Chapter5 Transmitters

spark gap The very first transmitters used a _____ connected directly to an antenna.
syntony The step w/c is to connect one or more tuned circuits between the spark gap and the antenna.
The original name for this idea was _____.
This greatly reduced the BW and made it possible to transmit more than one signal in the
same area, at different frequency.
frequency agility -refers to the ability to change operating freq rapidly, w/o extensive retuning.
*All TX produce spurious signals. Spurious signals are often harmonics of the operating
frequency or of the carrier oscillator if it operates at a different frequency.
24hrs Broadcast transmitter are rated for continuous duty (_____ hours a day at full power)
*TX efficiency is important for two reasons.a. energy conservation b. cost of the equipment
overall efficiency -the ratio of output power to power input from the primary power source, whether it be the ac
power line or a battery
It is reduced by factors such as tube- heater power and losses in the power supply.
compression -in w/c low-level baseband signals are amplified more than high-level signals
-is often used to keep the modulation percentage high
dynamic range Compression distorts the original signal by reducing the _____, w/c is the ratio between the
levels of the loudest and the quietest passages in the audio signal.
Automatic-level- -(as far as possible) keeps the modulation at a level approaching but never exceeding 100%
control(ALC) ckt
power amplifier Usually the final amplifier stage, called the _____, is modulated. This allows all stages to
operate Class C.
full-carrier AM -is a mature technology
high-level modulation When modulation is accomplished at the output of the last stage in the transmitter, it is
referred to as _____.
It is used in most AM TX for greater efficiency.
exciter -part of the TX that operate at low power levels, exclusive of the power-handling stages
*Good stability in modern TX design generally requires a crystal-controlled oscillator.
buffer -wideband amplifier to minimize adjustments when changing frequency
-operates at low power, where efficiency is less important than spectral purity, Class A
intermediate power Driver (stage before output stage) stage may be referred to as the _____.
amplifier (IPA)
carrier shift A poorly regulated supply may provide a lower voltage when the TX is fully modulated. If this is
the case, the carrier will have a lower amplitude w/ modulation than w/o. The phenomenon
is called _____, and it is undesirable.
audio circuitry _____ is required to amplify the very small signal (on the order of 1mV) from a microphone to
a sufficient level to modulate the TX.
pi network The _____ can be used to transform impedances either up or down, but it is best suited to
active devices that require a fairly high load impedance, such as tubes.
RF choke An _____ is used to allow power to reach the output stage.
dummy load -noninductive resistor that is capable of dissipating the TX rated power
transceiver -a combination of receiver and transmitter
Class D or switching -another way to amplify audio linearly and yet efficienctly, but it is essentially pulse-duration
amplification modulation
Harris Corporation Digital amplitude modulation technique, patented by the _____, uses multiple solid-state
power amplifiers.
bandpass filter The obvious way to eliminate the unwanted sideband, once the carrier has been suppressed,
is to use a _____.

*If the carrier frequency is at or near the low end of the filter passband , the USB passes
 through the filter and LSB is suppressed. On the other hand, if the carrier frequency is at or
near the high end of the passband , the filter passes the LSB and suppresses the USB.
LC filters The generation of SSB requires a high-order filter w/ high Q. It can be done w/ _____ filters,
but only at low frequencies, and it is not an economical proposition. Mechanical filter
also been used.
crystal filters By far the most common device for suppressing the unwanted sideband is the _____. These
circuits can provide a Q of about 100,000.
reactance modulator It works by using the modulating signal to vary a reactance in the freq-determining circuit.
freq multipliers _____ are particularly useful in FM TX because they multiply the deviation of an FM signal by
the same factor as the carrier frequency.
_____ can increase the deviation obtained at the modulator by any required amount.
*Increasing the deviation by frequency multiplication also increases the carrier frequency.
PLL The _____ FM transmitter is capable of locking the transmitting frequency exactly to the
crystal-controlled reference frequency.
direct _____ FM requires that the carrier oscillator be frequency modulated.
indirect In _____ FM, the baseband signal is integrated and then applied to a phase modulator.
*One reason for using indirect FM is that it is easier to change the phase than the frequency of
a crystal oscillator.
mixers _____ can be used to move the output frequency w/o affecting the modulation.
Numerically- The latest advance in FM modulation is the use of a _____.
controlled *The frequency of an NCO is controlled by a binary number that is written to a register in the
oscillator(NCO) device. A modulator using an NCO has the advantage that its output frequency is as
accurate as its clock crystal; no phase-locked loop is necessary. NCO modulators
generally operate w/ a single carrier frequency in the range of a few MHz (5MHz is typical).
*Techniques for the measurement of TX output power include calorimeter wattmeters,
directional couplers & RF ammeters.
directional couplers Some meters have _____ that allow to distinguish between power flowing from the TX toward
the antenna and reflected power from the antenna.
heating effect One way of measuring true power is to measure its _____.

AFC -a scheme for keeping a TX or RX tuned to the correct frequency

ALC circuit -a circuit for keeping the amplitude of a signal w/in prescribed limits
buffer -an amplifier stage used to isolate two other stages from each other
carrier shift -change of carrier amplitude w/ modulation in an AM TX
compression -system that provides more gain for low-level than for higher-level signals
direct FM -any system that generates FM w/o using phase modulation
directional coupler -device that allows a signal moving along a transmission line in one direction to be measured
driver -amplifier w/c supplies the required input signal power for a power amplifier
dummy load -a noninductive power resistor used to simulate an antenna
duty cycle -ratio of time on to total time
dynamic range -ratio between largest and smallest signals at a point in a system
exciter -the part of a TX that operates at low power
freq agility -ability of a TX to tune rapidly from one operating frequency to another
high-level modulation -amplitude modulation of the output element of the output stage of a TX
indirect FM -any method that generates FM using a phase modulator and an integrator
IPA -TX power amplifier stage immediately before the output stage
low-level modulation -modulation of a TX at any point before the output element of the output stage
NCO -oscillator whose frequency is controlled by a binary written to an internal register
overall efficiency -ratio of the power output of a device to the total power required from its power supply
spectral purity -absence of spurious signals in the output of a TX
spurious signal -any emission from a TX other than the carrier and sidebands required by the modulation
scheme in use (in suppressed-carrier systems the carrier is also a spurious signal