Comments on: 30′s style regenerative receiver

By: Des (M0AYF)

Des (M0AYF) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:42:51 +0000

Hi there,

Just a few lines to say “thanks” for the feedback and positive comment relating to the “Triodes in disguise” article.

Also, sorry for the “typo” which appears both in the title and in the text. The title reads “Voltage Fluorescent Device” when in fact it should read “Vacuum Fluorescent Device”.

Best wishes to all and thanks to “Hack-a-day” for hosting the article.

73,s

Des. (M0AYF and author of “Triodes in disguise”)

By: andre

andre — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:49:57 +0000

here’s a thought. if the individual segments are separate I wonder if they could be used as a very simple analogue logic/memory element? might be an amusing experiment as some of the first computers were based on op-amps.

-A

By: Man On Fire

Man On Fire — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:30:45 +0000

the build details are quite fascinating. he uses tin can lids and “dead bug” construction (minus the bugs, since he isn’t using ICs) to provide a ground plane.

By: localroger

localroger — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 15:06:11 +0000

@orv: regeneration does indeed increase selectivity, because the effectiveness of the regeneration is itself affected by the tuned circuit’s willingness to pass the signal. a slightly off-center signal effectively has the regeneration knob turned down compared to one that’s on-center so it’s amplified less, sharpening the selectivity compared to a non-regenerative amplifier using the same LC. This is easily observed when you are operating a receiver like this.

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:56:22 +0000

That’s a lovely little hack… I suggested it should be possible in the comments to the VFD amplifier a short while ago, but didn’t dare hope I’d get to see it done so soon.

I’ve just pointed a few of my fellow radio amateurs in the UK to the page to see who fancies a go. :-)

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:42:48 +0000

Vacuum… Fluorescent… Display?

By: N5DUX

N5DUX — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:11:35 +0000

This is incredible. The audio clarity is wonderful. I’ve built some small radios of my own, but never had such great sound. Excellent work!

By: Orv

Orv — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:01:50 +0000

I should add that regenerative receivers often *did* have better selectivity than the TRF receivers that preceded them, but that’s not directly because of regeneration; rather, it’s because the added gain created by regeneration allowed the use of more tightly tuned input filters, which otherwise would have resulted in too much signal loss.

By: Orv

Orv — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:58:47 +0000

Actually, the purpose of regeneration is not to provide finer tuning. What it actually does is provide more amplification. This allows weaker signals to be tuned with the same number of tubes compared to a direct-conversion receiver, which has to provide all its gain in its audio stages. If adjusted so that it oscillates, the regenerative detector also acts as a BFO, allowing you to receive single sideband and Morse code.

Regenerative receivers were THE hot item for long-distance reception before the superheterodyne was invented. (Superhets offer much better selectivity.)

I never would have thought to build one using VFDs as triodes. That’s really cool.