Part 6 - Communication Systems Flashcards
What are the band of VHF frequencies used by aircraft?
118.000 MHz to 137.000 MHz
What is the channel spacing for VHF comms above FL195?
8.33 kHz
What is VOLMET?
Weather information transmitted from ground stations on specific frequencies in the VHF band
What is the propagation method and theoretical range of VHF?
VHF uses line of sight space wave transmissions with a theoretical range of 123 NM between aircraft at a height of 10.000 feet and a ground station at sea level
What is speech AM used for?
Radio telephony transmissions which are vertically polarised transmissions with a range of speech frequencies being from 300 Hz to 3 kHz
In a VHF transceiver, what happens when a PTT is initiated?
The PTT signal is routed directly to the microprocessor system, and routed out of the transceiver as the KEY EVENT signal
This signal provides the SELCAL reset and the key-event time recording on the DFDR
What is the typical output power of a VHF system?
30 watts
What does a VSWR of greater than 2:1 indicate?
The transmission line is unserviceable
How is sealing usually achieved between the aircraft skin and an aerial base of the fin variety?
Suitable gasket or a sealing agent of the zinc chromate variety or a combination of both
What type of aerials are of ridig construction, with a typical thickness to chord ratio of 10:1?
Blade
What are the band of frequencies normally used for HF comms?
3 - 30 MHz
What type of electrical connector is used to connect the aerial to the transmission line in a comms system?
Co-axial
Why is the left VHF/UHF transceiver always fed from the standby bus?
If all generators fail, including the APU, the pilot has about 30 minutes to get the aircraft down, and they must be able to carry out communication with ATC
In the event of total aircraft power failure, with only battery power available, which of the following will not be sharing battery power - standby horizon, HF system or the emergency lights?
HF system
With VHF frequency tolerance of 25 kHz channel spacing, what is the tolerance of the operating frequency?
30 parts per million
To how many decimal places should a VHF system using phase locked loop (PLL) and a voltage controlled master oscillator (VCMO) be accurate to?
4 decimal places
Where will forward power be at a maximum in a VHF system?
Close to the radio rack at the Tx/Rx
Why might HF be installed on aircraft, as well as VHF?
The aircraft might be flying routes where, for some part of the flight, aeronautical radio stations are out of VHF range
HF is provided for long distance communication where aircraft are flying over wide areas of water or sparsely populated land masses
HF systems normally use what kind of transmission?
SSB
How do HF DSB systems increase the frequency of the oscillator?
By non-linear (class C) frequency multiplication
What frequency multiplication do HF SSB system use?
Must be linear, and class AB1 is the best available
What are the advantages of SSB over DSB?
- Uses less than half the bandwidth
- Uses less power
- S/N ratio is 9dB better with SSB
- Selective fading will not destroy the intelligence and there is no carrier to lose
Where is AGC derived in a HF DSB receiver?
Detection of the carrier RF
Where is AGC derived in a HF SSB receiver?
Detection of sideband RF since there is no carrier present
How are SSB transmitters usually power rated and how is this defined?
Peak envelope power which is defined as the RMS power at the peak or crest of the envelope
In DSB HF, where is sidetone usually taken from?
The Power Amplifier (PA) output to the aerial circuit
What ARINC specification does HF conform to?
ARINC 719
What would a typical HF antenna impedance be?
50 Ω
What is the purpose of the coupler unit and what is particular about the unit?
Matches the HF antenna with the output circuit (50 ohms) of the HF transceiver
It is a pressurised sealed box
What type of aircraft might make use of Notch Antennas?
High speed aircraft
On HF wire antennas, what would happen where the antenna load exceeds 190 lbs?
A copper pin will be sheared, allowing a 3/16” extension of overall antenna length, resulting in a reduction of tension
The movement also exposes a yellow warning band on the unit
What is the most common technique to minimise ‘cross-talk’?
Attenuate the unselected path by use of resistive potential dividers