CHAPTER 3

GENERAL THEORY OF OPERATION

3-1 INTRODUCTION

The microprocessor uses serial output to control the This is a general

description of the transceiver. Chapters 4-10 give a detailed circuit
description of each module as well as technical specifications and servicing
data.

3-2 SYNTHESIZER

The synthesizer is the heart of the transceiver. In the transmit mode, the
synthesizer output is on the transmit frequency. In the receive mode, the
synthesizer moves 10.7 MHz to enable the oscillator frequency to down convert
to the 10.7-Nff-Iz intermediate frequency. The synthesizer covers the frequency
range 30-88 MHz in 25-kHz increments.

The receiver oscillator injection is on the high side from 30-51.975 MHz and on
the low side from 52-88 MHz. The synthesizer uses a single phase-locked loop
with the VCO operating at the output frequency. The synthesizer makes use of a
modern LSI synthesizer integrated circuit and a dual-modulus (32/33) prescaler.
This gives a very simple design using only two integrated circuits. The use of
a signal loop design running directly at the operating frequency gives freedom
from spurious responses.

A single 6.4-Nff-Iz crystal provides the reference frequency for the

synthesizer. The oscillator is temperature compensated and provides excellent
frequency stability over temperature extremes. The entire frequency calibration
of the transceiver is a single adjustment of the reference oscillator.

Four separate VCO's are used in the synthesizer. This ensures good purity, an
important consideration when operating in the retransmit or repeater modes.

The synthesizer is a serial-entry type directly controlled by the

microprocessor. This means that only three operating lines, between the
microprocessor and the synthesizer, control the selection of any frequency in
the operating range.

3-3 MICROPROCESSOR

The microprocessor provides complete control of the entire thesizer, tunes the
antenna tuner and receiver, selects the correct filters, adjusts the transmitter
deviation and operates the liquid-crystal frequency display on the front panel.

An internal battery, with a nominal operating life of 10 that the frequency

information entered in each of the 10 memory channels is retained in permanent
memory until changed by the operator. transceiver. This results in great economy
of wiring, as all operations are controlled by the common data lines. In the
transceiver all mechanical tuning has been eliminated by using the
microprocessor control.
3-4 RECEIVER

The receiver follows conventional design techniques. It uses a tuned RF

amplifier and mixer stage and down converts to the 10.7-NIHz intermediate
frequency. An eight-pole, 10.7-NIHz crystal filter is followed by a single-
stage

IF amplifier and then an MC3357 integrated circuit. This low-power device (6 V

at 3 mA) includes oscillator and mixer for down conversion to 455 kHz, a limiting
amplifier, quadrature discriminator, active filter, and noise-
operated squelch. A single-stage operational amplifier provides fixed wideband
audio output for high-speed data operation. A 300-Hz active, high-pass audio
filter suppresses the 150-Hz tone squelch and an integrated-circuit audio
amplifier provides headphone or loudspeaker output.

The operating range is divided into four bands, and four separate RF stages are
used for maximum efficiency and minimum noise level. The RF stage and tuned
circuits are selected by pin diodes controlled from the microprocessor.
The circuits are tuned by varactors. The tuning voltage is derived from a
digital-to-analog converter under the control of the microprocessor.

The transceiver uses both noise-operated and 150-Hz tone-controlled squelch

systems. The tone-detect circuit uses a highly selective commutating filter
which automatically adjusts to the internal transmit tone standard.

3-5 TRANSMITTER

The transmitter in the transceiver is very simple. The synthesizer output is on

the transmit frequency and no multi-plication or conversion is required. Three
broadband amplifiers are used to amplify the output level to 5 W.

Four separate low-pass filters are selected to provide good harmonic

suppression. The good spectral purity from the synthesizer means no other
filtering or tuning is required. The transmitter audio stages comprise a high-
gain microphone amplifier and clipper followed by a 3-kHz amplifier where the
150-Hz tone is injected. The wideband audio input is also summed at this input.
A further amplifier sets the modulation gain level.

The transmitter audio is applied directly to the VCO control voltage. This
results in low-distortion direct-frequency modulation of the output. As the
frequency deviation will change with frequency, the modulation gain is changed
automatically by the microprocessor to ensure constant deviation over the entire
frequency range.

3-6 ANTENNA TUNER

The transceiver has a 50-ohm output for coaxial-fed antennas and operates with
3-ft and 10-ft whip antennas in the manpack configuration. Five inductors may
be selected in a binary progression to vary the inductance from 0-2 microhenrys
in 0.06-microhenry increments. Shunt and series capacitors may also be selected.
The capacitors and inductors are selected using latching relays that only draw
current in the switching mode. The tuning program is controlled by the
microprocessor. A micro switch at the antenna base determines which antenna is
in use.

3-7 SIGNAL FLOW CHARTS

Table 3-1 indicates the signal levels at various stages of the receive signal
path, while Table 3-2 does the same for the transmit signal path.