Introduction to VLF Radio signal Receiver

Gyrator II
What are VLF waves?

The very low frequency (VLF) waves are the radio waves whose wavelengths
ranges between 10 and 100 km and operate at the frequencies ranging from
3 to 30kHz, usually they are used for long-distance propagations.
Main hardware components required to study
VLF signals

1) The Antenna
2) The Receiver
3) Data storage/ Recording device
1) Antenna

a) Resonant Loop Antenna

Dimension: two 15 inches long wood crosspieces.

Number of turns of Cu wire: 200 turns.
Guage of Copper wire: #26 enameled Copper wire.
This loop resonantes to 24.0KHz for NAA.
Value of capacitance required to resonate 24.0KHz
is 1320pF.
Capacitor Type used: polypropylene (High Q value)
Q value of Loop: 37
Half power bandwidth: 650Hz
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1) Antenna

b) A tuned Indoor Loop Antenna

Dimension: two 24 inches long wood crosspieces.

Number of turns of Cu wire: 125 turns.
Guage of Cu wire: #26 enameled Cu wire.
Frequency Range: 15 to 30KHz.
Value of capacitance required to resonate in the
range of 15 - 30KHz is 900pF to 4600pF.
Capacitor Type used: polypropylene (High Q value)
Variable capacitance switch box is built using 6 to 7
fixed capacitors having values 50pF, 100pF, 200pF,
470pF, 0.01µF, 0.01µF.
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Antenna(Contd)

The capacitance required to tune from 15KHz to 30KHz using

an RF frequency generator and oscilloscope.

Frequency Capacitance
(KHz) (pF)

15.0 4600
17.5 3200
20.0 2400
22.5 1700
24.0 1500
25.0 1300
27.5 1000
30.0 900
Instrumentation

Commercially there are two VLF

receivers available, they are
WR-3 ELF/VLF receiver and
NASA INSPIRE VLF-3.
Nowadays SDR (Software
Defined Radio) are used as
receiver to measure the tweaks
and whistlers, the results are
quite considerable. The problem
with SDR is there is more noise
compared to the dedicated VLF
receivers.
2) Instrument - Gyrator II
Gyrator II
This receiver is a modified version of Gyrator VLF receiver built by Arthur J Stokes.
This new circuit design has seperated the Quad OP-AMPs into two dual biFET OP-AMPs. Here we use
TL082 dual biFET OP-AMPS.
The first amplifier is set with a variable gain of 0 to 100.
The second amplifier has a fixed gain of 30.
This gives a total gain of about 3000 which is enough for our purpose.
An optional 5.1V zener diode may be placed across the record output to limit voltage surge.
Power supply: 12V center tapped transformer connected to 02 diodes and 02 capacitors form
a dual voltage power supply with approx ±10V.
The tuning of Gyrator II is very sharp. The half power bandwidth is over 200Hz.
The Q value is obatained by using high Q polypropylene capacitors in the circuit.
The recorder output is sufficient to drive a few milliAmps to various types of recorders and
enough voltage for A/D converters for computer data storage.
The Gyrator II is found to be very stable with the advantage of increased gain without
oscillation.
2) Instrument - Gyrator II(minimal
version)
Gyrator II(minimal version)

The basic circuit of the Gyrator II (minimal version) remains same

except the power supply.
The previous Gyrator II used a center tapped 12V AC transformer
along with 02 capactiors and 02 diodes to form a bipolar power supply.
Here we have decided to use a wall plug transformer(Adopter).
We have modified the power supply circuit to use 9V DC wall plug
transformer.
In this circuit the two diodes D4 & D5 are replaced by R14 and R15.
The capacitors C8 & C9 complete the power supply circuit.
This circuit has been tested and worked well with a tuning range of
17KHz to 34KHz.
Capacitors Characteristics

The capacitor is used to tune the loop antenna of various

type.
Depending on the type of capacitor we use, we can
observe the varying degrees of tuning sharpness. This is
due to a parmeter called the Q of the capacitor.
The Q value refers to the quality of the component as fas
energy loss is concerned. i.e
Energy Stored
Q=
Energy Lost
Capacitors Characteristics (Contd)

Type of capacitor Q(1KHz)

Polyproylene 3000
Polystyrene 2000
Ceramic 1500
Glass 1500
Mica 600
Polycarbonate 500
Mylar 100
Polyster 100
Signal Generator

This is a simple signal generator which is

portable and operates from a two 9V
batteries.
Place the circuit on loop antenna and it
puts out a powerful signal.
It tunes from 15KHz to 40KHz.
It is built using a basic wein-bridge
oscillator an analog device that produce a
true sine wave signal.
Set the value to Zero before switching on
its powerful signal and when you turn it
off your desired station will be right there
ready to record and produce sunrise and
sunset patterns and other SIDs.
A/D convertor
A simple A/D convertor is built for computer logging. The
unit coverts the voltage output from the Gyrator II receiver
into digital data for storage on computer.
The original construction was based on an article by Mike
gray (73 Amateur Radio today, 1996).
The gray QUAD-12 Datalogger uses a MAXIM
MAX186DCPP serial A/D IC with supportive 05
capacitors and with a DB-25 connector.
There was one drawback with this datalogger; If the
computer reboots due to power failure, the user is
required to provide the inputs to start logging and didn’t
include an option to schedule start/stop.
Joseph Lawrence, SID Analyst AAVSO has written an
LOGGER.EXE program in QuickBasic(DOS 5.0 forward)
to provide these necessary features.
If the power is lost to the computer the LOGEER.EXE
program automatically restarted upon reboot from
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
The program, acquires all necessary settings to
commence logging from an external configuration file
without user intervention.
A/D convertor (Contd)
During testing of the unit for voltage conversion accuracy initially for 3.2V DC input the software
output showed a reading of 4.095V.
Each computer produced different output value as not all computer parallel ports are created
equal.
The Gray design expects a +5V DC power supply from a parallel port connection.
The MAXIM 186 A/D chip requires +5V DC with less than a 0.1V deviation.
The use of a wall transformer(Adopter) and an onboard voltage regulator solves the problem.
Mr Joseph Lawrence has stated that upon request he would share the Datalogging software
and user manual. Below is the contact ID and address
Joseph Lawrence, SID Analyst
1808 N. Anthony Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805 USA
lawrence@ipfw.edu
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Conclusion

Basic knowledge on Antenna, Gyrator II receiver and A/D coverter

is gained.
Understood the reason for modification made in circuit while
upgrading the receiver.

Thank you