Introduction: Colpitts Oscillator, MiniPCB, 06A-20, Rev A1-01

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About: I'm Nolan, a circuit design engineer and creator of miniPCBs—small, standardized circuit boards for learning real-world electronics. I design miniPCBs for students, teachers, and hobbyists who want hands-on pr…

I made a Colpitts Oscillator (06A-20) that oscillates at 261 kHz!


I mimicked one of the circuits that's been on Wikipedia since 2009. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colpitts_oscillator

Step 1: Collect Components

The part number shown in the picture is wrong. The correct part number is 06A-20. This will be corrected in the next revision.

The PCB is a two layer board, and designed to be easy to manufacture and assemble. And it is optimized for cost by being panelized on 100 x 100 mm squares.

Signals are routed on the bottom layer (the layer with the part number), and a common ground plane (as uncut as possible) is on the top layer.

The P1 connector is located in a standard position with respect to the board edges: making it possible to build a universal tester, backplane, or stand.

Step 2: Solder Components

For ease, start with the shortest components.

If a potentiometer is installed with pin 1 in the wrong place, the adjustment procedure will be inverted (CW/CCW).

Step 3: Test With Digilent's Analog Discovery 2/3

Note the outputs are not inverted, and one is stronger than the other. The PCB silkscreen should be updated to only have one output (OUT+).

For ease of changing between five-pin boards, use Interface Board, 00A-12.