How to prototype RF circuit boards ??

[Mr.Cool]

rf prototyping board

Does anyone know how to build up a proboboard for high frequency radio transeivers? I'm interested in doing a DIY wireless FM controller but i do not know what to use to make experiments on. breadboards are no good because of its capitance for designs of 1KHz or more.

i'm going to be working in the range of 70 -80 Mhz.

any suggestions?

*****************************************
Please don't reply unless you have useful information to add on this post.Thanks
Any other replies are always welcome via PM.

 

[rfmw]

prototyping rf circuits

i've had similar problems few years back. i think that one of the most important things to be careful about are good ground connections and proper decoupling of power connections. build your circuit above ground plane such as Cu or Ms plate. try to keep all ground connections as short as possible and decouple power connections always with 1n and 100p lumped caps and some uF for low frequencies.
hope this helps,
rfmw

 

[pool_77]

wainwright mini-mount

I agee with rfmw, It is good to use microstrip lines for good SVR too.

pool_77

 

[MoonShine]

wainwright mini mount

Hi Mr.Cool
here's my $1 worth-inflation!

There's circuit board and etch materials commonly available-just create a pcb type of layout with your fav prog then use then print and etch, then you have the traces that the components are attached to. Be careful with GND-I usually create the traces on the back of the board (FR4) and keep the top Cu surface at GND.

MoonShine

 

[Mr.Cool]

rf prototype board

i'm not sure what you mean by "build above Cu GND plane" ?

i found somewhere a web site that describes such a technique. what do you think?

**broken link removed**

 

[Alexg]

rf prototyping

i found somewhere a web site that describes such a technique. what do you think?

**broken link removed**

Seems to me as a very, very nice way to do UHF and SHF power amplifiers ! It is very hard to have a better ground plane.

Best regards,
Alexg

 

[rfmw]

mini-mount wainwright

Mr.Cool,

solder all ground connections to the Cu gnd plate and all other connections above the ground plate in the air (~5mm above ground).gnd connections must be shorter than ~3mm (as short as possible!). solder outer conductor of the coax cable directly to the Cu plate. you can use one-sided FR-4 PCB board for the ground plate with the Cu plane facing up (not down as normally used for one-sided simple PCB boards circuits, where the lumped components are on the top side).
rfmw

 

[Mr.Cool]

wainwright solder mount

so a double sided board would be good.

the bottom side contains ONLY the ground plane, while the top side has the traces and the components?

sorry, i'm new :smile:

 

[Encrypted]

rf prototype

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Encrypted on 2001-10-30 01:49 ]</font>

 

[Mr.Cool]

wainwright instruments, mini-mount

oh ok. thanks all :smile:

 

[Wacko2000]

how to build rf prototypes

70-80 MHz?

Thats called DC!

 

[feedbackkiller]

rf circuit prototyping

I agree with Wacko2000. 70-80 MHz, that´s DC.

Anyway, there is a German company that manufactures very useful RF prototyping materials.
Its name is Wainwright Mini-Mount GmbH, they don´t have a website.
The address is:

WMM GmbH
Hartstr. 28c
D-82346 Andechs
Germany

telephone: 0049-8152-3162
telefax: 0049-8152-40525

On the web look for

 

[feedbackkiller]

prototype board for rf

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: feedbackkiller on 2002-02-13 11:51 ]</font>

 

[feedbackkiller]

wainwright mini-mount gmbh

Shit. The last part of my message was cut off:

On the web look for "Mini-Mount" or "Solder-Mount" (the brand name for the U.S.).
Maybe you can find a distributor. (I know there is one for the UK, but I don´t remember
the name).

So long.

 

[asernof]

minimount wainwright

I am not that experienced in rf prototyping, but I read somewhere that you want to stay away from sharp angles in your traces in the Cu boards.

 

[juanvaldezxi]

why do you need to ground circuit boards?

Yes, sharp angles will give reflections that decrease signal quality. This is also very important for high speed digital, because it can create nonmonotonicities and ringing.

 

[bird123]

how to use a prototype board

That's the why most RF engineer want to put some Transmission line as straight as possible

 

[filterman]

how to make rf prototype

On 2002-02-06 13:51, feedbackkiller wrote:
I agree with Wacko2000. 70-80 MHz, that´s DC.

Anyway, there is a German company that manufactures very useful RF prototyping materials.
Its name is Wainwright Mini-Mount GmbH, they don´t have a website.
The address is:

WMM GmbH
Hartstr. 28c
D-82346 Andechs
Germany

telephone: 0049-8152-3162
telefax: 0049-8152-40525

On the web look for

Call the company they are quite inventive and cooperative.
Also instead of etching boards you can machine the traces it is very fast and precise,Filterman

 

[filterman]

rf prototype boards

On 2002-02-06 13:51, feedbackkiller wrote:
I agree with Wacko2000. 70-80 MHz, that´s DC.

Anyway, there is a German company that manufactures very useful RF prototyping materials.
Its name is Wainwright Mini-Mount GmbH, they don´t have a website.
The address is:

WMM GmbH
Hartstr. 28c
D-82346 Andechs
Germany

telephone: 0049-8152-3162
telefax: 0049-8152-40525

On the web look for

Call the company they are quite inventive and cooperative.
Also instead of etching boards you can machine the traces it is very fast and precise,Filterman

 

[fingers]

microstrip prototype circuit boards

any protyping i do , i use double sided copper laminate protype board, then mount components upside down, and join with small links

add a liberal selection of decoupling, and you can get good results.