TC Dufresne wrote:

Hi:
I am having a problem with a "Simple Receiver for Beginners". It is from a
design that was featured in an old (1981) ARRL handbook. It is a DC
receiver, looks like alot of fun, but it isn't fun now.
Here is the problem.

1) No oscillation! I can't find it (the VFO) on my DX-398 receiver at all,
or on my Radio Shack freq counter.
2) The power (+ side) electrolytic is supposed to be a 500uF, 16 volt. I am
using a 470uF 35 volt. It gets really hot!! Short somewhere?!?!?!

The VFO is REALLY simple, it has one transistor and about 7 other parts. I
can't seem to see what is wrong, and I have tried.

I would sure appreciate some Elmer'ing here!
ANY help would be much appreciated. I have the above mentioned tools at my
command, a multimeter, and an old Heathkit "scope. (which I really don't
know how to use.

If you happened to insert the diodes in the fullwave rectifier reversed, you
will have negative voltage at the input of your filter instead of positive
voltage, and the input filter cap will conduct, and get hot (in a fullwave
rectifier supply). If that happens you hope the filter cap DID short the supply
to ground instead of passing the reverse polarized voltage on to other solid
state devices! In time this will be rough on your transformer, too.

You might want to recheck all the polarities of the diodes.

Dick