Close
0%
0%

High Schoolers Build a Radio Receiver

Students learn to melt solder, layout PC boards, use tools, and troubleshoot by building an analog, discrete component receiver.

bill.mearabill.meara
Following
Liked Like project

Just one more thing

To make the experience fit your profile, pick a username and tell us what interests you.

Pick an awesome username
hackaday.io/
Your profile's URL: hackaday.io/username. Max 25 alphanumeric characters.
Pick a few interests
Projects that share your interests
People that share your interests

We found and based on your interests.

Choose more interests.

OK, I'm done! Skip
Similar projects worth following
928 views
8 comments
36 followers
View Gallery
At a local high school, students get a lot of exposure to digital high tech, but there was a gap in the area of analog electronics. Radio amateurs were asked to teach students how to build something analog. A direct conversion receiver was chosen: it had the right mix of simplicity and usefulness. The instructors decided to make this a true homebrew project: students would build the four stages of the receiver on copper-clad boards using the Manhattan technique. The ultimate in open-source projects, all components would be discrete and analog (no ICs). The students would understand the purpose of every part in the receiver. The students learned a lot about analog electronics, PC board layout, and how to build things. They can now grab a schematic, gather parts, and build circuits. Learning-by-building is a powerful technique. We hope others around the world will use this receiver project to re-engineer the teaching of electronics. Others are already doing this.

We went with just four boards, four subcircuits:  Bandpass filter.  Mixer.  RF Oscillator,  Audio Amplifier. 

Understanding these four circuits allows students to understand almost all RF devices. 

Circuits were chosen for their simplicity and understandability:  Nothing exotic or overly clever.  

Students were required to actually BUILD the circuits.  

This was a challenge.  This was not easy. 

This was NOT a kit-build.  Students would layout their own boards and acquire parts from a central parts source. 

The receiver they built is a real receiver, capable of real long-distance communications.  It has been used on the airwaves in a two-way contact. 

Prior to this build, most of the students obtained their amateur radio licenses. 

This build project was part of a larger global effort:   There were similar group builds in Hyderabad, India and Munich, Germany.   Radio amateurs as far away as Australia helped build and test the receiver circuit prior to the project. 

                                        Students in Hyderabad India with the receivers they built

About 28 blog posts describing the details of this project can be found here: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search/label/TJ%20DC%20RX

Design Decisions in the High School Direct Conversion Receiver.docx

Design Decisions in the High School Receiver Project. Why we did it this way.

document - 15.29 kB - 05/29/2023 at 13:10

Download

TJ DCR PO Worksheet - BOM.xlsx

DCR Bill of Materials - quantities for 15 complete receivers with spares

sheet - 19.19 kB - 04/25/2023 at 11:41

Download

TJ DCR Mixer Build Instructions.docx

Building the Mixer - Step by Step

document - 1.17 MB - 04/25/2023 at 11:36

Download

TJ DCR BPF Instructions.docx

Building the Band Pass Filter - Step by Step

document - 707.71 kB - 04/25/2023 at 11:36

Download

TJ DCR Audio Amp Instructions.docx

Building the Audio Amplifier - Step by Step

document - 1002.77 kB - 04/25/2023 at 11:35

Download

View all 25 files

  • 1 × See BOM spreadsheet under Files

View project log

View all 7 instructions

Enjoy this project?

Share

Discussions

bill.meara wrote 05/26/2023 at 19:28 • point

On May 16, 2023 Ashhar Farhan visited the High School and spoke to the students about Cubesats and about the benefits of building your own radio gear.  (He led a similar direct conversion receiver project in Hyderabad, India.)  A description of Farhan's visit to the school, along with an audio recording of his talk, is available here: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/05/farhan-speaks-to-students-about.html

  Are you sure? yes | no

bill.meara wrote 04/25/2023 at 13:23 • point

One other thing:  We have been pleased to see the gender stereotypes about radio and electronics fading away rapidly in this project.  About half of the students are girls.   We notice no gender differences in this group.  

  Are you sure? yes | no

bill.meara wrote 04/25/2023 at 12:19 • point

To add some fun to the project (and to provide an incentive for moving forward) we gave prizes to whichever team first successfully completed a board.   For example, the team that completed their first bandpass filter (a board that required students to wind two toroidal transformers) won the coveted "Torry"  (like the Emmy or the Tony, but more techy).  You can see the Torry here: 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/03/update-on-high-school-direct-conversion.html

The students like the award program, and it helped them follow our advise to "make haste slowly."  In other words, get it done, don't dawdle, but try to get it right. 

  Are you sure? yes | no

bill.meara wrote 04/25/2023 at 11:25 • point

Global (and especially South Asian) influence:  Many of the students are the children of immigrants, many from South Asia.  We think it was very positive that one of the main inspirations for this project came from India.  On our first visit to the school, we brought with us a direct conversion receiver that had been inspired by one built by our friend Farhan in Hyderabad as part of an effort to help a cousin in an EE program:  https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/02/farhans-direct-conversion-receiver.html

  Are you sure? yes | no

bill.meara wrote 04/25/2023 at 11:00 • point

A reward offer!   Our friend Walter KA4KXX has offered a $500 reward for the first student to build a simple transmitter and check into the early morning Florida sunshine net.  This is possible for students with the receiver and with their current ham radio license privileges. 

  Are you sure? yes | no

bill.meara wrote 04/25/2023 at 10:51 • point

An Australian build of our receiver: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/02/vk2blq-builds-high-school-direct.html

  Are you sure? yes | no

bill.meara wrote 04/25/2023 at 10:50 • point

The first ever two wat radio contact made using this receiver (and a VERY small transmitter): 

https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/02/first-qso-with-high-school-receiver-100.html

  Are you sure? yes | no

bill.meara wrote 04/25/2023 at 10:47 • point

A very similar project in Hyderabad, India:  https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2023/03/pictures-from-farhans-hyderabad-high.html

  Are you sure? yes | no

Similar Projects

As a Christmas preparation I have buildt "Velleman MK100" Electronic Christmas Tree project.
Project Owner Contributor

Electronic Christmas Tree

Joe CornerJoe Corner

Make a capacitor out of aluminum foil and a book.
Project Owner Contributor

Build Your Own Capacitor

Steve SchulerSteve Schuler

Hello to everybody! In today's blog post, we'll build a DIY steering wheel, one of the most important components of a sim racing setup.
Project Owner Contributor

Make Your Own DIY Steering Wheel

ilgeilge

Learn how a phototransistor works and use one to build an Infrared (IR) detector
Project Owner Contributor

Phototransistor Audible IR Detector

Steve SchulerSteve Schuler

Does this project spark your interest?

Become a member to follow this project and never miss any updates

Going up?

About Us Contact Hackaday.io Give Feedback Terms of Use Privacy Policy Hackaday API

© 2023 Hackaday

Yes, delete it Cancel

Report project as inappropriate

You are about to report the project "High Schoolers Build a Radio Receiver", please tell us the reason.

Send message

Your application has been submitted.

Remove Member

Are you sure you want to remove yourself as a member for this project?

Project owner will be notified upon removal.