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Version:

June 19, 2010:
Revised: v2.0

ZL2PD Single Digit Frequency Counter

A single 7-segment LED display is used in this shirt-pocket microprocessor-based frequency counter which operates to beyond 65 MHz. 



“In regione caecorum rex est luscus”
(In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king)
Desiderius Erasmus, Adagia (III, IV, 96)
Dutch philosopher (1466 - 1536)

Introduction

As equipment becomes increasingly more compact, designers are often obliged to follow suit by reducing the size of displays. At some point, the usefulness of the display can become compromised. I, for one, dislike having to peer intently at tiny displays in an attempt to read vital information, if only because it serves as a reminder that my eyesight is no longer the 20:20 model of optical perfection I’d like to pretend it once was.

In the search for suitable displays for compact equipment, I explored using a single seven-segment LED to display multiple digit information. If successful, this could both deliver the required functionality and minimise display size. With a suitably large LED digit, information could also be seen from some distance without the need for eye strain.

But is such a display practical in real applications? This little frequency counter suggests that it is. It is a lightweight and remarkably rugged portable frequency counter which will readily operate up to 65 MHz. While using only a large single LED display, it displays a frequency with five digits of resolution (i.e. to the nearest kHz) in a package which can be easily carried in a shirt pocket.

The Design

Some initial tests showed that displaying multi-digit frequency measurements on a single display is best handled by displaying the information in a series of three digit bursts. Any more information than this seemed to introduce the potential for confusion.

In this case, each set of three digits is sequentially displayed for about 300mS per digit with a short inter-digit pause of about half this duration. This is followed by a longer pause of about a second to clearly flag the end of the three digits of information. There is clearly something of a tradeoff in this timing. A longer duration for each digit makes it easier to initially read the information, but the overall time required to read all of the digits can quickly become tedious.

In order to display five digits of frequency information, as in this counter, I have used a “MHz/kHz” button to select the required set of three digits, and matching LED indicator to clearly show the set of digits being displayed. To display a frequency of 59.876 MHz, for example, the counter displays 5 9. 8 (pause) repeatedly while in the MHz mode (with a decimal point displayed along with the MHz units numeral), and 8 7 6 (pause) repeatedly in the kHz mode.

A second button allows a measured frequency to be held in the counter. I can use the counter with a short probe directly attached to the input connector. In some cases, this can result in the display being out of sight during the measurement. By touching the Hold button, the required measurement is retained, and the counter can then be removed from the equipment to allow the frequency display to be read.



Figure 1: Circuit diagram of the frequency counter.

With an eye on simplicity, the counter uses only two chips – an Atmel AT89C2051 microprocessor and a low cost CMOS divider. A common BC549 NPN transistor acts as a buffer amplifier for the counter.


The buffered input is divided by 256 in the 74HC4060 divider. Use a Philips IC here if possible, or at least simply avoid using a Fairchild HC4060 here. I’m uncertain if processes have improved over at Fairchild in the past couple of years, but their HC parts that I've tested seem to be limited in operation to 25 MHz. The Philips HC devices I have tried all work up to 80 MHz.

The microprocessor I used is an Atmel 89C2051, one of the 8051 family. A low cost 10 MHz HC-49U crystal is used to clock the microprocessor, and this forms the reference oscillator for the counter. The software can be used with any standard 8051 family device (i.e. 89C51, 87C751 etc) and the code, as usual, is available at the foot of this page in the Download section. I have posted both the fully commented source code as well as the Intel-format HEX file.

Publishing the source code allows others to add features they may prefer to the software, or to change basic functionality, such as pin assignments. This may be desirable where specific components are being used on a tight PCB layout and minor changes are required to get parts to fit nicely. Most users will only require the HEX file which is used to program chips with the standard software. The final code is quite compact, requiring around 600 bytes of code space and 16 bytes of RAM.

The power supply regulator uses a tiny 78L05 three-pin regulator chip (Jaycar ZV-1539). The input voltage can comfortably range from 8V to 15V. The output current of this low power version of the standard 7805 regulator is limited to 100mA, and the small package allows up to 500mW of power dissipation. This counter draws about 25 mA, keeping operation well within the limits of the regulator.

Although the circuit diagram shows a battery as the power source, the prototype enclosure didn’t allow for this. Instead, it uses a regular DC socket. Battery life from periodic use with a 9V battery however will be quite acceptable.

The seven-segment LED display is directly driven by the microprocessor pins. Three spare pins on the microprocessor are shown on the circuit diagram for frequency offsets. With suitable code, the frequency displayed can be offset by a preset value to allow for commonly used IF frequencies such as 455 kHz and 10.7 MHz. For example, if a receiver has an IF of 455 kHz and is tuned to 3.536 MHz, the oscillator (assuming high-side injection) would be  3991 kHz. By selecting an offset of “-455 kHz”, the frequency counter will subtract 455 kHz from the measured frequency before displaying the result. This allows the counter to be used to display actual operating frequencies while using frequency counted from a receiver local oscillator.

I didn’t have any requirement for this feature and so I did not add that code into the software for this frequency counter. However, I have made allowance for it in the design and, if there is sufficient interest, I can post a suitable version of the code on my website.

Construction

The prototype was built on a scrap of veroboard trimmed to fit the available space. The photo above shows the general arrangement. It is mounted in a small plastic case which has a single cutout on one face for the LED display. The case I used is a Jaycar IP54-rated polystyrene enclosure (Jaycar HB-6030) although I have my doubts over the IP54 moisture-proof rating of the case after the cutout window is made in the side! IC sockets were also used, but these are not necessary

I super-glued a piece of thin transparent red plastic over the window to improve display contrast although the red LED display I used was very bright. It's easily seen even in full sunlight. Any “common anode” type LED display of any LED colour can be used. One good choice is the Jaycar ZD-1857.

The ‘kHz’ indicator is just a standard 3mm or 5mm LED. Again, I used a red LED but any colour LED here will also work just fine.

I used a standard RCA phono socket for the RF input connector in the prototype. I would have preferred to use a BNC connector here but it was simply too large to fit the available panel space in the prototype case. A larger case would solve the problem, but then the counter might not fit so nicely in my pocket.

Operation

Operation is as simple as the design. When the counter is powered up, it is set into the normal frequency counter mode with MHz digits displayed sequentially. Any leading zeros in the MHz range will be suppressed, so 9.259 MHz will be displayed as “9. 2 (pause)”. In the absence of any input, only a single “0” will be repeatedly displayed followed by the inter-display pause.

Pressing the ‘kHz/MHz’ button will change the display mode, and display “2 5 9 (pause)” for this example.

Pressing the ‘Hold’ button will retain the current frequency count to allow the user to read the display at their leisure. The character “H” (for Hold) is briefly displayed once to indicate the counter is entering this mode. The ‘kHz/MHz’ button can be pressed to read each set of three digits. Pressing the ‘Hold’ button again will exit the Hold mode.

Copyright

This design was described in the May/June 2008 issue of New Zealand's amateur radio magazine "Break-In" . Break-In is published by NZART, New Zealand's amateur radio organisation. The details shown on this website are reproduced with the permission of the editor.

Details about the magazine can be found at www.nzart.org.nz

(Note: 'Break-In' is a term used in ham radio to describe the method by which an operator sending a message can hear the other party's signal during brief transmission pauses)


Downloads:    


Intel HEX file - Clicking on this link will allow you to download a zipped HEX format file (1 kB) for programming an 89C2051 chip for use in this counter.

Source File - Clicking on this link will allow you to download a zipped Metalink compatible ASCII TEXT format source file (7 kB) for this counter. This will allow the code to be modified by experienced 8051 programmers who may wish to add more features.




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