One Transistor RTL-SDR Upconverter

Even if you haven’t used one, you’ve probably seen the numerous projects with the inexpensive RTL-SDR USB dongle. Originally designed for TV use, the dongle is a software defined radio that many have repurposed for a variety of radio hacking projects. However, there’s one small issue. By default, the device only works down to about 50 MHz or so. There are some hacks to change that, but the cleanest way to get operation is to add an upconverter to shift the frequency you want higher. Sounds complicated? [Qrp-Gaijin] shows how to do it with a single transistor. You can see some videos of the results, below.

Actually, [Qrp-Gaijin] built an earlier version but wasn’t satisfied with the performance. He found that his original oscillator was driving an overtone crystal at its fundamental frequency. The device worked, but only because the oscillator was putting out harmonics, including the third harmonic at the actual needed frequency (49.8 MHz).

Changing the oscillator topology did the trick. A tuned circuit prevents the oscillator from having sufficient gain at the fundamental frequency. He did some other tweaks and–according to the post–he still has some future improvements he would like to make.

There have been efforts to improve the RTL-SDR circuitry, too. If you want to see a more complex upconverter, you might want to look at one based on circuit modules.

Filed under: radio hacks

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