Simple 137Mhz FM Receiver or Amp

[andyman5002]

Hi, I'm very new to electronics, but im also very interested in it . I would like to either make a simple receiver for 137mhz, or make an amplifier that can amplify a very weak signal. I would like to receive a signal from a weather satellite (APT). I have tried with my scanner but the signal is too weak, hence the amplifier. But also the bandwidth of the scanner is limited, hence the receiver. The receiver would need to be tunable from 137mhz to 138mhz with 50khz bandwidth.

I have a few questions regarding this. Has anyone attempted such a project, if so was it successful? How hard would these project be. Can you suggest any good reading for such projects. I already know very basic radio theory and have messed around with a few circuits, but I'm still very new to electronics but would love to be able to create these projects.

Any advice or comments welcomed .

Regards Andy

 

[JimB]

Andy

Have a look here: http://www.geo-web.org.uk/hard.html
Some basic info about weather satellie reception.

The pre-amplifier for a receiver is fairly simple to build, but could be a bit tricky for someone with not much experience.
A complete receiver, built from scratch would be quite an ambitious project for a beginner.
However, have a look here:http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30849/article.html
This may be what you want.

JimB

 

[andyman5002]

Thanks JimB for your response. Thanks for all the usefull links. I guess I should try to build an amplifier first on my breadboard. I would eventually like to build a receiver to get the needed bandwidth. That project looks perfect, but has many features that make it complicated. Do you have any advice on an amplifier?

Thanks Andy

 

[catcat]

I always wanted to make a weatheradio (not sattelite).

I am kind of getting a hang of amplifiers and will tell you if I get something.

 

[andyman5002]

Thanks catcat that would be great, could you suggest some good reading for my application?

Thanks Andy

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I guess I should try to build an amplifier first on my breadboard.

You can't built RF circuits on breadboard, particularly VHF circuits like this one - breadboards are only suitable for low frequency projects.

 

[JimB]

I second what Nigel said.

If you want to experiment with a pre-amp, build it using "ugly construction" on a piece of unetched circuit board.

JimB

 

[Hero999]

The second site you linked to requires a subscription.

https://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/access/purchaseRequired.html?buy=A&id=30849

 

[JimB]

The second site you linked to requires a subscription.

https://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/access/purchaseRequired.html?buy=A&id=30849

And, your point is?

OK just google for "weather satellite receiver". thats what I did.

JimB

 

[andyman5002]

Ok thanks everyone for your input. I guess I have a long road ahead of me yet. I would love to be able to design circuits, even very simple ones. I need to learn a lot yet, but with no electrical education it may be hard. I will have to get books and so on. For my amplifier would I need to place a band-pass filter near the input from the antenna, and then let the passed signal be amplified? If so does the filter need to be tuned to 137 - 138 mhz or will this amplify too much noise?. Is it possible to create a circuit which will only pass the selected channels?

It all seems very complicated

Thanks Andy