Love this R2 receiver
concept!
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Something about
the R2 receiver module (and the
T2
phasing SSB exciter)
by Rick Campbell, KK7B, really fascinated me, and got me seriously into
homebrewing. Probably the sense of audio cleanness described in the
article
was the first appealing thing, then the unique character of the
non-superhet
approach. Now, this approach is definitely "in" in the communications
industry,
with tons of chipsets for quadrature receiver/transmitter setups.
So, my first R2 board, etched from the pattern
via
iron-on
toner transfer,
is still in use. First time I attached a VFO and tuned around late at
night
on 40 meters, I was just entranced - feeling like I was literally
"surfing
the ether." As time went on, around it grew various modules cobbled
from
bits of wisdom gleaned from the amateur homebrew literature that have
been
endlessly packaged, repackaged, and haywired.
Homebrew ingenuity, imperfection,
and "making do"
abounds in
the K0JD
shack. A mix of dead-bug, homemade and commercial PC boards, big old
ceramic
disks from the junk box and brand spankin' new surface mount parts, old
boatanchor VFOs and fancy DDS synthesis, all live side by side. But the
work is satisfying homebuilding, and the result is a pretty good rig or
two, which I share for fun and exchange of information.
Top: the modified T-368
VFO
Below that: an old phone answering machine cabinet with the R2, T2, and
other circuits
Foreground left: a KC-1 counter/keyer
Project Supervisor
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