SIMPLE RF - LF INTERFACE
FOR A SHORTWAVE RECEIVER
(2009)
KLIK HIER VOOR DE NEDERLANDSE VERSIE
The shortwave receiver GRUNDIG Yacht Boy 80 with the RF - LF interface.
Why a RF - LF interface?
Nowadays it is possible to buy a nice portable shortwave receiver for a very reasonable price with which you also can receive SSB. Incredibly, the long wave, medium wave, short wave and also the FM band, even in stereo! And that for an amount of money of which you could only dream of in the past!
I bought the GRUNDIG Yacht Boy 80. No top receiver of course, but excellent to use as a portable receiver. The frequency can be adjusted in increments of 1 kHz and there is an extra button on the side panel for fine tuning of SSB signals. A great receiver for many pleasant hours of listening at various locations. Similar receivers are for example the Sangean PT-80 and the ANJAN DTS-09.
But I also wanted to connect an external antenna and to connect the LF output to the soundcard input of my computer. The receiver has a connector for an external antenna. But with an external antenna, the receiver was quickly overloaded. And the Local / DX switch which does attenuate the antenna signal, had too much attenuation. Therefore, a very simple RF - LF interface was made with an adjustable potentiometer as RF attenuator and a matching network with resistors to connect the LF output of the receiver with the soundcard input of the PC. Digital modes can be decoded now with the PC.
The very simple RF - LF interface with an adjustable potentiometer
as RF attenuator and a matching network to connect the LF output to the PC.
Diagram.
Knobs and connections at the side panels.
PSK31 reception is possible now with the PC.
Here with the program Multipsk van F6CTE.
The Sangean PT-80 looks identical to the GRUNDIG Yacht Boy 80.
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