2m Interference

Reduction
System
by Trevor S Day, G3ZYV

device as eese were 10 hand (Fig 2 ). Almost aners ee input tuning ol pre -amplilier 2 b ul

T
HIS CIRCU IT WtU substanlla lly
reduce or completely eliminate
mertereece Irom almost any l0-
cal source whilst leavirog the
wan ted signal relatively unaf-
fected . even though il may be on the same
frequency! Once the unit is adjusted lor a
particular source 0 1 interference, the use r is
tree 10 operate anywhere in me band without
further adjustment.
The design of the circuit linlllS operallon to
a sma. band 01 frequencies, however it is
sufticienl lo cover the entire lwo metre band .
The principle can also be used at 50 and
70MHz and indeed this unit was hrsl con-
structed 10 work al SOMH z in o rde r to remove
computer hash. (See iss ue 28 otme UK Silt
Metre Group Ne wsJeNet) .
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
THE BLOC K DI AGRAM (Fi g 1) shows the
method of ope ration . Both the wanted and
interfering signals arrive at pre-amplifier 1
Irom the main antenna via the antenna switch.
The sense antenna, by wfue of its ineHi-
clancy at the wa nted rrequency . picks up
predominanlly the intorlaring signal and
passes this to pre-amouuee 2. Both pre-
a mp lifier out puts even tua lly a dd in the sign a l
co mbiner. However, the interl e ring signa l is
first changed in phase by 180°. The re sulta nt
o utp ut of the co m biner is the sa me as the
input to pre-amphfler 1 fro m the m ain ant enna
less the inlerle ring signal.
CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
any common dual gat e M OSFET wiU work in
this coofiguratiOn. eg the 406 73, AV3 con-
tr<*s the gain 01 pre- amplt1tef 2 and is adJust-
able from the front panel. tts purpose is 10
mat ch the level 01 the in terlering signallrom
pre-amphflef 2 10 the interlering signal lrom
pre -amplifier 1 altha signal combiner. thus
ensuring complete eerceeeseo. RV2 is a pr e-
set potenllOme ler COOlrol hng the gain of pre-
amplifier 1 in the wanted signal path from the
ma in anlenna.
Pre-am plifier 2 l eeds lis output to a l illed
180" phase inver1er (OL 1) lormed by an eiec-
Incal haft-wavelength of RG I 74U m iniatu re
50U ec-enet cable which may be switched in
Of out 01 circu il by thediode switch comprising
06,07.08 and 52. A lu rll~r variabl e 180"
pha se sh ill is achieved by 53. T his is a hall ·
wa velength o f RG174U cable in eleven sec-
lions. swi tch ed in approll ima tely 16° phase
change slaps.
Th e co nnecting cables Irom the switch to
the PCB shou ld be a s short as practically
possible (sill inc hes mall) as these will mtro-
duce additional phase change s. Howeve r,
the se a re co mpe nsated l or by the fine phase
co nt rol , Fin e phase control is ac hieved by a
1N914 diode actin g as a varac tor across the
inpu t circuit 10 p re- am plifie r 2 . The add itional
ca pacitance o f the diode, controlled by RV 1,
"'" ca
l£DI 1---!1c..1 w "'"
more importantly sligh tly shi fts the phase ol
the signal arriving at the pre-ampl ifier . The
ou tpu l of the phase swit ch and of pre-ampli-
her 1 are boIh led 10 a Signal combiner cern-
prising R8 .C14,C15, L5and L6. This is a 50U
signal spIi11er operating in reverse , Its per -
pose is to add boIh signals and, as the int er-
l er ing signal in one pa th is 180" out ol phase
WIth its compIemenl in the other path. the
interle nng signal is dra stically reduced or
elomlnated completely ,
CONSTRUCTION
THE MAIN PCB IS conslructed from do uble -
sided g lass libre boa rd : the underside layout
is shown in Fig 3. The top side is blan k
copper, Tra ck wicllhs a re nol especially crib-
ca l and the board can eaSily be marked wi lh
a Oalo type pen on the track side and some
na il varnish o n lhe reve rse . The ga te 2 volt-
age to each pre ·a m plil ier has been derived
sepa rately to a llow the two 'halves' 01 the
circ uit to be sepa rated by sc reens In ord er to
red uce cross-ta lk. The sc reens a re con-
struc ted from the same do uble -sided PCB,
about 20mm Wide an d SOlde red into place
prior lu lII ounlillY 111.. c om pone nts.
T he p hase switch is a twe lve wa y ro ta ry
switch so lder ed to a PC B ca rri er which holds
, o +ll V
"
cs Ou, p ut

80T H P RE-A MP LIF IERS a re standard duat

gate M OSFET de signs, using the 3S K8 1
'" ,.,"' "
00' '"
'00
cs

'" " '"'"

" "
:J,". '"
"" :J,".

- I", "
+' Zv

""
,~. '"
'" 00.
"
CS 'nO " v C l - ' ~ _2 00
0 1- lD .'._ '019"
TR1. 2 •__ )SOl"
Rr c _ l l¢'
III I _ 51e ... of RGr74U
u,o .. a l . a l>l..

RYl 7>0

Fig 1: The two -'gn8l

~jft ~
poIths .f. comblnecII .... . F1g2:Ci<cuildiagl-.mshowshow-.i9..... ' rom thetwo ..,t.......... .mpIiI_ln. vari3blegairl MOSFET
confogur. tion.

48 RADIOCOMMUNICATtON ApOll992

••••• rEFO
••
+ 12V
'"
o o "
S ~n.~
. n t~ nn ..
o
Fig 3: Undenlide and componentlaYOll l 01the PCB, shown acilla l aize, Track widt ha are no t especia lly cri tic al.
the eleven loops of RG174U co-ax (F ig 4).
The PCB carrier should be fashioned to suit
the size of switch used along the lines shown
inthe diagram. Losses lhrough lheswitch are
not particularly significant as only the amp li-
fied interfering signal passes through it The
carrier is made from the same double-sided
PCB stock as the main board. When com-
plete ,the co-a x loops lie in the same prene as
the switch shall. (See photograph). The fine
phase control will compensate for the e xtra
path length through varying sizes of switch;
however, a smaller switch is preferred to r
compactness. Whichever box is used to hold
the device, it should be RF tight A die-cast
aluminium box is ideal and will need to be
RADIO COMMUNICATION April 1992
_.
IlI~
- -
_10::
approxima tely 203 x114 x64mm , Component
values are not especially cr itical , although the
coil dimensions should be adhered to and the
components fonning the combiner should be
as close to those specified as possible. Note
that a small screen is also requ ired 10 sepa-
rate l 5 and l 6 in the signal combiner, The
fixed 180" phasing line DL1 may be coiled
and taped up tor compactness.
SETTING UP
ADJUSTME NT PA IOR TO use is quite
strai ghtforward and requires no test equ ip-
ment:
a) Power up the unit and connect it between
2M INTERFERENCE REDUCTION
00
the rec eiver and main antenna, leaving
the sense antenna disconnected.
b) Tune 10 a weak signa l on FM or a carrier
on SSB fCW and with the l ine phase con-
trol at mid posi tion, adjusl VC1 andVC2 at
pre-ampli fier 1 for best signal 10 noise.
Adjust RV2 for optimum signal level atme
receiver.
c) Disconnect the main antenna and con-
nect the sense antenna . With RV3 ad -
justed for a low'S' meter reading, adjust
VC3 and VC 4 in pre -amplifier 2 for
ma ximum signal.
d) ge -connectthe main antenna.
This completesthe setting up adjustments.
49
2M INTERFERENC E REDUC TION

the balance con trol 10ma intain !he dip. II

nodeep dip is found, then swi tch i"l (orout)
the fix ed l W pha Sing line and try again.
d) Finally adjust theline phaseconl rol (RY 1)
lor best nuq, furthe r adjusting the balance
it requ ired .
A measu re of the eeecnveoess 01 the unit
can be ac hiev ed by swi tching in and out me
fixed 180 0 phaSing line and observ ing me
change in signal level; the ettect is quue
startling! To achieve optimu m re sults the
sense antenna should be remote Irom me
shac k a s mov eme nt 01the an tenna, or people
in the sha ck, can affect the arrival phase of
the interfering signal and make the IlUII un-
slabl e. Even if a random short lengt h of wire
or whi p ant enna is used, it shou ld eithe r be
OPER ATION ou tdoors or in !he loft and led to the shack via
co-axial cable.
AS WITH MOST electronic devices, opera -
l ion is simpIef 10 carry out than 10 describe.
LIMITATIONS
a) T une 10 the inlerfering Signal; it it is broad-
band then anerrct tc lind a peak.. TH E OP ERAnON O F !his devicerelies upon
the interfering signal arrivi ng al bolh ante n-
b) AdJUSt the ba lance COO!rol (RV3) 10 find a na s in a l ixed phase relationsh ip: ie it does nol
dip in the level of me inlerfering Signal , matte r what the relative phase difference is
switching the fixed 180 0 phasing line in or as long as it does not cha nge. Add itionally,
out as requi red. It may be a shall ow dip, the am plil ude 01the unwanted signal et each
b ut a dip must be found . If no dip is pr e-amplifier input musl be relatively con-
ap parent, the n the sense antenna must be stant. In other words, il you change your
adjusted or changed. beam headi ng then the bala nce 01 the circui t
c) Rotate the phase swrtch (53) 10 find a will be upset and RV3 will need re- adjus t·
deep dip in the interfe ring signal, adjust ing ment. The o ther con trols should re mai n unat-
tered o
Any active device will add noise to the
COMPONENTS LIST received Signal and this one is no except ion .
The wanted signal to noise ratio may be
Ll 8t 18SWG 3116" (4.Smm) id 112"
( l 3m m) long
degraded slightly but the eeoeres of reducing
intenerence far outweigh this dlS8dvant age .
l2 8t 18SWG 3116" (4.Smm) id 112"
The system winnot remove 'OX' inten erence
( 13mm) long
as the sense ante nna w iUbe ineffectrve at low
L3 8t 18SW G 3116" (4 .5m m) id 112" signal levels. Remember also that the sense
( l3mm) Iong , tap at 1 tum
antema may rnroduce unwanted signals thai
L4 8t 18SWG 3/ 16" (4.Smm) id 112'
are not audible on the ma in anl enna (mai ns
(l 3m m) long, tap at 1 tum
wiring noi se etc]. If this prove s to be lhe case ,
L5 81 18 SWG 1/4" (6,5mm) id 314"
then the sense antenna shou ld be moved to
(19mm) long Fig 4 : ColII'M &djuet""" nt 01 phi " UHI. 12-way
a less noisy location. ewltc h, lined on I do uble- Ilded PCB elmer.
L6 81 18 5 WG 1/4" (6.5mm ) id 314"
( 19mm) long To achieve use ful results, the diff eren ce in
st rength ot the mtertennq signal at both pre - genera ted interference . (Bear in mind tha t
ci l nF C9 1nF am p lifiers must be able to be compensated a com puter may rad ial e signals from
C2 1nF C l0 100pF for by RV3. T he sen se ante nna must be several so urces but on ly one source can
C3 100pF C l l 100pF chosen so thai this co ndition ca n be mel. In be dea lt w ith at a l ime).
C4 lOnF C 12 1nF essence, u nde rstanding the principle of op-
d) Next door's persistent cen tral heating
CS 1nF C 13 100pF eration d enable besl results to be achieved
sys tem noise.
C6 100pF C141 0pF The most ~essi'Ve demonstration to dale
C7 10n F C 1522pF USES has boon a local ama teu r on FM, many dB
C8 1nF ever '5 9', transmitlmg at the same lime and
TH E ORIGIN AL REA SON for devising this
VC1,VC2,VC3.VC4 20pF
ein::vil was Ie remove oorrp.rter hash at: 5Cfo-1Hz on the same freQuency as another sta tion at
l or wh iChit has prov ed highly successful. The '5 5'. USIng two rece ivers in the shack., one
RFC 33IJ.H x 3 WIlh this unit and one without , both Iransm is·
two metre Circ:uil desc ribed he re was bU~1 as
an e xperimen tal novelty. How ever it has sions were hea rd Simulta neou sly with out a
Rl tk R5 220k trace 01 inte rference on either.
p roved to be mos l versa tile, and the unit will
R2 lOOk A6471<
deal effectively with the l ollowing situations:
A3 220k R7 2k2
A4 tOOk A8 1QOA a) A local pac ket node or a local ama teu r CONCLUSION
RVl 250k lin . dese nsing you r rece ive r aCfOSS the 2m TH E UNIT 15 AELATIVELY easy to con struct
RV2 10k lin, pre- set . band . and is strrore jn concept. For any one who has
AV3 2k lin. b) A loca l amateur w ilh a 'wide' signal (for ev er sa id "It's that ZYY aga in; wha t I need Is
whatever reason): u nlike a notch liIter nol a ZYY Iill er",then this is it!
DL1 68cm RG 174U co-a x only is the 'fundamental' signal rem oved ,
b ra iding to ea rth plane. but also all in-band spurii. Thi s holds tru e
even il !he 'wid e' signal is caused by you r
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
TR 1.TR2 3SK8 1
01·1 0 l N91 4 recevers lront-end overload; eg lrom a VHF/UHF Manual. G R J essop, G6JP ,
LED Red or G reen coo resr sta lion on a nea rby hilltop. (RSG B)
c) Your own, or a neighbour's, computer ARRL Handbook. (ARRL)

so RADIO COMMUNICATION April 1992