Some FM for my final project

Now, our professor is very strict. For our final project, he wants something that has not been made. This is a hell for me because im not an electronics student and i don't know much of electronics. Im a computer science student. We had this circuitry course for program logic reasons. But i can't believe we really have to build a device on our own.

So this is how it goes. The city where i live in sucks. It's about the radio stations. I just don't like what they play here. Because of this problem, i'm planning to make some radio receiver / transmitter whatever, that can be used to tune radio stations found in another city. Some kind of a wider area radio. Would that be possible? If so, can u guys guide me to a circuit diagram or some ideas on how to build it.

I really need your help. Thanks.

Probably a Bigger, External Antenna is easier than a Better Reciever.

Make a RF Preamp to get a much biger range on your radio.

Or conect an FM Transmiter to a computer that is playing an distant good radio station ower the internet.

Something never done before, something innovative or maybe just an improved version of an existing device....


New trick #1: The Third Dimension and Six Degrees of Freedom

A standard mouse is a two dimensional input device. To move (translate) in 3D space, one needs three degrees of freedom (DOF) for x, y and z axes. If one also needs to rotate in 3D space, three additional degrees of freedom are needed. Although a variety of 6 DOF input devices have been developed and evaluated, it is appealing to develop a mouse-like 3D input device. There indeed have been many attempts along these lines.

New Trick #2: Making a Mouse "feel-able"

It is intuitive and appealing to add a sense of feel to computer interfaces. There are two classes of feel that can be incorporated into a mouse: vibration (texture) and resistive forces similar to those we experience in the physical world (force feedback). An example of such a "multimodal mouse" has been demonstrated. Recently Immersion Corp. (San Jose, CA) developed a commercial force feedback mouse with the trade mark Feelitä, although formal studies have yet to appear, such a mouse may enhance user performance when acquiring fine targets, such as a corner of a GUI window.

Of course the days of the mouse may be numbered, after all it's nearly thirty years old now. Gesture recognition is an emerging idea but to be honest I still like the idea of those Star Trek keyboards from the next generation.

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Someone Electro said:

Make a RF Preamp to get a much biger range on your radio.

Or conect an FM Transmiter to a computer that is playing an distant good radio station ower the internet.

Click to expand...

I'm really sorry, but i really can't make out electronic technical names and stuff. So what's an RF Preamp? How does it work?

If I were you I'd be asking the professor if the project had to actually do something that's not been done before - or if it simply has to be your own design, from scratch, so to speak.

On the subject of radio here are two possibilities.

1. FM broadcast (here in US) frequencies are such that modest sized directional antennas can be built that can enhance reception from one direction while attenuating reception from another. Your project might be to incorporate an antenna system with a PIC or small computer to point the antenna in the preferred direction based on selected frequency. This would probably not work in a major metropolitan area where signals are very strong and reflections are abundant.


2. AM broadcast (here in US) lends itself to loop antennas - which can be very directional - enhancing reception in one direction while nulling in others. The loop can be rotated to null out an undesireable station allowing reception of another. This may work better in metro areas. Apply same PIC or computer as described above.

tansis said:

Something never done before, something innovative or maybe just an improved version of an existing device....


New trick #1: The Third Dimension and Six Degrees of Freedom

A standard mouse is a two dimensional input device. To move (translate) in 3D space, one needs three degrees of freedom (DOF) for x, y and z axes. If one also needs to rotate in 3D space, three additional degrees of freedom are needed. Although a variety of 6 DOF input devices have been developed and evaluated, it is appealing to develop a mouse-like 3D input device. There indeed have been many attempts along these lines.

New Trick #2: Making a Mouse "feel-able"

It is intuitive and appealing to add a sense of feel to computer interfaces. There are two classes of feel that can be incorporated into a mouse: vibration (texture) and resistive forces similar to those we experience in the physical world (force feedback). An example of such a "multimodal mouse" has been demonstrated. Recently Immersion Corp. (San Jose, CA) developed a commercial force feedback mouse with the trade mark Feelitä, although formal studies have yet to appear, such a mouse may enhance user performance when acquiring fine targets, such as a corner of a GUI window.

Of course the days of the mouse may be numbered, after all it's nearly thirty years old now. Gesture recognition is an emerging idea but to be honest I still like the idea of those Star Trek keyboards from the next generation.

Click to expand...

trick 1 sounds gyroscopic to me

no way anyone can do that for a final year project

Microsoft has made a mouse like that.I seen it about 6 months ago on TV (on a show about computers)

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So i talked bravely to my professor about it. He said i could make a radio transmitter that sends audio signals, AM or FM. Can anyone show a site that would help? You know, step by step guide with pictures on how to go on with it, soldering, how to use it, etc... Our prof didn't teach us how to read circuits. It's a big problem for me.

http://www.discovercircuits.com

They have links to all sorts of shematics

Reading schematics isnt hard (Pay atention to transistors)

You may want to visit this site http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com
It has lots of useful information.

NOT evry transistor is sutable for FM Transmiters!It has to be able to switch at 200-300 MHz (If you cant find one go for AM Almost evry transistor can be used in those)

Pay antention to the inductor(These need sometimes experementing to get it ont the right freq.

You cod also make a litle reciver that wod flip a rele to make your project more interesting

PS:
A preamp is an amplefier that bosts a signal before an input of somting(Like an audio amp but at low power of a few mW).In this case it amplefies the high freq radio signal and leads it thru an wire to the radios antena.It wod icrese the range of your radio a lot.(Here you also need a high freq transistor)

thanks really

Thanks from all your help. Really. But I've got another big problem. Our rofessor has yet another demand after showing him a lot of circuits. Radio Transmitter running at 220v.

Is that possible? I think its too much. Most circuits i see, they run at most only at 9 - 15 v. If you can help me again, its really appreciated.

Thanks.

Get a smal transformer (220V to 12V or somting like that),4 diodes and an big electrolit capacitator.You sod be smart enugh to know hov to wire it togeter(Your profesor did say a cuple words about power suplys.Right?).

If you put the power suplay and the transmiter in the same box put a grounded sheld betwen the bouth.Unles you like your transmiter transmiting an 50 Hz hum.

For a large stack of radio information, both transmitting and receiving and some data (packet radio) go to your local library and dig around until you find a ARRL handbook there is a BIG one that has just about everything about radio frequency, while its mainly for the amateur radio frequencies, formulas and some concepts are universal not to mention the terms. If you cant locate a full-sized ARRL handbook or want a bit of the basics in a small package then find a copy of the book NOW YOUR TALKING, its published by the arrl as well and is designed to give you everything you need to pass the licensing certifications and in the process has enough theory in it to prove useful.

Out of curiosity as you seem more proficient in software than hardware why don't you utilize something existing and interface it with a PC, say interface a CB radio, there nice cheep and don’t require a license to operator possibly FRS which is also license free and use cheep transceivers. (Transceivers are devices that transmit and receive) you could easily switch one on and off vial relay and transmit packet signals (packet is transmitting digital information over radio frequencies. A common place example of this is the 802.11 cards you see in laptops for wireless networking

I don’t even know if radio shack even sells electronic books anymore, as they have now become the glorified battery store with a slowly dwindling number of electronic components. If you can find them look to the forest mims books they may still carry, I picked up mine years ago so I have no information on current availability. But their useful little books including allot of basic electronics in one of them and several other “engineers notebooks or scrapbooks something like that detected to various subjects. They are stuffed with some simple schematics utilizing no components that you cant find at the local radio shack or at worst case a local electronics parts distributor. There may be some ideas in them worth looking at. As this appears to be your fist big electronic project just remember that you should give consideration to how you will assemble this. You will be working from scratch and unless you want to custom etch or mill a PC board, you will be stuck using strip boards or various perforated boards and soldering leads or using wire wrap as most radio circuits are to complex for simple point to point wiring and a little insulating tubing.
Some RF circuits can be a little touchy. And some transmitter parts can require heat sink especially parts in the amplifiers