FM Radio Station Notes Part 24

FM RADIO STATION NOTES PART 24

TUTORIAL: How Radio Waves are Produced
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAcDM2ypBfE#t=186

FM TRANSMITTER
As a reference to going even smaller and more simple, this schematic shows possibly the most simple one transistor FM radio voice transmitter design, using a common 2N2222 transistor and only three capacitors and two resistors. There's only 7 electronic parts total to this assembly plus batteries and the antenna. A power on/off SPST switch should be added to the schematic.

Parts List
R1 Resistor 4.7K
R2 Resistor 220 ohms
C1 Capacitor .01uf
C2 Capacitor 33pf
C3 Capacitor 6.8pf
L1 Coil
Electret Microphone
2 - 1.5 Volt Battery

A slightly modified version is at this web site:
http://www.sentex.ca/~mec1995/circ/fmt2.htm
http://www.sentex.net/~mec1995/circ/circuits.htm

FM RECEIVER
The video also includes a schematic diagram for a very simple matching two stage FM radio receiver. This battery driven radio has only two transistors, amounting to 6 electronic parts plus batteries, switch and antenna.

Parts List
R1 Resistor 12K
C1 Capacitor 220n
T1, T2 Transistor BF199
C Variable Capacitor
3 Volt Battery
SPST Switch
Earphones
Antenna

BF199 transistor data sheet
http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/2947/MOTOROLA/BF199.html

MOST SIMPLE FM TRANSMITTER
The simple FM transmitter circuit shown above is a spinoff of this project. It uses only one resistor, one capacitor, one transistor and one coil. The article is found all over the web. It has no microphone but the coil is so microphonic that it will pick up noises in the room via vibrations on a table. The circuit does not have any section that actively tunes the frequency. The transistor turns on via the 47k resistor and this puts a pulse through the 15 turn winding. The magnetic flux from this winding passes through the 6 turn winding and into the base of the transistor via the 22n capacitor. This pulse is amplified by the transistor and the circuit is kept active. The frequency is determined by the 6 turn coil. By moving the turns together, the frequency will decrease.  The circuit transmits at 90MHz which is at the low end of the 88 to 108 MHz FM band. It has a very poor range and consumes 16mA.

http://www.circuitlab.org/2013/02/schematics-easy-build-rf-transmitter.html

http://skema-elektronik.blogspot.tw/2011_02_01_archive.html

http://circuit-diagram.hqew.net/Simplest-RF-Transmitter-circuit-diagram_4095.html

http://www.talkingelectronics.com/projects/Spy%20Circuits/SpyCircuits-1.html

This Google search link will find a lot more simple FM radio transmitter schematics and projects.

SIMPLEST FM TRANSMITTER
Here's another link to a project claiming also to be the simplest FM transmitter ever made.
http://circuitsdiy.com/the-simplest-f-m-transmitter-ever-made/

This circuit has audio input and needs only 2 resistors and 3 capacitors plus a coil and transistor.

"For input from low power output devices, such as mobile, computer’s sound card, the value of the unlabeled capacitor is 0.1 or 104. For higher wattage outputs, the value is 0.01 or 103. An optional microphone pre-amp can be also added in this circuit to enable it transmit voice directly."

ANTENNA
One idea to create the small transmitter antenna is to use a small wheel bicycle used spoke from a children's bike available from a bike shop probably for free.

How to Change a Dark Detector into an FM Transmitter
http://www.buildcircuit.com/fm-transmitter-and-dark-sensor/

A dark sensor can be converted to a simple FM transmitter using a similar schematic layout.

The dark sensor will light the LED as the output indicator. The transmitter substituted a microphone for the LDR.

FM TRANSMITTER
This FM transmitter is very sensitive and it has transmitting range of 30 meters with a 9-volt battery. Reducing battery power will reduce transmitter range.

Comments given at the link about the transmitter
The circuit may work but it relies on a “Q-factor” from the coil and capacitor in the tank circuit to produce a high voltage.

This high voltage gives the circuit a good range. Firstly the coil and capacitor should be near each other. The coil should not have long leads. and a 22n capacitor should be across the supply to give the circuit better performance. The value of C2 is too high. It should be 10p. The coil should be 5 turns. The electret mic should not be connected directly to the base of the transistor.

Robot Explorer Log 10 Mission Control

Mission Control at Humanoido Labs, for Robot Explorer and sending of intelligent life to other planets at the outer fringes of the Solar System, is modestly modeled after NASA's new upgraded control center. Credit: NASA

ROBOT EXPLORER LOG 10
MISSION CONTROL
So now you've created a new life form, sent it to a new world and it's exploring the surface. You'll need a mission control center to gather its images, data, findings, and discoveries.

The Big Brain machine initiative continues to expand. Recent projects include Robot Explorer, designed to explore strange and erie new worlds at the outer fringes of the Solar System. Establishing and maintaining contact with remote robotic autonomous intelligent beings requires a control center, i.e. Mission Control, for the gathering of images and various telemetry signals for analysis.

HISTORY
The previous construction of Mission Control was a command center to control massive space telescopes and included the earthen supercomputer to conduct and make their projects possible.

NEW MISSION CONTROL
The new Mission Control is designed with several purposes, though primarily for establishing contact with autonomous intelligent beings created by the laboratory which will explore new distant worlds. 

SETUP
The current setup is a desktop proof of concept using frequencies centered around 1.2 GHz on four channels, and additional channels in the UHF, VHF range for long range wireless operations.

EXPERIMENTS
Experiments conducted include the camera eye on a robot that feeds images into a micro-miniature 1.2 GHz transmitter. The camera eye and transmitter remain on board the robot and wireless send images to the base station on one channel. This channel includes video and audio bands.

CONVERSION
The base station at Mission Control has a 1.2 GHz receiver that converts the signal to standard NTSC composite 1V p-p (AV) and feeds it into the TV. The TV has audio/video AV input.

MORE CHANNELS
A second Parallax Propeller chip, known as the sensor chip, transmits data telemetry on the VHF band USA channel 3. This is received directly by Mission Control's multi-band analog TV. Data transmitted includes information from sensors and various parameters including the condition of the robot and its decisions.

RECORDING TELEMETRY
The  TV monitor also has video out which can feed into a VCR or other digital recording device for a record of the mission's proceedings.

New CCD Eye

Screen within a screen

BIG BRAIN GETS A POWERFUL NEW CCD EYE

The Big Brain can now look farther and deeper in the Universe depths with this new big color camera eye. On June 13th, 2012, the Big Brain gained a powerful new CCD eye, purposed for imaging great gains to ISO 27,000.

Features The electronic lensing eye employs a CCD element sensor which saves data to a 16 GB High Speed SD Ultra Card by Sandisk at a high speed data transfer rate of 30MBPS. The sensing element is a 10.0 Megapixel 1.1.7-inch Charge Coupled Device with a fast pre image forming F/2.0 to F/4.9 wide angle (28mm to 105mm) lens capable of zoom at 3.8 optical x 4 digital (15.2 combined). It contains a full size 3-inch bright LCD monitor with 461,000 pixels. The eye can time expose a quarter of a minute (15 seconds) for astronomical and dark area imaging and reaches a fast high end exposure of 1/1600s. Vision is as close as 2-inches or out to infinity and includes a timer. One great feature is the programmable function ring which can be assigned various modes.

Battery pack and recording media

The eye handles continuous imaging at 1.9 views a second and will also record video and stereo audio. The digital zoom is silent on the recording audio. The eye features the advanced Optical Image Stabilizer System. Capacity is 164,734 views per card fill. Resolution goes to 3648 x 2736 pixels. Data is saved in compressed or full JPG or high resolution RAW and is fully compatible with Apple OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.8 and iPhoto. The eye interfaces with High Speed USB 2.0, NTSC, PAL, and records in Stereo. The Vid can handle 5-hour stints and has an active optical zoom. (Capture 720p HD 24 FPS video in stereo sound; playback on an HDTV via the HDMI output.) Weight is only 6 ounces (170g) and approximate housing dimensions are 3.93 x 2.3 x 1.16 inches (99.8 x 58.4 x 29.5mm), ideal for both Brain and telescope mounting. Framing is selected from 16:9, 3:2, 4:3, 1:1, and 4:5. The battery used is NB-6L. The image camera can serve as an advanced robot eye, a Big Brain image center, the imaging device for the Ultra Space Program, a satellite imaging unit for launches into space, etc. The interior Canon S95 electronics is similar to the Canon G12 at half the price. (the G12 is larger, heavier, slower, with a smaller LCD display but has more external controls, a flip out LCD and a closer focus macro.) For more information refer to Canon PowerShot S95 information at http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/digital_cameras/powershot_s95#Specifications

Monetary Investment What does this system cost when exported to overseas markets like Taiwan? The camera lists for US$399.99. A package with camera, one extra original manufacture's battery, LCD protect screen covering, a SanDisk 16GB 30MB/s Ultra Media SDHC1 Card (note: this is currently the fastest, class 10, data transfer card of this type offered by SanDisk), a Digital Cleaning Kit and the dealer service plan was $380.00. Separately added by Humanoido Labs is a specialized sides-reinforced black zippered bag that holds: the camera, one extra battery and the download USB cable plus notes. Note, the hard leather camera case recommended by the seller was not purchased as it had a bolt which did not line up with the camera and could not hold any accessories. www.amazon.com currently sells the camera for US$392.00 without any accessories.

Improvements Over the Previous Eye The new Canon S95 eye represents a great improvement and major upgrade over the previous Big Brain SONY T10 eye. T10 ratings: CCD, Sliding Lens Cover, F3.5 to F4.3, 38mm Lens, 7.2 Megapixel, 2.5” LCD 230,000 Pixels, 3X Optical 6X Digital Zoom (18 combined), 90x55x21mm size, 165 Grams weight, JPG Format, 30FPS Video, Shutter ¼ Sec. to 1/1000 Sec., Movie can zoom, ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, Macro 1cm, 7.4 Million Photodetectors, Tripod Mount, Lithium Battery, 2Gb Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo, SONY Cyber-shot InfoLithium battery NP-FT1.
http://asia.cnet.com/product/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-t10-39268480.htm
http://asia.cnet.com/product/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-t10_specs-39268480.htm

SONY T Series Announcement

NOTE: According to internet sources, all known SONY T series cameras, such as T10, T20 etc. have a manufacturing defect. Apparently, new or old cameras can develop a lens vibration anomaly rendering the camera useless. A stabilizing lens gyro internally with glue mounts fails. SONY offered a free recall fix in 2011 that has now ended. Camera owners are now left with a very expensive fix, in which in some cases has failed again, or the route to purchase another brand camera.

Summary In summary, the new S95 eye has a faster lens, a more sensitive ISO rating, can take longer time exposures and faster exposures, is about the same small weight, size and has a similar timer, has a 2" macro instead of .75", has a larger brighter display, a larger megapixel CCD imager, adds stereo sound, and has a card with eight times the storage capacity.

SanDisk Data Card
Information and quotes from the SanDisk Web Site
SDHC (16 & 32GB), SDXC (64GB) form factor, Class 10 performance for Full HD† video (1080p), Read speeds up to 30MB/s* Capacities up to 64GB** Writeable label for easy identification and organization. Lifetime limited warranty*** Water-proof, temperature proof, X-ray proof, shock proof‡ Form factor: SDHC (16GB and 32GB), SDXC (64 GB) Available capacities: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB Performance/speed: Up to 30MB/s* read speed; write speed lower. SDHC card dimension: 0.94" x 1.25" x 0.08" (24 mm x 32 mm x 2.1 mm) Operating temperature: -13ºF to 185ºF (-25ºC to 85 ºC). Storage temperature: -40ºF to 185ºF (-40ºC to 85ºC) Compatibility: Compatible with all SDHC or SDXC supporting host devices. Security: Built-in write-protect switch prevents accidental data loss. Support: Lifetime limited warranty*** Jewel case included . Not all devices support SDHC and/or SDXC memory card formats. Check with your device manufacturer for more details. * Up to 30MB/sec read speed; write speed lower. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes. ** 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some capacity not available for data storage. *** 10 year warranty in Germany, Canada, and regions not recognizing "lifetime" warranty. † Full HD video(1920x1080x30fps) and HD (1280x720x30fps) video support may vary based upon host device, file size, resolution, compression, bit rate, content and other factors. See www.sandisk.com/HD ‡ SD, SDHC and SDXC card formats up to 64 GB only. See www.sandisk.com/proof for additional information. SanDisk Ultra® Class 10 SDHC™/ SDXC™ UHS-I Card 30MB/s. Get the highest video recording performance with Class 10 rating for Full HD† video (1080p), plus more speed to catch the shot with your point and shoot camera. With SanDisk Ultra UHS-I cards you'll benefit from faster downloads, higher capacity, and better performance to capture and store more Full HD video. Take advantage of ultra-fast read speeds of up to 30 MB/s* to save time when moving images from the card to your computer. SanDisk Ultra UHS-I cards are water-proof, temperature proof, X-ray proof, shock proof‡, compatible with all SD/SDHC digital devices, and come with world-class customer support. 16 GB Item# SDSDU-016G-A11 SanDisk Ultra SDHC UHS-I cards are for point-and-shoot cameras and camcorders to capture Full HD† Video (1080p) and pictures. Featuring speed class 10 for the highest video recording performance available and more speed to take better pictures instantly.