SNA Modification

I decided to forgo the measurement receiver in order to finish of the sna calibrations.  That way something can come off the list.  I had been spending a fair bit of time calibrating my sna the last few weeks.  There is nothing like having someone else with the same equipment so you can make some comparisons.  Once that happens well the gloves come off. 

In an effort to improve the dynamic range and following down the same path as a fellow homebrewer, it was time to install a shield around the AD8307 and associated components.  Purchasing .025 copper sheet was the thinnest I could find and in the end was not all that difficult to work with. Especially if you don’t mind really ugly.

First picture shows where the shield will be installed and there is already an outline in the board to facilitate this modification.  I scraped a few strategic areas for the shield to be soldered to the board.

The first piece was a lone side in picture 2.  The 2^nd side on the left was installed the same way.  The remaining sides were in one piece and folded appropriately.

I do wonder if the shield going over top will affect the characteristics of the wire loop or not, but we will find out shortly I suppose when calibrating.  Either way I doubt too much of an issue.

So the install is complete, just need to power up.  Wasn't to difficult to avoid components and cause shorts as there was a fair bit of space around the circuit as you can see in the first picture.

Power up and calibrations I think best be left until tomorrow.  Then I can start the measurement receiver boards.

73, Peter