Revisions to the Pages/Documentation

This page provides a log of activities in concurrent building, debugging, and documenting the kit, identifying changed web pages and describing the changes/status.

Page Revised Date What Changed
WB5RVZ Home page 1/21/2009 Added search engine to main home page
Local Oscillator 11/23/2008 Revised current draw tests, added transceiver freq test.
Thanks to Alan G4GFQ (and Bob_Deep) for the suggestion.
Local Oscillator 11/19/2008 Corrected expected pk-pk value from ~5 to ~1.5 V p-p on scope test
Thanks to Steve 2E0ZEH for catching the discrepancy.
Power Supply 8/19/2008 Added note to pay no attention to the hardware mounting in the pictures, which is the reverse of the recommended mounting. The text is correct, the pictures show the reverse of how the nylon spacers should be installed.
Thanks to Tom K9AC for catching the discrepancy.
all pages 8/15/2008 Added summary build steps section at beginning of page for the more experienced builder who needs just the schematic, recommended staging and sequencing, and recommended tests.
BPFs 8/12/2008 Clarified that wire lengths on bifilar windinges are per secondary, such that the total wire length required would be 2x the stated length. Replaced resistance tests with continuity tests .
Thanks to Walt AE8L for recommending this.
Multiple 8/12/2008 Added current test with 100 ohm series resistor and tests of 5 and 3.3 V power rails to ensure no shorts on those rails. .
Thanks to Alan G4ZFQ for recommending this.
Mixer 8/12/2008 Added reference to requirement to install ENRX ground and test loop (link back to Power Supply Stage) after installing Mixer.
Thanks to Walt AE8L for surfacing this.
BPFs 7/19/2008 Added comments suggested by Pete N4ZR re winding 66 turn inductors and bifilar windings.
BPFs 7/19/2008 Added comments suggested by Pete N4ZR re winding 66 turn inductors and bifilar windings.
Multiple Stages 6/23/2008 Modified the current draw measurements to reflect the experience of builders of the kits where the version of the Si570 was the CMOS version. Adjusted expected draw downwards by ~14 mA (to reflect the lower current draw of that version).
BOM, BPFs 6/23/2008 Changed some of the recommended wire lengths for the inductors. The existing recommendations were a bit on the optimistic side, so they were "fudged" upwards by an inch or so.
All Stages 6/6/2008 Changed structure to add "BuildIt" and "TestIt" icons to critical steps for each stage, allowing user to skip past the background info and go directly to the essential steps of

building

and

testing.

SW1 Settings, Home, Local Oscillator, Mixer 6/3/2008 Updated SW1 Settings page to add mappings of the 16 center frequencies to the Rocky "Multi-Band" dropdown list (entries in the ROCKY.INI file).
Added SW1 Settings links to other pages' menus.
Mixer 6/3/2008 Updated Mixer page to reflect completed status.
Added RX test using Rocky software.
BPFs 6/1/2008 Clarified language on inserting T100-#'s windings into appropriate (annotated) holed in BPF Board.
Thanks to Duncan G4ELJ for catching the error.
Op-Amps 6/1/2008 Added Tony's DMM-only test of Op-Amps for those with no scope.
Op-Amps 5/30/2008 Corrected omission of R23 and R24 as part of Stage 4.
Power Supply, Op-Amps, BOM 5/30/2008 Added picture of SMT Cap strips for clarification of the 2 different types of caps.
BPFs, BOM 5/29/2008 Revised to correct wire lengths needed for inductors. Added pictures of completed BPF board (80/40m). Added interim tests of inductors on BPF board.
Local Oscillator 5/29/2008 Revised to correct instructions for mounting J1/J2. As originally built, these were header pins rather than sockets. Revision shows J1 and J2 are sockets.
BOM, various 5/28/2008 Revised to prevent the possibility of the builder's confusing the two types of SMT caps (as did the author). The kit calls for 5 x 0.1 µF and 10 x 0.01 µF SMT caps. Updated BOM, Home page, and individual Stage pages.
Republished affected PDF files.
Dividers 5/28/2008 Updated to reflect completion and tests.
Corrected erroneous S0 and S1 test points to reflect true testpoints. Added voltage divider test.
Local Oscillator 5/28/2008 Updated to correct p-p output voltages of completed stage Also added photo of completed board topside. (exact measurements TBD)
Local Oscillator 5/27/2008 Updated to reflect test results of completed stage.
Mixer, BOM 5/23/2008 Updated references to TI's SN74CBT3253 dual 1-of-4 multiplexer/demultiplexer to reflect it should be replaced by Fairchild's The Fairchild's FST3253 dual 4:1 high-speed multiplexer/demultiplexer bus switch.
Local Oscillator 5/20/2008 Currently Building.Debugging Stage 1. Still debugging.
Corrected (originally erroneous) instructions so that SW1 is correctly mounted.
Moved J1 and J2 mounting from BPF stage to LO stage (just before C10).
Added some tests on U3.
Paused efforts to get and remount new SW1 and C10.
Power Supply 5/20/2008 Completed build of Stage 1. Added completed pictures and test results to Stage I - Power Supply web page.
Local Oscillator 5/20/2008 Changed instructions to claify (counter-intuitive) orientation of U4. Working with Tony on additional troubleshooting/tests.
Local Oscillator 5/20/2008 Added pk-pk test measurement value to LO Output Test.
BPFs 5/19/2008 Added instructions on sawing long BPF board strip into four boards.
BPFs, BOM 5/19/2008 Corrected erroneous value for C101-2 from 600pF to 680pF.
Power Supply, Mixer 5/18/2008 Moved the ENRX wire (ground point) installation from the mixer stage to the power supply stage.
PDFs 5/17/2008 Reprinted Stage PDF files to reflect changes below
Home, BPF 5/17/2008 Added passband waveforms from David WB4ONA's LT Spice simulation of the BPF designs to the website, with links from the homepage and from the BPF page. New page added was BPF_BandPassSimulations.

Thanks, David
BPFs 5/17/2008 Added David WB4ONA's resistance measurements to testing for BPF inductors.
Also added David's experience with the 66 turn coil and inability to wind as a single layer, and the effect that had on the specified inductance (needed 3 additional turns to get there).
Thanks, David
Local Oscillator, Comments Page 5/17/2008 Corrected typo ("twice center freq" should be "4x center freq" in LO Output). Fixed return knk from comments page
Thanks to Dave WW2R.
various stages 5/16/2008 Worked on the various topside images to standardize their look and feel (highlight stage-relevant components and dim out the rest).
Mixer, LO, OpAmps 5/16/2008 Making huge assumptions from Tony's message #21552 regarding his build of the kit and the final step (Mixer stage) current draw of 109 mA, I made extrapolations (SWAGS) back to the LO, and OpAmps pages of the expected current draws In those stages.
Home 5/15/2008 Provided link to the PDF versions of the pages for each of the 6 stages. The link directs the user to a new page with links for downloading the PDFs for printing and using/checking off during actual construction. This is in response to a suggestion by Joe VE1BWV.
Home 5/15/2008 Added Revisions Link and (this) page.  Made minor changes to description of LO circuit, per suggestions from Tom Hoflich.