Three Sigma VDA-100 Video Distribution Amplifiers (DA) have been sitting on my shelf for a while. The DAs have been waiting to be repurposed for something useful. When Jackson Labs sent me a custom variant of the FireFly-IIA GPS-Locked double ovenized 10 MHZ reference oscillator, I decided to repurpose one of the VDA-100 as a […]
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Radio Frequency (RF)
Tektronix RSA 306 | GPS Receiver and Clock Reference
The Tektronix RSA 306 is a great low-cost USB 3.0 spectrum analyzer for up to 6 GHz in an ultra low-profile format. If paired with the RSA Map function of SignalVu-PC and a GPS receiver, it becomes an extremely powerful tool for interference hunting and signal strength mapping. This article shows a possible way to […]
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Lumped-Element Wilkinson Splitter / Combiner Design
This is a supplemental article to two of my videos on my YouTube channel about the theory and design of Wilkinson splitters and combiners. A Wilkinson divider is a specific class of power divider with high isolation between the output ports. This feature is particularly useful when used as a combiner. This article will show […]
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VOR NAV Receiver Testing
This video shows how to generate a complex test signal to emulate a ground based radio navigation system for aircraft (VOR). The generated signal can then be used to verify the accuracy of navigational receivers intended to be used with a VOR. Used in this video: LeCroy WS3162, LeCroy HDO4024 and Yaesu FTA-720
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850 MHz Scanner Preamplifier / Filter Project
This article shows how to use off-the-shelf parts to improve the performance of a radio scanner in the 800 – 900 MHz band. Furthermore, it shows how to expand radio coverage by using two different receive antennas at the same time. For some reason, my new BCD996XT scanner wasn’t working as expected on the statewide […]
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