By Charles Kitchin, N1TEV

A Simple Regen Radio

for Beginners
Need a simple, fun projectpossibly for a Scout Radio Merit Badge? This project is
a great way to introduce kids of any age to electronics and shortwave listening.

ere’s a low cost, simple-to-build, portable shortwave

H receiver. Its design is noncritical and the receiver is

easy to get going. With it, you can receive dozens of
international shortwave broadcast stations at night
even indoorsusing a 39-inch whip antenna. This little radio is
perfect for discovering ham-band QSOs, news, music and all the
other things the shortwave bands have to offer.
Although this little receiver is quite sensitive, it naturally won’t
match the performance of a commercial HF rig, and if you’ve not
used a regen before, you’ll have to practice tuning the radiobut
that’s part of the adventure. Most of today’s experienced
“homebrewers” got their start by building simple, fun circuits just
like this one. You’ll gain experience in winding a coil and fol-
lowing a schematic. As your interest in radio communication
develops, you can build a more complex receiver later.
The little receiver requires only a single hand-wound coil
and consumes just 5 mA from a 9-V battery. At that rate, an
alkaline battery can provide approximately 40 hours of opera- In this version of the receiver, a prototype PC board is used;
tion. The sound quality of this receiver is excellent when using it is not directly representative of the currently produced
Walkman headphones. The radio can also drive a small speaker. board, although they are similar. In this view of the receiver,
the antenna has been removed. The TUNING capacitor is at
To simplify construction, a low-cost PC board is available from the left. Immediately behind the capacitor is the coil, L1.
FAR circuits.1 You can house the receiver in a readily available Attached between the TUNING capacitor and the VOLUME
RadioShack plastic project box. control pot immediately beneath you can see D1, C4 and R4
as discussed in the text.
Circuit Description
Take a look at the schematic in Figure 1. L1 and C1 tune the
input signal from the whip antenna. Regenerative RF ampli-
fier Q1 operates as a grounded-base Hartley oscillator. Its here!) provides the necessary dc return path for the detector.
positive feedback provides a signal amplification of around VOLUME control R5 sets the level of detected audio driving U1, an
100,000. The combination of the very low operating power of LM386 audio amplifier. C5 provides low-pass filtering that keeps RF
this stage, only 30 µW, with the use of a simple whip antenna out of the audio amplifier. R4 isolates the low-pass filter from the
makes this receiver easily portable and prevents it from inter- detector circuit when the volume control is at the top of its range. The
fering with other receivers located nearby. Regenerative bottom of the VOLUME control, R5, and pin 3 of the LM386 float
receivers are, after all, above ground so that both inputs of the IC are ac coupled. This allows
1Notes appear on page 64. oscillators. R2 controls the the use of a 100-kΩ VOLUME control; this high resistance value pre-
amount of positive feed- vents excessive loading of the detector. D5 protects the receiver from
back (regeneration). an incorrectly connected battery.
D1 and C4 comprise a L1 is wound on a standard 35-mm plastic film can or a 1-inch-
floating detector that pro- diameter pill bottle. C1 can be any air-dielectric variable capacitor
vides high sensitivity with with a maximum capacitance of 100 to 365 pF. Total frequency
little loading of Q1. The rela- coverage varies with the capacitance value used, but any capacitor
tively low back-resistance of in that range should cover the 40-meter ham band and several
the 1N34 germanium diode international broadcast bands. If you use a capacitor with a large
(don’t use a silicon diode capacitance range (such as 10 to 365 pF), you’ll find that selectiv-
September 2000 61
ity suffers. That is, it’s more difficult to tune in an individual eral suppliers.2 You can also find them at ham flea markets or
station because there are more stations within the tuning range salvage one from a discarded AM radio. All the other components
than when using a capacitor with a smaller capacitance range (such are available from RadioShack and Digi-Key. PC boards are avail-
as 10 to 150 pF). Therefore, an optional fine-tuning control (see able from FAR Circuits (see Note 1).
the inset of Figure 1) is recommended when using tuning capaci-
tors with a wide capacitance range. Winding the Coil
Some would-be builders are intimidated by the idea of winding
Building the Receiver a coil. Actually it’s quite easy to do. Sometimes, having a second
Finding the Parts set of hands helps. For the coil winding, use 22-gauge solid-con-
Air-dielectric variable capacitors can be purchased from sev- ductor insulated hook-up wire. Before you start winding the coil,

Figure 1—Schematic of the simple regen receiver. Unless otherwise specified, resistors are 1/ 4-W, 5%-tolerance carbon-
composition or metal-film units. Part numbers in parentheses are RadioShack. Equivalent parts can be substituted; n.c.
indicates no connection.
C1150 to 350 pF (maximum value) air-dielectric variable R1, R31 kΩ (RS 271-1321)
capacitor; see text. R2, R5100 kΩ potentiometer, linear taper (RS 272-092)
C2, C30.001 µF, 50 V (or more) disc ceramic (RS 272-126) R422 kΩ (RS 271-1339)
C4, C10, C11, C140.01 µF, 50 V (or more) disc ceramic R610 Ω (RS 271-1301)
(RS 272-131) R7150 kΩ (RSU11345287) or use series-connected 100 kΩ
C50.002 µF, 50 V (or more) disc ceramic (use two (RS 271-1347) and 47 kΩ (RS 271-1342) resistors.
RS 272-126 connected in parallel). R8100 kΩ audio-taper pot (RS 271-1722); connect so that
C6, C90.047 µF, 50 V disc ceramic (RS 272-134) clockwise rotation increases the voltage at the junction of
C710 µF, 35 V electrolytic (RS 272-1025) the pot arm, R9 and C14.
C8220 µF, 35 V electrolytic (RS 272-1017) R91 MΩ (RS 271-1356)
C12, C1347 µF, 35 V electrolytic (RS 272-1027) S1SPST miniature toggle (RS 275-612)
C155 to 10 pF, 50 V (or more) mica (RS 272-120) U1LM386N-1 audio amplifier (RS 276-1731)
D11N34A germanium diode (RS 276-1123); don’t use a Misc: PC board (see Note 1); 39-inch whip antenna
silicon diode here. (RS 270-1403); 8-pin DIP socket for U1 (RS 276-1995A);
D2-D51N4148 or any similar silicon diode (RS 276-1122) 9-V battery clip (RS 270-325); three knobs (RS 274-402A);
D61N4003 silicon diode (RS 276-1102) project box (RS 270-1806); #6-32 screws and nuts, rubber
1
J12 / 8-inch, three-circuit jack (RS 274-246) feet; 9-V battery, Radio Shack 22-gauge solid hook-up wire.
L1—See text. Note: RSU items in the RadioShack catalog need to be
Q12N2222A NPN transistor (RSU11328507) or MPS2222A ordered (delivery in approximately 7 to 10 business days).
(RS 276-2009)
62 September 2000
 frequency range of the receiver. You can compensate for this by
removing turns from L1 if necessary.

Two-Band Option
If you’d like a two-band receiver with noncritical tuning, use
a 150-pF capacitor for C1 and install a miniature toggle switch
with very short leads to add an additional 250-pF fixed-value mica
capacitor in parallel with C1. With the capacitor in the circuit, the
receiver will then tune the 80-meter band.

Packaging the Radio

The recommended RadioShack project box includes metal and
plastic tops. Use the metal top as a large front panel by mounting
it to one side of the box using two small screws and nuts through
two of the four predrilled holes. Then drill the control mounting
holes and mount the three controls and the ON/OFF switch on the
metal panel. The radio is easier to operate if you mount the TUN-
This close-up shows the interconnection of series- ING capacitor and the regeneration ( REGEN) control on opposite
connected D1, C4 and R4 between the TUNING capacitor sides of the front panel. The VOLUME and REGEN controls are best
and VOLUME control. mounted near the bottom of the front panel to keep their connect-
ing wires to the PC board as short as possible. You can use the
RadioShack hook-up wire for the VOLUME and REGEN control
connections if you twist the wires closely together and keep their
lengths very short. Otherwise, use shielded wires for these con-
drill a mounting hole in the bottom of the film can or pill bottle. nections. You can mount the ON/OFF switch last, in any conve-
Then, drill two small holes in the side of the coil form, near the top, nient location. Use one of the two remaining holes in the metal
where the winding starts. (By winding from the top of the coil front panel to attach a wire connecting the panel to the PC board
form to the bottom, the winding bottom is kept well above the PC ground. Attach the PC board and the coil to the bottom of the
board, preventing any circuit loading that could decrease the project box using small screws. Mount the headphone jack on the
receiver’s selectivity.) Feed one end of the coil wire through the box rear, close to the PC board and the LM386. Attach the
first hole to the inside of the form, then out through the second. Tie RadioShack 39-inch whip antenna to one of the back corners of the
a knot at the point in the wire where it enters the form—this keeps box using a small screw and nut.
the wire in place and prevents it from loosening later on. Be sure If you use the RadioShack jack specified for J1 (RS 274-276),
to leave a two to three inch length of wire at each end of the coil connect together pins 2 and 5 and attach that common lead to C8.
so you can make connections to the PC board. Ground pin 1 of the jack. If you intend to use a small speaker,
You can wind the coil in either direction, clockwise or counter- connect it between pins 1 and 3. Then, when headphones are
clockwise. Tightly wind the wire onto the form, counting the turns plugged in, the speaker will be disconnected automatically.
as you go. Keep the turns close together and don’t let the wire
loosen as you wind; this takes a little practice. Testing and Operating the Receiver
To make the coil tap, wind 11 turns on the coil form. While Set the VOLUME and REGEN controls to midrange, plug in the
holding the wire with your thumb and index finger, mark the tap headphones, extend the whip antenna, attach the battery and turn
point and remove the insulation at that point. Solder a two to three- on the receiver. You can check to ensure that the audio stage is
inch piece of wire to the tap. Continue winding turns until the coil functioning by placing a finger on the center lug (wiper) of the
is finished (13 turns total). Keep the free end of the wire in place VOLUME control and listen for a buzz. If the audio stage is work-
using a piece of tape and drill two more holes in the coil form ing, adjust the REGEN control until the set produces a sound, in-
where the winding ends. Feed the wire end in and out of the coil dicating that Q1 is oscillating. If Q1 is not oscillating, carefully
as before and tie a knot at the end to hold the winding in place. check the wiring and measure the voltages labeled on the sche-
When the coil is finished, remove the tape then carefully solder the matic using a high-impedance DVM or multimeter. Common prob-
three wires from the coil (bottom, tap and top) to their points on lems are Q1 being wired backwards (emitter and collector connec-
the PC board keeping the wire lengths as short as possible. tions reversed) and the wires from coil L1 connected to the wrong
For best performance, the floating detector must be wired using places on the PC board.
short, direct connections. Therefore, these components are not Use two hands when operating the receiver: one for tuning, the
mounted on the PC board. Mount the VOLUME control, R5, close to other for controlling regeneration. For international broadcast
the TUNING capacitor, C1. Connect D1, C4 and R4 in series be- stations or AM phone operation on 40 meters, carefully adjust the
tween the hot side of C1 (the stator) and the top of the VOLUME REGEN control so that Q1 is just below oscillation. For CW and
control. SSB, increase the REGEN level so that the set just oscillates pro-
viding the required local oscillation for these modes. This receiver
Options
picks up lots of stations with just its whip antenna, although using
Fine-Tuning Control a ground connection will greatly reduce any hand-capacitance ef-
You can add a fine-tuning control to the receiver using the fects. To pull in more stations during daylight hours, a 10 to 15-
circuit shown in the inset of Figure 1. D6 functions as a poor man’s foot (or longer) length of insulated hook-up wire can be used as an
Varactor (voltage-variable capacitor). As the voltage from FINE- external antenna. Simply wrap the end of this wire a couple of
TUNING control R8 is increased, the diode is reverse biased and its times around the whip antenna.
capacitance decreases. This fine-tuning control is cheap and easy If you operate this receiver close to another radio, the regen’s
to add, but its added capacitance somewhat reduces the maximum 30-µW oscillator might interfere with it. Those who are interested
September 2000 63
 in building a higher-performance regen receiver for serious CW tel 419-227-6573, 419-223-2196; fax 419-227-1313; e-mail fairadio@
wcoil.com; http://www.fairradio.com/; Ocean State Electronics, PO Box
and SSB reception should read my article “High Performance 1458, 6 Industrial Dr, Westerly, RI 02891; tel 800-866-6626, 401-596-3080,
Regenerative Receiver Design.”3 You can also see the project at fax 401-596-3590; RadioShack—see your local distributor. RadioShack.com
L. P., 300 West Third Street, Suite 1400, Fort Worth, TX 76102; http://
http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/receivers/regen-radio-receiver.htm www.radioshack.com/; The Electronic Goldmine, PO Box 5408, Scottsdale,
AZ; 85261; tel 800-445-0697; fax 480-661-8259; e-mail goldmine-
Notes [email protected]; http://www.goldmine-elec.com.
1A PC board for this radio is available from FAR Circuits, 18N640 Field Ct, 3Charles Kitchin, N1TEV, “High Performance Regenerative Receiver De-
Dundee, IL 60118-9269, tel 847-836-9148 (voice and fax). Price: $5 each sign,” QEX, Nov/Dec 1998, pp 24-36. See also Charles Kitchin, N1TEV,
plus $1.50 shipping for up to three boards. FAR Circuits offers a group “Regenerative Receivers: Past And Present,” Communications Quarterly,
discount rate of 10% for orders of 10 or more boards. Visa and MasterCard Fall 1995, pp 7-26.
accepted with a $3 service charge; [email protected]; http://www.cl.ais.net/
farcir/.
2Suppliers include, but are not limited to: Antique Electronics Supply, 7221 S
Maple Ave, Tempe, AZ 85283; tel 480-820-5411, fax 800-706-6789, 480-
820-4643; [email protected]; http://www.tubesandmore.com;
Digi-Key Corp, 701 Brooks Ave S, Thief River Falls, MN 56701-0677; tel 800- 26 Crystal St
344-4539, 218-681-6674, fax 218-681-3380; http://www.digikey .com; Fair Billerica, MA 01821
Radio Sales Co, Inc, 1016 East Eureka St, PO Box 1105, Lima, OH 45804; [email protected]

written by a tag team of Carl Sagan, P. J. O’Rourke and Hunter

NEW BOOKS Thompson and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect
with The Logic of Microspace.
THE LOGIC OF MICROSPACE A glance at some of the chapter sections will give you a sense
By Rick Fleeter, K8VK of the “atmosphere:”
• Weather, Ecology And Another Proof of the Existence of
Published jointly by Kluwer Academic
God
Publishers and Microcosm Press. Avail-
• How Mother Nature is Cruel to Eight-Year-Olds
able from Microcosm Press, 401 Coral
• A War Waged for the Sake of the Clueless (my personal
Circle, El Segundo, CA 90245-4622; tel
favorite)
310-726-4100; http://www.smad.com.
The Logic of Microspace is really three books in one. The first is
6×9 inches, 477 pages. Softcover. ISBN
a treatise on space technology and physics. The second is a fascinat-
1-881883-11-6. $29.95.
ing examination of the politics, planning and psychology that under-
Reviewed by Steve Ford, WB8IMY lies much of the work involved in aerospace projects. The third is the
QST Managing Editor biggest surprise of all—a work of science fiction. The 94-page no-
◊ The Logic of Microspace has noth- vella is titled “A Wrinkle in Microspace” and it is as compelling as
ing to do with Amateur Radio—and ev- anything you’ll find on the fiction shelf of your local library.
erything to do with Amateur Radio. Although it may not be obvious, Amateur Radio illuminates
Hams pioneered the concept of microsatellites—compact space- every page of The Logic of Microspace. Insatible technical and
craft designed to be deployed at minimal cost while offering flex- scientific curiosity is what drove Rick Fleeter to become a ham in
ible functionality. The results are orbiting overhead as you read the first place. That same muse guided him later to a career in
these words. Several of the first Amateur Radio microsats aerospace. The Logic of Microspace is, in many ways, a testimonial
launched almost 10 years ago are still very much alive and well. to the fundamental “spirit” that brings us all to this hobby—and
Microsats have since moved into the commercial sphere with carries some of us, such as Rick Fleeter, much farther.
corporations, governments and even NASA embracing the con-
cept. In fact, author Rick Fleeter, K8VK, is president and CEO of
AeroAstro, a company that designs and builds microsats.
But we still haven’t addressed the question of why you should
NEW PRODUCTS
be interested in reading The Logic of Microspace. There are two
CAPANALYZER 88A IN-CIRCUIT CAPACITOR TESTER
reasons: (1) To gain an education in the fascinating world of space
technology in general and microsats in particular and, (2) because ◊ The CapAnalyzer 88A allows testing of electrolytic and tanta-
this book is a pure delight. lum capacitors in-circuit by measuring the equivalent series resis-
Rick Fleeter is one of those rare individuals who can not only tance (ESR) and the dc resistance (DCR)—eliminating the need to
explain technical topics to any audience, he can do so with highly desolder the component from the pc board.
effective humor. This gifted combination of talent makes The The test instrument discharges the capacitor, checks it for low
Logic of Microspace one of the most unusual science and technol- DCR, reads out the high-frequency ESR and allows you to quickly
ogy books you’ll ever read. compare those readings with the industry standard values conve-
Like his previous work, Micro Space Craft, The Logic of niently provided on a three-color chart on the front panel.
Microspace is the kind of title that seems deliberately designed to There’s also a QuickESR mode to speed ESR-only testing and
hide the true content of the book. If you saw The Logic of a 1- to 5-beep tone alert system that allows you to know the ap-
Microspace sitting on a bookstore shelf, chances are you’d stroll proximate ESR reading without having to avert your attention
right by without giving it much more than a glance. (Oh, another from the device under test.
one of those boring academic snoozers!) The included tweezer-type probe allows easy one-handed test-
You couldn’t be more wrong. ing of both normal and surface-mounted capacitors and uses co-
In The Logic of Microspace Fleeter takes complex topics such axial cable instead of separate test-probe wires, insuring stable
as rocket propulsion and orbital mechanics and explains them readings even on small capacitors.
clearly, without patronizing. The Logic of Microspace eschews The CapAnalyzer 88A is battery powered—an optional ac
the stuffy traditions of academic and technical writing. (There adapter is also available.
isn’t a “hitherto” or a “thus” to be found.) Instead, The Logic of For more information, visit your favorite electronics distribu-
Microspace is totally conversational and often downright hilari- tor or contact Electronic Design Specialists, Inc, 4647 Appala-
ous. Fleeter’s writing style is filled with contemporary references chian St, Boca Raton, FL 33428; tel/fax 561-487-6103; info@
to pop culture (rock n’ roll in particular). Imagine a technical book eds-inc.com; http://www.edsinc.com/.
64 September 2000