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- Can the MP+ kits be purchased
separately as the total cost of $252.00 is somewhat out of my reach at present.
You can buy the kits individually.
My suggestions is you start with the the PLL kit. It can be used
as a stand alone freq generator or as a VFO for another project.
Then get the FCC kit. It houses the Freq Counter and other circuits,
but you can use the freq counter to display the PLL freq or use it
as a general lab counter. Here is the order I would build the MP+:
PLL, FCC, BPF, RCVR, LPF, XMTR
- From where can I
get those Header pins and housings ? I am badly in need of them !!
Try http://www.jameco.com Jameco 1-800-831-4242
Page 79 part#157382 3_contact_housing .25/10 .19/100 .15/1000,
part#100765 female_pin .11/10 .09/100 .06/1000, part#159265 pin_crimper
9.95/each 8.95/10 or try W8DIZ ! link
- R27 in PLL board
shows 50K multi turn potentiometer. I have only a 5K 20 turn pot. Help !
The value of R27 is not critical. Any multiturn pot in the range from
5K to 200K will work. People have used 1K 10 turn pots successfully. link
- How can I get the
PLL to lock on frequency bands outside the standard listed values ?
In the lower right edge of the PLL board, between a yellow varicap and
L1 are 2 solder holes. One is ground, the other is an optional connection
to an external variable capacitor. You can connect a 365 pF broadcast cap
here to give you a very wide lock range. link
- How was the prototype
MP+ built ? I mean the construction technique !
The prototype MP+ was on a wood board, that is covered with a sheet of
copper clad board, used as a ground plane. Each small PCB sub-assembly was
mounted on the board with 1/4" aluminum spacer. link
- Why doesn't MP+
use front panel mounted band switching controls, ... like my $1000
rig ?
It was not the intent to design the MP+ to use a FRONT PANEL. Not that
you can't, but all the manual switching and manual jumper selections make
the MP+ an experimenters rig. MP+ was designed to be as good as or better
than anything you can build for $1000. "as good as", in terms of performance,
not ergonomic design. link
- What will happen
if I solder the PLL chip backwards ?
Aha ! this opens up some interesting .possibilities Thoroughly covered eelsewhere
for details see the link !
- From where can I
get more information about the K10 keyer chip used in the FCC board ?
Try the K10 manual http://www.kitsandparts.com/k10man.pdf
link
- What is the best
way to solder the FCC ribbon cable to the socket ?
Leave the sockets together while attaching the ribbon. The socket has
a tendency to warp from the heat and will melt easily if one is not careful. link
- Is it all right
to use dip sockets on all ICs on FCC and all other boards ?
The IC leads add extra capacitance and inductance to some of the RF circuits
so it is better to avoid using sockets. link
- I just want to build
the receiver part of MP+. How do I do that ?
If you want to build a receiver capable of receiving any frequency band
between 160m and 10m you can do that. All you need are the following kits:
the PLL, the FCC, the RECEIVER and the BPF. link
- I was wondering
if this rig is for the CW subbands only, or will it also cover the phone
section of the bands?
You can use MP+ to receive both CW and SSB by adjusting the variable bandwidth
Crystal Filter. link
- How much bandwidth
control is possible using the varicap tuned xtal filter of MP+ ?
It should be possible to get from about 300 Hz to 2,100 Hz, based on the
original MP. link
- When was the fist
recorded QSO using an MP+ ?
Probably on 9 December 2002 on 40m. W8DIZ using MP+ #1 link
- To get a 15 meter
signal, I cannot connect my transmitter to the frequency counter. Will
putting a 15 m signal to my dummy load be enough? I do not have a signal
generator.
Dummy Load is fine. Run a wire from the hot end of the dummy load and a
wire from the center pin of the frequency counter input. Twist these wires
together to couple them. That will be enough to get a signal to the frequency
counter. link
- I am fed up with
calculating the number of turns for toroid windings. Is there an easy way
?
Sure ! Try the toroid calculator http://www.kitsandparts.com/tcalc.html
(Hmm... unfortunately only for M$ Windows) link
- If there is more
than one winding on a toroid what will be the winding direction (like for
toroids on the RX PCB) ?
All toroid windings will be in the same pitch/direction - unless otherwise
specified. link
- Is the tab/heat
sink of the XMTR final connected to ground ?
For 2SC1945 final tab is connected to the emitter (middle pin) - no insulator
should be used. For 2SC1969 final tab is connected to the collector -
you will need an insulator between the tab and the heat sink. link
- What is the suggested
lineup of the various boards on a mounting plate ?
For straight line mounting: LPF, XMTR, BPF, RCVR, FCC and PLL link
- Can I use external
BCD switches in place of the PCB mounted switches provided on the PLL board
?
Yes you can link
- How do I do this
dual VFO thing ? I am confused. Help !!
Dual (or more if you wish) VFO controls are just separate external potentiometer
controls connected with proper switching see http://partsandkits.com/split.gif for
details link
- Do I need to apply
Heatsink Compound between the final transistor tab and the hheat sink?
Not essential. Heat is not an issue with the XMTR as long as your SWR
is 1:1 link
- My receiver is functioning,
but looks like I have very low audio output. What should I check first ?
It is very easy to reverse the positions of R23 and C39 on the RX board
- this is a common mistake. link
- How do I connect
a straight key to the FCC board ?
The K10 keyer has a programmed mode that allows use of a straight key on
J4 paddle input. The key command is "K". You will be able to enter this "K"
using the straight key itself, if the straight key is wired to J4 properly
(on J4 key between pin 2 and pins1,3 tied together - a momentary push
button switch on J6 between pin2 and pins 1,3 tied together). Check the K10
manual for details. link
- What is the best
way to calibrate the frequency counter/display ?
Get the "frequency calibrator" from Diz or do a rough calibration using
something available (like a spare RX) - make the 30m band receive work and
use the 10.00MHz Standard frequency time signal to calibrate the display.
link
- I am hearing a 3 Hz
tick on my RX what is this ?
Freq Counter Clock Ticks - This is a 3 Hz clock tick that comes from the
Freq Counter. If you hear this ticking, you may have a ground loop problem.
link
- Some of the digits
(from KHz down) of my display jumps. Why is that ?
This a known problem. The problem is that the MEDIUM pot is up against
the far end of travel, placing the wiper very near the 5 volt limit. Usually the display will become stable under
certain combinations of the pot settings. link
- Is there a rough list
of external controls and jacks generally required ?
Yes there is. See the link.
- What is the best way
to adjust the BPFs ?
When you adjust the BPFs, peak them initially on receive. This will get
you in the ball park. Then optimize them on transmit. They are very sharp
and you can easily miss the peak on transmit. link
- Can I use a 10 turn
1k pot panel mounted to replace R18 on the TX board to allow me to adjust
the output?
NO ! R18 needs to be as close to the LT1252 Amp a possible. It carries
low level RF. If you were to place the pot on the front panel, you would
most likely case instability in the XMTR when in XMIT mode.! link
- Argh ! Is there an
easy way to calculate the PLL board switch settings ?
There is ! Use the PLL calculator. Get it from http://www.kitsandparts.com/PLL.EXE
(Hmm ... Unfortunately only for M$ Windows !). link
- On the PLL board; where
should the tune be set while adjusting the varicaps, in middle of tune range?
The correct way is to set the PLL freq to its highest value for the span;
place the highest voltage on the ref freq varactor. Then adjust the variable
capacitor so the green led just comes on while moving from the HIGH RED LED
to the GREEN LED. link
- How can I disable the
RX AGC ?
I connect the center of a SPDT switch to the center pin of J11 on the FCC
board. One outer contact of the switch goes to the AGC input on the RCVR board
and the other to GROUND. link
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