Two triode valve-LED multivibrator

 Just a couple of pictures to show the two valve astable multivibrator built as a freeform electronic "art piece" that blinks two (green) LEDs.

Two triode astable multivibrator

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I used (old, dirty) sockets because I had no idea if the tubes would work, so they allow an easy exchange. And that was needed indeed to balance the blink duty-cycle. I think that at these low voltages these tubes have huge differences in all their parameters.

The tubes are PCF80 or PCF802, filaments are in parallel at 9V, and HT is 9V as well. If you want to give it a try use whatever triodes you have or can get

Since the capacitors are quite small at 1 uF or less, touching one of their legs changes the astable frequency and it feels like a "do not touch" feature.

Next attempt will be to build the blinker with just one triode-pentode valve, that is just one PCF80 or PCF802 in my case with the pentode connected as a triode (g3 with cathode to ground, g2 to anode or +HT).

 

Freeform two triode astable multivibrator (PCF80).

 

 

 

 

Abraham-Bloch valve-LED multivibrator

Mr. Abraham and Mr. Bloch invented the astable multivibrator during World War I. It used two triodes to produce a square wave, actually two waves, with 180° phase shift.

LEDs have been mass-produced since 1962 according to wikipedia. I am not sure when the high-brightness LEDs hit the market.

Regardless, I have built a circuit that spans a century of electronics: a LED blinker whose active elements are vacuum tubes. And it was built with an improvised freeform architecture.

The blinker is based on the Abraham-Bloch configuration and lights up two high brightness green LEDs

I challenged myself to use whatever tube I could find in my box, it just had to contain a triode. Since I have few PCF80 (and pin-compatible PCF802) triode-pentode, I built the first circuit around their triode. 9V to the filaments (in parallel) and 18V to the anodes, and it worked at the second attempt, as I forgot to ground cathodes at the first smoke test.

Abraham-Bloch astable multivibrator.

Component values for an HT of about 20V are: R=10 or 15 kohm, C=0.47uF/50V , R1=R2=1 Mohm. Filaments in series (18V, 300mA) or parallel (9V, 600mA) as you prefer.

First discovery. I decreased plate voltages down to 9V and it kept blinking. Now I can power the whole circuit with a single 9Vdc source (capable of at least 700mA). Component values untouched. Yes, filament and anode are powered from the same source. Vacuum tube and safe (not lethal) voltages, what a mix!

Second discovery. Since the circuit is symmetrical, if LEDs blink uneven the difference must be in the tube. Blinking frequency is dependent on the plate voltage and at 9V I am pushing the tube limit. I managed to balance the ON times by replacing one tube. I wonder if this visual effect can help to identify tube efficiency.

First question. PCF80/ECF80/PCF802/ECF802 also contain a pentode that can be configured to work like a triode: can I halve the power consumption and use just one of these tubes?

"Poor tubes!" "Don't misuse them!" I think that this kind of misuse is better than "no use to the eternity". Unless someone comes up with a use-case where vacuum tubes of unknown source and efficiency must be used.

Notes from InnoSent Application Notes on 24 GHz RADAR

In the download area of the innosent.de website there are four application notes. They contain 24 GHz wisdom, but you need to read through them to notice it. 

Since I am still convinced that some HAM radio result can be achieved using those radar modules, I collected below the interesting information I picked from those A.N.'s.

For the IPM-165 and the CDM-324 clone we should have faith and believe that the maximum EIRP is +20 dBm, AKA 100 mW. Typically 16 dBm.

Frequency decreases with temperature -1 MHz/°C (IPM-165). This is one of the largest challenges of these radar modules we already faced on 10 GHz with HB-100. I insulate from fast variations (wind) and keep the module in the shade when operating outside (sun/cloud transitions).

Frequency increases with voltage +25 MHz/V (IPM-165). They work from 4.5V to 5.5V, then they blow up. Vcc can be used to frequency modulate the carrier, while it must be as clean as possible: I chose linear regulators.

The A.N. also mention that the I.F. output impedance is middle-ohmic. I'd put that in the 5k-10k range. They suggest to use a HI-Z amplifier. I will consider this improvement once I am sure some sort of "DX" is possible. Remember: there is no cheap way to receive 24 GHz!

The I.F. output bandwidth reaches 100 MHz. Good! This confirms that there is not a LPF in the I.F. output. I would stop at 85 MHz to stay away from the FM broadcast band.

Regarding the installation, the A.N. lists how much common materials adsorb. For my imaginary setup I need to know that "microwave penetrate plastic very well – 0.5 to 3 dB loss with optimized thickness and correct spacing." I would rather not loose even 0.5 dB, but that gives some form of thermal stability. More from the A.N.:

The following suites very well:
•  coverage with plastic materials (ABS, PVC etc.) as long as they aren’t in direct contact with the antenna patch structures and the correct thickness and spacing has been evaluated
•  foams like Styropor and similar materials, whose relative dielectric constant is close to 1, they can even be mounted in direct contact with the antenna surface.
For 24 GHz the following rule of thumb can be used:
•  thickness of the plastic material around 3mm or 0.12 inches
•  air spacing to antenna surface similar, around 6mm or 0.24 inches

I will try surrounding the module with styropor and put everything inside a thin plastic container.

The application notes also describe the theory behind a microwave radar, with some light maths too. I think the formula ignores free-space-loss, that even at 20 metres return (obstacle at 10m) accounts for 86 dB! Using that data and the observed SNR of my experiments, I think I can establish a module-to-module contact at 200 to 300 metres. Unless the IF circuitry is saturating/clipping therefore cutting the SNR visible on the SDR.

Giants' Star by James P. Hogan

While I loved watching science fiction series/movies like Star Trek, in my teenage years I was not a keen reader (nor my parents) and I read just a couple of Asimov books. Then I was introduced to the mindblowing HHGTTG by Douglas Adams (SK), and that was it.

Following a renewed interest in reading (real) books and leaning towards science fiction novels, a friend lent me part of his collection of Urania books from 1970's and 1980's.

Urania series by Mondadori publishes a sci-fi book once a month (in Italy). Today drawings on their cover receive comments, likes and dislikes, as an art form on its own. And they keep up with the monthly publishing frequency!

I picked "Giants' Star" (1982) by James P Hogan (SK) from the pile of old books and I loved it. He has an interesting theory on the evolution of humanity, which is not totally impossible. Also his sci-fi artifacts like space travel are described in a technically possible way. No spoilers here.

In the end I discovered this is the third book in a series, so you might want to start from "Inherit the Stars" (1977), continue with "The Gentle Giants of Ganymede" (1978) before reading the book depicted in the picture.

These blog posts on books are mainly for my future reference, but who knows some reader might enjoy a reading suggestion?!