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Re: [TenTec] FW: Argo V and digital modes

To: 'Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment' <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] FW: Argo V and digital modes
From: Jim Brown <k9yc@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: k9yc@arrl.net, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2014 12:36:44 -0700
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
On Mon,9/22/2014 12:17 PM, Duane Calvin wrote:
  If Jim wants to describe a
frequency-shifted carrier as modulation and treat it as an analog signal,
fine, then run a Class A amp with it if you like.

It's not how I want to describe it, it's how Mother Nature treats it. :) If you look at any RTTY signal on a spectrum analyzer with sufficient resolution, you will see sidebands that are the result of modulation, and of distortion in the RF amplifier circuitry. If you look at FM in any decent text, you'll see that sidebands are produced. FSK is, in essence, FM where the signal is a square wave. Any square wave has harmonics, which produce sidebands, and which combine with each other and with the carrier to produce intermod in the RF amplifier.

Elecraft's initial implementation of FSK produced more sidebands than a good AFSK signal driving the K3. I know that because I measured it on a neighbor's K3. Others were also noticing this, so they later improved the shaping of the FSK waveform, and reduced the TX bandwidth. I haven't taken the time to measure it since.

If you look at the graphs of ARRL Lab data in k9yc.com/TXNoise.pdf you will see huge variations in the keying bandwidth between radios. This is largely the result of the shaping of the square wave that keys the transmitter, but is also affected by the IMD of the output stage and TX phase noise.

73, Jim K9YC

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