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1.5V Tracking Transmitter |
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With this circuit you can build a very small tracking transmitter that can be tracked using a FM broadcast band radio receiver. The transmitter can be powered from any 1.5V volt battery or power supply. Transmitter has a range up to 1 mile depending on battery voltage, height above ground, receiver sensitivity, and antenna length. Under certain conditions distances of 1 mile have been achieved. It is recommended that this transmitter be used with FM radios that can tune continuously across the dial. The better the receiver and receiver antenna system the greater the practical range of the transmitter, however good functionality can be achieved with the least expensive radios and using only the standard telescoping antenna included with most radios.
Additional Notes
o For stability, use a NPO types for C2 & C4.
o Resistance tolerance for R1 should be 1 or 2%.
o Frequency range is the usual 87-109Mhz on the FM dial.
o The coil is made from 22 ga 'hookup' wire, like the solid Bell phone wire. Leave the insulation on.
o The LED is the 'High Brightness' type for maximum illumination, although this type will draw more current.
87.6Mhz full view The current draw for this tracker is 3.7mA, so the 1.5V button cell will last a while. My experimental version was tuned to 87.6MHz and worked as expected on only 1.5 volts. The photo shows I just glued the whole thing on a 1.5V AA battery. The led glows at the same oscillation as the beat-frequency
What the heck am I suppose to hear you ask? When your circuit is working you should see the LED flash quite fast. Take your FM radio and search for the low-beat 'thumpe-thumpe-thumpe-etc' equal to the flash of the LED (probably around the 100Mhz). Found it? If that position is interfering with a radio station you can fine-tune it with the variable capacitor. If you like to have the tracker around the 88Mhz (or lower) you can do that by keeping the windings from the home-made coil close together. Anyways, play with it and learn. It may take a lot of patience to find the signal but once you know where it is it becomes simple. It is a nice learning project.
The 12-inch antenna can be anything, it is not really that critical. I used a piece of 22 gauge flexible wire.
Related Links
Downloads
1.5V Tracking Transmitter - Link
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Accurate LC Meter
