FINAL REPORTfor

NIMBUS Tracking and Data RelayExperiment Receivers

(2 January 1973 - 1,0 December 1974)

Contract No.: i NAS-5-21902

Goddard Space; Flight Centerii

Contracting Officer:'; John E. FirminTechnical Monitor:! John K. Steckel

Prepared by:

American Electronic LaboratoriesColmar, Pennsylvania

Project Manager: James Van Cleave

for

National Aeronuatics and Space AdministrationGoddard Space; Flight Center

Greenbelt, 'Maryland

I I I

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19750016914 2020-03-27T15:21:42+00:00Z

FINALREPORT-

for

;NIMBUS TRACKING AND DATA RELAYEXPERIMENT-RECEIVERS

(2 January 1973 - 10 December 1974)I

Contract No. NAS-5-21902

Prepared by

.I""""American Electronic Laboratories, Inc.

Colmar, Pennsylvania

for

National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationGoddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, Maryland

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IABSTRACT

This report summarizes the contracted effort for the production of^improved designof Tracking and Data Relay Experiment (T&DRE) Receivers accomplished under NASAIGSFC contract NAS-5-21902. Only these areas that were significantly changed over theprejvious design accomplished under contract NAS-5-1Q771 are discussed herein. Thusthis report should be considered as an addendum to the October 1972 AEL report^en-jtitled_ "Tracking and Data Relay Experiment Receiver". ___L

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CONTENTS

Description of Receiver Design Changes 1General I 1RF Module I . "12062 MHz RF Amplifier . . I 1RF Filter and First Mixer. I . "440 MHz IF Amplifier and Second Mixer . .' ~~42.4 MHz Amplifier and Channel Filter ..'15Line Driver Board I T5~j~2.4 MHz Signal Strength (Channel Amp #2) .' 15jNarrowband Command Data Detector 27"

Receiver Construction and Packaging . . 40Housing Design and Materials 40Substrate Mounting and Foaming . . 40Microwave Launching Techniques 412.4 MHz IF Filter Construction 41

LIST OF APPENDICES

- " ; . . ' -_..../ i . . . .Appendix I Report of Testion Electronic Components for the Tracking I

1 and Data Relay Experiment' Receiver IAppendix n Parts Listing by Module . . ^ •'. . . IIAppendix III AcceptancevTest Procedure and Test Results for S/N - 2A, _

I ' i 3A, 4A . ' . . . - . . . I . ' Ill

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

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NIMBUS T&DRE Receiver, Block Diagram ~ 2JTJT&DRE Receiver, External View 3 I r~JRF Amplifier __ 5RF Filter and Mixer . . . . j ~__Receiver Middle Tray . . . ; 7

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (cont)

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40, MHz IF Amplifier Schematic 840 MHz Amplifier Top View ,̂ 'J rYTJ. . . . 9~40 MHz Amplifier Bottom View 10"40 MHz Amplifier Assembly. J 11~40 MHz Bandpass Filter Schematic 12~40 MHz Bandpass Filter . . . J40 MHz Bandpass Filter Assembly 14"2.4 MHz IF Amplifier Schematic 162.4 MHz IF Amplifier, Top View IT2.4 MHz IF Amplifier'Bottom yiew \. . L . ._ 18"2.4 MHz IF Amplifier Assembly ~. . fT . . 19~2. 4 MHz Bandpass Filter Schematic . 20~2. 4 MHz Bandpass Filter . . J 21"2. 4 MHz Bandpass Filter Assembly 22Line Driver Schematic. 23~Line Driver, Top View. 24~

"Line Driver,\Bottom View. . J . . T7 7 .T~. 7T7 W . . . . . 25~Line Driver Assembly . . . . J 26~Signal Strength Schematic . . J 28~Signal Strength, Top View . . j 29~Signal Strength, Bottom View , 30Signal Strength,, Top Assemblyj Si-Signal Strength, Bottom Assembly 32~~Narrowband Command Data Detector Schematic 33

|

Narrowband Command Data Detector . 34i —Narrowband Command Data Detector Assembly 35_Command Data Amplifier Schematic 36Command Data Amplifier 37_Command Data Amplifier Assembly 38_Receiver Top Tray 39_2.4 MHz IF Filter Board #1 . J 422.4 MHz IF Filter" Boards-#1 and #2 . . .'. 43

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Section 1

Description of Receiver Design Changes

1.1 GENERAL

| [Figure 1 shows the NIMBUS T&DRE Receiver block diagram, as produced under Ithis; contract (NAS-5-21902). The reader is referred to Figure 4 of the final report forthe (previous effort, contract NAS-5-10771, for comparison purposes. The changes asj-sociated with each module are described in'this section. A photograph of the complete;receiver is shown in Figure 2.

The RF amplifier substrate and RF filter mixer substrate are contained in thelower tray, as the previous design. The middle tray nowfcojitains J.) the 40 MHz IFprinted wiring board and second mixer and 2) the 2.4 MHz IF wiring board, including j~ Jline filters. The 2.4 MHz interconnection between middle and top trays is now estab- Tli shed at a 50-ohm termination for lowest VSWR and EMI due to ground currents. T h e ] |upperjtray is similar to that previously supplied and contains 1) 2.4 MHz line driver J;(nowjvith added buffering) 2) signal strength circuit 3) narrowband discriminatorlmd jji) command data amplifier, the latter three substrates^similiar tp.that previously supplied.

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| j Refer to Appendix I for a test report on the T&DRE Receiver. Appendix II givesI parts listing by module and Appendix III presents acceptance test procedure and tes|f n

i"_ results for S/N 2A, 3A, 4A.

1' T1.2 RF MODULE

1.2.1 2062 MHz RF Amplifier

J The 2062 MHz RF amplifier was comprised of a two-stage common emitter j .lifier using the HP 35822 transistor. Both 'stages are now constructed on a commonalumina substrate approximately 0.75 inch x 1. 5 inch using thin-film techniques a n c l jaligned for maximum performance. This design combines the previous two substrates'into a single substrate for improved integrity. Each amplifier stage is tuned by changingthe length of quarter-wave stubs on the base and collector circuits i 1r j ~. ' : ' T .j ] The two-stage RF amplifier has a total'gain at the 2062 MHz center frequency of J i18 dB at a nominal 12 volt DC supply input at 4 milliamps drain. The input VSWR i's | |less than 1. 5:1 at the input connector to thej RF amplifier and the noise figure is typically j

j> dB. The HP535866; device supersedes use of the discontinued Avantek AT-101 deyic]e, fandj possesses a lower noise figure (3.0 dB) plus higher available gain (11. 5 dB) at ;2 ̂ jHzTiMinor impedance matching modification was performed. j j j: - • • * - • - - • - - - - • • - - • • - - - - . - . , _ . , - . , .

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The RF module schematic did not change from that previously, except that the RFtransistors^ in the RF amplifier were changed to a HP35866E type and the thick-film}resistor values were modified slightly,of the RF module.

Figure 3 shows the new RF amplifier circuitry

L . Upon interface with the diplexer, it was determined that the RF amplifier couldoscillate at some out-of-band frequency. It was determined that a 3''dB pad at thereceiver RF input eliminated this difficulty at the expense of sensitivity. I

-4— • I • • 1--,.11.2.2 RF Filter and First Mixer | I _

I The RF filter and first mixer circuitry, shown in Figure 4, did not change.from !the previous design. The RF filter is composed of two basic filter types, the first J Jbeing a three element-short stub band reject filter with a maximum insertion loss of ' '\30 dB placed at a frequency of 2143 MHz jand the second filter, a three section^paral- |

_lel coupled bandpass filter with a center frequency of 2063 MHz. Each of these_fhte1rsjr__,a'nd the single-balanced mixer are assembled on one common substrate^approximately

... 4..5. inches long by 1.5 inches wide using thin filnf techniques. The nominal lossjatj.. . I __.the center frequency of 2063 MHz through the two filters and the mixer is 10 dB giving!the .overall RF amplifier, with conversion loss, a total gain of 8 dB. The nominalrejection of the two filters to the primary image frequency of 2143 MHz is 56 dBJand this rejection coupled with the approximate 4 dB loss through the RF amplifier

. at the image frequency combine to give a; total design center value image rejection I Iof 60 dB. _ The first mixer is a singlerbalanced type requiring_a LCjdrive of 3_niilli-r I ,

. .watts at a nominal frequency of 2102 MHz._ .mixer is 5 to 6 dB. i

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.11.3. 40 MHz IF AMPLIFIER AND SECOND MIXER

"The 49 MHz IF circuitry and construction significantly changed due to 1) useLof.]balanced rather than single ended coupling 2) use of a printed wiring board ratherthan HIC substrate construction and 3) placement of the bandpass filter on a 'separateboard below the 40 MHz IF amplifier board. The 40 MHz IF is contained within.the.middle tray, as shown in Figure 5.in Figure 6.

The jschematic of the 40 MHz amplifier is_shown! • . . . .L . I

T The modified 40 MHz amplifier is fabricated using printed circuit construction oncopper-clad G-10 material with discrete 'RCR resistors and CYK Corning capacitors..This new board has the same physical dimensions as the former thick-film units, andto.ccupies the same position in the middle tray. Figure 7 and 8 shows the 40 MHz IFamplifier board, top and bottom, respectively.

Figure 9 shows the assembly drawing of the 40 MHz amplifier bond.

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The input signal is initially balanced with respect to ground at transformer Tl andremains so balanced throughout the middle tray taking advantage of the common moderejection properties of the RCA CA-3049 dual differential amplifier IC's. Amplifiers JM and A2 have a collective gain of 30 dB with A2 driving a 250 ohm balanced input j jfour-section linear phase bandpass filter. This filter is shown schematically in Fig-ure 110 and has a nominal 3 dB bandwidth of J4 MHz centered at 39.J5, MHz with a~I6ss~of 8j dB. Figure 11 shows a photograph of the 40 MHz IF filter board and figure 12shows the assembly. The 46 MHz. IF filter 'is fabricated using thick film techniques""andjuses screened on resistors and chip capacitors. This new filter board is placedin a| well beneath the 40 MHz amplifier.

| Amplifier A3 adds an additional116 dB of gain and drives a double balanced mixerthrough the step-down transformer T2. { T~

~l'~".~:: i • ::T.The second mixer in an HP 10534C double balanced unit with all outputs isolated.

_ Therisolation of all outputs allows for a completely balanced signal design and eliniyInates ground coupling between the 40 MHz signal, the 37. 55 MHz LO, and the 2.4 MHz.'amplifiers. T

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Figure 10. 40 MHz Bandpass Filter Schematic.

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1.4 2.4 MHZ. AMPLIFIER AND CHANNEL -FILTER.-

j The new 2. 4 MHz anp lifier is of printed-circuit .construction on copperclad G-[lOmaterial using discrete RCR resistors and j CYK Corning capacitors and occupies tliearea formerly used by the CA-1A substrate_and-the line-filter substrate.

The power line filters are included on the 2.4 MHz IF amplifier board, and-at4Jteniiate EMI~on the +12 V and -24.2 V power lines.

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Figure 13 is the schematic of the 2.4 MHz IF amplifier. A balanced signal-approach!- - *-C•jis used to eliminate ground loops and to take advantage of the common mode rejectionj—— -of the CA-3049. The balanced input from the second mixer is passed through a-balanced^ — • %10 MHz low pass filter made up of Ll, L2,i L9 and L10 with Cl and C22 to eliminate--— -- 3;LO; feedthrough components from the 2.4 MHz signal. Amplifiers Al and A2 produce-—-,•- -/4

-ja cummulative gain of 46 dB and provide a balanced drive to the 2. 4 MHz bandpass]—-• J filter. Figure 14 is a photograph of the 2. 4 MHz IF amplifier top, Figure 15 is -the —

bottom side, and Figure 16 is the assembly drawing.

Figure 17 is the 2.4 MHz bandpass filter schematic diagram. The design is-a

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rbalanced five-section linear phase (equiripple) design with all components fixed-tuned.The nominal 3 dB bandwidth is 400 kHz with an equivalent noise bandwidth of 520-kHz.-

! j -The 2.4, MHz channel filter is of thick-film construction using screened on resistors--:and chip capacitors and is placed in the well beneath the new-2.4 MHz amplifier-boardIFigure 18 is a photograph of the early 2.4 MHz bandpass filter and Figure 19 is-the ---assembly drawing. A later technique is described in section 2. 4 of this report. -'- -i-

! -1 - • • ! -4--i I Referring back to Figure 13, the last two differential amplifier gain stages-are-joperated at 10 V as fixed by VR1 through R17. Since amplifier A4 is always in la-mi-lting, a constant peak-to-peak output for supply voltage variations is maintained.—[Transformer Tl drives the 50-ohm interconnecting cable external to the receiverwhich connects the 2.4 MHz IF amplifier to the line driver board.

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1.5 LINE DRIVER BOARDL-

f | The line driver board is modified and will be fabricated with printed-circuit-con- j— 4

Istruction, RCR and CYK discrete components, and JAN TX 2N918 transistors. -Figurei20 is the schematic diagram for the line driver board. This line driver schematic {is r•identical with the previous units with the addition of Ql which will further buffer-the -jsignal strength board and the narrowband command data board from the 2.4 MHz IF- j•signal.- Photographs of the top and bottom of the line driver board is shown in Fig-—-ure 21 and 22 respectively. Figure 23 is tlie assembly drawing. ---

1-.-6 2.4 MHZ SIGNAL STRENGTH (Channe Amp #2)

I {The signal strength circuitry is virtually unchanged, except for layout modifications r\The 2. 4 MHz signal strength circuitry contains a wideband FM discriminator, a~bandpassI !_ . ._ ._ ._ .. . . . . . . j _.. ..... J J

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filter centered at 150 kHz, and a logarithmic AM detector. The signal strength schematicis shown in Figure 24, the substrate topi view is shown in Figure 25 and bottom view inFigure 26. Figure 27 'and_ 28_sho.ws_the-assembly drawings. j

1. 7 j NARROWBAND COMMAND DATA DETECTOR I

1 - 1 - " " i " '" -ij |The narrowband command data detector schematic is as shown in Figure 29, arid iicomposed of an amplifier, a narrowband filler, limiter, and an emitter coupled quad-rature detector located on one substrate (Figure 30 and 31) and an amplifier section^called command data amplifier per schematic shown in Figure 32 which is located ona separate substrate.

j ! '| jThe command data amplifier photograph^ is shown in Figure 33, and assembly draw-

ing in Figure 34. Both the narrowband command data detector and amplifier circuits arenearly identical (minor layout changes) to that_previously_p.rpduced. The_narrowbandcommand data, signal strength, and line driver modules are housed in the top tray, \ perFigure 35.

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