Re: Checking crystal filters,

Posted by AD6XY on Jun 19, 2008; 3:11pm
URL: http://elecraft.85.s1.nabble.com/Checking-crystal-filters-tp365951p365952.html

Traditionally this is a particularly hard measurement to make unless the filter performance is very poor.

Without professional test gear you will need to obtain or build two very high quality signal sources, (say identical 7MHz crystal oscillators) at least one of which needs to be tunable. These have to be buffered and then very carefully combined. I think there was a design in the ARRL solid state design book back in the 1980s. Then you can look for the 3rd order IMD products at audio with something like Spectraview - hoping that your sound card IMD performance is better than the radio, which it probably is not if the radio is working.

You need test sources with very low phase noise, more than 100dB down at the spacing you are testing at. A typical signal generator is probably not good enough for this measurement. Well designed crystal oscillators should be OK.

Maybe it is easier just to use the radio. When listening, if you can not detect any intermods, then you don't have a problem with them.

Mike