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howto:hambasics:sections:practice

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Recall

Receivers

There are three main characteristics of a receiver: sensitivity, selectivity, and stability.

Sensitivity

A signal is always accompanied by some sort of noise, and very roughly speaking, if the signal is stronger than the noise, then it can be heard. To quantify this, we use a term called Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR or S/N):

\$$\text{SNR} = \frac{\text{Signal}}{\text{Noise}}\$$

Since SNR is a ratio:

  • If SNR > 1, then the signal is stronger than the noise.
  • If SNR = 1, then the signal and the noise have the same strength.
  • If SNR < 1, then the noise is stronger than the signal.

Like other ratios, we often express SNR in decibel. Recall that a ratio of 1 = 0 dB, so the above could be stated as:

  • If SNR > 0 dB, then the signal is stronger than the noise.
  • If SNR = 0 dB, then the signal and the noise have the same strength.
  • If SNR < 0 dB, then the noise is stronger than the signal.

Now back to the receiver. The sensitivity of a receiver is its ability to pick out weak signals from the noise. That is, it indicates how faint an input signal can be and still be successfully received by the receiver.

For example, here's the specs sheet from the IC-7300:

For example, a receiver with a sensitivity of -123 dBm can pick out a signal of 0.0000000000005 mW.1)

Selectivity

Recall from the intro section that radio signals always take up some bandwidth on the radio spectrum:

  • CW takes the least amount of “space” because it's essentially just a single note being turned on and off. A 250 Hz filter would work well to isolate the signal and reject neighbouring signals.
  • RTTY is a digital mode that uses two notes to represent 0s and 1s, thus it takes a little bit more space than CW.
  • SSB signals usually have a bandwidth between 2 kHz and 3 kHz. A 2.4 kHz filter would work well to isolate the signal and reject neighbouring signals.
  • FM, needs about 20 kHz, which is why FM radio stations sound better than AM radio stations.

Now back to the receiver. The selectivity of a receiver is its ability to pass only the signal of interest and reject everything else.

Stability

Transmitters

Questions

  • B-003-010-001 → B-003-011-001

1)
-123 dBm = 10-12.3 mW ≈ 5 × 10-13 mW
howto/hambasics/sections/practice.1603581101.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020/10/24 16:11 by va7fi