RADIO TRANSMITTERS LAURENCE GRAY RICHARD GRAHAM Transmission Laboratory, ITT Laboratories McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY New York Toronto London 1961RADIO TRANSMITTERS Copyright © 1961 by the McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. Printed in the United States of America, All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publishers. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 60-8834 56789-MP-98 24240PREFACE There is a wealth of published information covering the circuitry used in radio transmitters. Similarly there are a number of books devoted entirely to the subject of modulation, oscillators, measurements, etc. However, there has been a lack of books which present the transmitter engineer or operator with a comprehensive discussion of those areas which are of immediate interest to him, and which are arranged to present this material from the “transmitter”? viewpoint. It is the purpose of this book to collate this material which is of particular interest to transmitter design engineers and which will be useful to those engaged in transmitter operation and maintenance. Certain portions should also be of interest to the advanced amateur. It is assumed that the reader has at least attained the necessary knowl- edge required to obtain a commercial operator’s license. Therefore no attempt has been made to go into the elementary principles of electricity. Conversely, the book does not give mathematical derivations of the equa- tions presented throughout the text. The general scope of the work does not permit this. Rather the book is intended to present a practical analysis of transmitter operation in all its various phases, together with usable information pertaining to specific problems in transmitter opera- tion. Thus for those whose problems demand a more complete analysis or additional mathematical support, the reference lists provided at the end of each chapter will indicate additional source material. The analysis of transmitter operation has been developed by first grouping and discussing circuits and components common to all trans- mitting equipment. Chapter 12 is devoted to the discussion of the particular characteristics of transmitters in specific services. Measure- ment techniques particularly applicable to transmitters are described in Chap. 13, and finally a brief summary of hazards associated with trans- mitters is given in Chap. 14. We wish to thank the many manufacturers and organizations who con- tributed material. We also wish to thank ITT Laboratories for permis- sion to include some previously unpublished material. Acknowledg- ment of the sources of illustrations has been given individually. We are appreciative of the many valuable suggestions and criticisms made by W. Glomb, A. L. Gray, W. Jacobus, R. McSweeny, A. H. Morgan, J. R. Popkin-Clurman, Dr. H. P. Schwan, and W. Sichak. Laurence Gray Richard GrahamCONTENTS Preface. 1 1 0 we Chapter 1. Introduction 1-1. Definition 1-2. Licensing and Identification 1-3. Classification of Transmitters 1-4, Signal-transmission Terms 1-5. Transmission Frequencies . 1-6. Radiated Power Levels. 1-7. Modulation 1-8. Power Supplies, Control Circuits, ‘and Cooling Chapter 2. Frequency-control Techniques 2-1, Basic Methods of Control . 2-2. Inductance-Capacitance Oscillators . 23. Quartz Crystals 2-4. Crystal Mountings . 2-5. Crystal Ovens . 2-6. Crystal-frequency Correlation. 2-7, Military Standard Crystal Units 2-8. Crystal-oscillator Circuits . 2-9. Parallel-resonant Circuits . 2-10. Series-resonant Circuits 2-11. Drive Level 2-12. Variable-frequency Crystal Oseillators 2-13. Frequency Stability of Crystal Oscillators 2-14. Frequency Control in F-M Transmitters 2-15, Frequency Control of Microwave Oscillators 2-16. Frequency Synthesizers 2-17, Frequency Multipliers a and Dividers . 2-18. Mixers 2-19. Filters . 2-20. Drift-canceled Oscillator 2-21. Synthesizing Systems . Chapter 8. R-F Power Amplifiers 3-1. General Amplifier Considerations. 3-2, Amplifier Classifications 3-3. Dynamic Operating Conditions 3-4. Amplifier Configurationsviii 3-5. 3-6. 3-7. 3-8. 3-9. 3-10. 3-11. 3-12, 3-13. 3-14. 315. 3-16. 3-17. 3-18. 3-19. CONTENTS Amplifier Efficiency Efficiency and Plate-current Conduction Angle. The Characteristics of the Class A Amplifier The Characteristics of the Class B Amplifier The Characteristics of the Class C Amplifier A Simplified Method of Amplifier Design The Grounded-cathode Amplifier. The Grounded-grid Amplifier, General Characteristics The Grounded-plate Amplifier . Amplifier Output Load Resistance Amplifier Stabilization The Linear Amplifier Wideband Amplifier Frequency Multipliers . Practical Circuit Considerations Chapter 4. Power Tubes . 4-10, . Transmitting-tube Construction . . The Cathode . Grids . Anodes . General Types of ‘Transmitting Tubes . Klystron Amplifier Tubes . . Reflex Klystrons . Traveling-wave Tubes . . Magnetrons . Platinotrons, Amplitrons, and Stabilotrons . Chapter 6. Coupling Circuits. 2. . . . . . . . 5-1. 5-2. 5-3. 5-4, 5-5. 5-6. 5-7. 5-8. 5-9. 5-10. 5-11. 5-12. 5-13. 5-14. 5-15. 5-16. 5-17. Coupling Networks. Parallel-tuned Circuits Series-tuned Circuits The Double-tuned Circuit Envelope Delay. . Matching Network Configurations . The Basis of the L, , and T Matching Networks The L Network . oe The Network The T Network The 7-L Network Reactive Load Impedances Link-coupled Circuits . Balanced-to-unbalanced Coupling Networks Matching-network Efficiency . Impedance Matching in Transmission Lines Impedance Matching in Waveguide Circuits Chapter6. Amplitude Modulation . . . . . . . 6-1. 6-2. Amplitude Modulation. Sidebands . . . 89 89 89 93 93 95 95 99 100 103, 104 108 108 108 lll 112 115 115 116 U7 118 120 121 122 122 125 128 129 132 134 134 1346-3. 6-5. 6-22. 6-23. 6-24. CONTENTS Double-sideband Amplitude Modulation . On-ofi Keying Diode Modulator . Plate Modulation . Grid Modulation . . Amplification of Modulated R-F Voltages . Carrier-suppression Techniques . Vestigial-sideband ‘Transmission Phase-to-amplitude Modulation Negative Feedback . Single Sideband . Advantages of Single Sideband . Methods of Generating an SSB Signal . The Balanced Modulator Quartz Crystal Filters . . Mechanical Filters ). Audio Phase-shift Networks ). R-F Phase-shift Networks . Frequency Translation in SSB ‘Transmitters Linearity Measurement in SSB Transmitters Signal-to-distortion Ratio Sideband Suppression Chapter 7. Angle and Pulse Modulation 7-1. 7-2. 7-3. 7-4. 7-5. 7-6. 7-7. 7-8. 7-9. 7-10. 7-1. 7-12. 7-13. 7-14, ‘Angle Modulation . Sidebands Produced by Angular Modulation Sideband Characteristics : P-M to F-M Conversion : Methods of Generating Phase Modulation Direct Generation of Frequency Modulation Pulse Modulation . Sidebands Produced by Pulse ‘Modulation Pulse Generators Pulse-amplitude Modulation . Pulse-duration Modulation Pulse-position Modulation Pulse-code Modulation Delta Modulation Chapter 8. Power Supplies 1. 8-2. 3-3. 8-4. 85. 8-6. 8-7. 8-8. 8-9. 8-10. A-C Voltage Regulators Power-supply Voltage Control Power-supply Circuits Rectifiers : Power-supply Filter Circuits . Transformers and Chokes Corona : Filament Starting D-C Regulators D-C to D-C Power Supplies 172 174 177 178 181 181 182 183 184 186 189 193 194 195 198 199 200 200 201 206 206 213 215 218 224 228 231 232 236 238x CONTENTS Chapter 9. Control and Protective Circuits. 9-1. 9-2. 9-3. 9-4. 9-5. 9-6. 9-7. 9-8. 9-9. 9-10. oll. 9-12. 9-13. 9-14. 9-15. 9-16. 9-17. Control and Protective Circuits Functions of the Control Circuits Power Control ‘Transmitter Sequencing and Interlocking Circuits . Indication and Alarms . Transmitter Recycling Circuits Remote Control. : Transmitter Telemetering . . Automatic Tuning of Transmitters Protective-circuit Functions Protective-cireuit Philosophy . The Fuse. . The Circuit Breaker : Circuit-breaker Applications Electronic Crowbar. R-F Overload Protection . Across-the-line Diagrams . Chapter 10. Cooling 10-1. 10-2. 10-3. 10-4. 10-5. Transmitter Cooling Forced-air Cooling of Tubes Liquid Cooling of Tubes : Tube Temperature Measurement. Genera) Cabinet Cooling Chapter 11. R-F Components 11-1. 11-2. 11-3. 11-4. 11-5. 11-6. 1167. 11-8. 11-9, 11-10. 11-11. 11-12, 11-13, L1-14, 11-15, 11-16. R-F Components Directional Coupiers Coe Dummy Loads. . Foe Lossy Dielectric Loads . R-F Filters . Vestigial-sideband Filter Diplexers. soe The MagicT . . The Coaxial Hybrid Ring . Common Frequency Diplexing of Transmitters. Special Adjustment of Combined Transmitters Power Dividers . Transmission-line Switching Microwave Ferrites. 2 2 1. Isolators . Circulators Chapter 12. Transmitter Characteristics 12-1. 12-2, 12-3. 12-4, 12-5. 12-6. ‘Transmitter Applications : Navigation Radar fone Telegraph ‘Transmitters nr Telephone Transmitters Mobile Transmitters 244 244 244 244 247 249 251 254 257 259 260 260 262 263 263 265 266 268 270 270 270 277 281 281 283 283 283 290 291 292 293 294 297 298 298 300 301 303, 305 305, 306 309 309 309 310 312 316 317CONTENTS 12-7. Telemetry Transmitters. 2. 2 . 2 1. . 1. ww 12-8, Broadcast Transmitters © 2 2... ww ee 12-9. Television Transmitters. . BP 12-10. Broadcast Repeaters and Translators oe coe 12-11. R-F Generation for Noncommunication Purposes . Chapter 13. Transmitter Measurement Techniques . 13-1. Transmitter Measurements 13-2. Power Measurements . . - 2. - . 1. 7 we 13-3. Frequency Measurements . Se 13-4. Time Measurements . Be 13-5. A-M and F-M Measurements. . 13-6. Demodulated Audio Measurements 18-7. Telegraph Keying Measurements. 13-8. Broadband Radio System Measurements 13-9. Pulse-transmitter Modulation Measurements 13-10. Monochrome Video Modulation Measurements. 13-11. Color Video Measurements fol 13-12. Antenna Measurements 13-13. Spurious Transmitter Output Measurements Chapter 14. Hazards Associated with Transmitters 14-1, Health Hazards. 142. Electric Shock . . 143. Treatment of Electric Shock . 14-4, Precautions against Electric Shock 14-5. Lightning Hazards 14-6, Power-line Shorts . 147. X-ray and R-F Radiation Hazards 14-8. Chemical Hazards . . Appendix Index - Se 318 319 320 328 329 333 333 333 344 359 361 367 372 373 375 375 388, 393,CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1-1. Definition. Radio transmitters, for the purpose of discussion in this book are defined as generators of useful radio-frequency (r-f) energy which are intended to be connected to some form of electromagnetic radiator. The “receiver” of the transmitted energy may be only a few inches away as in the case of induction heating equipment or a diathermy machine, or it may be thousands of miles away. A transmitter is an assembly of an r-f generator, amplifiers, modulator, power supplies, control circuits, and cooling equipment. Each of these items will be discussed in detail. 1-2. Licensing and Identification. The operation of a transmitter generally requires a license issued by the government having jurisdiction over the location or vehicle in which the transmitter is located. In the United States the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) specifies a value of radiation above which a transmitter license is required. Below this value the equipment is called an incidental or restricted-radiation device. For frequencies above 1,600 ke the radiation field must not exceed 15 wv per m at a distance of 157 ju (f The limiting values for frequencies between 10 and 1,600 ke are given in Table 1-1. No radiation is permitted on the international distress frequency which is 500 ke. Tance 1-1, Freup SrrenorH Limits ror UNLICENSED TRANSMITTERS Frequency, | Distance,| Maximum field ke ft || strength, wv/m 10—490 1,000 2,400 Sree 510-1, 600 100 24,000 Se2 RADIO TRANSMITTERS These limits permit the use of “wireless”? microphones and radio- control systems without a license. Radio transmissions are identified by call letters which are assigned when a license is issued. Blocks of call letters are assigned to the various countries by international agreement. A list of call-letter assignments is given in Table A-1 (in the Appendix). Transmitter operation in the United States is governed by the various rules and regulations issued by the FCC (1). 1-3. Classification of Transmitters. For licensing purposes trans- mitters are classified according to the bandwidth, the type of modulation, and the type of intelligence being sent. The classification is identified by combinations of numerals and letters as shown in Table 1-2. Taste 1-2. TransmiItTER Emission CiassiFicaTIoNs Example: 3 A 3 a = ssb telephony \ pO ST Type of ‘Type of Supplementar; Bandwidth, ke / modulation or information characteristics emission System bandwidth A—Continuous O—No keying or No letter given for required for proper wave including modulation full carrier a-m or reproduction at the all types of a-m | 1—Telegraphy any type of f-m. receiver. B—Damped wave without other | a—Single-sideband, Examples (spark) modulation reduced carrier A8a voice—3 ke F—Angular modu- | 2—Telegraphy us- (ssb) A3 voice—6 ke lation ing modulated | b—Independent A5 VSB television— (frequency or earrier. (Car- sideband, 6,000 ke phase) rier may or may reduced carrier For frequencies below | P—Pulsed emission not be keyed) (isb) 10 ke, a maximum 3—Telephony c—Other types of of two significant 4—Facsimile reduced carrier figures may be 5—Television d—Pulse amplitude given after decimal: 6—Muitiplex teleg- modulation Examples raphy (PAM) Al telegraphy, 25 9—Composite and | e—Pulse width wpm—0.1 ke cases not cov- modulation Fl telegraphy, 100 ered above (PWM) wpm—1,25 ke 'f—Pulse position modulation (PPM) 1-4. Signal-transmission Terms. The bandwidth required for a system will depend upon the rate at which information is to be sent, the type of modulation, and the amount of distortion that can be toleratedINTRODUCTION 3 in the reproduced signal. The International Radio Consultative Com- mittee (CCIR) which is a body of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) makes recommendations concerning the necessary band- width for various types of transmission (2). In the case of telegraph transmission the rate of sending information is given in bauds. In on-off telegraphy, the on, key-down, or radiated- power condition is called the mark, while the off condition is called the space condition. In frequency-shift transmission it is conventional to call the higher frequency the mark. The speed in bauds is the total number of elementary marks and spaces per second. The speed in bauds will be twice the number of cycles per second (eps). In the case of the transmission of business-machine or telemetered data, it is more usual to express the speed in bits or kilobits (1,000 bits) per second. Bits per second and bauds represent equivalent speeds. The information rates for telephony, facsimile, and television are simply given in cycles per second. Table 1-3 gives conversion factors to convert words per minute into bauds or cycles per second for various codes (3). Tasie 1-3, Facrors To CONVERT WPM TO BAUDS OR CPS FOR VARIOUS CoDES Code bauds cps International Mors 0.9 0.45 American Morse... 0.85 0.425 Cable Morse. . 0.4 0.2 Start-stop teleprinti 0.742 0.371 Synchronous teleprinter (no start or + stop pulses). 0.50 0.25 1-5. Transmission Frequencies. The frequencies which are allocated to transmitters in the various classes of service are constantly changed as the state of the art advances, and no attempt will be made in this book to give the specific frequency allocations. The general division of the frequency spectrum is decided at the international telecommunication conventions which are held approximately at 10-year intervals. Fre- quency allocations in the United States are given in vol. 2, part 2 of the FCC “Rules and Regulations” (1). The frequencies of fixed stations throughout the world are recorded by the International Frequency Registration Board (IFRB), which is another body of the ITU, and the information is published in the “Radio Frequency Record.” The useful r-f spectrum is divided into ranges which are given names and band numbers. The band number refers to the power of 10 appli-4 RADIO TRANSMITTERS cable to the high end of each range. Designations given by the CCIR are given in Table 1-4. TasiE 1-4. CCIR Frequency-Rancs DEsIGNATIONS Band number | Frequency range Designation 4 3-30 ke vif, very low 5 30-300 ke HH, low 6 300-3,000 ke | m-f, medium 7 3,000-20,000 ke | h-f, high g 30-300 Me _| vhf, very high 9 300-3,000 Mc _ | ukf, ultrahigh 10 3-30kMe —_| shf, superhigh ret 30-300 kMe | ehf, extremely high 12 300-3,000 kMe | Not named The uhf and shf bands are further broken down into lettered designa- tions which are given in Table 12-1. The allowable tolerance or variation from assigned frequencies is also established by international agreement. In some cases the individual governments may enforce more restrictive tolerances. Observance of the tolerance restrictions is an important factor in permitting the maxi- mum number of transmitters to occupy the frequency spectrum without mutual interference. Methods of frequency control are discussed in detail in Chap. 2. 1-6. Radiated Power Levels. The maximum amount of radiated power permitted for each class of service is specified in government regulations. In many cases the particular license for a transmitting station may further limit the radiated power. In some cases, such as in the amateur service and maritime service where it is difficult to standard- ize antenna efficiencies, transmitter power is limited on the basis of input to the final amplifier rather than radiated power. In general it is the policy to limit power levels to the minimum required to perform the desired service. Methods of r-f power amplification are discussed in Chap. 3. Chapter 4 covers power-amplifier tubes, and Chap. 5 discusses methods of coupling power amplifiers to antennas. In Chap. 11 a number of special com- ponents which are associated with the problem of coupling power to antennas at very high frequencies and microwave frequencies are described. It is important that 99 per cent or more of the radiated power lies within the bandwidth permitted for each class of service. Spurious out-of-band radiation can seriously interfere with other services. The