I finally got the new board layout for the MW receiver completed. The
toughest part was routing the board so that now MCU control lines would
cross the low level / analog and RF circuits.
My employ with Silicon Engines ends tomorrow, but I will be providing
technical support throughout the life of the product.
The other folks will be doing the front panel / control board layout in the
next few weeks. Hopefully, this product will hit the market at the end of
the summer. I am not sure how the Eton unit will impact sales, but SE is
going to give it a shot anyway.

The balanced active loopstick antenna design is completed; I am not sure
when they will make that product available.

Another product that I have designed is a DDS based synthesizer for the
Drake '4 line. This will be a substitute for the FS-4 synthesizer. It should
be in the 150 dollar price range. I've got somebody who is interested in
putting it into production. A friend of mine is working on the control code
right now.

Funny thing....................I thought it was going to be one of THOSE
summers, but I have a couple of job offers. Which one?
I don't know yet. I would eventually like to start my own radio product
oriented company.
I will keep all of you posted.

Pete

Pete [KE9OA],

.
Correct me if I am wrong but this is going to be an
AM/MW (Only) Receiver. It will NOT have any FM and
Shortwave Coverage.

That is correct.
.
The Eton E1 Receiver with XM Satellite Radio should
be at a price multiple of 2X to 3X of the price that
your AM/MW Receiver will be selling.

In an ideal world, that would be great. Unfortunately, a general coverage
receiver doesn't cost much more to make than the MW receiver, especially
with those wideband front ends that manufacturers seem to be using these
days.
Materials cost for this unit is at the 160 dollar mark. Labor adds another
50 dollars.
Typically, you want to shoot for a selling price of 2 to 3 times the
materials cost. This ratio would price the receiver out of the market. SE is
shooting for a 300 dollar price tag. They wanted to go for 350 dollars, but
I explained that this price point is too close to what the Eaton radio will
be selling for.
Expect it to be quite out of the ordinary as far as performance is
concerned. I am using a doubly-balanced diode ring mixer as the 1st mixer.
The conversion loss is low enough that an RF amplifier is not needed for
good performance.
We'll see how it all falls out.

Pete
.
All things consider and if history repeats itself your
AM/MW Receiver should be on the market well before the
Eton E1 Receiver with XM Satellite Radio.
.
waiting and hoping ~ RHF
. . . . .

The synthesizer for the Drake R4 is a great idea Pete. The FS-4 is very
hard to find now. There was a DIY version of the FS-4 but I don't think
the circuit boards are still available. I never had an R4 because I
didn't want to get all the crystals for the international HF bands. I'll
give it another thought when your synthesizer comes out. Keep up the
good work.

Pete KE9OA wrote:

Another product that I have designed is a DDS based synthesizer for the
Drake '4 line. This will be a substitute for the FS-4 synthesizer. It should
be in the 150 dollar price range. I've got somebody who is interested in
putting it into production. A friend of mine is working on the control code
right now.

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Thanks for the vote of confidence! Once Jeff W finishes the control code, I
will characterize this unit. The AD9851 that I am using is pretty good on
most frequencies, but some of those DDS spurs are at the -54dBc level. I
just want to make sure that any of these spurs don't land on the 500kHz
tuning steps that the '4 line requires.
It should be ok.

Pete

"starman" wrote in message
...
The synthesizer for the Drake R4 is a great idea Pete. The FS-4 is very
hard to find now. There was a DIY version of the FS-4 but I don't think
the circuit boards are still available. I never had an R4 because I
didn't want to get all the crystals for the international HF bands. I'll
give it another thought when your synthesizer comes out. Keep up the
good work.

Pete KE9OA wrote:

Another product that I have designed is a DDS based synthesizer for the
Drake '4 line. This will be a substitute for the FS-4 synthesizer. It
should
be in the 150 dollar price range. I've got somebody who is interested in
putting it into production. A friend of mine is working on the control
code
right now.

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News==----
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Newsgroups
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=----

Pete,

Just curious. Did the radio wind up with a mechanical on/off switch?
Looking forward to seeing it. Is there a particular brand name to be
on the lookout for - or is Silicon Engines the name it will come out
with?

Russ

Hi Russ,
It looks like it will have a uP controlled switch. They also
want to have RS-232 control. Is that a desirable feature?
Actually, all of the other controls, including tuning, volume, bass, treble,
and mode will be selected by shaft encoders.
As far as the name, it will probably be either Silicon Engines or Quadphase.

Pete

"wavetrapper" wrote in message
ups.com...
Pete,

Just curious. Did the radio wind up with a mechanical on/off switch?
Looking forward to seeing it. Is there a particular brand name to be
on the lookout for - or is Silicon Engines the name it will come out
with?

Russ

"Pete KE9OA" wrote:

Hi Russ,
It looks like it will have a uP controlled switch. They also
want to have RS-232 control. Is that a desirable feature?
Actually, all of the other controls, including tuning, volume, bass, treble,
and mode will be selected by shaft encoders.
As far as the name, it will probably be either Silicon Engines or Quadphase.

Pete

I'm sorry to hear that you won't be there to see your baby make it to
market. Some third-rate hack who couldn't design an audio preamp will
probably claim it as his own.

--
Eric F. Richards

"Nature abhors a vacuum tube." -- Myron Glass,
often attributed to J. R. Pierce, Bell Labs, c. 1940

"Pete KE9OA" wrote in message
...
I finally got the new board layout for the MW receiver completed. The
toughest part was routing the board so that now MCU control lines would
cross the low level / analog and RF circuits.

Should be NO MCU control lines. That touch typing again!

Pete

Pete KE9OA wrote:

"Pete KE9OA" wrote in message
...
I finally got the new board layout for the MW receiver completed. The
toughest part was routing the board so that now MCU control lines would
cross the low level / analog and RF circuits.

Should be NO MCU control lines. That touch typing again!

Got any pictures yet of the end product?

dxAce
Michigan
USA