YooFab RFLEGO Assembly Instructions Manual

Active antenna receiving loop

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Kit Assembly instructions

RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop

Designed and produced by YOOFAB

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop

www.yoofab.com

G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ

page 1 of 66

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Summary of Contents for YooFab RFLEGO

Page 1 Kit Assembly instructions RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Designed and produced by YOOFAB ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 1 of 66...
Page 2: Table Of Contents
Respect The Difference!.....................8 No Signal!......................... 10 Common Base Differential Amplifier..................11 The Output........................11 Connectors........................12 Common Instructions for all RFLEGO kits................13 What is an electronic kit?....................13 YooFabTM Electronic Kits:....................13 How to build your kit......................13 About YooFabTM electronic kit PCBs................14 About RFLEGO.........................
Page 3 So where are the leads soldered onto the PCB?............60 HARDWARE......................... 61 Step 10..........................61 Step 11..........................63 Step 12..........................64 Step 13..........................65 Congratulations!........................65 ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 3 of 66...
Page 4: Main Characteristics
Main Characteristics The YooFab RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Kit, once correctly built, will provide a highly sensitive HF Antenna that should operate more in the magnetic domain than it does in the electrical domain. It should be effective across the whole HF spectrum.
Page 5 It should be between 1 meter and 1.5 meters in length. A bigger loop will probably not help with better reception and instead may lead to instability and reception of more unwanted signals. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 6: Bill Of Materials (Component List)
The colour / style of some hardware components such as bolts or connectors may vary. Attention: In the photo we see 3 transistors; there are two used in the circuit. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 7 Galvanized wire m length Decal To be placed on top of the PCB Polystyrene piece To organize your components while building ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 7 of 66...
Page 8: Circuit Diagram
The 5uV (p-p) signal appears on the left side of the ‘loop’ coloured Green and on the right side coloured Blue. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 9 YooFab Antenna Loop Differential pair amplifier Notes On Simulation: Please note that in the above animated simulation, there are two 10 MΩ resistors that go to ground. These are needed by the SPICE simulation and are not needed in reality.
Page 10: No Signal
(with respect to ground) at the same time. Ergo, there is no difference and so nothing is amplified. YooFab Differential amplifier for loop antenna No amplified signal Remember This When Testing: We must remember the differential nature of this amplifier when testing. If we forget this and connect a signal generator to both sides of the differential amplifier, then at best nothing will appear at the output.
Page 11: Common Base Differential Amplifier
100nF capacitors and thus removes the DC component which is present and stops the two sides of the differential pair being shorted together! ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 12: Connectors
2. RF output - The Active Antenna Loop output uses an RCA socket. This makes the loop amplifier compatible with YooFab RFLEGO. However, you may need to use an adaptor or make your own cable if you need to connect this to type connectors.
Page 13: Common Instructions For All Rflego Kits
Common Instructions for all RFLEGO kits What is an electronic kit? Generally, kits are composed of electronic components, a circuit diagram (schematic), assembly instructions and often a printed circuit board (PCB) or another type of prototyping board. YooFab Electronic Kits: Easy to build •...
Page 14: About Yoofabtm Electronic Kit Pcbs
This lacquer will vaporize with the heat from the soldering iron. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 15 Proceed to place the connectors and other through-hole elements through both the board and decal and finally proceed with the assembly. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 16: About Rflego
5. The PCB style used is popular among RF design engineers. 6. RFLEGO is a term used to convey the modular and connective nature of an educational and functional system that is the intellectual property of YooFab™.
Page 17: Notes On Soldering Single Sided Surface Mount Boards
9. 60/40 solder melts at 188 C. This is a plastic state and makes a poor connection, dull in appearance. This is often referred to as a 'cold joint'. We must use a temperature above 188 C. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 18 (2) or a bevel (3) bit. This picture shows 1 Conical (pencil) bit, 2 Chisel bit, 3 Bevel bit ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 19 16. Inspect soldered joints and cables. Make sure that component leads or wires do not touch the board in any place other than the designated positions marked in the illustrations. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 20: Step By Step
Where possible, an illustration and a photograph are shown. The photographs show a prototype board with the same design. In most cases, the photographs in the instructions below show soldering by a novice at the YooFab Lab. Despite this, the modules worked perfectly first time. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright ©...
Page 21: Printed Circuit Board
(light grey). In reality, there should be no difference in the appearance of the copper tracks and that of the ground plane. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 22: Resistors R1 To R9
Solder R1 and R2 • into position These are both • 120Ω resistors Photograph of Step 2 showing both 120Ω resistors ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 22 of 66...
Page 23: Step 3
Solder R6 and • R7 into position These are both • 270Ω resistors. Photograph of Step 3 showing both 270Ω resistors. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 23 of 66...
Page 24: Step 4
R8 into position These are both • 4.7K (4K7) resistors Photograph of Step 4 showing R5 and R8 soldered into position. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 24 of 66...
Page 25: Step 5
• and R9 into position These are all • 1K resistors. Photograph showing R3, R4 and R9 soldered into position. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 25 of 66...
Page 26: Capacitors C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7
The component leads should be bent away from the capacitor body until an L • shape is made (with respect to the component body) ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 27: Step 7
Be careful to allow room for the other components and hardware in this area of • the printed circuit board. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 27 of 66...
Page 28 Photograph showing C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7 and C8 soldered into position. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 28 of 66...
Page 29: Transistors
ONCE! Repeated bending of the leads will result in breaking the component lead from the body of the transistor. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 29 of 66...
Page 30: How To Identify Base, Emitter And Collector On 2N2222 To-92 Transistor
A photo of the transistors soldered into place. How to identify Base, Emitter and Collector on 2N2222 TO-92 transistor ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 30 of 66...
Page 31: Winding The Toroidal Transformer
Additionally, the sequence of pictures shows red wire and white wire. The use of different colours and a bigger sized toroid should make it easier to see what is happening during this procedure. Note: YooFab.com has an animated GIF that shows this sequence. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright ©...
Page 32: Toroid Winding Step 1
Clamp both strands of wire. Here a vice is used. However, if you do not have one of these, you can improvise. Anything that will hold both wires, while they are twisted together will suffice. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 33: Toroid Winding Step 2
Leave between 2.5 and 3 CM of wire at the end. These are referred to as pig-tails, which will be soldered to the PCB. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 34: Toroid Winding Step 3
Toroid winding step 3 The pig-tails at this end are clamped, such that these will not be twisted together. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 34 of 66...
Page 35: Toroid Winding Step 4
Toroid winding step 4 Similarly, we place the other ends of the two strands inside the chuck of a hand drill. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 35 of 66...
Page 36: Toroid Winding Step 5
Toroid winding step 5 We begin twisting the wires together using the hand drill. Note that in this case a battery powered electric hand drill was used. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 37: Toroid Winding Step 6
Toroid winding step 6 Continue twisting the wire with the hand drill. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 37 of 66...
Page 38: Toroid Winding Step 7
Toroid winding step 7 More! Twist the wire until we arrive at between 7-8 twists per inch OR about 3 twists per centimetre. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 38 of 66...
Page 39: Toroid Winding Step 8
Toroid winding step 8 Keep on twisting! ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 39 of 66...
Page 40: Toroid Winding Step 9
Toroid winding step 9 Finally, we may detach the twisted wires from the clamp and the hand drill. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 40 of 66...
Page 41: Toroid Winding Step 10
Note: This number of twists per CM shown above may also be used for the 33 SWG solderable enamelled wire that is supplied with this kit. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 42: Toroid Winding Step 11
Toroid winding step 11 Hold one end of twisted pair in your left hand. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 42 of 66...
Page 43: Toroid Winding Step 12
Toroid winding step 12 Oh! Wait! Using your right hand now push that end UP through the toroid. Pay attention! ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 43 of 66...
Page 44: Toroid Winding Step 13
Toroid winding step 13 A more focussed picture of the same action! ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 44 of 66...
Page 45: Toroid Winding Step 14
Toroid winding step 14 Right up through the toroid! ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 45 of 66...
Page 46 Hold that thought! More to the point hold the pig-tail and a bit more. Hold this pair of wires against the toroid using your left hand thumb and finger. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 47 Toroid winding step 16 The free end must now be passed DOWN through the toroid. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 47 of 66...
Page 48 Toroid winding step 17 Down! We pass the free end of the twisted pair DOWN through the toroid. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 48 of 66...
Page 49 Toroid winding step 18 This counts as 2 (two) turns. We must continue winding. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 49 of 66...
Page 50: Toroid Winding Step 19
Toroid winding step 19 This counts as three (3) windings. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 50 of 66...
Page 51: Toroid Winding Step 20
Toroid winding step 20 Keep winding! ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 51 of 66...
Page 52: Toroid Winding Step 21
Toroid winding step 21 FINISHED! We now have 10 windings. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 52 of 66...
Page 53: Toroid Winding Step 22
Toroid winding step 22 These windings should be distributed around the toroid so it looks like the picture above. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 53 of 66...
Page 54: Toroid Winding Step 23
Optionally, we can measure the value of one of these windings using an LC meter. Note that this toroid will show different results than our black FT37-43 which is wound with 33SWG solderable enamelled copper wire. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 55: Toroid Winding Step 24
Toroid winding step 24 Let’s separate the wires here and measure again. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 55 of 66...
Page 56: Toroid Winding Step 25
@ 30 MHz corresponds to an impedance of about 6.5KΩ • The above is sufficient for our transformer to work well over the entire HF spectrum. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 56 of 66...
Page 57: Step 9
Note, that the diagram shows two dots above the transformer. These dots tell us the polarity or magnetic sense of our transformer and this is important, as this affects the phase of signals passing through our transformer. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 58 Again we must remember that our FT37-43 is much smaller AND that it is wound using copper enamelled wire. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 59: Which Wire? Which Winding
The toroid is smaller, but this is no excuse at all for making hard work out of what is really easy to do. Indeed, there are far smaller toroids that you might have to wind! ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 60: So Where Are The Leads Soldered Onto The Pcb
4. The two other wires are the other winding or pair. One side of which is soldered to ground and the other to the output track. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 64: Step 12
As mentioned above, the BANANA posts may be soldered to the tracks directly • using the tags, or wire may be used instead. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 64 of 66...
Page 65: Step 13
Anode goes to the track shown in the illustration. The LED should not require anything other than solder to keep it in position. • ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ...
Page 66: Congratulations
Tighten the screws but do not over-tighten them, as this will damage the thread • on the screw. Congratulations! Congratulations, you have now completed the kit. ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS RFLEGO Active Antenna Receiving Loop Copyright © 2018 - 2019 www.yoofab.com G.D.COWNE - MØOOZ page 66 of 66...