Chapter Five:Transmitters

Introduction• In spite of the wide variety of uses for

transmitters, from toys to broadcasting transmitters, there are only a few topologies that are used in their design

Transmitter Requirements• A transmitter must generate a signal with the

following criteria:– The correct modulation type– Must have sufficient power– Must generate at the correct carrier frequency– Should be reasonably efficient

Frequency Accuracy and Stability• The accuracy and stability of the transmitter is fixed by the

carrier oscillator• Exact requirements are determined by the application of

the transmitter and by regulatory agencies

Frequency Agility• Frequency agility is the ability to change

operating frequency rapidly, without extensive retuning

• Broadcast transmitters are rarely retuned• Other services, such as CB, require rapid and

accurate retuning to other channels

Spectral Purity• Spectral purity is a measure of the spurious signals

generated by a transmitter• All transmitters generate frequencies other than the carrier

and the sidebands required for the modulation scheme in use

• All frequencies except the assigned transmitting frequency must be filtered out to avoid interference with other transmissions

Power Output• There are a number of ways to measure transmitter power,

depending upon the modulation scheme employed• Transmitters for full-carrier AM are rated in terms of

carrier power• Suppressed-carrier AM transmitters are rated by peak-

envelope power (PEP)• FM transmitters are rated by total power output

Efficiency• There are two important reasons for efficient transmitter

operation:– Most obvious is energy conservation– Power that enters the transmitter but does not exit via the

transmitter output is converted into heat– Large amounts of heat require significant amounts of

additional hardware to remove the heat, adding to the cost of the equipment

Modulation Fidelity• An ideal communication system allows the original

information signal to be recovered exactly, except for a time delay

• Compression is often used to raise the overall modulation level of the signal

• Compression distorts the overall dynamic range of the original signal, but results in an improved signal-to-noise ratio

• Other types of distortion such as intermodulation and harmonic distortion must also be kept at a minimum

Transmitter Topology• The figure at the right

shows the block diagrams of some typical transmitters

• There are many varieties of transmitters but most are based upon these structures

AM Transmitters• AM transmitters are a “mature” technology, but are still in

widespread use• Examples include:

– Standard AM broadcast stations– CB radio– VHF aircraft radio

AM Transmitter Stages• All of the stages of a transmitter (except the power

amplifier and possibly the driver) operate at low power levels

• This part of the transmitter, exclusive of the power-handling stages, is called the exciter

• Other transmitter components include:– The oscillator stage– The buffer and multiplier stages– The driver stage– The power amplifier/modulator

Output Impedance Matching• Most practical transmitters are designed to operate into a

50- Ohm resistive load to match the impedance of the coaxial cable that is used to carry the power to the transmitter

• Transmitter output circuitry must be designed to transform the standard load resistance at the output terminal to whatever is required by the active device or devices

Narrowband Output Circuits

An AM Citizens Band Transmitter• A CB radio is

always found as part of transceiver as they are economical, compact, and convenient to install and repair

Elements of a CB Transceiver• The oscillator is a frequency synthesizer• The audio circuitry consists of a microphone

pre-amplifier, followed by an IC amplifier• The output circuit for the final amplifier is

similar to a T network

Transmitter Section of a CB

Modern AM Transmitter Design• AM transmitters have been built since the invention of the

vacuum tube and their design has changed little• There are some new approaches that are now in use• High-power AM transmitters are large and expensive

because of the power handled• Recent efforts to improve AM transmitters include the

development of high-power solid-state power amplifiers and the use of pulse-duration modulation and switching amplifiers in the modulation process

Modern AM Technologies• Solid-state RF power

amplifiers• Pulse-duration modulators• Digital amplitude

modulation

Single-Sideband AM Transmitters

• A typical SSB AM transmitter block diagram is illustrated below:

Balanced Modulators for Double-Sideband Suppressed-Carrier Generation

• Balanced modulators are used for DSSC generation• The output of a balanced modulator is shown here:

Generating Single-Sideband Signals• Bandpass filters may be used to filter out the unwanted

sideband in an AM transmitter• The carrier is not filtered because of its large amplitude and

proximity to the desired sideband• The carrier is typically nulled with a balanced modulator

and then one of the sidebands is filtered

SSB Generation

Mixing• Mixing in a DSBSC AM transmitter is done by a carrier

oscillator and a balanced modulator as shown below:

Power Amplification• Power amplification in a SSB transmitter must be linear• SSB typically uses much lower power levels than are

found in commercial AM broadcast transmitters as SSB is usually used for point-to-point communications

FM Transmitters• FM Transmitters typically use the following components

and configurations:– Direct-FM Modulators– Frequency Multipliers– Phase-Locked Loop FM Generators– Indirect-FM Modulators– Digital FM Modulators

FM Stereo Transmitters• FM stereo uses the baseband spectrum shown here:

Generation of FM Stereo

Transmitter Power Measurements

• Power measurements are typically quite ordinary but require attention to safety in doing so

• High voltages and the possibility of RF burns are dangers to the technician