Neets Master Glossary

1-61 RECEIVER—(1) The object that responds to the wave or disturbance. Same as DETECTOR [10]. (2) Equipment that converts electromagnetic energy into a visible or an audible form [17]. (3) In radar, a unit that converts RF echoes to video and/or audio signals [18]. RECEIVER SENSITIVITY—(1) The degree to which a receiver can usefully detect a weak signal. (2) The lower limit of useful signal input to the receiver [18]. RECEIVER TRANSFER SWITCHBOARD—Equipment used to transfer receiver audio outputs to remote control station audio circuits [17]. RECEIVING ANTENNA—The device used to pick up the RF signal from space [10]. RECEIVING END—See OUTPUT END [10]. RECEPTION—The instant when an electromagnetic wave passes through a receiver antenna and induces a voltage in that antenna [17]. RECIPROCAL (OF A QUANTITY)—The value obtained by dividing the number 1 by that quantity [1]. RECIPROCITY—The property of interchangeability of the same antenna for transmitting and receiving [10] [11]. RECOVERY TIME—In a radar, the time interval between the end of the transmitted pulse and the time when echo signals are no longer attenuated by the tr gap [18]. RECTIFIER—A device used to convert ac to pulsating dc [3] [6] [7]. RECTANGULAR-COORDINATE GRAPH—A graph in which straight-line axes (horizontal and vertical) are perpendicular [10]. RED—The reference color of equipment that passes classified information. It normally refers to patch panels [17]. REFERENCE LINE—The position of zero displacement in a wave [10]. REFERENCE POINT—A point in a circuit to which all other points in the circuit are compared [1]. REFLECTED WAVE—(1) The wave that reflects back from a medium. (2) The wave moving back to the source from the termination of a transmission line after reflection has occurred [10]. REFLECTING OBJECT—In radar a air or surface contact that provides an echo [18]. REFLECTION WAVES—Waves that are neither transmitted nor absorbed, but are reflected from the surface of the medium they encounter [10]. REFLECTOR—The parasitic element of an array that causes maximum energy radiation in a direction toward the driven element [10]. REFLEX KLYSTRON—A klystron with a reflector (repeller) electrode in the place of a second resonant cavity used to redirect the velocity-modulated electrons back through the cavity that produced the modulation [11]. (2) A microwave oscillator that is tuned by changing the repealer voltage [18]. REFRACTION—The changing of direction of a wave as it leaves one medium and enters another medium of a different density [10] [18].