1A Flashcards
The HF band extends from
3MHz - 30MHz
HF is vulnerable to what three things?
weather, atmospheric disturbances, and the time of day.
We characterize an AM radio wave as having what three things?
an amplitude, a frequency, and a wavelength
This is the magnitude of change in the height of the radio wave. This is the amount of power introduced to the signal.
Amplitude
This is the number of cycles completed by a periodic quantity in a unit of time.
Frequency
This is the distance over which the wave’s shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests or troughs.
Wavelength
Frequency and wavelength have an ___ relationship.
inverse
The symbol for wavelength is…?
Greek letter lambda (λ)
What is the formula for wavelength?
the speed of light divided by the frequency of the signal
The following describes what?
How radio waves move in free space and over the surface of the earth.
The study of radio wave propagation
Radio waves passing through different environments experience what five things?
reflection, refraction, polarization, diffraction, and absorption
Ground waves travel at or near the…?
earth’s surface
___ allows these wave to propagate beyond the horizon, traveling as surface waves which follow the contour of the earth. This allows
mediumwave and longwave broadcasting stations to have coverage areas beyond the horizon out to hundreds of miles.
Diffraction
What two frequencies communication systems can communicate over most of the earth and with submarines hundreds of feet underwater?
Very Low Frequency (VLF) and Extremely Low Frequency (ELF)
This refers to radio waves that travel in a straight line from the transmitting antenna to the receiving antenna.
Line of Sight (LOS)
True or False: LOS requires a cleared sight path?
False - as lower frequency radio waves can pass through buildings, foliage, and other obstructions.
What is the only propagation method possible at frequencies above 30MHz?
LOS
On the surface of the earth, LOS propagation is limited by the visual horizon to about…?
64km (40 miles)
By using ___ to transmit beams of microwaves, point-to-point microwave relay links transmit telephone and television signals over long distances up to the visual horizon.
parabolic dish antennas
What can communicate with satellites and spacecraft billions of miles from earth?
Ground stations
Skywave propagation is also called what?
Skip propagation
The ionosphere is the region of the atmosphere that extends from about ___ miles above the earth’s surface.
30-250 miles
The ionosphere has several layers of electrically charged gas atoms called…?
Ions
The ion arrangement is dependent to some degree upon what? Due to this, the conditions change as the time of day changes.
The Sun
When does the F layer breaks up into two layers (F1 and F2)?
during the daylight hours
The D, E, and F layers are all responsible for HF long haul communications, but the F layer allows communications to take place beyond an estimated…?
1,500 miles
What is the AM broadcast band frequency range?
530kHz to 1700kHz
During the daytime lower frequencies typically return to earth somewhere between ___ miles away. At night, the ionosphere thins, and refracted signals may return to earth as far as several thousand miles away.
20-500 miles
Operating at the high end of the frequency range, the transmitted signal may return to earth anywhere from ___ miles away during the daytime, but at night, the signal may pierce through the ionosphere and not return.
300 to 5,000
___ combines two or more frequencies (i.e., the RF carrier wave & the user data/intelligence wave) across a nonlinear device to produce new frequencies. AM is accomplished by this process.
Heterodyning
In heterodyning, the sum frequency is also known as the ___; the difference frequency is also known as the ___.
upper sideband (USB)
lower sideband (LSB)
A 10MHz RF carrier signal that is amplitude modulated with a 3kHz intelligence signal will generate two sidebands: what is the USB and what is the LSB?
9.997 MHz LSB
10.003 MHz USB
During heterodyning, the carrier signal’s amplitude is modified to match the instantaneous amplitude changes of the modulating signal. This modified signal is called what?
Composite Signal
True or False - Another aspect of AM is that both sidebands contain the same information so they do not have to both be transmitted.
False - Another aspect of AM is that both the sidebands are transmitted even though they contain the same information.
The sidebands occupy from ___ to a maximum of ___ on each side of the center frequency for a maximum total bandwidth of 6000Hz (6kHz).
300Hz to a maximum of 3,000Hz
Another important concept of AM is the distribution of the power between the carrier and the sidebands. The carrier consumes ___ of the total power produced while the sidebands take up ___.
carrier - two thirds
sidebands - one sixth each
Transmitting and receiving radios must be on the same ___ to communicate.
sideband
What are the seven advantages of SSB?
Spectrum Conversation
Power Efficiency
Effective Gain in Transmit
Effective Gain in Receive
Total Effective Gain
Peak Envelope Power
Better Signal to Noise Ratio
This refers to decreasing the bandwidth of each channel in a radio system. This creates more channels in the overall radio spectrum.
Spectrum conservation
The HF communications normal spectrum range is 3MHz – 30MHz. However, the AN/PRC-160 Harris radio used in this module extends this slightly to…?
1.5MHz to 29.9999 MHz (extended from the lower end)
In what two ways is SSB more power efficient than AM?
- Available power is concentrated in the one utilized sideband.
- Power output is only developed when carrier is modulated with intelligence (data or voice).
Why is an SSB transmitter more efficient than an AM transmitter?
Because it can concentrate almost all-available power into a single sideband
SSB receivers have an advantage over AM receivers because of…?
the smaller bandwidth
The Total Effective Gain is simply what?
Adding the effective gain in transmit and the effective gain in receive.
Every 3dB does what to power?
Doubles or Halves the power
This is the transmitter’s averaged power output during one RF cycle (a sample) at the highest crest of the modulation envelope.
Peak Envelope Power (PEP)
When you “key” the radio, we measure zero watts at the antenna until what?
someone starts talking or we send data to it
Power output depends on __ input because sidebands are only developed when this occurs.
modulation