For homebrew crystal filters such as Cohn-Type or Ladder-Type filters it is often necessary to select crystals within 10 – 50 Hz of the target frequency. To make the selection process a little bit more pleasant, I designed this little test circuit. It is basically just a very simple oscillator utilizing a hand full of […]
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LNB Modification for 10 GHz QO-100 Satellite Reception
This article shows how to modify an inexpensive LNB to accept an external LO-reference signal in order to be used as a K-band downconverter for QO-100 (Qatar Es’hail 2) amateur radio sattelite reception, radio astronomy or similar K-band experiments. This article is a shortened version of a scientific paper that I wrote as the lead […]
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ICS501 / ICS501 VHF Experiments
The ICS501 / ICS511 from Renesas are easy to use, fully integrated clock multipliers for output frequencies up to 200 MHz. What makes them particuarly interesting is the integrated crystal oscillator circuit and ability to produce some fractional multiples, such as 6.25 or 2.5. So let’s find out if they’re interesting for the hobbyist who […]
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Look Inside: Teledyne LeCroy HDO4024
True beauty lies within, or so they say. For an exclusive look under the hood, I decided to break the warranty seal on my Teledyne LeCroy HDO4024. It took me a while to debate with myself whether or not I should void the warranty on this scope. Curiosity won and I couldn’t resist, I just […]
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Review: Abracon ABFT Frequency Translators
In March, 2012, Abracon announced the production of ultra-low jitter, VCXO based frequency translators / jitter attenuators. This is supposed to resolve some problems that accompany classic PLL-based designs at an affordable price. Now, the ABFT frequency translators / jitter attenuators are available on the market and it’s time to have a closer look. The […]
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C-Band DRO LNB Teardown
A low-noise block downconverter (LNB) is a key element in a satellite receiver system and is responsible for converting the relatively high frequency of the received signal into the more convenient L-Band. But how do they work and what do they look like on the inside? Let’s have a look! From a theoretical standpoint, a […]
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AOCJY1 series high stability OCXOs from Abracon
An Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) is used wherever one needs a highly accurate and precise frequency reference. Abracon manufactures a series of affordable off-the-shelf OCXOs, which are due to their low price and outstanding performance particularly suitable for homebrew designs. Abracon’s AOCJY1 series offers various through-hole OCXOs with several possible frequencies between 10 MHz […]
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