[TenTec] NB verses NR

[Ken Brown]

>
> Noise Blanker (NB) is a classic function that goes way back to at 
> least the early 1950's.  What it does is look for a very sharp leading 
> edge on noise and actually blank out audio for the duration of the 
> steep noise spike.
This description is essentially correct. However there are a lot of 
variations in how it is done. The variations are in how the blanking 
trigger is obtained, the timing of the blanking  and in where the signal 
chain the blanking is performed.

In the Ten-Tec Omni VI the noise spikes that trigger the blanking are 
detected before the first narrow filter and then the blanking of the 
signal (and noise) path occurs later in the IF. So yes the audio is 
blanked, but it is blanked by interrupting the IF signal path before the 
signal becomes audio.

In some systems a completely separate noise receiver (maybe with a 
separate antenna) is used to generate the blanking trigger. The blanking 
can occur anywhere from the antenna port to the headphone jack  of the 
receiver being "noise blanked." There are good reasons to do it earlier 
in the signal path. The timing of the blanking can also be varied. How 
soon after the trigger does the blanking start, and how long does the 
blanking last. Another option is to use the AC mains as the trigger and 
synchronization of the blanking, which is effective when most of the 
noise is caused by the power distribution system.

DE N6KB