vec-1012k.pdf

VEC-1012K Owner’s Manual

INTRODUCTION

If you like prowling the airwaves to gather news first-hand, the VEC-1012K is

the perfect kit for you! Tune in local fire, police, ambulance, public service,

commercial business, and marine traffic as you search for real-life on-air drama.

Before you know it, you'll master 2-way radio lingo, special operating

procedures, and police 10-codes as you ferret out the "real story" behind the

news! You'll also master hands-on electronic construction skills. Detailed step-

by-step assembly instructions guide you through each stage, and clearly-

presented alignment procedures ensure top performance without need for

expensive test equipment. Your receiver is built around a Motorola IC designed

especially for narrow-band FM communication radios, so it's guaranteed to pull

in weak signals--just like the best commercially-built scanners and two-way

transceivers. Electronic tuning lets you scan the band quickly for activity

without need for entering complex strings of microprocessor commands. And,

once you've found the action, your radio's fully adjustable "tail-free" squelch

eliminates annoying background noise between transmissions. The VEC-1012K

uses minimal energy, and can run for many hours from its self-contained 9-volt

flat-pack alkaline battery. Plug in a 8-ohm speaker or use headphones for loud-

and-clear reception. All circuitry is self-contained on a rugged 3" x 3.2" pc

board.

TOOLS AND SUPPLIES

Construction Area: Kit construction requires a clean, smooth, and well-lighted

area where you can easily organize and handle small parts without losing them.

An inexpensive sheet of white poster board makes an excellent construction

surface, while providing protection for the underlying table or desk. Well-

diffused overhead lighting is a plus, and a supplemental high-intensity desk lamp

will prove especially helpful for close-up work. Safety is an important

consideration. Be sure to use a suitable high-temperature stand for your

soldering iron, and keep the work area free of combustible clutter.

Universal Kit-building Tools: Although your particular kit may require

additional items to complete, virtually all construction projects require a work

area outfitted with the following tools and supplies:

¢ Soldering Iron (grounded-tip and temperature-controlled preferred)

¢ High-temperature Iron Holder with Cleaning Sponge

¢ Rosin-core Solder (thin wire-size preferred)

¢ Needle Nose Pliers or Surgical Hemostats

¢ Diagonal Cutters or "Nippy Cutters"

VEC-1012K Owner’s Manual

¢ Solder Sucker, Vacuum Pump, or Desoldering Braid

¢ Bright Desk Lamp

¢ MagnifyingGlass

Special Tools for This Kit:

¢ 6-32 screw, at least 3/4" long, for winding coils.

¢ Insulated hex-head tuning wand.

¢ Small flat-blade screwdriver or tuning wand.

¢ Voltmeter, digital or analog.

¢ VHF "high-band" antenna to receive off-air signals.

BEFORE YOU START BUILDING

Experience shows there are four common mistakes builders commonly make.

Avoid these, and your kit will probably work on the first try! Here's what they

are:

1. Installing the Wrong Part: It always pays to double-check each step. A 1K

and a 10K resistor may look almost the same, but they may act very

differently in an electronic circuit! Same for capacitors--a device marked

102 (or .001 uF) may have very different operating characteristics from on

marked 103 (or .01uF).

2. Installing Parts Backwards: Always check the polarity of electrolytic

capacitors to make sure the positive (+) lead goes in the (+) hole on the

circuit board. Transistors have a flat side or emitter tab to help you identify

the correct mounting position. ICs have a notch or dot at one end indicating

the correct direction of insertion. Diodes have a banded end indicating

correct polarity. Always double-check--especially before applying power to

the circuit!

3. Faulty Solder Connections: Inspect for cold-solder joints and solder

bridges. Cold solder joints happen when you don't fully heat the connection--

or when metallic corrosion and oxide contaminate a component lead or pad.

Solder bridges form when a trail of excess solder shorts pads or tracks

together (see solder tips below).

4. Omitting or Misreading a Part: This is easier to do than you might think!

Always double-check to make sure you completed each step in an assembly

sequence.

VEC-1012K Owner’s Manual

Soldering Tips: Cleanliness and good heat distribution are the two secrets of

professional soldering. Before you install and solder each part, inspect leads or

pins for oxidation. If the metal surface is dull, sand with fine emery paper until

shiny. Also, clean the oxidation and excess solder from the soldering iron tip to

ensure maximum heat transfer. Allow the tip of your iron to contact both the

lead and pad for about one second (count "one-thousand-one") before feeding

solder to the connection. Surfaces must become hot enough for solder to flow

smoothly . Feed solder to the opposite side of the lead from your iron tip--solder

will wick around the lead toward the tip, wetting all exposed surfaces. Apply

solder sparingly, and do not touch solder directly to the hot iron tip to promote

rapid melting.

Desoldering Tips: If you make a mistake and need to remove a part, follow

these instructions carefully! First, grasp the component with a pair or hemostats

or needle-nose pliers. Heat the pad beneath the lead you intend to extract, and

pull gently. The lead should come out. Repeat for the other lead. Solder may

fill in behind the lead as you extract it--especially if you are working on a

double-sided board with plate-through holes. Should this happen, try heating the

pad again and inserting a common pin into the hole. Solder won't stick to the

pin's chromium plating. When the pad cools, remove the pin and insert the

correct component. For ICs or multi-pin parts, use desoldering braid to remove

excess solder before attempting to extract the part. Alternatively, a low-cost

vacuum-bulb or spring-loaded solder sucker may be used. Parts damaged or

severely overheated during extraction should be replaced rather than reinstalled.

Work Habits: Kit construction requires the ability to follow detailed

instructions and, in many cases, to perform new and unfamiliar tasks. To avoid

making needless mistakes, work for short periods when you're fresh and alert.

Recreational construction project are more informative and more fun when you

take your time. Enjoy!

Sorting and Reading Resistors: The electrical value of resistors is indicated by

a color code (shown in the following chart). You don't have to memorize this

code to work with resistors, but you do need to understand how it works:

Resistor Color Code

1st Digit

2nd Digit

Multiplier

Black = 0 (tens)

Brown = 1 (hundreds)

Red = 2 (K)

Orange = 3 (10K)

Yellow = 4 (100K)

Green = 5 (1Meg)

Blue = 6

Violet = 7

Gray = 8

White = 9

Silver = 10%

Gold = 5%

(gold or silver)

When you look at a resistor, check its multiplier code first. Any resistor with a

black multiplier band falls between 10 and 99 ohms in value. Brown designates

Tolerence

VEC-1012K Owner’s Manual

a value between 100 and 999 ohms. Red indicates a value from 1000 to 9999

ohms, which is also expressed as 1.0K to 9.9K. An orange multiplier band

designates 10K to 99K, etc. To sort and inventory resistors, first separate them

into groups by multiplier band (make a pile of 10s, 100s, Ks, 10Ks, etc.). Next,

sort each group by specific value (1K, 2.2K, 4.7K, etc.). This procedure makes

the inventory easier, and also makes locating specific parts more convenient later

on during construction. Some builders find it especially helpful to arrange

resistors in ascending order along a strip of double-sided tape.

Some VEC kits may contain molded chokes which appear, at first glance, similar

to resistors in both shape and band marking. However, a closer look will enable

you to differentiate between the two--chokes are generally larger in diameter and

fatter at the ends than resistors. When doing your inventory, separate out any

chokes and consult the parts list for specific color-code information.

Reading Capacitors: Unlike resistors, capacitors no longer use a color code for

value identification. Instead, the value, or a 3-number code, is printed on the

body.

Value Code

Ceramic Discs

Electrolytic

1 uF

10 pF = 100

100 pF = 101

1000 pF = 102

.001 uF = 102*

.01 uF = 103

.1 uF = 104

(.001 uF) (.1 uF)

Multilayer

1uF

35V

(270 pF)

104

102

271

As with resistors, it's helpful to sort capacitors by type, and then to arrange them

in ascending order of value. Small-value capacitors are characterized in pF (or

pico-Farads), while larger values are labeled in uF (or micro-Farads). The

transition from pF to uF occurs at 1000 pF (or .001 uF)*. Today, most

monolithic and disc-ceramic capacitors are marked with a three-number code.

The first two digits indicate a numerical value, while the last digit indicates a

multiplier (same as resistors).

Electrolytic capacitors are always marked in uF. Electrolytics are polarized

devices and must be oriented correctly during installation. If you become

confused by markings on the case, remember the uncut negative lead is slightly

shorter than the positive lead.

Diodes: Diodes are also polarized devices that must be installed correctly.

Always look for the banded or cathode end when installing, and follow

instructions carefully.

VEC-1012K Owner’s Manual

Cathode

(shorter Lead)

Diode

LED

Transistors: If transistors are installed incorrectly, damage may result when

power is applied. Transistors in metal cases have a small tab near the emitter

lead to identify correct positioning. Semiconductors housed in small plastic

cases (TO-92) have an easily-identified flat side to identify mounting orientation.

Many specialized diodes and low-current voltage regulators also use this type

packaging. Larger plastic transistors and voltage regulators use a case backed

with a prominent metal tab to dissipate heat (T-220). Here orientation is

indicated by the positioning of the cooling tab.

Metal Can Device

Plastic Device

Tab-cooled Device

Emitter

Metal Tab

Integrated Circuits: Proper IC positioning is indicated by a dot or square

marking located on one end of the device. A corresponding mark will be silk-

screened on the PC board and printed on the kit's parts-placement diagram. To

identify specific IC pin numbers for testing purposes, see the diagram below.

Pin numbers always start at the keyed end of the case and progress counter-

clockwise around the device, as shown:

Flat Side

8 7 6 5

Installation

Key

Installation

Key

1 2 3 4

Pin Numbers

PARTS LIST

Your kit should contain all of the parts listed below. Please identify and

inventory each item on the checklist before you start building. If any parts are

missing or damaged, refer to the manual's warranty section for replacement

instructions. If you can't positively identify an unfamiliar item on the basis of the

information given, set it aside until all other items are checked off. You may

then be able to identify it by process of elimination. Finally, your kit will go

together more smoothly if parts are organized by type and arranged by value

ahead of time. Use this inventory as an opportunity to sort and arrange parts so

you can identify and find them quickly.

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