Superhets and amplifiers

[catcat]

I decided to make a superhet instead of superregen. I could not find good info sources so could someone send a link? Also I am trying to make an audio and rf amplifier (that's right, for the will-be superhet radio) and I am testing it from my sound card, maybe someone could help with designing and further info?

 

[audioguru]

Probably about the only place to find parts to make a radio today is if you take apart another radio.

 

[dknguyen]

Perhaps you could get parts out of this kit:
https://xtronics.com/kits/SK-232A.htm

 

[audioguru]

Sure. Make a lousy-sounding AM radio kit. Then listen to AM interference.

When I was in school about 44 years ago I made an FM tuner then a stereo adapter for it and a power amplifier from kits that used vacuum tubes. They sounded great and worked as well as quality ones in stores.
The FM radio kits today have the same poor quality parts as in a scanning FM radio from the Dollar Store.

 

[Hero999]

Probably about the only place to find parts to make a radio today is if you take apart another radio.

Yes your local dump will probably have plenty of these.

By the way here are some helpful links I've found from Google:
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**

 

[catcat]

Sure. Make a lousy-sounding AM radio kit. Then listen to AM interference.

When I was in school about 44 years ago I made an FM tuner then a stereo adapter for it and a power amplifier from kits that used vacuum tubes. They sounded great and worked as well as quality ones in stores.
The FM radio kits today have the same poor quality parts as in a scanning FM radio from the Dollar Store.

That is very right. I only get fm stations, no am ones even close.

 

[Hero999]

Never the less I'm very glad of some AM stations because VHF doesn't travel much further than 70 miles or so. I remember being able to listen to Radio 4, 5 Live, Virgin Radio and Atlantic 252 while on holliday in France but the FM stations didn't travel far enough, I agree they don't sound as good but it's much better than crappy french radio.

 

[audioguru]

I can't receive British or French FM stations because their bounce off the moon attenuates the signals too much.

 

[Hero999]

I bet you can't get that many FM stations in the more remote areas though.

 

[audioguru]

My FM dial is full. I am in the suburbs of Canada's largest city and am surrounded by many other fairly large cities. The USA is close with many more cities. My FM receivers get about 90 stations and to test my FM transmitter I had to use the same RF frequency as a low power foreign language station.

 

[Hero999]

Try taking your receiver to some remote mountin and see how many FM stations you get compared to the number of AM stations.

 

[audioguru]

Why would anyone want to go to a remote mountain??
Pizza and Digikey delivery would take weeks!

 

[Hero999]

Don't tell me you've never been camping before?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Try taking your receiver to some remote mountin and see how many FM stations you get compared to the number of AM stations.

Bad choice! - VHF is 'line of sight', from a mountain you could receive stations from a LONG way away.

Taking it to a remote VALLEY would make more sense, where you probably wouldn't get a whisper of VHF radio.

 

[catcat]

Don't tell me you've never been camping before?

I don't enjoy camping much, I dont do it.

 

[audioguru]

I went camping one time. I was miserable so never again.
I like the comforts of home and civilization.

 

[catcat]

I also could never find good explenations, schematic examples, and the ups and downs of class a, ab, ab1, ab2, c, d, e apmlifiers.