Asked by: Stephen Aizlewood
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Kitronik FM Radio Kit V2.0 plus batteries
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Kitronik FM Radio Kit V2.0 plus batteries and soldering starter kit
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Description
The FM radio kit uses industrial surface mount ICs (the Si4820 and the NCP2890). The FM radio kit is supplied with the ICs mounted on the board. You just have to solder the remaining resistors, capacitors and other components to finish the kit.
The radio has controls for tuning and adjusting the volume. The circuit includes an audio amplifier and output is via a 66mm diameter speaker that is supplied with the kit.
The board can be powered from a 2.5V to 5.5V supply and works nicely off a 5V wall supply or 3x AA batteries (not supplied).
The Si4820 IC is one of the latest generations of radio receiver ICs that offer fantastic reception quality and ease of tuning, and the NCP2890 IC can output 1W of power.
Features:
- FM Radio kit.
- Audio amplifier built-in.
Contents:
- 1 x Si4820 FM Radio IC (Pre-mounted).
- 1 x CM1213A ESD Protection Diode (Pre-mounted).
- 1 x TLV700 3.3V LDO 200mA Regulator (Pre-mounted).
- 1 x NCP2890D Mono Amplifier IC (Pre-mounted).
- 1 x Fixed Inductor 270nH 5% (Pre-mounted).
- 1 x 100K 16mm Linear Potentiometer.
- 1 x 10K 16mm Linear Potentiometer.
- 5 x Electrolytic Capacitor, 50V, 1uF.
- 3 x Ceramic Capacitor, 50V, 100nF.
- 1 x Ceramic Capacitor, 33pF.
- 2 x Ceramic Capacitor, 22pF.
- 2 x Ceramic Capacitor, 470nF.
- 1 x Ceramic Capacitor, 50V, 470pF.
- 1 x Ceramic Capacitor, 50V, 1nF.
- 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor, 16V, 100uF.
- 2 x 220K Resistor.
- 1 x 56K Resistor.
- 1 x 3.3K Resistor.
- 1 x 100K Resistor.
- 2 x 0R Resistor.
- 1 x 6.8K Resistor.
- 1 x 470R Resistor.
- 1 x 10K Resistor.
- 1 x Watch Crystal for Radio.
- 1 x 100R Resistor.
- 1 x 3xAA Battery Cage with Flying Leads.
- 1m x Single Core Wire.
- 1 x 8 ohm 66mm Speaker.
- 1 x FM Radio PCB.
Dimensions:
- PCB Length: 88mm.
- PCB Width: 46mm.
Video:
Requires:
- Soldering Iron.
- Solder.
- Wire Cutters.
- Wire Strippers.
- Tape Measure.
- Either: 5V wall power unit (some modification is required - see our tutorial for the mono amplifier kit here).
- Or: 3 x AA Batteries.
- FM Radio Telescopic Antenna / Aerial (Optional).
Buy British:
This product is designed and manufactured in the UK by Kitronik.
Same Day Dispatch
- Orders placed online before 3:00pm Monday - Friday (excluding public holidays and our Christmas shutdown period) are always dispatched the same day provided the goods are in stock. If the goods are not in stock we will endeavour to contact you as soon as possible to discuss a dispatch date.
UK Deliveries
- If you live on the UK mainland and don't have any large materials or lithium batteries in your order it will cost £3.95 (£4.74 including VAT) if you spend less than £40 (£48 including VAT).
- If you spend between £40 and £200 (£48 - £240.00 including VAT, excluding large materials or lithium batteries) delivery is free to most locations, £12 (£14.40 including VAT, excluding large materials or lithium batteries) to Northern Ireland and £15 (£18.00 including VAT, excluding large materials or lithium batteries) to UK remote locations. For a list of postcodes that will be charged the remote location rate: remote area list.
- If you spend over £200 (£240.00 including VAT, excluding large materials or lithium batteries) delivery is free within the UK.
Rest of the world
- These orders are sent via UPS, and the cost is dependant on the service you choose at checkout. Alternatively you can choose the free collection option and have your own courier collect it from us. International orders can only be shipped to the registered card address. Please note: International orders may be charged import duty dependant on local import laws and duty rates. These charges are usually billed to you directly from UPS.
- Delivery times vary for international orders depending on the service selected and the destination. You can see the delivery time and cost at the shipping stage, or by using the shipping estimator from within the shipping basket.
Collection
- If you would like to collect your order, or use your own courier then there is an option you can select during checkout. We do not charge a packaging or handling fee for this service, and you will receive an email when your order has been processed, you can collect half an hour after receipt of this email.
Further Information
- For information about all of the delivery options we offer see full delivery details.
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Q:
OK to use with a 15 ohm speaker? I realise the output power will be less.
A:
HI Stephen,
Thank you for your question, you would get some sound out of the speaker but how loud it would be and how good quality is hard for me to say. You would not however damage the kit or speaker with that level of impedence.
Best Regards
Cullen
Answered by: Cullen Lewis
24-Jun-19
Q:
Hi, I'm making this product as a part of my final piece in university (I'm making a radio with housing etc) but the kit isn't working. I've done everything in the diagram except i've used different wire to attach the speakers to the radio and I've used the same cable to attach the volume and tuning knobs to the circuit boards (to allow me to move them around). Even at full volume, i'm hearing very quiet radio static but its almost inaudible and I can't find any stations. Could the additional cables be causing this or is my product faulty?
Asked by: Luke
A:
Hi Luke, Thank you for contacting us regarding your kit. It is unlikely that the wires you have used would be causing an issue, however this kit is very sensitive and as such a small error in building can prevent the kit from working correctly. The best option is to send photo of the top and bottom of the circuit board through to support@kitronik.co.uk with a brief description of the issue and we will take a look.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
04-May-18
Q:
Do you know what FM frequency range it will tune to?
Asked by: Steven Ellis
A:
Hi Steven, The datasheet for the FM Radio IC indicates that the band width is between 64-109MHz.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
22-Jan-18
Q:
Hi on your previous kit there was a resistor to bypass the mute so you can hear all the signals as you tune, is it possible to remove the mute on this kit? and also would a 360 tuning potentiometer work on this kit?
Asked by: simon cox
A:
Hi Simon, On the previous version there was a pin on the IC which allowed for the mute to be bypassed, however on the new IC there isn't a pin which allows for the mute to be bypassed. With regards to the potentiometer if you are referring to a multi turn potentiometer and it if the correct value then yes this should be possible. It should also make tuning easier as it would be less sensitive.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
24-Oct-17
Q:
Does the radio kit come with something that will indicate what frequency it is currently on, or not? If it doesn't, could yo point me in the direction of where and how I can make/buy one?
Asked by: Andrew
A:
Hi Andrew, Unfortunately the IC doesn't allow for a visual display of the frequency to be outputted. As such it is not possible to see the frequency that the radio is tuned to.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
27-Sep-17
Q:
I'm looking to make a FM radio as part of my major project and I wanted to know if it was possible in anyway to attach a 3.5mm jack so that you can switch between using this as a radio and as a amplifier? Would you need to attach a second circuit?
Asked by: Jack
A:
Hi Jack, In theory it should be possible, you would need to connect the 3.5mm jack lead you to a switch which is then used to change what input you are using. The switch would then need to be connected up between the FM radio IC and the amplifier IC. However we haven't done this ourselves so we are unsure what feedback and interference you would have.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
13-Jun-17
Q:
Would I be able to swap out the battery pack for a USB cable to power this circuit/system?
Asked by: Luke
A:
Hi Luke, The FM radio kits can run on a voltage between 2.5-5.5V with a maximum current draw of 250mA. A USB plug power supply such as this one, 2261-usb-power-supply-uk-mains can provide 5V and a maximum current draw of 500mA. So yes it should be fine.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
06-Jan-17
Q:
Would the circuit that is supplied with this kit be able to support output to 2 speakers instead of one?
Asked by: Maisie Kenny
A:
Hi Maisie, Yes it is possible to add a second speaker to the circuit. The kit is supplied with an 8 Ohm speaker, and is best suited for an impedance of 8 Ohm’s. As such you best option is to either have 2x 16 Ohm speakers and put them in parallel this would give a total impedance of 8 Ohms, or have 2x 4 Ohm speakers in series you would have a total impedance of 8 Ohms.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
17-Nov-16
Q:
do you know what the tune 1, tune2 and the band on the chip is for i am not rely familiar with the electronic.
Asked by: Marcus0444
A:
Tune 1, Tune 2 and band are used to select the frequency of the radio signals that can be received. There are details on the difference frequency’s that can be received and how to obtain this on page 2 of the following document, http://www.silabs.com/Support%20Documents/TechnicalDocs/AN555.pdf We have set the kit up to receive signals in band 2.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
06-Apr-16
Q:
was is the diagram of this circuit?
Asked by: circuit
A:
Are you looking for a circuit diagram? A circuit diagram of the kit can be found in the following link on page 7 2157_fm_radio_essentials_2_2.pdf
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
03-Mar-16
Q:
I was using the v1.0 kit which is discontinued , that model ran off a 9 volt battery which worked well for the additional curcuit I was using in my project . I'm wondering is there anyway to run or convert the v2.0 radio kit to run off a 9 volt battery ?
Asked by: Karl Fisher
A:
Unfortunately the amplifier chip that is used on the new FM radio kit has a maximum voltage rating of 6V, as such you wouldn’t be able to run the new version off a 9V power supply. The only option would be to use a 9V power supply for your other circuit and then use a voltage regulator to step this down to the 5V for the FM radio kit. You would be fine using this regulator, 2906-l7805-5v-reg-ic you would need to connect it up as per the diagram on page 4 7805.pdf
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
23-Feb-16
Q:
It's it possible to purchase this kit pre assembled?
Asked by: Karl Fisher
A:
Unfortunately this kit isn’t available in a pre-built kit form.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
18-Jan-16
Q:
Is it possible to add a second speaker to the kit? If so how can it be added?
Asked by: Nathan
A:
It is possible to add a second 8 Ohm speaker in this kit, however the speaker needs to be connect in parallel with the first speaker.
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
17-Jun-15
Q:
Is the 1m of wire intended for the antenna? Would a standard telescopic antenna be sufficient?
Asked by: Jez Siddons
A:
The 1m of wire is intended for the antenna and for the speakers, we recommend using a piece of wire with a length of around 56cm. The off cut from this is then used to connect the speaker. As for a telescopic antenna we now stock a compatible antenna for the version 2 FM radio 2006-fm-radio-telescopic-antenna-aerial
Answered by: Michael Lockhart
22-May-15
Q:
Would it be possible to have a 5v wall supply aswell as batteries
Asked by: Oliver Ashton
A:
You could power it from a 5V wall supply instead of using batteries. You wouldn't want to try to power it from both at the same time though.
Answered by: Aaron Sturman
04-Nov-14
Q:
I am wondering whether a modified version of this radio would be capable of connecting to a hi-fi applifier that has two "tuner" rca sockets. Can you please advise on feasibiliy? (i.e. How easy of a task will it be to not use the speaker and instead introduce a 3.5 jack or RCA socket that outputs the sound?)
Asked by: Terry
A:
There is no reason why you can't do this, though it isn't something we have tried. The audio out of the radio IC is a lot lower than a line signal, so you would need to use the on board amplifier as a pre-amp to get the output to about 1V. Follow the assembly instructions except don't add the speaker. Instead connect the audio connector signal wire to one of the speaker connections, it wants to be the speaker connection pin next to the speaker text. Then connect the ground on the audio connector to the negative power connection on the board. Set the volume fairly low and your ready to give it a try.
Answered by: Geoff Hampson
10-Oct-14
Q:
Basically, I'd like to build this kit but do so using the high power amp kit. Is this possible?
Asked by: Wade
A:
Hi, it is but it requires a couple of small changes when building the FM Radio kit that are hard to describe without sending pictures. If you email me at support@kitronik.co.uk I can send you some information on how to do it.
Basically though all you have to do is common the grounds, disconnect the FM radio's onboard amplifier and reroute the audio signal to the inputs on the high power amp.
Answered by: Aaron Sturman
02-Oct-14
Q:
I've just been reading the Application note for the Si4820 and see it can also be used as an AM radio plus the Si4824 version can receive short wave. Would it cost much more to use that chip to enable children to receive overseas broadcasts in addition to FM. It would be a fantastic teaching tool for geography and languages.
Asked by: David Searle
A:
It would take a few additional components and a different PCB layout to accommodate them. It's also unlikely to be possible with a single sided PCB using through-hole components. The price would probably end up considerably higher. We wanted to keep our replacement radio kit price as close to the old radio kit as possible so we opted not to include AM or SW features.
Answered by: Aaron Sturman
01-Oct-14
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