Syllabus Sections:-

Demodulation

3K1   28 Understand the operation of basic AM, CW, SSB and FM demodulator circuits and the function of the limiter for FM.

Please have in front of you  Page 60 fig 9.7 and refer to it for most of this section of text.

AM demodulation circuit

In the Intermediate course notes your were shown how a diode detector recovers an AM signal (check back here).

The diode allows all the positive signal to pass but rejects all of the negative part of the signal.

The circuit diagram above shows a parallel tuned circuit, which can be tuned to the desired radio station (frequency) by the variable capacitor.

At the resonant frequency, the parallel tuned circuit has a high impedance (or opposition to AC / RF currents), the effect of this is to generate a maximum AC / RF potential difference across the tuned circuit.

The potential difference is rectified by the diode and DC is smoothed out by the capacitor C. The end result is that the recovered audio is only the overall shape of the signal which is applied to the ear piece / headphones which would have been the same shaped audio signal used to modulate the transmitter hence you hear what was transmitted.


CW demodulator circuit

Now it is possible for the AM simple detector to demodulate a CW signal but you will need a Beat Frequency Oscillator (BFO). This BFO (which is about 700Hz offset from the the IF) mixes with the IF signal which results an audible tone which will be at about 700Hz each time the RF is present which represents the morse key pressed down by the transmitting operator.

SSB demodulator circuit

Also the AM simple detector can demodulate a SSB signal but to do so a Carrier Insertion Oscillator (CIO) is used to replace the carrier removed during the modulation process at the transmitter.

FM demodulator circuit

Please have in front of you  page 63 fig 9.17

For the AM,  simple diode detector is used. For an  FM signal a ratio detector,  which as seen in fig 9.17 on page 63 is called a ratio detector but outside the circuit diagram but inside the diagram it is called an FM discriminator.


3K1   28 continued and the function of the limiter for FM.

The function of the Limiter, (Limiter Circuit) used in FM receiver is to remove the noise that exists on the peaks of the received signal and to remove any amplitude variation in the received signal this leads to the output of the limiter being a constant amplitude.





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