1. Chapter Six: Receivers

2. Introduction
Two important specifications are fundamental to all receivers:
Sensitivity: signal strength required to achieve a given signal-to-noise ratio
Selectivity: the ability to reject unwanted signals

3. Receiver Topologies
Nearly all modern receivers use the superheterodyne principle
The simplest receiver would consist of a demodulator connected directly to an antenna
Adding a tuned circuit would improve the performance

4. Simple Receiver

5. Tuned-radio-frequency Receiver
In a receiver with multiple RF stages, all tuned circuits must track together, typically by ganged-tuning methods as shown:

6. The Superheterodyne Receiver
The superheterodyne receiver was invented in 1918 by Edwin H. Armstrong and is still almost universally used
A superheterodyne receiver is characterized by one or more stages of RF amplification and the RF stage may be tuned or broadband

7. Functional Elements of Superheterodyne Receivers
The input filter and RF stage are referred to as the Front End of a receiver
The mixer combines the signal frequency with a sine-wave signal generated by a local oscillator creating an intermediate frequency

8. Receiver Characteristics
Sensitivity - the ability to receive weak signals with an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio
One common specification for AM receivers is the signal strength required for a 10-dB signal-plus-noise-to-noise ratio at a specified power level
Adjacent channel sensitivity is another way of specifying selectivity
Techniques like alternate channel rejection are also used to specify selectivity

9. Receiver Characteristics: Distortion
Distortion comes in several forms:
Harmonic distortion is when the frequencies generated are multiples of those in the original signal
Intermodulation distortion occurs when frequency components in the original signal mix and produce sum and difference signals
Phase distortion consists of irregular shifts in phase and is common when signals pass through filters

10. Dynamic Range
The ratio between between the receiver’s response to weak signals and signals that are overload one or more stages is referred to as Dynamic Range
Blocking may occur when two adjacent signals, one of which is much stronger than the other, cause a reduction in sensitivity to the desired channel. This is also referred to as desensitization or desense

11. Spurious Responses
Superheterodyne receivers have a tendency to receive signals they are not tuned to
Image Frequencies are signals that are produced as a result of the generation of intermediate frequencies

12. Demodulators
The demodulator, also known as the detector, is the part of the receiver that recovers the baseband signal. It performs the inverse operation to the transmitter modulator
Several types of modulators are used, depending upon the type of modulation in use

13. Full-Carrier AM
The simplest, most popular demodulator for full-carrier AM is the envelope detector
To recover the baseband signal, the incoming signal is simply rectified to remove half the envelope, then filtered to remove the high-frequency components

14. SSBSC AM
A diode detector alone will not work for SSB or DSBSC because the envelope is different from that of AM
Typically, a product detector using a balanced modulator is used

15. FM
FM demodulators must convert frequency variations of the input signal into amplitude variations at the output
The amplitude of the output must be proportional to the frequency deviation of the input

16. FM Detectors There are four major types of FM detectors:
Foster-Seely discriminator
Ratio detector
Quadrature detector
PLL detector

17. Foster-Seely Detector

18. Ratio Detector

19. Quadrature Detector

20. Communications Receivers
The term communications receiver is used mainly for general-purpose receivers that cover a wide range of frequencies from 100 kHz to 30 MHz
Generally, communications receivers divide their coverage over several bands

21. Components of Communications Receivers
Squelch - disables the receiver audio in the absence of a signal
Noise limiters typically use a diode limiter or clipper in the audio section of the receiver

22. Transceivers
A transceiver is simply a transmitter and receiver in one box
Transceivers are convenient and allow certain economies to be made
Most transceivers operate in the half-duplex mode

23. Receiver Measurements
Sensitivity - measured with a calibrated RF signal generator and audio voltmeter
Selectivity - measured with an RF generator