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Hartley Oscillator Vs. Crystal Oscillator

Radio frequency oscillators come in many designs, two of which are the Hartley and crystal types. The crystal oscillator has a very precise, fixed frequency, and the Hartley is tunable over a range of frequencies.
  1. Design

    • A Hartley oscillator amplifies the electronic resonance of a pair of coils in parallel with a capacitor to produce radio frequency oscillations. A crystal oscillator also uses coils and a capacitor, but only to set a crystal into resonance. You can make simple, single-transistor circuits for both kinds of oscillator.

    Frequency Stability

    • Quartz crystals resonate at specific frequencies. Crystal oscillators use this resonance to govern the frequency of the circuit, and it stays accurate to a fraction of a percent over time. The frequency of a Hartley oscillator depends on the values of the coils and capacitor, both of which drift with time and temperature.

    Tunability

    • The stability of a simple crystal oscillator also means it's fixed at a single frequency. To tune it, you must switch in different crystals or resort to complex methods such as frequency synthesis. You can easily tune a Hartley oscillator by using a variable air-plate capacitor, as was done in older radios.


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