AM DEMODULATION

3-6 The regenerative detector is used to receive short-wave code signals because it is easy to adjust and has high sensitivity and good selectivity. At high frequencies, the amount of signal detuning necessary to produce an audio-beat note is a small percentage of the signal frequency and causes no trouble. The use of the regenerative detector for low-frequency code reception, however, is usually avoided. At low frequencies the detuning required to produce the proper audio-beat frequency is a considerable percentage of the signal frequency. Although this type detector may be used for AM signals, it has high distortion and is not often used. Q-7. What simple, one-transistor detector circuit uses the heterodyne principle? Q-8. What three functions does the transistor in a regenerative detector serve? AM DEMODULATION Amplitude modulation refers to any method of modulating an electromagnetic carrier frequency by varying its amplitude in accordance with the message intelligence that is to be transmitted. This is accomplished by heterodyning the intelligence frequency with the carrier frequency. The vector summation of the carrier, sum, and difference frequencies causes the modulation envelope to vary in amplitude at the intelligence frequency, as discussed in chapter 1. In this section we will discuss several circuits that can be used to recover this intelligence from the variations in the modulation envelope. DIODE DETECTORS The detection of AM signals ordinarily is accomplished by means of a diode rectifier, which may be either a vacuum tube or a semiconductor diode. The basic detector circuit is shown in its simplest form in view (A) of figure 3-5. Views (B), (C), and (D) show the circuit waveforms. The demodulator must meet three requirements: (1) It must be sensitive to the type of modulation applied at the input, (2) it must be nonlinear, and (3) it must provide filtering. Remember that the AM waveform appears like the diagram of view (B) and the amplitude variations of the peaks represent the original audio signal, but no modulating signal frequencies exist in this waveform. The waveform contains only three rf frequencies: (1) the carrier frequency, (2) the sum frequency, and (3) the difference frequency. The modulating intelligence is contained in the difference between these frequencies. The vector addition of these frequencies provides the modulation envelope which approximates the original modulating waveform. It is this modulation envelope that the DIODE DETECTORS use to reproduce the original modulating frequencies. Figure 3-5A.—Series-diode detector and wave shapes. CIRCUIT.