
lated 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 µH = 1.43 µH
L4 = 0.6124 × 1.989 µH = 1.22 µH

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 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 separation between the upper and lower cutoff frequencies is less
than two, it is necessary 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 desired BPF by resonating the low-pass
components at the geometric center frequency of the BPF.
For example, assume we want a 50-Ω BPF to pass the 75/80-m band and attenuate all signals outside
the band. Based on the passband ripple cutoff frequencies of 3.5 and 4.0 MHz, the geometric center
frequency = (3.5 × 4.0)0.5 = (14)0.5 = 3.741657 or 3.7417 MHz. Let’s slightly extend the lower and upper
ripple cutoff frequencies to 3.45 and 4.058 MHz to account for possible component tolerance variations
and to maintain the same center frequency. We’ll evaluate a low-pass 3-element prototype with a cutoff
frequency equal to the BPF passband of (4.058–3.45)MHz = 0.608 MHz as a possible choice for trans-
formation.
Further, assume it is desired to attenuate 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 frequency at the same attenuation level on the lower slope (call it “f–”) can be calculated
based on (f+)(f–) = (fc)2 or

14
f− = = 2 MHz
7
Therefore, the bandwidth at this unknown 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:

Filters and Projects 16. 27

 5.0
= 8.22
0.608
We now can go to Table 16.3 and search for the corresponding normalized frequency that is closest
to the desired normalized 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 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 component values in Table 16.2.
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:
1 1
CS = = = 5235× 10−12
2πRf 2π × 50 × 0.608 × 106

R 50
LS = = = 13.09 × 10−6
2πf 2π × 0.608 × 106

C1, C3 = 0.6292 × 5235 pF = 3294 pF and

L2 = 0.9703 × 13.09 µH = 12.70 µH.
The LPF (in a pi configuration) is transformed into a BPF with 3.7417-MHz center 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.
25330 25330
L1, L3 = = = 0.5493 µH
(F c
2
× C1 ) (14 × 3294)
25330 25330
C2 = =
= 142.5 pF
(F
c × L
2
2 ( )
14 × 12.7)
where L, C and f are in µH, pF and MHz, respectively.
The BPF circuit after transformation (for N = 3, RC = 4.796%)
is shown in Fig 16.25.
The component-value spread is
12.7
= 23
0.549
and the reactance of L1 is about 13 Ω at the center frequency. For
better BPF performance, 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 Ω and
then using the center taps on L1 and L3 to obtain the desired 50-Ω
terminations. The result of this approach is shown in Fig 16.26.
The component spread is now a more reasonable Fig 16.25—After transformation
of the band-pass filter, all parallel
12.7 elements become parallel LCs
= 5.77 and all series elements become
2.20 series LCs.

16.28 Chapter 16
 and the L1, L3 reactance is 51.6 Ω. 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 Ω and 500
Ω in a 50-Ω circuit. When the value falls below 5 Ω, either the
equivalent series resistance of the inductor or the series induc-
tance of the capacitor degrades the circuit Q. When the inductive
reactance is greater than 500 Ω, the inductor is approaching self-
resonance and circuit Q is again degraded. In practice, both L1 and
L3 should be bifilar wound on a powdered-iron toroidal core to
assure that optimum coupling is obtained between turns over the
Fig 16.26—A filter designed for entire winding. The junction of the bifilar winding serves as a
200-ΩΩ source and load provides center tap.
better values. By tapping the
inductors, we can use a 200-Ω Ω Side-Slope Attenuation Calculations
Ω system.
filter design in a 50-Ω
The following equations allow the calculation of the frequen-
cies 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
flo = − X + fc + X 2 (17)

fhi = f lo + BW (18)
where
BW = bandwidth at the given attenuation level,
fc = geometric center frequency

BW
X=
2
For example, if f = 3.74166 MHz and BW = 5 MHz, then

BW
= X = 2.5
2
and:

flo = −2.5 + 3.741662 + 2.52 = 2.00 MHz

fhi = flo + BW = 2 + 5 = 7 MHz

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 wideband. A
wideband band-stop filter (BSF) requirement may be realized by simply paralleling the inputs and
outputs of separate low-pass and high-pass filters having the same design impedance and with the low-
pass filter having its cutoff frequency one octave or more below the high-pass cutoff frequency.
In order to parallel the low-pass and high-pass filter inputs and outputs without one affecting the other,
it is essential that each filter have a high impedance in that portion of its stop band which lies in the
passband of the other. This means that each of the two filters must begin and end in series branches. In
Filters and Projects 16. 29
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
center 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 resonant circuits in the BPF. The reason for this becomes obvious when
the impedance characteristics of the series and parallel 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.

16.30 Chapter 16
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 resonators
include PZT ceramic, mechanical and coaxial devices. However, the quartz crystal provides the highest
Q and best stability with temperature and time of all available resonators. Quartz crystals suitable for
filter use are fabricated over a frequency range from audio to VHF.
The quartz resonator has the equivalent circuit shown in Fig 16.31. Ls, Cs and Rs represent the
motional reactances and loss resistance. C p is the parallel plate capacitance formed by the two metal
electrodes separated by the quartz dielectric. Quartz has a dielectric constant of 3.78. Table 16.4 shows
parameter values for typical moderate-cost quartz resonators. QU is the resonator unloaded Q.

QU = 2πfsrs (19)
QU is very high, usually exceed-
ing 25,000. Thus the quartz reso-
nator is an ideal component for the
synthesis of a high-Q band-pass
filter.
A quartz resonator connected
between generator and load, as
shown in Fig 16.32A, produces the

Fig 16.31—Equivalent circuit of a quartz crystal. The curve plots

the crystal reactance against frequency. At fp, the resonance
frequency, the reactance curve goes to infinity.

Table 16.4
Typical Parameters for AT-Cut Quartz Resonators
Freq Mode rs Cp Cs L QU
(MHz) n (Ω) (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 Fig 16.32—A: Series test circuit
110 5 60 2.7 0.0004 5.0 57,000 for a crystal. In the test circuit
150 5 65 3.5 0.0006 1.9 27,000 the output of a variable fre-
200 7 100 3.5 0.0004 2.1 26,000 quency generator, eg, is used as
the test signal. The frequency
Courtesy of Piezo Crystal Co, Carlisle, Pennsylvania response in B shows the highest
attenuation at resonance (fp). See
text.
Filters and Projects 16. 31
frequency response of Fig 16.32B. There is a relatively low loss at the series resonant frequency fs and
high loss at the parallel resonant frequency fp. The test circuit of Fig 16.32A is useful for determining
the parameters of a quartz resonator, but yields a poor filter.
A crystal filter developed in the 1930s is shown in Fig 16.33A. The disturbing effect of C p (which
produces fp) is canceled by the phasing capacitor, C1. The voltage reversing transformer T1 usually
consists of a bifilar winding on a ferrite core. Voltages Va and Vb have equal magnitude but 180° phase
difference. When C1 = Cp, the effect of C p will disappear and a well-behaved single resonance will
occur as shown in Fig 16.33B. The band-pass filter will exhibit a loaded Q given by:
2 πfSL S
QL = (20)
RL
This single-stage “crystal filter,” operating 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 16.34 is an improvement in
crystal filter design. The quartz resonator parallel-plate capaci-
tors, Cp, cancel each other. Remaining 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 (fp) of one is the
same as the series resonant frequency (fs) of the other.
Half-lattice filter sections can be cascaded to produce a com-
posite filter with many poles. Until recently, most vendor- sup-
plied commercial filters were lattice types. Ref 11 discusses the
computer design of half-lattice filters.
Many quartz crystal filters produced today use the ladder net-
work design shown in Fig 16.35. In this configuration, all resona-
tors have the same series resonant frequency fs. Interresonator
coupling is provided by shunt capacitors such as C12 and C23. Fig 16.33—The practical one-
Refs 12 and 13 provide good ladder filter design information. A stage crystal filter in A has the
response shown in B. The phas-
test set for evaluating crystal filters is presented in the Projects ing capacitor is adjusted for best
section of this chapter. response (see text).

Fig 16.35—A four-stage crystal ladder filter. The Fig 16.34—A half-lattice crystal filter. No phasing
crystals must be chosen properly for best capacitor is needed in this circuit.
response.

16.32 Chapter 16
Monolithic Crystal Filters
A monolithic (Greek: one-stone) crystal filter has two sets of
electrodes deposited on the same quartz plate, as shown in Fig
16.36. This forms two resonators with acoustic (mechanical) cou-
pling between them. If the acoustic coupling is correct, a 2-pole
Butterworth or Chebyshev response will be achieved. More than
two resonators can be fabricated on the same plate yielding a
multipole response. Monolithic crystal filter technology is popu-
lar because it produces a low parts 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
fundamental mode and up to 90 MHz for the third-overtone mode.
QL ranges from 200 to 10,000.

Fig 16.36—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.

Filters and Projects 16. 33

SAW Filters
The resonators in a monolithic crystal filter are coupled together by bulk acoustic waves. These
acoustic waves are generated and propagated in the interior of a quartz plate. It is also possible to launch,
by an appropriate transducer, acoustic waves which propagate only along the surface 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 16.37. Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) is usually
favored over quartz because it yields less insertion loss. The electrodes make up the filter’s transducers.
RF voltage is applied to the input transducer and generates electric fields between the fingers. The
piezoelectric material vibrates launching an acoustic wave along the surface. 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 absorbers located behind each transducer. This lost acoustic power produces a midband
electrical insertion loss typically greater than 10 dB. The SAW filter frequency response is determined
by the choice of substrate material and finger pattern. The finger spacing, (usually one-quarter wave-
length) determines the filter center frequency. Center frequencies are available from 20 to 1000 MHz.
The number 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
substantially 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.

Fig 16.37—The interdigitated transducer, on the left, launches SAW energy to a similar transducer on
the right (see text).

16.34 Chapter 16
Transmission-Line Filters
LC filter calculations are based on the assumption that the reactances are lumped—the physical dimen-
sions of the components are considerably less than the operating wavelength. Therefore the unavoidable
interturn capacitance associated with inductors and the unavoidable series inductance associated with
capacitors 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 (QL > 10) band-pass filtering is required. In this application they exhibit
considerably lower loss than their LC counterparts.
Replacing lumped reactances with selected short sections of TEM transmission lines results in trans-
mission-line filters. In TEM, or Transverse Electromagnetic Mode, the electric and magnetic fields
associated with a transmission line are at right angles (transverse) to the direction of wave propagation.
Coaxial cable, stripline and microstrip are examples of TEM components. Waveguides and waveguide
resonators are not TEM components.

Transmission Lines for Filters

Fig 16.38 shows three popular transmission lines used in trans-
mission-line filters. The circular coaxial transmission line (coax)
shown in Fig 16.38A consists of two concentric metal cylinders
separated by dielectric (insulating) material. Coaxial transmis-
sion line possesses a characteristic impedance given by:
138  D
Z0 = log  (21)
ε d
A plot of Z0 vs D/d is shown in Fig 16.39. At RF, Z0 is an almost
pure resistance. If the distant end of a section of coax is terminated
in Z0, then the impedance seen looking into the input end is also
Z0 at all frequencies. A terminated section of coax is shown in Fig
16.40A. If the distant end is not terminated in Z0, the input imped-
ance will be some other value. In Fig 16.40B the distant end is
short circuited and the length is less than 1/4 λ. The input imped-
ance 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 16.40C. This case results in a capacitive reactance
(–j). Thus, short sections of coaxial line (stubs) can replace the
inductors and capacitors in an LC filter. Coax line inductive stubs
usually have lower loss than their lumped counterparts.
XL vs l for shorted and open stubs is shown in Fig 16.41. There
is an optimum value of Z0 that yields lowest loss, given by
75
Z0 =
ε (22)

If the dielectric is air, Z0 = 75 Ω. If the dielectric is polyethylene Fig 16.38—Transmission lines.

A: Coaxial line. B: Coupled
(ε = 2.32) Z0 = 50 Ω. This is the reason why polyethylene dielec- stripline, which has two ground
tric flexible coaxial cable is usually manufactured with a 50-Ω planes. C: Microstripline, which
characteristic impedance. has only one ground plane.

Filters and Projects 16. 35

 Fig 16.40—Transmission line
stubs. A: A line terminated in its
characteristic impedance. B: A
shorted line less than 1/4-λ λ long
Fig 16.39—Coaxial-line impedance varies with the ratio of the is an inductive stub. C: An open
inner- and outer-conductor diameters. The dielectric constant, ε , λ long is a
line less than 1/ 4-λ
is 1.0 for air and 2.32 for polyethylene. capacitive stub.

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 difficulties are reduced by the use of shielded strip
transmission line (stripline) shown in Fig 16.38B. The outer con-
ductor of stripline consists of two flat parallel metal plates (ground
planes) and the inner conductor 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
polyethylene. The outer conductors (ground planes or shields) are
Fig 16.41—Stub reactance for separated from each other by distance b.
various lengths of transmission Striplines can be easily coupled together by locating the strips
line. Values are for Z0 = 50 Ω . For near each other as shown in Fig 16.38B. Stripline Z0 vs width (w)
Z0 = 100 Ω , double the tabulated is plotted in Fig 16.42. Air-dielectric stripline technology is best
values.
for low bandwidth (QL > 20) band-pass filters.
The most popular transmission line is microstrip (unshielded
stipline), shown in Fig 16.38C. It can be fabricated with standard printed-circuit processes and is the
least expensive configuration. Unfortunately, microstrip is the most lossy 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 substrates are 0.062-inch G-10 fiberglass (ε = 4.5) for the 50 MHz to

16.36 Chapter 16
 1-GHz frequency range and
0.031-inch Teflon (ε = 2.3) for
frequencies above 1 GHz.
Conductor separation must
be minimized or free-space ra-
diation and unwanted coupling
to adjacent circuits may be-
come problems. Microstrip
characteristic impedance and
the effective dielectric constant
(ε) are shown in Fig 16.43. Un-
like coax and stripline, the ef-
fective dielectric constant is
less than that of the substrate
since a portion of the elec-
Fig 16.42—The Z0 of stripline varies with w, b and t (conductor tromagnetic wave propagating
thickness). See Fig 16.38B. The conductor thickness is t and the along the microstrip “sees” the
plots are normalized in terms of t/b.
air above the substrate.
The least-loss characteristic
impedance for stripline and
microstrip-lines is not 75 Ω as
it is for coax. Loss decreases as
line width increases, which
leads to clumsy, large struc-
tures. Therefore, to conserve
space, filter sections are often
constructed from 50-Ω strip-
line or microstrip stubs.

Transmission-Line Band-
Fig 16.43—Microstrip
parameters (after H. Wheeler, Pass Filters
IEEE Transactions on MTT, Band-pass filters can also
March 1965, p 132). ε e is the
effective ε .
be constructed from trans-
mission-line stubs. At VHF
the stubs can be considerably
shorter than a quarter wave-
length 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 16.44 is an example. This filter
consists of a single inductive 50-Ω strip-line stub mounted into
a 2 × 5 × 7-inch aluminum box. The stub is resonated at 146 MHz
with the “APC” variable capacitor, C1. Coupling to the 50-Ω
generator and load is provided by the coupling capacitors
C c . The measured performance of this filter is: f o = 146 MHz,
Fig 16.44—This 146-MHz
BW = 2.3 MHz (Q L = 63) and midband loss = 1 dB.
stripline band-pass filter has
been measured to have a QL of Single-stage stripline filters can be coupled together to yield
63 and a loss of approximately multistage filters. One method uses the capacitor coupled band-pass
1 dB. filter synthesis technique to design a 3-pole filter. Another method
Filters and Projects 16. 37
allows closely spaced induc-
tive stubs to magnetically
couple to each other. When the
coupled stubs are grounded on
the same side of the filter hous-
ing, the structure is called a
“combline filter.” Three ex-
amples of combline band-pass
filters are shown in Fig 16.45.
These filters are constructed in
2 × 7 × 9-inch chassis boxes.

Quarter-Wave
Transmission-Line
Filters
Fig 16.45—This Butterworth filter is constructed in combline. It
Fig 16.41 shows that when was originally discussed by R. Fisher in December 1968 QST.
l = 0.25 λg, the shorted-stub re-
Dimension 52 MHz 146 MHz 222 MHz
actance becomes infinite. A 9" 7" 7"
Thus, a 1/4-λ shorted stub be- B 7" 9" 9"
haves like a parallel-resonant L 7 3/ 8" 6" 6"
S 1" 1 1/ " 1 3/ 8"
LC circuit. Proper input and 5
16
W 1" 1 / 8" 1 5/ 8"
output coupling to a 1/4-λ reso-
nator yields a practical band- Capacitance
pass filter. Closely spaced 1/4-λ (pF)
resonators will couple together C1 110 22 12
C2 135 30 15
to form a multistage band-pass C3 110 22 12
filter. When the resonators are Cc 35 6.5 2.8
grounded on opposite walls of Q L 10 29 36
the filter housing, the structure Performance
BW3 (MHz) 5.0 5.0 6.0
is called an “interdigital filter” Loss (dB) 0.6 0.7 —
because the resonators look
like interlaced fingers. Two ex-
amples of 3-pole UHF interdigital filters are shown in Fig 16.46. Design graphs for round-rod interdigital
filters are given in Ref 16. The 1/4-λ resonators may be tuned by physically changing their lengths or by
tuning the screw opposite each rod.
If the short-circuited ends of two 1/4-λ resonators are connected to each other, the resulting 1/2-λ stub
will remain in resonance, even when the connection to ground-plane is removed. Such a floating 1/2-λ
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 filters are
popular above 1 GHz because they can be easily fabricated using photo-etching techniques. No connec-
tion 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
transmission-line inductors to form a hybrid component filter. For example, consider the 720-MHz
3-pole microstrip low-pass filter shown in Fig 16.47A that emulates the LC filter shown in Fig 16.47B.
C1 and C3 are replaced with 50-Ω open-circuit shunt stubs lC long. L2 is replaced with a short section
16.38 Chapter 16
Fig 16.46—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.

Filters and Projects 16. 39

 of 100-Ω line lL long. The LC
filter, Fig 16.47B, was de-
signed for fc = 720 MHz. Such
a filter could be connected be-
tween a 432-MHz transmitter
and antenna to reduce har-
monic and spurious emissions.
A reactance chart shows that
XC is 50 Ω, and the inductor
reactance is 100 Ω at fc. The
microstrip version is con-
structed on G-10 fiberglass
0.062-inch thick, with ε = 4.5.
Then, from Fig 16.43, w is
0.11 inch and lC = 0.125 λ g for
the 50-Ω capacitive stubs.
Also, from Fig 16.43, w is
0.024 inch and lL is 0.125 lg
for the 100-Ω inductive line.
The inductive line length is ap-
proximate because the far end
is not a short circuit. l g is
300/(720)(1.75) = 0.238 m, or
9.37 inches. Thus lC is 1.1 inch
and lL is 1.1 inch.
This microstrip filter exhib-
Fig 16.47—A microstrip 3-pole emulated-Butterworth low-pass filter its about 20 dB of attenuation
with a cutoff frequency of 720 MHz. A: Microstrip version built with at 1296 MHz. Its response rises
G-10 fiberglass board (εε = 4.5, h = 0.062 inches). B: Lumped LC
version of the same filter. To construct this filter with lumped again, however, around 3 GHz.
elements very small values of L and C must be used and stray This is because the fixed-length
capacitance and inductance must be reduced to a tiny fraction of transmission-line stubs change
the component values. in terms of wavelength as the
frequency rises. This particu-
lar 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 16.46, which has spurious
responses in the 1296-MHz band.

16.40 Chapter 16
Helical Resonators
Ever-increasing occupancy of the radio spectrum brings with it a parade of receiver overload and
spurious responses. Overload problems can be minimized by using high-dynamic-range receiving
techniques, but spurious responses (such as the image frequency) must be filtered out before mixing
occurs. Conventional tuned circuits cannot provide the selectivity necessary 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-λ 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 frequency range the
helical resonator is an excellent choice. At 50 MHz for example, a capacitively tuned,1/4-λ 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 common, the use of helical resonators results in substantial size
reductions.
The helical resonator was described by W1HR in a QST article as a coil surrounded 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-λ 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 16.48. 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 coil
on a low-loss form, mounted in a copper shield, the unloaded Q is
given by

QU = 50D fo (23)
where
D = inside diameter of the shield, in inches Fig 16.48—Dimensions of round
fo = frequency, in MHz. and square helical resonators.
The diameter, D (or side, S) is
determined by the desired un-
D is assumed to be 1.2 times the width of one side for square loaded Q. Other dimensions are
shield cans. This formula includes the effects of losses and imper- expressed in terms of D or S (see
fections in practical materials. It yields values of unloaded Q that text).
are easily attained in practice. Silver plating the shield and coil
increases the unloaded Q 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 QU by about 3% before
making the calculation). 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
determined, the total number of turns, N, winding pitch, P and characteristic impedance, Z0, for round
and square helical resonators with air dielectric between the helix and shield, are given by:
1908
N= (24A)
f0 D

Filters and Projects 16. 41

 f0 D2
P=
2312 (24B)

99,000
Z0 =
f0 D (24C)

1590
N= (24D)
f0S

f0S2
P= (24E)
1606

82,500
Z0 =
f0S (24F)

In these equations, dimensions D and S are in inches and f0 is in megahertz. The design nomograph
for round helical resonators in Fig 16.49 is based on these formulas.
Although there are many variables to consider when designing helical resonators, certain ratios of shield
size to length and coil diameter to length, provide optimum 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 16.49—The design nomograph for round helical resonators starts by selecting QU and the re-
quired 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 QU of 500 at 7 MHz). Finally the number of
turns, N, winding pitch, P, and characteristic impedance, Z0, 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 Ω ).

16.42 Chapter 16
 Fig 16.50 simplifies calculation of these di-
mensions. Note that these ratios result in a helix
with a length 1.5 times its diameter, the condi-
tion 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 equa-
tions during construction. Conductor size ranges
from 0.4 P to 0.6 P for both round and square
resonators and are plotted graphically in Fig
16.51.
Obviously, an area exists (in terms of fre-
quency and unloaded Q) where the designer must
make a choice between a conventional cavity (or
lumped LC circuit) and a helical resonator. The
choice is affected by physical shape at higher
frequencies. Cavities are long and relatively Fig 16.50—The helical resonator is scaled from
small in diameter, while the length of a helical this design nomograph. Starting with the shield
diameter, the helix diameter, d, helix length, b,
resonator is not much greater than its diameter. and shield length, B, can be determined with this
A second consideration is that point where the graph. The example shown has a shield diameter
winding pitch, P, is less than the radius of the of 3.8 inches. This requires a helix mean diameter
helix (otherwise the structure tends to be of 2.1 inches, helix length of 3.1 inches, and
shield length of 5 inches.
nonhelical). This condition occurs when the he-
lix has fewer than three turns (the “upper limit”
on the design nomograph of Fig 16.49).

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 because large-diameter copper
tubing is used for the shield, but square resona-
tors require 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 dielectric is
used inside the shield. This is usually no problem
at VHF and UHF because the conductors are
large enough that a supporting coil form is not
required. The lower end of the helix should be Fig 16.51—This chart provides the design infor-
mation of helix conductor size vs winding pitch,
soldered to the nearest point on the inside of the P. For example, a winding pitch of 0.047 inch
shield. results in a conductor diameter between 0.019 and
Although the external field is minimized by 0.028 inch (#22 or #24 AWG).

Filters and Projects 16. 43

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 provided, 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 designed from the nomograph of Fig 16.49 will resonate very
close to the design frequency. 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 16.50, the resonator can be tuned
by pruning the open end of the coil. However, neither of these methods is recommended for wide
frequency excursions because any major deviation 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 some-
times 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 f0. Tune the resonator to the desired operating frequency, f0.
Insertion Loss
The insertion loss (dissipation loss), IL, in decibels, of all single-resonator circuits is given by
 
 
I L = 20 log10  
1
 QL  (25)
 1− 
 QU 
where
QL = loaded Q
QU = unloaded Q

This is plotted in Fig 16.52. For the most practical cases (QL > 5), this can be closely approximated
by IL ≈ 9.0 (QL/QU) dB. The selection of QL for a tuned circuit is dictated primarily by the required
selectivity of the circuit. However, to keep dissipation loss to 0.5
dB or less (as is the case for low-noise VHF receivers), the un-
loaded Q must be at least 18 times the QL.

Coupling
Signals are coupled into and out of helical resonators with in-
ductive loops at the bottom of the helix, direct taps on the coil or
a combination of both. Although the correct tap point can be cal-
culated easily, coupling by loops and probes must be determined
experimentally.
The input and output coupling is often provided by probes when
only one resonator is used. The probes are positioned on opposite Fig 16.52—The ratio of loaded
(QL) to unloaded (QU) Q deter-
sides of the resonator for maximum isolation. When coupling mines the insertion loss of a
loops are used, the plane of the loop should be perpendicular to the tuned resonant circuit.

16.44 Chapter 16
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 coupling (loops) exhibit more attenuation to signals above the
resonant frequency (as compared to attenuation below resonance), whereas resonators with capacitive
coupling (probes) exhibit more attenuation below the passband, as shown for a typical 432-MHz reso-
nator in Fig 16.53. Consider this characteristic when choosing a coupling method. The passband can be
made more symmetrical by using a combination of coupling methods (inductive input and capacitive
output, 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 aperture must be found empirically, so this method of coupling is not
very practical unless you’re 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, Rb, to the characteristic
impedance, Z0, for a 1/4-λ resonator is calculated from:
Rb  1 1 
K= = 0.785 − 
 (26)
Z0 Q
 L Q U 
Even when filters are designed and built properly, they may be
rendered totally ineffective if not installed properly. Leakage
around a filter can be quite high at VHF and UHF, where wave-
lengths are short. Proper attention to shielding and good ground-
ing is mandatory for minimum 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 Fig 16.53—This response curve
for a single-resonator 432-MHz
leakage. Proper filter termination is required to minimize loss. filter shows the effects of capaci-
Most VHF RF amplifiers optimized for noise figure do not have tive and inductive input/output
a 50-Ω input impedance. As a result, any filter attached to the coupling. The response curve
input of an RF amplifier optimized for noise figure will not be can be made symmetrical on
each side of resonance by com-
properly terminated and filter loss may rise substantially. As this bining the two methods
loss is directly added to the RF amplifier noise figure, carefully (inductive input and capacitive
choose and place filters in the receiver. output, or vice versa).

Filters and Projects 16. 45

Active Filters
Passive HF filters are made from combinations of inductors and capacitors. These may be used at low
frequencies, but the inductors often become a limiting factor because of their size, weight, cost and
losses. The active filter is a compact, low-cost alternative made with op amps, resistors and capacitors.
They often occupy a fraction of the space required by an LC filter. While active filters have been
traditionally used at low and audio frequencies, modern op amps with small-signal bandwidths that
exceed 1 GHz have extended 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 excellent stage-to-stage isolation.
Despite the advantages, there are also some limitations. They require power, and performance may
be limited by the op amp’s 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 filters are shown in Fig 16.54. A program (ACTFIL.EXE), useful
for designing 1-4 stage filters, is available from ARRLWeb (see page vii). Fig 16.55 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.

Fig 16.55—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.

16.46 Chapter 16
 (A) (B)

Low-Pass Filter High-Pass Filter

4
[a 2
+ 4(K − 1) C2 ] R1 =
 
a + a + 8(K − 1) ωcC
C1 ≤ 2
4
2
R1 = 1

aC2 +

[a 2
]
+ 4(K − 1) C2 2 
− 4C1C2  ωc

R2 = 2 2
ωc C R1
KR1
R2 =
1 R3 = (K > 1)
C1C2R1ωc
2 K −1
R4 = KR1
K (R1 + R 2 )
R3 = (K > 1) where
K −1 K = gain
fc = –3 dB cutoff point
R 4 = K (R1 + R2 ) ωc = 2πfc
where C = a standard value near 10/fc µF
K = gain
fc = –3 dB cutoff point Note: For unity gain, short R4 and omit R3.
ωc = 2πf c
C2 = a standard value near 10/fcµF Example:
a = 0.765 (see table, first of two stages)
Note: For unity gain, short R4 and omit R3. K=4
f = 250 Hz
Example: ωc = 1570.8
a = 1.414 (see table, one stage) C = 0.04 µF (use 0.039 µF)
K=2 R1 = 11,407 Ω (use 11 kΩ)
f = 2700 Hz R2 = 23,358 Ω (use 24 kΩ)
ωc = 16,965 R3 = 15,210 Ω (use 15 kΩ)
C2 = 0.0033 µF R4 = 45,630 Ω (use 47 kΩ)
C1 ≤ 0.00495 µF (use 0.0047 µF)
R1 ≤ 18,147 Ω (use 18 kΩ)
R2 = 12,293 Ω (use 12 kΩ)
R3 = 60,880 Ω (use 62 kΩ)
R4 = 60,880 Ω (use 62 kΩ) [Continued on next page.]

Fig 16.54—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.

Filters and Projects 16. 47

 Band-Pass Filter Band-Reject Filter
Pick K, Q, ω o = 2πfc
where fc = center freq. 1
F0 =
Choose C 2πR1C1
Q
Then R1= 1
K oωoC K = 1−
4Q
Q
R2 =
(2Q2
)
− K o ωoC R >> (1 – K) R1
where
R3 =
2Q C3 10 µF
C1= C2 = =
ωoC 2 f0
Example: R1 = R2 = 2R3
K = 2, fo = 800 Hz, Q = 5 and C = 0.022 µF R4 = (1 – K)R
R1 = 22.6 kΩ (use 22 kΩ) R5 = K × R
R2 = 942 Ω (use 1000 Ω)
R3 = 90.4 kΩ (use 91 kΩ or 100 kΩ) Example:
f0 = 500 Hz, Q=10
K = 0.975
C1 = C2 = 0.02 µF (or use 0.022 µF)
C3 = 0.04 µF (or use 0.044 µF)
R1 = R2 = 15.92 kΩ (use 15 kΩ)
R3 = 7.96 kΩ (use 7.5 kΩ)
R >> 375 Ω (1 kΩ)
R4 = 25 Ω (use 27Ω)
R5 = 975 Ω (use 1 kΩ)

Fig 16.54—Continued from previous page.

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.

16.48 Chapter 16
CRYSTAL-FILTER EVALUATION
Crystal filters, such as those described earlier in this chapter, are often constructed of surplus crystals
or crystals whose characteristics are not exactly known. Randy Henderson, WI5W, developed a swept
frequency generator for testing these filters. It was first described in March 1994 QEX. This test instru-
ment adds to the ease and success in quickly building filters from inexpensive microprocessor crystals.
A template, containing additional information, is available from the ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org/
notes.

An Overview
The basic setup is shown in Fig 16.56A. The VCO is primarily a conventional LC-tuned Hartley
oscillator with its frequency 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 aren’t too different.
Change the 5-pF coupling 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

Fig 16.56—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.

Filters and Projects 16. 49

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
oscilloscope beam to deflect left or right to a position corresponding to the frequency.
Any or all of these circuits may be eliminated by the use of appropriate commercial test equipment.
For example, a commercial sweep generator would eliminate 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 amplifiers 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. CT is the coarse tuning adjustment for each
oscillator module.
Two oscillator coils are wound on PVC plastic pipe. The third, for the highest frequency range, is self
supporting #14 copper wire. Although PVC forms with Super Glue dope may not be “state of the art”
technology, frequency stability is completely adequate for this instrument.
The oscillator and buffer stage operate at low power levels to minimize frequency drift caused by
component heating. Crystal 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 inaccu-
racies in the passband shape depicted by the oscilloscope. Therefore a buffer amplifier is a necessity. The
wide-band amplifier in Fig 16.57 is derived from one in ARRL’s Solid State Design for the Radio
Amateur.
S2 selects a 50-Ω 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
unbiased 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 scope input), increases the vertical-amplifier
sensitivity while compressing or limiting the response to high-level signals. With this arrangement, high
levels of attenuation (low-level signals) are easier to observe and low attenuation levels are still visible
on the CRT. The diode only kicks in to provide limiting at higher signal levels.
The horizontal-deflection sweep circuit uses a dual op-amp IC (see Fig 16.58). One section is an
oscillator; the other is an integrator. The integrator output changes linearly with time, giving a uniform
brightness level as the trace is
moved from side to side. In-
creasing C1 decreases the
sweep rate. Increasing C2 de-
creases the slope of the output
waveform ramp.
Operation
The CRT is swept in both
directions, left to right and
right to left. The displayed
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 Fig 16.58—The sweep generator provides both an up and down
in oscilloscopes. sweep voltage (see text) for the swept frequency generator and the
S3 in Fig 16.58 disables the scope horizontal channel.

16.50 Chapter 16
Fig 16.57—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 oscillo-
scope vertical input. A
separate voltage regulator, an
LM 317, is used to power this
circuit. Q3, Q4, Q5 and Q6 are
25C1424 or 2N2857.

Filters and Projects 16. 51

automatic sweep function
Table 16.5
when opened. This permits
VCO Coils
manual operation. Use a fre-
quency counter to measure the Coil Inside Diameter Length Turns, Wire Inductance
VCO output, from which band- (inches) (inches) (µH)
width can be calculated. Turn large medium 0.85
0.85 1.1
0.55
18 t, #28
7 t, #22
5.32
1.35
the fine-tune control to position small 0.5 0.75 5 t, #14 0.27
the CRT beam at selected
points of the passband curve. 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
The difference in frequency squeezing or spreading the turns before gluing them in place. The output
readings is the bandwidth at windings connected to A1, A2 and A3 are each single turns of #14 wire
that particular point or level of spaced off the end of the tapped coils.
attenuation.
Substitution of a calibrated
attenuator for the filter under test can provide reference readings. These reference readings may be used
to calibrate an otherwise uncalibrated scope vertical display in dB.
The buffer amplifier shown here is set up to drive a 50-Ω load and the wide-bandwidth amplifier input
impedance is about 50 Ω. If the filter is not a 50-Ω unit, however, various methods can be used to
accommodate the difference.

References
A. Ward, “Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits,” Feb 1987 QST, pp 23-29.
Z. Lau, “A Logarithmic RF Detector for Filter Tuning,” Oct 1988 QEX, pp 10-11.

16.52 Chapter 16
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) products result in annoying in-band “birdies.” One solution is the
double-tuned band-pass filters shown in Fig 16.64. They were designed by Paul Drexler, WB3JYO.
Each includes a resonant trap coupled between the resonators to provide increased rejection of undesired
frequencies.
Many popular VHF conversion schemes use a 28-MHz intermediate frequency (IF), yet proper filter-
ing of the image frequency is often overlooked in amateur designs. The low-side injection frequency
used in 144-MHz mixing schemes is 116 MHz and the image frequency, 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 simi-
lar problem on the transmit side
can cause TVI. These band-pass
filters have effectively sup-
pressed undesired mixing prod-
ucts. See Fig 16.65 and 16.66.
The circuit is constructed on
a double-sided copper-clad cir-
cuit board. Minimize compo-
nent lead lengths to eliminate Component Values
resistive losses and unwanted 144 MHz 220 MHz
stray coupling. Mount the pis- C2 1 pF 1 pF
ton trimmers through the board C1, C3 1-7 pf piston 1-7 pF piston
L2 27t no. 26 enam 15t no. 24
with the coils soldered to the op- on T37-10 enam on T44-10
posite end, parallel to the board. L1, L3 7t no. 18, 1/4-in 4t no. 18, 1/4-in
The shield between L1 and L3 ID, tap 11/2t ID, tap 11/2t
decreases mutual coupling and
improves the frequency re- Fig 16.64—Schematic of the band-pass filter. Components must
sponse. Peak C1 and C3 for op- be chosen to work with the power level of the transmitter.
timum response.
L1, C1, L3 and C3 form the
tank circuits that resonate at the
desired frequency. C2 and L2
reject the undesired energy
while allowing the desired sig-
nal to pass. The tap points on
L1 and L3 provide 50-Ω
matching; they may be adjusted
for optimum energy transfer.
Several filters have been con-
structed using a miniature vari-
Fig 16.65—Filter response plot Fig 16.66—Filter response plot
able capacitor in place of C2 so of the 144-MHz band-pass filter, of the 222-MHz band-pass filter,
that the notch frequency could with an image-reject notch for a with an image-reject notch for a
be varied. 28 MHz IF. 28 MHz IF.

Filters and Projects 16. 53

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 frequency 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 maxi-
mum 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 decoding are being designed
with these circuits.

A CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE BANDWIDTH AUDIO FILTER

Active audio filters are a very popular way to enhance the selectivity, especially on CW, of many rigs.
Passive LC filters, usually based on 88-mH toroids, were used for many years, followed by active filters
built with one or more opamps. Switched capacitor filters, such as this one designed by Denton Bramwell,
K7OWJ, offer additional performance, with fewer chips. This project was first described in the July 1995
issue of QST.

General Description
Maxim1 markets a series of useful filter (and other) chips that exhibit excellent performance. The filter
described here rolls off at an impressive 96 dB per octave. Best of all, the upper cutoff frequency can
be continuously varied to accommodate any reasonable desired bandwidth! The values given here
provide a 3-dB bandwidth ranging from 450 Hz for CW to 2700 Hz for voice. The filter’s bandwidth is
determined by merely adjusting a potentiometer.
Maxim’s switched-capacitor-chip family provides Bessel, Butterworth and elliptic low-pass designs.
This Butterworth version has a flat passband—which is excellent if you’re cascading stages—and is
based on the MAX 295 chip.
These ICs are exceptionally easy to apply (see Table 1). If you want but one stage (48 dB per octave)
and you don’t need to vary the filter’s bandwidth, all that’s required are ±5-V supplies and a single
capacitor. Working with an oscillator internal to the IC, the capacitor sets the clock rate. Attach input
and output lines, add a few inexpensive components, a single-voltage power supply and you will have
a working one-stage filter.

Table 1
Selected Maxim Filter ICs
Part Filter Unit Price Rolloff
Number Type ($US) Characteristics Notes
MAX291 8th-order 6 48 dB/octave; about 110 dB Maximum flatness in the passband;
MAX295 Butterworth ultimate excellent ultimate rejection
MAX293 8th-order 6 –80 dB at 1.5 × the corner Probably an excellent choice for a
MAX297 elliptic frequency; about 80 dB single-IC, fixed-frequency filter. A
ultimate MAX297 can directly replace a
MAX295, if steeper rolloff is needed
and more in-band ripple is acceptable.

Note: For single-chip, fixed-frequency filters using the MAX295 and MAX297, the corner frequency can be
set by a single capacitor connected between pin 1 and ground. The internal clock frequency, FI, is deter-
mined by the value of the clock capacitor, C, according to the formula: fI(kHz) = 105 ÷ 3C(pF). The corner
frequency equals 1/50 of the clock frequency.

16.54 Chapter 16
 The ’295 will not operate on voltages much higher than ±5 (split supply) or +10 V (a single supply).
A potential of 12 V between the supply leads is the rated absolute maximum, so if you try to use this
voltage, you may well pop the chip.

Circuit Description
Fig 16.67 shows the incoming audio from the receiver passing through a simple RC high-pass filter,
and on to U1. U1’s output is coupled through another simple RC high-pass filter to the input of U2. U2’s
output is filtered by two more stages of active RC high-passing using 741 op amps (U3 and U4). This
fixes a –3 dB point about 300 Hz on the low-frequency side of the filter and a completely adjustable
–3 dB point on the high side.
The bypassing shown uses 220-µF capacitors for decoupling the stages. Good decoupling is absolutely
necessary to achieve good ultimate rejection. (Dual and quad op amps can’t be decoupled from each other
because they all use the same supply!) The 220-µF capacitors have a reactance of 2.9 Ω at 250 Hz. You
might get by with smaller capacitance values.
Up to 5 mV of clock feedthrough can appear with the audio at the output of the ’295. Maxim provides
an op amp within the ’295 for RC active filtering to suppress clock leakage. This is accomplished by C7,
C8, R7, R8 and R9, which are chosen for a corner frequency of 3.4 kHz.
For continuously variable bandwidth service, it’s necessary to use an external clock to feed the
MAX295s (U1 and U2). A 555 timer (U5) is configured as an astable multivibrator. The output
frequency is controlled by a potentiometer (R20). The corner frequency of the ’295 is 1/ 50 of the
clock frequency. With the components shown, U5 delivers 37 kHz to 180 kHz, for a corner fre-
quency ranging from 740 to 3,600 Hz. The 555 output frequency range will change with supply
voltage. Be prepared to adjust the values if you use a supply other than ± 5 V. The resistance of
most potentiometers is usually not tightly controlled, so the actual clock range you obtain may be
a bit different from the values above
The supply shown for this filter provides ±5-V supplies—the negative supply must deliver about
25 mA. If you want to operate this filter from a single 12-V supply, you can create a virtual ground
by stacking two Zener diodes (see the inset of Fig 16.67). With this approach (rather than using
separate positive and negative supplies, be sure that the common (ground) line of the filter’s PC
board never meets the ground for the rest of your station! The filter’s ground must float. If you
enclose your filter in a plastic box as I did (and the jacks are thus mounted in plastic), it’s okay
for the incoming audio and the 12-V supply to share the same return (C1 provides dc decoupling).
Since the output is a jack to a set of headphones, the actual ground is not important—unless you
add an outboard audio amplifier. Then you must add an audio transformer for isolation.

Construction
Layout is generally non-critical. The author built his filter on a general-purpose prototyping board
using point-to-point wiring, but PC boards are available.2
In Use
With S1 off, the filter receives no power and the headphones are connected directly to the receiver
output. With S1 on, power is applied to the filter and the headphones are connected to the filter output.
Because the filter has unity gain, the input and output audio levels are equal, so there’s no need to adjust
your receiver’s audio gain control when switching the filter in and out of the line.

Summary
To test the filter on-the-air, tune to a busy region of a band and listen as the interfering signals drop
into oblivion as you rotate R20, the BANDWIDTH control. With an attenuation of 96 dB per octave, only
Filters and Projects 16. 55
 Fig 16.67—Schematic diagram
of the continuously variable
audio filter. Unless otherwise
specified, resistors are 1/4-W,
5%-tolerance carbon-composi-
tion or film units. Equivalent
parts can be substituted.
C2, C3, C5, C6, C12, C13, C17,
C18—220 µF, 16 V electrolytic
C19—47 µF, 50 V nonpolarized
C20—47 µF, 16 V electrolytic or
tantalum
C21—10 µF, 16 V electrolytic or
tantalum
C24—100 µF, 16 V electrolytic
or tantalum
D1, D2—5.1-V, 1-W Zener diode
(1N4733)
DS1—LED
J1, J2—Phono jack
L1—2.7 mH (optional)
Q1—2N3904
R20—2-kΩ Ω linear-taper potenti-
ometer
S1—DPDT toggle
U1, U2—MAX295
U3, U4—741 op amp
U5—555 timer

16.56 Chapter 16
a small adjustment of the
potentiometer moves a signal Filter Response with the Clock Set at 37.6 kHz
from very bothersome to below (A) and 149.4 kHz (B)
the noise. By itself, the audio With the clock frequency set for 37.6 kHz, curve (A) shows a
filter provides skirts as deep 10 dB down response of roughly 260 Hz to 800 Hz, and 60 dB
down response of about 100 Hz to 1180 Hz. You can calibrate the
and as steep as better-quality IF front panel control to whatever bandwidth you like—3 dB down,
filters. 6 dB down, or 60 dB down.
The unit’s distributed high- Curve (B), taken with the clock set to 149.4 kHz, shows about
pass filtering makes a quite 250 Hz to 3050 Hz at 10 dB down and about 100 to 4400 Hz at
noticeable reduction in low- 60 dB down.
frequency grunts and rumbles.
It also colors the atmospheric
noise a bit. With the pot set for
maximum width, you’ll hear
the apparent pitch of the back-
ground noise shift slightly up-
ward when you turn on the fil-
ter. This shift represents noise
you no longer have to cope with
when copying a station.

Notes
1 Maxim ICs are available
from several sources includ-
ing Digi-Key Corp. See the
References chapter.
2 PC boards are available from
FAR Circuits. The price: $6
plus $1.50 shipping. FAR
Circuits is listed in the
References chapter Address
List. A PC-board template
package is available on
ARRLWeb.

Filters and Projects 16. 57

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 commercial or amateur stations. The filter shown
is inserted between the antenna and receiver. It attenuates the out-of-band signals from broadcast stations
but passes signals of interest (1.8 to 30 MHz) with little or no attenuation.
The high signal strength of lo-
cal broadcast 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 Ω with a
maximum SWR of 1.353:1 (re-
flection coefficient = 0.15). A 10-
element filter yields 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, sche-
matic diagram, response curve
and component values are shown
in Fig 16.68. The standard ca-
Fig 16.68—Schematic, layout and response curve of the broadcast
pacitor values listed are within band rejection filter.
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-reso-
nant circuits by slightly squeez-
ing or separating the inductor
windings.
Construction of the filter is
shown in Fig 16.69. Use
Panasonic NP0 ceramic disk ca-
pacitors (ECC series, class 1) or
equivalent for values between 10
and 270 pF. For values between
330 pF and 0.033 µF, use
Panasonic P-series polypropy-
lene (type ECQ-P) capacitors.
These capacitors are available
through Digi-Key (see the Ad- Fig 16.69—The filter fits easily in a 2 × 2 × 5-inch enclosure. The
dress List in the References version in the photo was built on a piece of perfboard.

16.58 Chapter 16
chapter) 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 16.68.) 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 capacitor values required for this filter.

Filter Performance
The measured filter performance is shown in Fig 16.68. The stop-band attenuation is more than 58 dB.
The measured cutoff frequency (less than 1 dB attenuation) 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 increases 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 Ω input-impedance window
(equivalent to a maximum SWR of 1.353:1).

Filters and Projects 16. 59

SECOND-HARMONIC-OPTIMIZED (CWAZ) LOW-PASS FILTERS
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 marginal. An additional 10
dB of attenuation is needed to assure compliance with the FCC requirement.
Jim Tonne, WB6BLD, solved the problem of significantly increasing the second-harmonic attenua-
tion of the seven-element Chebyshev LPF while maintaining an acceptable return loss (> 20 dB) over
the amateur passband. Jim’s idea was presented 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 inherently suppress the
second harmonic.
Tonne modified a seven-element Chebyshev standard-value capacitor (SVC) LPF to obtain an addi-
tional 10 dB of stop-band loss at the second-harmonic frequency. He did this by adding a capacitor across
the center inductor to form a resonant circuit. Unfortunately, return loss (RL) decreased to an unaccept-
able level, less than 12.5 dB. He needed a way to add the resonant circuit, while maintaining an accept-
able 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 application, we
need an acceptable RL only over the amateur 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 topology 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 maintain 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 second and higher harmonic attenuation while maintaining a suitable level of return loss over
the amateur band for which they’re designed.
Fig 16.70 shows a schematic
diagram of a CWAZ LPF design.
Table 16.6 lists suggested ca-
pacitor and inductor values for
all amateur bands from 160
through 10 meters. If you want
to calculate CWAZ values for
different bands, simply divide
the first-row C and L values (for
1 MHz) by the start frequency of
Fig 16.70—Schematic diagram of a CWAZ low-pass filter designed
the desired band. For example, for maximum second-harmonic attenuation. See Table 16.6 for
C1, 7 for the 160-meter design is component values of CWAZ 50-Ω Ω designs. L4 and C4 are tuned to
equal to 2986/1.80 = 1659 pF. resonate at the F4 frequency given in Table 16.6. For an output
power of 10 W into a 50-ΩΩ load, the RMS output voltage is 10× 50 =
The other component values for 22.4 V. Consequently, a 100 V dc capacitor derated to 60 V (for RF
the 160-meter LPF are calcu- filtering) is adequate for use in these LPFs if the load SWR is less
lated in a similar manner. than 2.5:1.

16.60 Chapter 16
Table 16.6
CWAZ 50-Ω Ω 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) (µH) (µH) (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 compo-
nent 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 fre-
quency 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 sug-
gested lower capacitor value and the listed L4 value.

Filters and Projects 16. 61

CWAZ VERSUS SEVENTH-ORDER SVC
The easiest way to demonstrate the superiority of a CWAZ LPF over the Chebyshev LPF is to compare
the RL and insertion-loss responses of these two designs. Fig 16.71 shows a 20-meter SVC Chebyshev
LPF design based on the tables in this chapter. Fig 16.72 shows the computer-calculated return- and
insertion-loss responses of the LPF shown in Fig 16.71. The plotted responses were made using Jim
Tonne’s ELSIE filter design and analysis software. This DOS-based program is available from Trinity
Software.1
Fig 16.73 (on next page)
shows the computer-calculated
return- and insertion-loss re-
sponses of a CWAZ LPF in-
tended to replace the seven-el-
ement 20-meter Chebyshev
SVC LPF. The stop-band at-
tenuation of the CWAZ LPF in Fig 16.71—Schematic diagram of a 20-meter SVC Chebyshev LPF.
the second-harmonic band is
more than 60 dB and is substan-
tially 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 disad-
vantages of the CWAZ design
are that an extra capacitor is
needed across L4, and several
of the designs listed in Table
16.6 require paralleled capaci-
tors to realize the design val-
ues. Nevertheless, these disad-
vantages are minor in
comparison to the increased
second-harmonic stop-band at-
tenuation that is possible with a
CWAZ design.

1 Those seriously interested in

passive LC filter design may
experience the capabilities of
ELSIE through a demo disk.
The demo is restricted to LC Fig 16.72—The plots show the ELSIE computer-calculated return-
filters of the third-order only. and insertion-loss responses of the seventh-order Chebyshev SVC
Contact Trinity Software (see low-pass filter shown in Fig 16.71. The 20-meter passband RL is
the References chapter about 21 dB, and the insertion loss over the second-harmonic
Address List for contact frequency band ranges from 35 to 39 dB. A listing of the compo-
information). nent values is included.

16.62 Chapter 16
Fig 16.73—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 16.6
for the 20-meter low-pass filter. Notice that the calculated attenua-
tion to second-harmonic signals is greater than 60 dB, while RL
over the 20-meter passband is greater than 25 dB.

Filters and Projects 16. 63

THE DIPLEXER FILTER
This section, covering diplexer filters, was written by William E. Sabin, W0IYH. The diplexer is
helpful in certain applications, and Chapter 15 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 16.74 shows a normalized prototype 5-element, 0.1-dB Chebyshev low-pass/high-pass (LP/HP)
filter. This idealized filter is driven by a voltage generator with zero internal resistance, has load resistors
of 1.0 Ω 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-Ω RF application with the following formulas:
K L P(LP)R KCP(LP)
L LP = ; CLP =
2πfCO 2πfCOR
where
LP(LP) and CP(LP) are LP prototype values
K = 1.005 (in this specific example)
R = 50 Ω
fCO = the cutoff (–3-dB response) frequency in Hz.

For the HP segment:

L P(HP)R CP(HP)
L HP = ; CHP =
2πfCOK 2πfCOKR
where LP(HP) and CP(HP) are HP prototype values.

Fig 16.75 shows the LP and

HP responses of a diplexer fil-
ter 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 Ω 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 reactance and the
HP input reactance are con-
jugates; therefore they can-
cel and produce an almost Fig 16.74—Low-pass and high-pass prototype diplexer filter de-
perfect 50-Ω input resis- sign. The low-pass portion is at the top, and the high-pass at the
tance in that region. bottom of the drawing. See text.

16.64 Chapter 16
• Because of the way that the
diplexer filter is derived
from synthesis procedures,
the transfer characteristic of
the filter is pretty much in-
dependent of the actual value
of the amplifier’s dynamic
output impedance.2 This is a
useful feature, since the RF
power amplifier’s output im-
pedance 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 Fig 16.75—Response for the low-pass and high-pass portions of the
MHz is down only 18 dB at 80-meter diplexer filter. Also shown is the return loss of the filter.
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 16.76A 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 suppressed 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 16.76B. 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.
Fig 16.76C shows the HP output of the diplexer which terminates in the HP load or dump resistor. A small
amount of the fundamental frequency (about 1%) is also lost in this resistor. Within the 3.5 to 4.0 MHz band
the filter input resistance almost perfectly matches the 50-Ω amplifier output impedance. This is because
power that would otherwise be reflected back to the amplifier is absorbed in the dump resistor.

(A) (B) (C)

Fig 16.76—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.

Filters and Projects 16. 65

 Solid state power amplifiers tend to have stability problems that can be difficult to debug.3 These
problems may be evidenced by level changes in: load impedance, drive, gate or base bias, B+, etc.
Problems may arise from:
• The reactance of the low-pass filter outside the desired passband. This is especially 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 voltage, current and impedance reflections back to the amplifier,
creating instabilities within the output transistors.
Intermodulation performance can also be degraded by these reflections. The strong third harmonic is
especially bothersome 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 16.75, 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. A QEX 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: http://www.arrl.org/qex/.
You can use this technique for other filters such as Bessel, Butterworth, linear phase, Chebyshev 0.5,
1.0, etc.6 However, the diplexer idea does not apply to the elliptic 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 program 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 consideration of the
power levels involved, as illustrated in Fig 16.76.
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 impedance.
3 Sabin, W. and Schoenike, E., HF Radio Systems and Circuits, Chapter 12, Noble Publishing, 1998.
This publication is available from ARRL as Order no. 7253. It can be ordered at: http://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. W0IYH, “Diplexer Filters for the HF MOSFET Power Amplifier,” QEX, Jul/Aug, 1999.
Also check ARRLWeb at: http://www.arrl.org/qex/.
6 See note 1. Electronic Filter Design Handbook has LP prototype values for various filter types, and
for compexities from 2 to 10 components.
7 Weinrich, R. and Carroll, R.W., “Absorptive Filters for TV Harmonics,” QST, Nov 1968, pp 10-25.
16.66 Chapter 16
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 separated from the various projects and built
for other applications. Since filters are a first line of defense against electromagnetic interference (EMI)
problems, the following filter projects appear in the EMI chapter:

• Differential-mode high-pass filter for 75-Ω 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 Electric Wave Filters,” Bell System Technical 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 Insertion Loss Character-
istics,” Journal of Mathematics and Physics, Sep 1939, pp 257-353.
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 Filters 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 Filters,” IT&T Handbook, 4th edition, American Book, Inc,
1956, p 216. Also, P. Geffe, Simplified Modern Filter Design, J. F. Rider, 1963, pp 42-48.
10. W. E. Sabin, W0IYH, “Designing Narrow 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 Crystal Filter Design,” Nov 1980 QST, p 20.
13.W. Hayward, W7ZOI, “A Unified Approach to the Design of Ladder Crystal Filters,” May 1982 QST, p 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 Interdigitated Filter Design,” Microwaves, Feb 1967.
17. A. Zverev, Handbook of Filter Synthesis, John Wiley and Sons.
18. R. Saal, The Design of Filters Using the Catalog of Normalized Low-Pass Filters, Telefunken.
19. P. Geffe, Simplified Modern Filter Design (New York: John F. Rider, a division of Hayden Publish-
ing Co, 1963).
20. A Handbook on Electrical Filters (Rockville, Maryland: White Electro-magnetics, 1963).
21. A. B. Williams, Electronic Filter Design 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 Design, 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.

Filters and Projects 16. 67