Teledyne LeCroy and Agilent offer brand new 12-bit oscilloscopes and promise clearer, crisper waveform displays than an 8-bit oscilloscope can deliver. But what does it really mean for a real world application to have 12 instead of 8-bit resolution? I have no idea if that was just my perception or if the year 2012 was […]
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Electronics
Review: Analog Devices ADF4360 PLL Synthesizer
The ADF4360 series from Analog Devices is a a family of integer-N-synthesizer chips with on-board VCOs. Since the chips cover all amateur radio bands between 4m – 13 cm and are rather inexpensive, they are predestined to be used in homebrew amateur radio equipment. Not too long ago I reviewed ADI’s wideband PLL synthesizer ADF4351 […]
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Review: Texas Instruments CC2531 USB Evaluation Module Kit
The CC2531 is the second generation ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 compliant System-onChip with an optimized 8051 MCU core and radio for the 2.4 GHz unlicensed ISM/SRD band from Texas Instruments. But what good is it, really? To make the evaluation of the CC2531 a bit easier, TI put together the CC2531EMK. The CC2531EMK is a an evaluation […]
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Review: Goldsource 2000 W Step Up & Down Transformer
Goldsource STU-2000 is a 2000 Watt step up/down transformer designed to convert 110 Volts to 220 Volts and vice versa. It’s also equipped with a 5 V USB output suitable for powering USB devices. The STU-2000 is available for less than 100 [1]. For that price, I decided I’d give it a try. There’s no […]
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One-Hung-Low brand 12 V to 220 V inverter
Inverters are used all over the place to make mains voltages available in conditions where only 12 volts are available. Care needs to be taken to not buy low-quality products and damage sensitive mains operated equipment. Today, I tried out a 300 Watt 12 V DC to 220 V AC inverter I bought off eBay […]
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DIY Passive Probe for the GHz range
Passive probes for the GHz range are costly and it’s usually not too economical to invest into one if you’re just a hobbyist. But regular, cheap probes will not work on signals in the GHz range. So is there a homebrew solution? Yes, there is, check it out! Every passive probe and every piece of […]
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Source for toroids, magnet wire and IF cans
This article is probably going to be the shortest and most straight to the point article I will ever write. While I was looking for different kinds of toroidal ferrite / iron cores, I came across the online shop of amateur radio operator Dieter Gentzow, W8DIZ [1]. Dieter has a huge selection of toroids and […]
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Review: Analog Devices ADF4351
Frequency generation is usually a very critical part in every RF design. The higher the target frequency, the higher complexity. Usually. With the ADF4351, Analog Devices offers an effort-saving component level solution for frequencies up to 4.4 GHz. The ADF4351 from Analog Devices (ADI) is a modern wideband PLL synthesizer with integrated low phase noise […]
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Review: Teledyne LeCroy WaveStation 2052 – Arbitrary Waveform Generator
After having a look at a Teledyne LeCroy WaveAce series oscilloscope recently, it’s time to have a look at the entry-level WaveStation family of arbitrary waveform generators. The WaveStation generators and the WaveAce oscilloscopes are designed to be capable of working hand-in-hand. The Teledyne LeCroy WaveStation 2052 is a 50 MHz, 2-channel Function/Arbitrary Waveform Generator […]
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Quick look at a BPSK31 signal
PSK31 is gaining more popularity among amateur radio enthusiasts. It’s extremely small bandwidth and excellent performance in weak signal conditions make this mode perfect for low power HF stations. PSK31 is a digital transmission mode with just about 31 Hz bandwidth. The signal conveys data at a data rate of 31.25 baud and is extremely […]
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