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David G4EBT · 12th Sep 2018, 5:44 pm

Following on from my previous post, here are a few more pics.

The first pic shows the underside of the FM module, which - being an SMD device - has solder pads on the underside, but not on the top. Thus, it's much easier to solder it to the pins with the underside showing.

The second pic shows the upperside of the FM module, to illustrate that if it were mounted on top of the PCB as with the other components, there's little to solder to.

The third pic is the negative mask for the UV dry film process.

The fourth pic is an etched and drilled PCB. The sharp-eyed may notice that towards the RH end of the PCB, when it came to drilling the holes for the 8-pin DIL socket for the PIC, the drill bit was throwing up a slight burr, whereas all of the holes to the left of the PCB are cleanly drilled. As soon as a bit starts to throw up a burr it's time to bin it or you risk it skidding and wrecking the board. 0.8mm HSS drill bits are only 16p each from China so it's just not worth trying to make them last, or to re-sharpen them. Sure, you can get tungsten carbide drills which are more expensive and last longer, but I'm content with HSS.

The last pic is the decal I designed for the front of the ABS box to finish it off.

As there isn't much space for text, it only gives basic information, but really, once set up, there's little to know. Once you know where to find the converter's signal on the MW dial, to use the converter, you just press the scanning button in sequence till you find the station you wish to listen to. If you have a favourite station you want to be the default, you press and hold the button for ten seconds. It automatically switches off after 2 hours.

Hope that's of interest.

12th Sep 2018, 5:44 pm	#78
David G4EBT Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Cottingham, East Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 5,765	Re: FM to AM Converter? Following on from my previous post, here are a few more pics. The first pic shows the underside of the FM module, which - being an SMD device - has solder pads on the underside, but not on the top. Thus, it's much easier to solder it to the pins with the underside showing. The second pic shows the upperside of the FM module, to illustrate that if it were mounted on top of the PCB as with the other components, there's little to solder to. The third pic is the negative mask for the UV dry film process. The fourth pic is an etched and drilled PCB. The sharp-eyed may notice that towards the RH end of the PCB, when it came to drilling the holes for the 8-pin DIL socket for the PIC, the drill bit was throwing up a slight burr, whereas all of the holes to the left of the PCB are cleanly drilled. As soon as a bit starts to throw up a burr it's time to bin it or you risk it skidding and wrecking the board. 0.8mm HSS drill bits are only 16p each from China so it's just not worth trying to make them last, or to re-sharpen them. Sure, you can get tungsten carbide drills which are more expensive and last longer, but I'm content with HSS. The last pic is the decal I designed for the front of the ABS box to finish it off. As there isn't much space for text, it only gives basic information, but really, once set up, there's little to know. Once you know where to find the converter's signal on the MW dial, to use the converter, you just press the scanning button in sequence till you find the station you wish to listen to. If you have a favourite station you want to be the default, you press and hold the button for ten seconds. It automatically switches off after 2 hours. Hope that's of interest. Attached Thumbnails __________________ David. BVWS Member. G-QRP Club member 1339.