SUMMER CIRCUITSCOLLECTION

diode (D1) that is used. The table RF2506

shows a number of suggestions 2V7 ... 3V6
VCC1 1 8 PD 9mA (1A Power Down)
for selecting the frequency-deter- GND1 2 7 VCC2
mining components.
FDBK 3 6 GND2
If the frequency range is narrow, Power Down < 0V7
Active > 3V0
a parallel-resonant circuit should VTUNE 4 5 RFOUT 1n 1n 1n 10

be connected between the output

pin and +Vcc, to form the collec- 1 7
C6
L2

tor load for the output transistor. U TUNE VCC1 VCC2 3 ... 7dBm
PD
This can be built using the same +1V5 ... +20V
1n 8 BIAS CIRCUIT
* 50
components as the oscillator res- RFOUT
5
onator. With a broadband VCO, C5 C3
C1 VTUNE 100p
use a HF choke instead, with a 47k 4

value of a few microhenries to a * FDBK RF2506

3
few nanohenries, depending on
the frequency band. In this case
D1 L1 * zie tekst
see text
C4 C2
GND1 GND2 * voir texte
C6 is not needed. The output 2 6 * siehe Text
1n
level of this circuit is 3 dBm with * *
an LC load and 7 dBm with a
choke load. 004046 - 11

The table that accompanies the

schematic diagram provides f in MHz C1 C2 C3 C4, C6 L1, L2
rough indications of component values for various frequencies. in pF in pF in pF in pF in nH
It is intended to provide a starting point for experimentation.
50 47 47 1000 15 140
The coupling between the variable-capacitance diode and C5
determines the tuning range of the VCO. The manufacturer 100 18 18 10 10 64
maintains an Internet site at www.rfmd.com, where you can 250 6.8 12 6.8 8.2 30
find more information about this interesting oscillator IC. 400 3.3 5.6 3.9 1.8 40
(004046-1)

028 0 - 44 dB RF attenuator
G. Kleine
Anyone who has to reduce the amplitudes of RF sig- 3 ...6V
R1
nals in a controlled manner needs an attenuator. Lin-
* see text
10k

early adjustable attenuation networks using special T1

PIN diodes are available for this, but they require
R2
4k7
* voir texte
quite intricate control circuitry.
> +1V0 = active R3
T2
BC557
* siehe Text
10k * zie tekst
A simpler solution is to use an integrated attenuator 0V = Power Down
that can be switched in steps. The RF 2420 is an IC BC547

built using gallium-arsenide (GaAs) technology, which

works in the frequency range between 1 MHz and C C C

950 MHz. It can thus be used as an attenuator for 10

* * *
cable television signals, for example. The attenuation
can be set between 0 and 44 dB in 2-dB steps. An 8 2 3 4 5 6 7
insertion loss of 4 dB must also be taken into account. RF2420
This base attenuation can be measured in the 0-dB K1 K2
setting, and it forms the reference point for switchable
C
* 1
0dB 0dB 0dB 0dB 0dB
9
C
*
RF RF
attenuation networks that provide 2, 4, 8, 10 and 20 dB - 2dB - 4dB - 8dB - 10dB - 20dB

of attenuation. These are all controlled by a set of 5

TTL inputs. The control signals must have Low levels 12 16 15 14 11 10 13
below 0.3 V and High levels of at least +2.5 V. The RF
2420 works with a supply voltage between +3 V and
+6 V, with a typical current consumption of 4 mA. A
2dB 4dB 8dB 10dB 20dB
power-down mode, in which the
004044 - 11
current consumption drops to > 2V5 = On <0V3 = Off

0.8 mA, can be activated by f C

removing power from the 1 MHz 10 nF
bussed VDD- pins. 10 MHz 1 nF the RF 2420 shows that the only external components that are
100 MHz 100 pF needed are decoupling capacitors. The coupling capacitors at
The sample circuit diagram for the input and output determine the lower operating frequency

56 Elektor Electronics 7-8/2000

 SUMMER CIRCUITSCOLLECTION
limit. The table lists possible capacitor values. The input and The RF 2420 is available in a 16-pin SOP-16 SMD package. Its
output are matched to 50-ohm operation, but they can also be data sheet can be found at www.rfmd.com.
used with 75-ohm cables with a small increase in reflections. (004044-1)

029 Video-Out Coupling

G. Kleine
R FB
If you want to connect a video 255 R FB
signal to several destinations, 255
U Out
you need a distribution amplifier U 2 R G2
to match the 75-ohm video VF In IC1a
1
634
6
7
cable. A distribution amplifier 12k1
3
IC1b 75
5
terminates the incoming cable in 12k1 75

75 ohms and provides several * 5V

outputs, each with 75-ohm out- 0p3...1p5
R G1 * U+
U diff

3k01

1k02
0p3...1p5
put impedance. Since this is 8

3k01
usually achieved by putting a IC1
75-ohm series resistor in the out- 4
put lead of each video opamp
(current-feedback amplifier), the VF Out
IC1 = LT1396
opamps must be set up for a * zie tekst
* voir texte 5V

gain of 2 in order to achieve an * see text * siehe Text 004048 - 11

insertion gain of 1 (0 dB). The

disadvantage of this arrange-
ment is that if the amplifier or its power supply fails, no sig- VOUT = 1/2G (V+-K) = 1/10GVDIFF
nal is available at any of the outputs.
This can be remedied by using a high input impedance ampli- RG1 = (G+3)
fier, which can be tapped into a video line without having to RG2 = RFB/(G+3)
have its own 75-ohm termination resistor. In order to eliminate
hum interference and voltage differences between the cable
screen and the circuit earth, the circuit exploits the common- video signals.
mode rejection of the opamp. This can be optimised with resis- Thanks to the high-impedance connection to the video line,
tor RG1. With the indicated LT1396 video opamp, more than the video signal is not affected when the power for the cou-
40 dB of common-mode rejection can be achieved. The signal pled amplifier is switched off. You can learn more about the
bandwidth of the circuit can be optimised using the trimpots. LT1396 from its data sheet at http://www.linear-tech.com.
It reaches to more than 10 MHz, which is quite acceptable for (0040048-1)

030 Baud Rate Generator

K. Walraven IC1
Elsewhere in this issue, an RC CTR14
7
5V
3
oscillator is used as a baud R2
4
5 4
2k2
rate generator. If you can cali- R1
5
4 S1 2
D
S 5
!G IC2a
330k

9600
brate the frequency of such a 10
RX 6
6
X1 9 14 4800 3 6
circuit sufficiently accurately 11
CX +
CT
7
13 2400
C
R
RCX 8
(within a few percent) using a C1 9
15 1200 1
C2
frequency meter, it will work 11
1 300
150
very well. However, it may 33p 47p 12 12
2
5V
CT=0 3 75
well drift a bit after some time, 13
5V
and then. Consequently, X1 = 2.4576 MHz
74HC4060
X1 = 2,4576 MHz
here we present a small crys- 5V 10
S
tal-controlled oscillator. 12
D
9
IC2b
If you start with a crystal fre- 16 C3 14 C4
11 8
IC1 IC2 C
quency of 2.45765 MHz and 100n 100n R
8 7
divide it by multiples of 2, you IC2 = 74HC74 13

can very nicely obtain the 004103 - 11

7-8/2000 Elektor Electronics 57