Difference between revisions of "UHF Preselector"

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(Created page with "= Basics = The UHF preselector is a 3 pole, low insertion loss (1.2 dB) 4 MHz wide filter. In practice this is closer to 5MHz wide. The preselector varies based on the band...")
 
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The internal design of the preselector is basically a tubular inductor and a top capacitance hat.  The center of this hat/inductor has a hole into which the tuning screws slide in to/out of.  The R0 preselector has a much longer screw, and the front panel has a protective metal part protecting the protruding parts.
 
The internal design of the preselector is basically a tubular inductor and a top capacitance hat.  The center of this hat/inductor has a hole into which the tuning screws slide in to/out of.  The R0 preselector has a much longer screw, and the front panel has a protective metal part protecting the protruding parts.
  
[[File:R0 Rx front.jpg|thumb|Range 0 Receiver front]]
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<gallery  widths=300px heights=300px class="center">
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R0 Rx front.jpg|Range 0 Receiver front
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</gallery>
  
 
The bottom of the preselector has T10 size screws on it and they need to be tightened and loosened in order of the numbers on the bottom plate.  Once apart the variance in the length of the cap hat should be noticed showing the range of the preselector.
 
The bottom of the preselector has T10 size screws on it and they need to be tightened and loosened in order of the numbers on the bottom plate.  Once apart the variance in the length of the cap hat should be noticed showing the range of the preselector.
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[[File:UHF Preselector diagram.png|thumb|UHF Preselector diagram]]
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<gallery mode=packed widths=200px heights=200px class="center">
  
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R4 and 3 Vs. R0.jpg|thumb|R0 in front vs a R3/4 preselector
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</gallery>
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File:UHF Preselector diagram.png|thumb|center|UHF Preselector diagram]]
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Patterns of preselectors
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<gallery mode=packed widths=200px heights=200px class="center">
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QUANTAR R2 factory.png|UHF R2
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QUANTAR R0 380 UN MOD.png|thumb|Quantar R0 at 380 MHz
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QUANTAR R0 BEFORE MOD 1.png|thumb|Quantar R0 at center
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QUANTAR R0 MAX FREQ.png|thumb|Quantar R0 at 437 MHz
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R0 tuning.jpg|thumb|Tuning a R0 preselector
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</gallery>
  
 
= Modification =  
 
= Modification =  
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I suspect the width was changed mostly due to moving the cap hats lower in the housing.
 
I suspect the width was changed mostly due to moving the cap hats lower in the housing.
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[[File:R0 cut down tubes.jpg|thumb|R0 preseletor during modification.]]
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[[File:R0 post mod drills.jpg|thumb|Quantar R0 converted to R2 by cutting tubes showing post modification drilling to lower capacitance]]
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[[File:Quantar preselector R0 to R2 tube cutting mod.png|thumb|Quantar R0 converted to R2 via tub cutting sweep]]
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[[File:QUANTAR R0 CONVERT OVERLAY ON R2.png|thumb|R0 converted to R2 by tube cutting over lay on real R2]]

Revision as of 19:07, 3 December 2015

Basics

The UHF preselector is a 3 pole, low insertion loss (1.2 dB) 4 MHz wide filter. In practice this is closer to 5MHz wide.

The preselector varies based on the band of the RX as follows

P/N Range Description
CRX4001 UHF R0 UHF Preselector 380-433 MHz
TLE5991 UHF R1 UHF Preselector 403-433 MHz
TLE5992 UHF R2 UHF Preselector 438-470 MHz
TLE5993 UHF R3 & R4 UHF Preselector 470-520 MHz

Note R3 and R4 use the same preselector. The preselector hooks up to a

Preselector in receiver

The internal design of the preselector is basically a tubular inductor and a top capacitance hat. The center of this hat/inductor has a hole into which the tuning screws slide in to/out of. The R0 preselector has a much longer screw, and the front panel has a protective metal part protecting the protruding parts.

The bottom of the preselector has T10 size screws on it and they need to be tightened and loosened in order of the numbers on the bottom plate. Once apart the variance in the length of the cap hat should be noticed showing the range of the preselector.

Range Cap Hat length (inches)
UHF R0
UHF R1 .880
UHF R2 .650
UHF R3 & R4

File:UHF Preselector diagram.png|thumb|center|UHF Preselector diagram]]

Patterns of preselectors

Modification

Two styles of modification have been attempted on these preselectors to raise the frequency. Lowering the frequency has not been attempted (ie. R4 to R2), and all focus on moving R0/1 to R2, though the same techniques would work to move to R3/4.

Shorting the Rod

Shortinign the rods was attempted on the first modification of the R0 to R2 preselector. The cap hats were removed and the center rods were ground down .270" on each rod.

This became a problem as the rods are made of silver plated copper plated aluminum, which makes grinding a hard thing to do. It removed the tinned part of the rods where they solder to the cap hats, and the alignment "key" notched into the top of the rods. The final result was a filter which had a bit more ripple and wider than desired, but with good insertion loss.

I suspect the width was changed mostly due to moving the cap hats lower in the housing.

R0 preseletor during modification.
Quantar R0 converted to R2 by cutting tubes showing post modification drilling to lower capacitance
Quantar R0 converted to R2 via tub cutting sweep
R0 converted to R2 by tube cutting over lay on real R2