LowBandHighPerformancePreamp

LarryW7IUV
Revision5copyright19982009

Note:Pleasereadtheentiredocumentbeforestartingtobuildthisproject.Thereisdatacontained
withinthatisnecessarytoobtainmaximumperformancefromthiscircuit.
Mysearchforalowbandpreampstartedmanyyearsago.WhenIstartedusingRXantennasfor160
meterwork,itbecamenecessarytoincreasethesignallevelsobtainedfromthesmallRXantennas.
AftermanyfalsestartswithNuvistors,JFETS,andMMICs,thefollowingcircuitwasadopted.Ithas
gonethroughanumberrevisionsovertheyears.
ThecircuitwasoriginallyborrowedfromaprojectpublishedintheARRLHandbook.Itwasverified
withSpiceanalysis,thenbuiltandtested.ItworkedbetterthananythingIhadtriedpreviously.Asthe
RXantennasbecamelargerandmoreefficient,theIMDperformanceprovedtobeinsufficient.Some
tweaksweremadeandperformancewasimprovedtothepointwherefurtherworkwas
unnecessary.AboutthattimeIlostaccesstotheSpiceapplicationandwasunabletoverify
performancewithcomputeranalysis.
Afterbeingaskedaboutmypreampmanytimes,Ifinallypublisheditonmywebpage.Thedesign
hadquiteafewbugsthatwerenotofanyconsequenceinmyshack,butitwasobviousfrom
feedbackovertheyearsthatothersdidhaveproblems.Ialwaysmeanttolookintosomeofthese
reportedissues,butnevercouldfindthetimeandenergytodoit.
AttheurgingofEd,W4EDS,Istartedlookingintoasurfacemountreplacementforthefavored
2N5109transistorusedintheoriginaldesign.Althoughseveralmonthsofworkproducedveryfew
suitablereplacements,Ididmanagetofixmost,ifnotall,designdeficienciesknowntobeinthe
originalcircuit.
InthisdocumentIwillattempttoprovidesomeinsightintopreamprequirementsanddesignaswell
asprovideaguidetoinsuretheresultingpreampdesignisusedproperly.
Anylicensedamateurradiooperatorisfreetousethematerialcontainedinthisdocumentforhisown
use.PleasedoNOTcopythisdocumentonyourwebpage.Feelfreetoshowalinktomywebpage.
IadviseyoutolinktothemainpageratherthanthisdocumentasthedocumentURLWILLchange
fromtimetotime.Commercialinterestsshouldcontactmeforpermissiontouse.
Idontsellparts,kits,orassembledunits.Dontbotherasking.Imnotmakingapennyonthisdesign.
MyonlydesireistopromotebetterRXcapabilityonthelowbandsforeveryone.Ifyoufindthis
documenthelpful,letmeknow.Likewise,letmeknowifyoufindanerror.

DesignRequirements:
TheideallowbandpreampshouldhavesufficientgaintoallowuseofthetypicallylowoutputRX
antennaswithmostmoderntransceivers.Atthesametime,theNoiseFiguremustbesufficientlylow
astonotdegradetheSYSTEMnoisetemperature.(SYSTEMnoisetemperatureincludesyour
receiver,theantenna,thetransmissionline,andallthenoisesourcestheantennasees!)Inaddition,
itmustbearelativelyhighpoweramplifiersothatlocalAMBCstationsdonotcauseIMDproductsto
begeneratedinthepreamp.Twomoreverydesirablevirtueswouldbelowcostandeaseof
construction.
Gainiseasy.Gettinggainwithoutcompromisingtheotherrequirementsisnot.20dBseemstobea
goodoverallcompromisefigure.Seldomwillmorebeneeded.Lesscanbeeasilyaccomplishedby
usingfixedattenuators.Aknobtoprovidecontinuouslyvariablegainisnotanoption.Thereisno
easy,economicalwaytoadjustthegainonafeedbackamplifierlikethisonewithoutseverely
compromisingoneormoreimportantperformanceparameters.
Noisefigureiselusive,misunderstood,andgenerallyoverratedatHF.TheNoiseFigureofadevice
and/orcircuitisdifficulttomeasureaccurately.Themeasurementrequiresexpensivespecialized
equipment.ItisactuallyeasiertomeasureNoiseFigureatmicrowavefrequenciesthanat1.8MHz
duetothelackofcalibratednoisesourcesatthelowfrequencies.CommercialpreampsthatIhave
seenclaimincrediblylowNoiseFigures.Ireallydoubttheyhaveeverbeenmeasuredandverified.I
saythisbecausethenumbersarethesameasthepublishedNFnumbersforthetransistorused.
ThosespecsaredeterminedbyusingthepartinacircuitthathasbeenoptimizedforNFalone.That
circuitis,ingeneral,notsuitedforalowbandpreampbecausetheinputimpedanceisnotverygood
andtheOIP3isterrible.Whenthecircuitismodifiedtoenhancetheother,moreimportant,
parameters,theNFwillalwaysbealotworse.
TheNFofthepreamponlyneedstobegoodenoughsothatthenoise(localpowerlines,computers,
etc.,pluspropagatedQRN)theRXantennaseesdominatesthesystemNF.Byvirtueofextensive
experimentation,IknowthattheNoiseFigureofthepreampdescribedhereislowenoughthatwhen
alowoutputantenna,suchasaFlag,isusedontheendof400feetofgoodcoax,thebandnoisestill
dominatesthesystem.
WhileIcannotmeasuretheabsoluteNoiseFigureofthesepreamps,Idohavethecapabilityof
comparingtheperformanceofvariousdevicesandcircuits.UsingtheYFactormethodandthe
equipmentIhaveavailable,IcanmeasurethedifferenceinNFbetweendevicesaccurately.By
havingdonethisonalargenumberofdevices,IamsuretheabsoluteNFofthis2N5109isbetter
than6dBandbetterthanmostofthecommercialpreampsthatclaimbetternumbers.Again,itreally
makesnodifferencewhattheabsolutenumberis,aslongasitdoesnotadverselyaffectthe
SYSTEMperformance.
ByfarthemostcriticalparameterofalowbandpreampistheOIP3(output3rdorderinterceptpoint).
Thisistheparameterthatdetermineswhetherornotapreampwillgotoesupwhensubjectedto
largesignalsfromoutofbandAMBCandothersources.Iflargesignalsareappliedtoadevicethat
isoperatedinanonlinearregion,IMDproductswillbegenerated.TheIMDproductscausedbyout
ofbandsignalsarenotthesameastheIMDproductscausedbyinbandsignalsthatroofingfilters
andotherRXinternaldevicesminimize.Alowbandpreampmustbeabletohandleveryhighlevel

signalswithoutgoingintothenonlinearregionofthedevice.OIP3isameasureofhowstrongthe
offendingsignalscanbebeforetheycausetrouble.
OIP3isalsoaparameterthatisverydifficulttomeasureaccurately.Ihaveseensomeclaimsmade
thatIjustdontbelieve.SinceIusedtodothismeasurementonthejobbeforeIretired,Ihavelittle
faithinsomeofthetestsetupsIveseendescribed.Mypersonaltestequipmentisjustbarelycapable
ofmakingOIP3measurementsatthehighlevelthispreampoperatesat.Infact,Ireallythinkthe
preampisbetterthanthetestequipment,butsinceIcantprovethatwiththesetupIhave,Idont
reallywanttoclaimsuchathing.
TheOIP3oftheoriginalcircuitwasgoodenoughtoworkwithaFlaginatypicalurbanenvironment
withoutafrontendfilter.However,ifaRXantennawasusedthathadahigheroutputlevel,afilter
wasrequired.IwasalwaystryingforbetterOIP3numbersbutcouldntgetthemuntilthislast
revision.Illgointomoreaboutthatlater.SufficetosaythatOIP3(IMDperformance)isthemost
importantparameterofapreampusedon160meters.
Reliabilityisessential.Thisbasiccircuitisbulletproof.Ihavebuiltdozensoftheseandknowof
hundredsmorethathavebeenbuiltworldwide.Ifyouhaveaproblemwithit,itsbecauseof
somethingyoudidwrong.Mydailyusepreampisconnectedandpoweredup24/7.Itisalways
connectedtoanRXantenna,duringTXperiod,duringlightningstorms,always.Ihaveover60,000
hoursofnearcontinuousoperationonthesamedevicewithnofailuresofanykind.
Bandwidthorfrequencyresponseshouldbedeterminedbytheintendeduseofthepreamp.This
designisprimarilyintendedtobeusedfor160and80meterwork.Itturnedoutthatmorebandwidth
wasobtainedeasilyandusedwithoutcompromisingotherperformanceparameters.Inthiscircuit,the
operationalbandwidthislimitedonthehighendbythegain/bandwidthproductofthetransistorused
andonthelowendbythecouplingcapacitors.Inpractice,whenusingahighfrequencydevicelike
the2N5109,highendrolloffataround30MHzisduetotheferritecore.Whenusingalowfrequency
deviceliketheDCP68,thehighendstartsrollingoffaround7MHz.

SchematicsandParts:
Enoughbackgroundfornow,hereisthenittygrittystuff.Thecircuitbelowistheoriginalwithaparts
listatthebottom.BeawarethisisincludedforreferenceonlyandIdoNOTrecommendthisversion.
Ifyouhaveitanditworksforyou,great,butifstartingfromscratch,besuretobuildthelatest
version.

C1,C2,C3,C4,C7=0.01uFceramic
C5=0.1uFceramic
C6=2.2to10uF50v
R1=1K
R2=560ohm
R3=3.3kohm
R4=4.7ohm
R5=10ohm
T1=10turnsbifilaronFT3743core
Q1=2N5109,or2N3866
Theoldcircuitshownabovesufferedfromseveraldesigndeficienciesthatwereofnoconcerntome
butseemedtogiveafewotherbuilderssometroubles.Ofnotewastherequirementfor12.00VDC
power.Morethanthatwouldcauseproblems.Operatingtemperatureofthedevicerequiredavery
goodheatsink.Somefolkshadissueswiththe0.01uFcouplingcapsthatIhaddeliberatelyspecified
tolimitlowfrequencyresponsebelowtheband.Onethingthatannoyedmewastheinputimpedance
notbeingascloseto50ohmsasIwouldlike.

WhenW4EDSchallengedmetofindasurfacemountreplacementforthe2N5109,Isetupthebench
forpreampwork.ThatwassomethingIhadnotdoneinmorethantenyearsandwaslongoverdue.I
hadtorecreatethesetupsformeasuringOIP3andNFandverifyaccuracyofthemeasurements.In
parallelwiththattask,Ialsosearcheddatabooksandcatalogsforlikelydevices.
Aspartofthesearcheffort,IlookedatpossibleTO5andDPAKreplacementsaswell.Turnsout
therearealotofpartsthatwillworkbutnotgiveverygoodperformance.Whilelookingathowthese
variouspartsactuallyperform,ImadeafewdiscoveriesaboutsomeofthecomponentpartsIwas
originallyusing.OneofthemostinterestingthingsIdiscoveredwasthatthetype43corematerial
usedinthetransformerwasalimitingfactorintheoverallperformanceofthecircuit.Changingtoa
type75mixsolvedalotofannoyinglittleproblemsIhadinthepast.Mostimportantly,theOIP3came
upsignificantlyandIwasabletoreducethecollectorcurrentwithoutloosingperformance.That
openedupalotmorepossibilitiesfordevices.Unfortunately,whilealotofdevicesproducethe
requiredgainandOIP3numbers,theydontproducegoodNF.IfNFisnotanissueinyour
installation,eventheoldfaithful2N2219Awillworkinthenewcircuit.Illelaborateonthislater.
Presentedbelowistheschematicdiagramforthecurrentversion.Thepartslistfollowsthe
schematic.Included,aspartofthepartslist,isadiscussionofeachpart,whatitdoes,andwhat
possiblesubstitutionscouldbemade.Pleasereadandunderstandtheinformationpresented
BEFOREorderingpartsorbuildingthecircuit.

Partslist:
Vcc=12.6to13.6voltsDC.Seeinstallationsectionformoreinfo.
C1,C2,C3,C4,C7=0.1uF50voltceramiccapacitorThesearecouplingandbypasscaps.Disk
ceramicsworkwellasdoceramicchipcaps.Ihavefoundthatwhilesomeofthemorecommon

plasticencapsulatedcapacitorsworkOK,somedonot.IfyouhaveanydoubtastotheRFproperties
oftheplasticcapsyouhave,dontusethem.C1,C2,C3,andC7haveaneffectonthefrequency
responseaswellastheinputimpedanceofthepreamp.AlthoughthecircuitasiswillworkOKdown
to100kHzorso,youcanimprovethelowfrequencyperformancebymakingthesefourcaps2.2uF
ceramicortantalum.
C5=1.0uF50voltBypasscap,notcritical,canuseceramicortantalum.Someplasticcapsare
alsoOK
C6=4.7to22uF50voltPowersupplybypass.Valuenotcritical.Tantalumpreferredbutquality
electrolyticOKalso.
R1=1000ohms,watt,1%metalfilmpreferredThisispartofthebiasnetwork.Thevalueis
somewhatcriticalforoptimumperformance.2%metalfilmorcarbonfilmcanbeusedifnecessary.
5%partscanbehandselectedwithanohmmeterifyouaredesperate.
R2=680ohms,watt,1%metalfilmpreferredThisispartofboththebiasnetworkandthe
feedbacknetwork.Itisacriticalpart.2%metalfilmorcarbonfilmcanbeusedifnecessary.5%
partscanbehandselectedwithanohmmeterifyouaredesperate.DONOTattempttochangethis
value,itwillhaveadverseeffectsonallperformanceparameters!
R3=3300ohms,watt,1%metalfilmpreferredThisispartoftheDCbiasnetwork..2%metal
filmorcarbonfilmcanbeusedifnecessary.5%partscanbehandselectedwithanohmmeterifyou
aredesperate.Itsvalueisnotparticularlycriticalandcanbeadjustedupordownsomewhattoalter
thecollectorcurrentdrawnbythetransistor.Itshouldbeadjustedtosetthecorrectcollectorcurrentif
youuseatransistordifferentfromthatspecified.
R46.8ohms,watt,1%metalfilmpreferredThisispartiscritical.Ithasaneffectonboththe
DCoperatingpointandtheRFgainaswellastheinputimpedanceandOIP3.DONOTunderany
circumstancechangethisvalue.2%metalfilmorcarbonfilmcanbeusedifnecessary.5%partscan
behandselectedwithanohmmeterifyouaredesperate.
R512ohms,watt,1%metalfilmpreferredThisispartoftheDCbiasnetwork.DONOT
changethisvalue.2%metalfilmorcarbonfilmcanbeusedifnecessary.5%partscanbehand
selectedwithanohmmeterifyouaredesperate.
Q12N5109preferred,2N3866alsoOK.(Heatsinkrequired!)Forsurfacemount,useDCP68.
Manydifferentpartscanbeusedinthiscircuitbutmostwillhavelowerlevelsofperformance.For
instancethe2N2219AcanbeusedifNFisnotanissue.TheNFusingthe2N2219Aisabout2dB
higherthanusingthe2N5109.ShouldnotbeaproblemwithhighlevelRXantennaslikealong
BeveragebutmightlimitthesystemwithFlags,Pennants,etc.MM2003andMM2009transistors
seemtoworkOK.Anydevicewith1wattormoretotaldissipationcapabilityandwitha
gain/bandwidth(transitionfrequency)greaterthan350MHzwillfunctionbuttheNFmaysuffer.Itsup
totheusertodetermineifthepartissuitableornot.TheDCP68deviceisasurfacemountstylethat
hasatransitionfrequencyof350MHz.Thatcausesittohavelessoperationalbandwidthinthe
preampcircuitbutitisstillquitegoodon160and80withjustasmallbitofperformancedegradation
on40.ThepartsItestedhadgoodNFbutvariedquiteabitfromparttopart.Thebestwereabout1
dBbetterNFthanthegoldstandard2N5109andtheworstwereaboutthesameasthe5109.This

isaverycheappartandseemstobereadilyavailable.Irecommendusingitifyoucannotfind5109s
or3866sinyourlocale.IalsolookedhardattheBFG591devicebutitneedsaslightlydifferent
circuit,seebelow.Note:recentfeedbackseemstoindicatethatlatedatecode5109shaveahigher
DCgainthanearlierdatecodes.Ifyoufindthecollectorcurrenttobehighandyouaresurethat
everythingelseiscorrect,increasethevalueofR3togetthepropercollectorcurrent.
T15turnsbifilaronatype75core.Wiresizenotimportant,usewhateverfitsonthecore,Iuse
#28magnetwiretypically.(Youcanuse10turnsbifilaronatype43coreasintheolddesignbutthe
IMDperformancewillsufferdramatically.)Type75material(orequivalent)istheonlycoremixInow
recommend!Suitablecoresare:
FT5075(Amidon)
5975000301(FairRite)
35T050110H(Steward,DigiKey#2402524ND)
Theaboveareinchdiametercore.Ifyouwanttousesmaller3/8diametercores:
35T037510H(Steward,DigiKey#2402522ND)(thisiswhatIusuallyuse)
AlthoughIsaybifilarwound,theydonotneedtobebifilar.Thewindingsarenotcritical.Iwind
themthatwaybecauseitseasierforme.Youmayfinditeasiertowind10turnsonthecoreand
centertapthiswinding.Eitherwayproducesthesameresultelectrically.ThewiresshouldNOTbe
twisted.Notethatthistransformerisnotatransmissionlinetransformeroranyothermagicdevice
youmightseeinotherprojects.Itisjustasimpleautotransformer,woundandconnectedtoprovide
a1:4impedancetransformation.Bifilarwindinginstructionsforthetransformerchallengedfollow:
Takeapieceofredwireandapieceofblackwire.(colornotimportant,usedforreferenceonly)Put
tapeonbothendsofbothwires.Markoneendofeachwirewithan"A".Marktheotherendofeach
wirewitha"B".Takethetwoendsmarked"A"andholdthemtogether.Takethetwoendsmarked
"B",holdthemtogetherandthenpassthemthroughthecorefivetimes.TaketheendoftheRED
wiremarkedwithan"A"andconnectittotheendoftheBLACKwiremarkedwitha"B".Thiscommon
connectionisnowyourcentertap.TheRED"B"andtheBLACK"A"arethewiresyouconnecttothe
collectorandthe+VCC.Itdoesnotmatterwhichgoeswhere.
Somephotosmighthelp.Notethatthetransformersshowninthisphotoareforinstructionalpurposes
onlyandarelargerthanthecorrectcoresanduselargersizewire.Theseareonlymeanttoillustrate
thewindingmethods.

BFG591surfacemounttransistor:
Beforemovingontoassembly,test,andinstallation,IdliketotalkabouttheBFG591device.Idont
reallyrecommendusingthispartbutIpresentitforthosethatwanttoexperiment.Ifyouarenot
interestedinexperimentation,jumpaheadtothenextsectionnow.
Ispentdozensofhourssearchingdatabooksandcatalogslookingforasubstituteforthe2N5109.
Therearefewpartsthatareevenclose.TheBFG591stoodoutamonghundredsofRFpartsIlooked
atandseemedlikeareallygoodsolutionforSMTwork.Iboughtabunchofdifferentpartsthathad
evenaremotechanceofworkingandtriedthemall.TheDCP68andtheBFG591weretheonly
transistorsthatcameoutevenclosetowhatIwanted.
TheBFG591isa9GHzpartwithgreatNFspecsandreasonablepowercapability.Itdidnotwork
wellintheoriginalcircuit.Itprovedtobeverydelicateasyoumightexpectfromapartthathadthat
bandwidth.Togetthatbandwidth,thediesizemustbesmallandthebondwiressmall.Noneofthe
aboveisconducivetoreliableoperationinlowbandpreamps!AsIshouldhaveexpected,Idestroyed
alotofthesepartsduringtesting.
Ifinallycameupwiththefollowingvaluesthat,whenusedintheschematicabove,showgoodOIP3
andgreatNFbutpoorreliability.Ihavetodatea50%failurerateduringtesting.HoweverIsuggest
thefollowingasagoodplacetostartifyouwanttopushthelimits!
UseVcc=8.0voltsDCforthisdevice.Isuggestanonboard78L08threeterminalregulatorrunning
froma13voltDCinput.At8voltsonthecollector,noneofthedevicebreakdownvoltagesare
exceededandreliabilityismuchbetterthanathighersupplyvoltagesbutstillpoor.
Theschematicisthesameandallpartsarethesameasthe2N5109versionEXCEPTR3=2200
ohms.Thisvalueshouldbeadjusted,ifnecessary,sothatthemeasuredcollectorcurrentis6570
ma.

Installaferritebeadbetweenthebaseleadandtherestofthecircuit.Thebeadcanbetype43or
type61material.Placeitasclosetothedevicepackageaspossible.Withouttheferritebead,itis
verylikelythatthedevicewilloscillateupintheGHzregionandallperformanceparameterswillbe
seriouslydegraded.

Assembly:
Layoutisnotreallycritical.Usecommonsensetolocateparts,I.E.,separateinputandoutput,keep
leadsreasonableshort,allowforheatdissipation,alltheusualthingsyouwoulddoforanRFcircuit.
Besuretouseasliponheatsinkliketheonesshowninthephotos.SurfacemountpartsusethePC
boardastheheatsinksobesuretomakethecollectorpadlargeenoughtodothisefficiently.I
usuallybuildasmallboardwithminiaturecoaxfortheinputandoutputsothatthepreampmodule
canbeeasilyinstalledinalargershieldedboxorchassis.ShownbelowaresomeofthemodulesIve
builtup:

ThephotoaboveshowspreampsbuiltondoublesidedPCboard.Theboardlayoutwasdrawnonthe
copperwithapencil.Usingthepencilmarksasaguide,aDremeltoolwithasmallcarbideburrwas
usedtocutthetracks.Icanmakesmallboardslikethisinabouttenminutes.Upperleftisa2N5109
withBNCconnectorstackedonfortesting.UpperrightisaunmarkedRFtransistorthatwas
specifiedforuseasa1.8GHzLO.SeemstoworkgreatinthisapplicationbutIhavenoideaatall
whatthepartnumbermightbe!CenterleftisaDCP68.Centerrightisa2N3866.Bottomisa
BFG591.Notethatsomeoftheboardsuseceramicchipcapsandsomeuseleadedceramiccaps.I
usewhateverishandy.Theresistorsaremostlysalvagedfromdiscardedelectronicschassis.The
magnetwireusedhasbeensalvagedfromthedeflectionyokesofcomputerCRTmonitors.Ground
tracesareconnectedtothebacksidecopperwithZwiresthroughtheboard.Notethatthe
transistorcanishotandsoisthesmallheatsink.Besuretheydontcontactanythingelse.The
surfacemounttransistorsdependonalargecollectortraceforheatsink.TheDCP68workswellwith
a3/8squarepadatthecollectorwhenusing0.062thick,1oz,doublesidedboardmaterial.

Ofallthevariouscombinationsoflayouts,boards,andparts,Ihavecometolikethecombinationof
PCB,chipcaps,andaxialleadresistorsthebest.Itallowseasyassembly,test,troubleshooting,and
repair/modification.

Thephotoaboveshowsapreampassembledoncheckerboardandinstalledinasmallsalvaged
chassis.Thetoggleswitchisusedtobypassthepreamp.ThisunitwasusedforsomeVLFSWLing.

TheabovephotoshowsthepreampsystemIhaveuseddailyonthelowbandsforthelast10years
orso.IthasarotaryswitchthatallowsselectionofvariousRXantennas.Thereisahighpassfilter
andattenuatorsbuiltinwhichcanbeinsertedorbypassedwiththesmalltoggleswitches.The
togglesontherightendallowselectionofdifferentradiosandcablerouting.Moreinfoonthisboxwill
begivenlater.Someofthelabelsaremissinginthisphoto.

TheabovephotoshowsafewofthesurfacemountassembliesproducedbyW4EDS.Edsubmitted
themtomeforevaluation.Theyperformedsuperbly.ContactW4EDSdirectlyforavailabilityofhis
products.Notethesizeofthesemodules.Thecorediameteris3/8inch.Variationsusing2N5109as
wellastheDCP68areshown.Thewireshangingofftheedgesaremineandusedfortestingonthe
bench,usuallyinput,output,Vcc,andground.
Nomatterwhichassemblyformyoudecidetouse,Isuggestthatyoushieldthepreampinametal
boxorchassisofsomesort.Theshieldinginnecessarytopreventincursionofunwantedhashfrom
localcomputerequipment,switchingpowersupplies,andmotors,etc.

TestandPerformanceVerification:
Testingthenewlyassembledpreampisstraightforward.Beforeapplyingpower,doublecheckyour
work.Themostcommonproblemsaresoldershortsandresistorsinsertedinthewrongplace.Once
youaresatisfiedyouhavecorrectlyassembledthecircuit,place50ohmterminationsontheinput
andoutput.Apply13.0+/0.6VDCtotheVccterminalandground.Measurethecurrentdrawnwitha
digitalammeter.Itshouldbe75mA.+/5mA.Removepowerandthenremovethe50ohm
terminations.Reapplypowerandmeasurecurrentagain.Itshouldbethesameasitwaswiththe
terminationsinplace.Ifnotthedeviceisoscillatingandyouneedtofixthatbeforeproceeding.
OscillationsareusuallyintheGHzregionandarecausedbypoorlayoutand/orpoorquality
capacitors.Bypasscapswithverylongleadscouldalsobeacause.
Withpowerappliedandthespecifiedcurrentbeingdrawn,thetransistorshouldbeverywarmtothe
touch,butyoushouldbeabletoholdthetipofyourfingeronitindefinitely.Ifyoucannot,eitheryou
haveinsufficientheatsinkingorthedeviceisdrawingtoomuchcurrent.
Atthispoint,ifyoudonothaveaccesstomoretestequipment,thepreampcanbetriedontheairso
proceedtotheinstallationandusesection.Ifyoudowanttodomoretesting,herearesomethings
tolookat.
Vcc=13.0volts+/0.6voltsDC.Morewillworkbutreliabilitymightsufferdotoincreasedheat.Less
willwork(downtoabout9volts)buttheOIP3willbedecreasedsignificantly.
Currentshouldbe75mA.+/5mA.IfyouuseatransistorwithgrosslydifferentDCgain,youwill
needtoadjustthevalueofR3.IncreaseR3todecreasecurrent,decreaseR3toincreasecurrent.
P1dB(1dBoutputcompressionpower)shouldbegreaterthan+21dBm.Usuallyrunsabout+24to
+27dependingonpartsused.
OIP3(outputthirdorderinterceptpoint)shouldbe+41dBmorgreater.Iveseen+44,whichisas
highasIcanaccuratelymeasurewithmytestsetup.
Frequencyresponse,seetheplotbelow(typical2N5109response,DCP68willshowgaindropping
offatabout7MHz):

Inputimpedance:(typicalfor2N5109,DCP68similar):

InstallationandUsage:
ThispreampshouldbeinstalledbetweenalowoutputRXantennaandyourradio.Thefixed20dBor
soofgainisoptimumforRXantennassuchasFlagsandPennants.Slightlylessgainisoptimumfor
K9AYandEWERXantennasthathaveabitmoreoutputlevel.DecentBeverageshaveevenmore
outputandrequirelessgaininthepreamp.Theproperwaytoreducegainistousefixedattenuators
placedeitherattheinputortheoutputofthepreamp.Wheretheyareplaceddependsonwhatkind
ofRXantennayouuse.ThelowestoutputtypeRXantennaswillrequirethebestNoiseFigureand
theleastIMDperformancesotheattenuatorshouldbeplacedontheoutputofthepreampas
required.HigherlevelantennassuchasaonewavelengthBeverageshouldhavetheattenuator
placedattheinputofthepreamp.EventhoughthesystemNoiseFigurewillbereduceditwillbeof
noconsequenceandtheIMDperformancewillbeincreasedbythevalueoftheattenuator.Onelast
bitofinfo:thesourceimpedancecanvarywildlywithnoimpactontheIMDperformanceofthis
preamp.However,theloadimpedancecanhaveseriouseffectsontheIMDperformance.Receiver
inputsarenotoriouslybadandcanbealmostanythingexcept50ohms.PrimarilyforthisreasonI
prefertoinstallatleastsomeoftherequiredattenuatorsattheoutputofthepreamp.
Thisisagoodplacetotalkaboutwhattheinputleveltoyoureceivershouldbe.Modernreceivers
showapproximately20dBdifferencebetweentheminimumdetectablesignallevelandthesignal
levelwhichstartsproducingAGCaction.AssoonastheAGCcircuitstartslimitinggain,theRX
performanceisreduced.OldtimersliketoturnofftheAGCandusetheRFgaincontrol.Sinceina
modernradiotheRFgaincontrolusesthesamemeansofreducinggainastheAGCdoesitseems
kindadumbtodothat.Overmorethan50yearsofweaksignaloperating,I'vefoundthatthe
maximumweaksignalperformanceofanymodernreceiveroccurswhentheAGCisleftonandthe
inputlevelisadjustedsothatbackgroundnoiseisjustbelowthelevelatwhichtheAGCstarts
operating.ThatmeansthatnormalbandnoiseshouldNOTcausetheSmetertomoveoffzero.If
youuseacombinationofpreampandattenuatorsasdescribedintheprecedingparagraphtosetthe
inputleveltothiscondition,youwillbeoperatingtheradioatthemaximumpossibleweaksignal
performancecondition.YouwillfindthattheAGCwillcomeintoplaywhenyoutuneacrossavery
strongsignalorastaticcrashandthespeakervolumewillbelimitednicely.But,whenyoutune
acrossaweaksignalitwillseemtojumpupoutofthenoise.Onceagain,ifyourSmetermoveson
backgroundnoise,youarenotoperatingyourreceivesystematit'smaximumweaksignalpotential!
ThispreampshouldbeinstalledattheauxiliaryRXantennainputonyourradio.Donotusearelay
schemetoputitintheTXcoax.ThispreampwillfunctionasaprotectioncircuitforyourRXinthat
theoutputislimitedtoamaximumvaluethatiswellunderwhatittakestobreaktheradio.The
transistorusedisapowerdeviceandhasabaseemitterstructurethatcanhandlefarmorethanthe
inputcircuitsinyourradio.IneverdisconnectmypreampfromtheRXantenna.It'sconnected24/7,
duringTXandlightningstormsandanythingelsethatfatesendsitsway.Ihaveloggedmorethan
60,000hoursonasingletransistorundertheseconditions!Itwillnotbreakunlessyoutakeadirect
lightningstrike,transmitdirectlyintoit,ordosomethingstupid.DONOTputbacktobackdiodeson
eithertheinputoroutputthinkingyouwillbeprotectingsomething.Theonlythingthediodeswilldois
generateIMDproductsfromthestrongBCstations,exactlywhatyouaretryingtoavoidbybuilding
thishighperformancepreamp!
ThehighIMDperformanceis"outofband",thatistosayitisnotthesameasthe"inband"
performancesohighlyvaluedbyhotshotcontesters."Outofband"IMDiscausedbyveryhighlevel
signalsthatarenotinthehambandssuchasAMbroadcast.Theseoutofbandsignalscancause

problemsthatcannotbecuredbymagicalroofingfilters.IfthepreampgeneratesIMDproducts,
thereisnothingyoucandointheradiotoeliminatetheresultingspurs.Thustheneedforahigh
performancepreampinfrontoftheradio.Insomecases,usuallywhenalowlevelRXantennasuch
asaFlagisused,youwon'tneedafilterinfrontofthepreampifyoudidn'tneedoneinfrontofthe
radio.
Inextremecases,especiallywhenahighlevelRXantennasuchasalongBeverageisused,afilter
willberequiredaheadofthepreamp.Inmanycases,thepreampdoesn'tneedthefilterbuttheradio
does!Ineithercaseahighpassfiltershouldfixtheproblem.Idon'trecommendcomplexfilterssuch
asbandpasstypesorellipticfunctiontypesbecausecomponentvaluesaretoocriticalandoperating
conditionssuchasinputandoutputimpedancearealsocritical.Theyseldom,inpractice,providethe
performanceenhancementsclaimedforthem.Simplehighpassfiltersareeasytobuildwithcommon
parts,usuallydon'trequireany"alignment"tofunctionproperly,anddon'tcaremuchaboutexact
inputandoutputterminations.A7thorderChebychevhighpass,witha0.1to1dBpassbandripple,
willnormallybeallthat'srequiredtousewiththispreamp.(Unlessyouoperateonthesameproperty
asyourlocal50KWBCstation!)

Accessories:
IntheAssemblysectionabove,Ishowedmypreamp/switchbox.InthissectionIllshowsomeofthe
internalssothatabuildermayincorporatetheminhisownpreampprojectasdesired.Shownbelow
isafunctionalblockdiagramofthepreamp/switchboxImusing:

Inthediagramabove,eachboxdefinesafunctionalmodule.Exceptfortheselectorswitchesatthe
inputandoutput,andthe75to50ohmmatchingtransformer,eachmodulehasaminitoggle
switchassociatedwithitsothatitcanbebypassed.Inotherwords,Icanusethepreampornot,use
thefilterornot,andswitchinorouttheattenuatorsasrequired.Thesefunctionalmodulescanbe
builtinasingleenclosureorasseparatemoduleswithconnectors.Thisarrangementhasallowedme
touseandevaluatemanyRXantennasofalltypesovertheyearswithnorewiringoftheshack
required.Ifthebuilderdoesnthaveaneedforone(ormore)ofthefunctionalblocksabove,just
deleteit.
Myantennaselectorswitchisa10positionrotaryswitchandiswiredupwithminicoaxtoten
assortedconnectors.WithaselectionofFandphonoconnectorsontherearofthechassis,Ican
adapttomostanycoaxfeedeasily.

Thematchingtransformerisusuallynotrequired.FormanyyearsIjustranthe75ohmRG6type
coaxfromtheRXantennasdirectlyintothe50ohmhighpassfilter.ItwasntuntilIstarted
experimentingwithsmallverticalarraysthatIneededtobeconcernedwithexactimpedance
matching.Myadviceistouseitonlyifyouneedtouseit.Thetransformershouldconsistofa5turn
winding(75ohmside)anda4turnwinding(50ohmside).Iuse#28becauseIhaveitbutanysize
wirethatfitsonthecorecanbeused.Youcanuseeitheroneofthesametype75coresspecifiedfor
thepreamporatype73binocularcore.Ifyouusethebinocularcore,makesureallthewirescome
outthesameendofthecore.Seephotobelow:

MychoiceforaBCbandreject/HiPassfilterisa7thorderChebychev.Ivebuiltalotoftheseover
theyearsandhavealwaysbeenpleasedwiththeperformance.WhileIbelievethisdesignwillbe
sufficientinmostcases,beawarethatyourindividualsituationmayrequireadifferentdesignfor
maximumperformance.Thefiltershownbelowshouldproduceabout33dBattenuationat1.38MHz.
Notethepartvaluesarenotstandard.Capacitorvaluesshouldbemadeupfromparalleled
combinations.Capacitorsshouldbegoodqualityceramicchipcapsordippedsilvermica.Theymust
beGOODRFquality!TheinductorsshouldbewoundonT502cores.Inductanceshouldbechecked
at1.8MHzwithsomethingliketheMFJ259BorAutekRF1.DONOTrelyonmeasurementsmade
frominductancemeterssuchastheAADE.

Sometypesofconstructionareshowninthephotobelow.Thefilterontheleftisapoorquality5th
orderfilterbuildonprototypeboard.ThisisNOTthecircuitshownabove,butmerelypresentedasa
waytoassemblethefilter.(Dontaskabouttheboardmaterial,itsnotavailable!)DONOTusethe
moldedchokesshownforthissimplefilter.TheywillNOTworkintherecommendedHiPassfilter
design.ShownontherightisthefilterbuiltwithcorrectpartsinsurfacemountformbyW4EDS.
ContactW4EDSdirectlyforinfoonboardsandpartskits.

Thefiltershouldbeinashieldedenclosure.Itcanbeinthesameboxasthepreamp.Separate
moduleswillallowsomeextraversatilityandifconnectorsareused,willallowchangingfiltersdesigns
easily.
TheattenuatorsaresimplePIorTsectionandthevaluescanbecalculatedfromanyoftheonline
tools.Googleattenuatorcalculatorandtakeyourchoice.Theresistorsshouldbewattmetalor
carbonfilm.Exactvaluesarenotrealcriticalandwillonlyeffecttheexactattenuationseen.Iwont
botherwithschematicsorvaluesbecausethisissosimpleandsubjecttomuchvariationduetouser
preference.Iusuallywiretheresistorsdirectlytothetoggleswitchbutotheroptionsarepossible.
BuildersmaywanttocheckwithW4EDSforsurfacemountsolutions.
Theradioselectorswitchisacommonminitoggleswitch.Ifyouneedmorethantwopositions,usea
rotaryswitch.Ifyouneedsimultaneousreception,useasplitter.Ifasplitterisused,beawarethat
youmayneedmorepreampgainduetothelossinthesplitter.NicemagicTsplittersare
describedontheW8JIwebsitealongwithhowtousethem.

Summary:
Optimumlowbandoperationrequiresspecializedreceiveantennas.Few,ifany,oftheseRX
antennashavesufficientoutputleveltoinsuremaximumreceiverperformance.Apreampisusedto
increasethelowsignallevelsfromtheseantennastothepointwherethereceiverisoperatinginits
sweetspotforweaksignalreception.DuetotheproximityoftheAMbroadcastband,thepreampis
requiredtoworkinthepresenceofveryhighoutofbandsignals.Apreampswhichdoesnothandle
theseoutofbandsignalswell,willgeneratespurioussignalsinbandthatcannotbeprocessedoutby
thereceiver.Thedesignpresentedinthispaperhasbeenshownbyexperiencetomeetthese
requirementsinthevastmajorityofoperatingsituationsanddosobetterthanmostcommercial
options.Emphasishasbeenplacedonthepracticalaspectsofhomebuildingthiscircuitandusingit
ontheair.
Feedbackwelcomed:w7iuv@yahoo.com
Note:Timeandmoneypreventmefromtestingallpossibletransistorsinthiscircuit.Ifyouhavea
transistortypethatyouthinkwillworkandwantittested,contactme.Imaybeabletodothatforyou
ifyousendmeapart.Icanthenreportbacktoyouontheperformanceandlistthepartinthis
documentaswell.