Aviation VOR Handheld Device

3D Printing
Analog
Arduino
PCB
Communication
Instrumentation

This project encompasses constructing a handheld device to receive VOR station transmission signals, and translate them into a readable radial format inwhich we work with our project partner Andrew Sanders and Garmin. This device is intended to be able to receive Aviation VOR signals, and translate them. This could be used by hobbyist, industry professionals and other interested parties to find the direction of the VOR tower. In this project, our team worked on designing antenna circuity, demodulation of a signal and extracting information from the signal. The antenna need to receive signals from 108-118 [MHz] and required careful though about transmission line issues that could arise. With the received signal, the device demodulated it by using a mixer and a variable oscillator to reduce the signal to a DC offset with up to a 10.8 [KHz] FM signal. This signal was then used to calculate the frequency of the signal and the direction from that value. Our project succeed in creating a filter and maintain the impedance to a uniform value through out the system while it was in high frequency ranges, but we could have worked more on the amplification process to extend the range of the device. For our mixer and oscillator, we ended needing a much larger device than originally planned causing it to be more difficult to ensure the devices in the enclosure aren't overlapping and causing signals to mix. For the Digital Signal Processing, we were able to get value through simple time calculations, but the code would have been much more efficient if we had been able to implement a Fast Fourier Transform with the micro controller device.

2 Lifts 

Artifacts

Name Description
Group 22 VOR Handheld Video Presentation A video detailing the constraints, requirements, layout and blocks that make up our Handheld VOR Reader project   Link
Project Document Full documentation   Link
Executive Summary Executive Summary   Link