I need some guidance on my next purchase for some gear.
I currently have a few "transmitter on a chip" solutions (QN8066 and BH1417) that I've bought/built and I'm looking for something "different." By that, I mean possible improved transmission quality both in audio and rf as opposed to more power (I'm perfectly happy in QRP territory). I really like the idea of an exciter PLL that is as "discrete" as possible as many solutions seem to boast very good characteristics not to mention an opportunity to build/learn something along the way. I have found many options, but each comes with its challenges:
- The NRG boards I've found- the Pro5 and Pro6- may or may not be still available (I can't get any response from the company that may or may not have them) but if I did my research right they are top notch.
- There is a kit I saw from dutch rf shop that ticks all the boxes and I like that I can dial the watts down from 6 all the way to 0 if I want, but I haven't been able to search concretely just how good the transmission signal (spurs or lack thereof) is.
- A kit I saw from another Dutch radio shop has a couple of nice kits with a fairly discrete PLL/VCO section but they say they only provide the kits no schematics, instructions, or support. Makes me la little leery should I run into a problem.
- I found the Pira design, but it requires you to etch your own PCB which I haven't done since high school and hence I have nothing on hand to do so.
- The "One Last FM Exciter" by zozo here seems like a fun project and I probably have close to all the parts on hand to build it so that seems promising. However, I don't own a PIC programmer (I imagine they're not expensive or hard to get, but at this time I don't have one).
I know that these options when it comes to audio quality will have a strong encoder component (which will probably be another thread entirely) but from a transmission quality and learning standpoint does anyone have any input? To be honest I'm leaning toward the DRFS06 kit from dutch rf shop because it seems very similar in layout to the pira (so no having to etch my own board), comes with a schematic and seems to be a smoking deal for the price. That being said, I'm open to other options not mentioned here. I also don't mind if a design suggestion requires one or two parts made from unobtainium as you never know when a gem will show up on ebay provided I don't have to sell my other kidney to get it.
Thanks in advance, and I'll start a separate thread for stereo encoders/RDS (unless someone has some advice here).