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-   -   If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne? (https://www.radiobanter.com/homebrew/142764-if-superheterodyne-why-not-subheterodyne.html)

Tim Shoppa April 20th 09 05:50 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

Tim N3QE

Bert Hyman April 20th 09 06:01 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
In

Tim Shoppa wrote:

A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything?


My recollection is that Armstrong used the term "supersonic heterodyne"
to note the fact that the beat frequency between the signal and LO
was "supersonic."

--
Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN

Jean-Christophe April 20th 09 06:09 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 20, 5:50 pm, Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?
Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).
Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..


A superheterodyne can be Supradyne or Infradyne,
depending of the IF against the RF.

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


I don't superthink so.

John Larkin[_2_] April 20th 09 06:10 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:50:05 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa
wrote:

A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

Tim N3QE


Supersonic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver


John


Tim Shoppa April 20th 09 08:23 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 20, 1:10*pm, John Larkin
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:50:05 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa





wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:


Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?


Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).


Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..


I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


Tim N3QE


Supersonic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver


I saw that in Wikipedia too. I didn't believe it, it doesn't make
sense. Why not just call all radio frequencies and IF frequencies
above 20kHz "supersonic"? Then all radios (*) are supersonic, and
we're back to super meaning nothing at all.

(*) OK, I know about lowfers and there is submarine RF communication
below 20kHz. If I listen in to that with a superhet is it then really
a subhet?

Reminds me of a Simpsons episode where Bart and Homer are arguing
about something, and Bart parrots what Wikipedia says on the subject.
Homer says in a deep resentful voice "We'll fix THAT when we get
home!"

Tim.

Joerg April 20th 09 08:36 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


If you want to file a new patent for old stuff you could try
subheterodyne and it just might sail through :-)

Oh wait, call it hyperheterodyne, has more glitz. Just like the
supermercados in Spain.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

John Larkin[_2_] April 20th 09 08:44 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:23:53 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa
wrote:

On Apr 20, 1:10*pm, John Larkin
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:50:05 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa





wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:


Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?


Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).


Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..


I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


Tim N3QE


Supersonic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver


I saw that in Wikipedia too. I didn't believe it, it doesn't make
sense. Why not just call all radio frequencies and IF frequencies
above 20kHz "supersonic"? Then all radios (*) are supersonic, and
we're back to super meaning nothing at all.


Possibly because heterodyne receivers mixed to sonic frequencies.

John




John Larkin[_2_] April 20th 09 08:45 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:36:12 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


If you want to file a new patent for old stuff you could try
subheterodyne and it just might sail through :-)

Oh wait, call it hyperheterodyne, has more glitz. Just like the
supermercados in Spain.


I think we're going to be doing a superhet receiver soon. Maybe we'll
do it in an FPGA!

John



Highland Ham[_2_] April 20th 09 08:46 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

======================
Many of not most modern HF receivers have a first IF in the 45-75 MHz range.

==================================================

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

Tim N3QE


frank GM0CSZ / KN6WH

Joerg April 20th 09 08:49 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
John Larkin wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:36:12 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

If you want to file a new patent for old stuff you could try
subheterodyne and it just might sail through :-)

Oh wait, call it hyperheterodyne, has more glitz. Just like the
supermercados in Spain.



I meant hypermercados :-)


I think we're going to be doing a superhet receiver soon. Maybe we'll
do it in an FPGA!


How'd you do the preamp in there?

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

Spehro Pefhany April 20th 09 08:56 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:49:51 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

John Larkin wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:36:12 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

If you want to file a new patent for old stuff you could try
subheterodyne and it just might sail through :-)

Oh wait, call it hyperheterodyne, has more glitz. Just like the
supermercados in Spain.



I meant hypermercados :-)


So a convenience store would be a "hypomercado"?


Joerg April 20th 09 08:57 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
Spehro Pefhany wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:49:51 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

John Larkin wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:36:12 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

If you want to file a new patent for old stuff you could try
subheterodyne and it just might sail through :-)

Oh wait, call it hyperheterodyne, has more glitz. Just like the
supermercados in Spain.

I meant hypermercados :-)


So a convenience store would be a "hypomercado"?


:-)

Those actually called themselves supermercado a lot, probably the reason
why the real ones of the size of a Safeway had to notch it up one category.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

Tim Shoppa April 20th 09 09:57 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 20, 3:44*pm, John Larkin
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:23:53 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa





wrote:
On Apr 20, 1:10*pm, John Larkin
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:50:05 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa


wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:


Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?


Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).


Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..


I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


Tim N3QE


Supersonic.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver


I saw that in Wikipedia too. I didn't believe it, it doesn't make
sense. Why not just call all radio frequencies and IF frequencies
above 20kHz "supersonic"? Then all radios (*) are supersonic, and
we're back to super meaning nothing at all.


Possibly because heterodyne receivers mixed to sonic frequencies.


I didn't really trust Wikipedia on this (it uses unusual language to
talk about perfectly conventional subjects) but I did find my December
1922 QST, and it says (page 11):

In December, 1919, Major E. H. Armstrong gave
publicity to an indirect method of obtaining
short-wave amplification, called the Super-
Heterodyne. The idea is to reduce the incoming
frequency which may be, say 1,500,000 cycles
(200 meters), to some suitable super-audible
frequency which can be amplified efficiently, then
passing this current through a radio frequency
amplifier and finally rectifying and carrying on
to one or two stages of audio frequency
amplification.

To me that sounds a little less awkward and more natural than the
derivation that Wikipedia tries to draw.

Tim N3QE

Joerg April 21st 09 01:28 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
Tim Shoppa wrote:
On Apr 20, 3:44 pm, John Larkin
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:23:53 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa





wrote:
On Apr 20, 1:10 pm, John Larkin
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:50:05 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa
wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:
Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?
Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).
Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..
I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).
Tim N3QE
Supersonic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver
I saw that in Wikipedia too. I didn't believe it, it doesn't make
sense. Why not just call all radio frequencies and IF frequencies
above 20kHz "supersonic"? Then all radios (*) are supersonic, and
we're back to super meaning nothing at all.

Possibly because heterodyne receivers mixed to sonic frequencies.


I didn't really trust Wikipedia on this (it uses unusual language to
talk about perfectly conventional subjects) but I did find my December
1922 QST, and it says (page 11):


Wow! I didn't know you were this old.

[...]

--
SCNR, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

Phil Allison April 21st 09 02:05 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 

"Tim Shoppa"

A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything?



** Refers to the term " supersonic frequency " - the general name for any
frequency between the upper limit of the audible range ( 20kHz ) and the
lower limit of common radio transmission frequencies or "long waves" at
about 150kHz.

Is there a Subheterodyne?


** No.

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).



** The name now refers to any receiver that involves a frequency changer
stage prior to detection.

If you want to know the meaning of any term, you have to study how PEOPLE
used it - both in the past and the present.

Only complete fools and radio hams study the words themselves in isolation
and try to de-construct them.


...... Phil





John Larkin April 21st 09 03:45 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:57:26 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa
wrote:

On Apr 20, 3:44*pm, John Larkin
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:23:53 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa





wrote:
On Apr 20, 1:10*pm, John Larkin
wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:50:05 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa


wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:


Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?


Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).


Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..


I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


Tim N3QE


Supersonic.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver


I saw that in Wikipedia too. I didn't believe it, it doesn't make
sense. Why not just call all radio frequencies and IF frequencies
above 20kHz "supersonic"? Then all radios (*) are supersonic, and
we're back to super meaning nothing at all.


Possibly because heterodyne receivers mixed to sonic frequencies.


I didn't really trust Wikipedia on this (it uses unusual language to
talk about perfectly conventional subjects) but I did find my December
1922 QST, and it says (page 11):

In December, 1919, Major E. H. Armstrong gave
publicity to an indirect method of obtaining
short-wave amplification, called the Super-
Heterodyne. The idea is to reduce the incoming
frequency which may be, say 1,500,000 cycles
(200 meters), to some suitable super-audible
frequency which can be amplified efficiently, then
passing this current through a radio frequency
amplifier and finally rectifying and carrying on
to one or two stages of audio frequency
amplification.

To me that sounds a little less awkward and more natural than the
derivation that Wikipedia tries to draw.

Tim N3QE


I did like the wiki bit about people using hundred-tube TRF receivers.

John


hollow state April 21st 09 04:19 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
John Larkin wrote:

On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:50:05 -0700 (PDT), Tim Shoppa
wrote:

A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?


Supersonic.


So, if a basketball player from a certain team in Seattle were flying
on the Concorde, and listening to a particular brand of antique radio,
it'd be a supersonic SuperSonic's Superdyne supersonic heterodyne?

AF6AY April 21st 09 05:07 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 20, 9:50�am, Tim Shoppa wrote:

A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?


The heterodyning of two signals was barely known around 1902 to
1904 when very early entrepreneur-experimenter Reginald Fessenden
was fooling around in his lab trying to improve the sensitivity of
early coherer-type detectors. Fessenden tried mixing the output
of a very low-power spark transmitter with his simple receiver and
reported getting a clearer tone from a distant station. Fessenden
was keen on making himself known so he wrote that up and it was
published.

However, by 1906 the first audion tube was made and in a few years
later, some production units were available for experimenters,
namely a very young Armstrong...who went on to start gaining fame
with his regenerative tube receiver. By 1918, Amstrong was now a
Major in the US Army and stationed in Paris with WW One having
stopped. Armstrong remembered the Fessenden experiment and
remembered the 'heterodyning' process of mixing low-level RF signals
with higher-level RF (the 'Local Oscillator' as it became known),
getting two extra mixing products out of a 'mixer' stage (sum and
difference of the two main input frequencies). By now academics
had gone into the heterodyning process in more detail with at
least 14 years between Fessenden's experiment and Armstrong's tube
version.

Armstrong's patent application promised an equal-selectivity at
any antenna-input frequency, something not possible with TRF
receivers, narrower at lower frequencies, wider at higher ones.

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


Might have been had there been ANY real "market" for radios back
then. Of course, anything RF done with vacuum tubes beat the pants
off any crystal detector and spark transmitter, so it was definitely
a 'super' thing. :-)

Actually, Ed Armstrong had a battle with various nations on the
patent for his superheterodyne, at least a year or two later with
someone in England and another in France. Patent suits would
continue to dog Armstrong until the end of his life, probably
causing the depression that, in turn, caused him to suicide.
Just the same, Armstrong had the chutzpah to promote his ideas
and he is truly the father of FM broadcasting allowing high-
fidelity music to any FM receiver. He was no slouch in getting
organized and promoting himself.

There's a whole lot of material on Edwin Howard Armstrong at
several websites, reachable through members of the Radio Club of
America, the oldest association (since 1909) and still going.
---------------
The three basic forms of modulation of a carrier (amplitude,
frequency, phase) were worked out by John Carson of AT&T in 1915,
before Armstrong got going on his 'superhet' idea. Whether or not
Ed saw those is unknown, but Carson had them worked out already.
Those very early 'radio' experimenters, from academics to amateurs,
were very very busy in the first two decades of 'radio' existance,
going from essentially nothing to several somethings. 'Radio'
stayed a fertile field for scientific-engineering innovation for
three more decades, spurred into a couple quantum jumps during the
World War II years.

Reginald Fessenden sort of faded into the woodwork after his
famous "Christmas Eve" sound broadcast of 1906...using a spark
transmitter whose antenna wire was modulated by a special carbon
microphone! I doubt that any AM broadcast station ever tried to
use that system since so it was an early curiosity in radio history.
Armstrong's name spread and so did his inventions...not just the
regen or superhet, but also the super-regenerative for high HF and
into VHF (note the 'super' addition by the extra oscillation) and,
of course, to FM broadcasting.

73, Len AF6AY


AF6AY April 21st 09 05:20 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 20, 1:57�pm, Tim Shoppa wrote:
On Apr 20, 3:44�pm, John Larkin

didn't really trust Wikipedia on this (it uses unusual language to
talk about perfectly conventional subjects) but I did find my December
1922 QST, and it says (page 11):

In December, 1919, Major E. H. Armstrong gave
publicity to an indirect method of obtaining
short-wave amplification, called the Super-
Heterodyne. The idea is to reduce the incoming
frequency which may be, say 1,500,000 cycles
(200 meters), to some suitable super-audible
frequency which can be amplified efficiently, then
passing this current through a radio frequency
amplifier and finally rectifying and carrying on
to one or two stages of audio frequency
amplification.

To me that sounds a little less awkward and more natural than the
derivation that Wikipedia tries to draw.


Everyone ought to realize that "Wikipedia" data can be written by
ANYONE
and that the ARRL (who has always published QST) is NOT a technical-
expertise source. Ed Armstrong's original patent on the
superheterodyne
can be found on the 'web in digitized image form. Takes some
searching.

The word prefix 'super' generally refers to something 'better' than
the word
without that prefix. Armstrong got a patent for the regenerative
detector, He
also got a patent for a SUPER-Regenerative detector.

Think also SUPERman. 'Mercado' has already been mentioned, but folks
have neglected the MARKET...which expanded into SUPERmarket, generally
a chain of them under one label or another.

73, Len AF6AY
ex-ARRL member (for good reason)

Phil Allison April 21st 09 06:05 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 

"AF6AY"


Everyone ought to realize that "Wikipedia" data can be written by
ANYONE


** As are NG posts.

The difference being that Wikis are full of checkable references and are
subject to on-going correction.


The word prefix 'super' generally refers to something 'better' than
the word without that prefix.



** So this radio ham clot has no idea what the origin of the term is really
is ( although it has been posted) and is making the classic ****wit
BLUNDER of trying to de-cipher the meaning from the word alone.



Think also SUPERman.


** And supercilious.


73, Len AF6AY
ex-ARRL member (for good reason)



** Lunatics like Len are not welcome as members ?



...... Phil



Greegor April 21st 09 07:02 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
What specifically are your complaints with this Wiki ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver

Superheterodyne receiver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help
improve this article by adding reliable references (ideally, using
inline citations). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
(December 2008)

A 5-tubes superhet receiver made in Japan about 1955.In electronics,
the superheterodyne receiver (also known as the supersonic heterodyne
receiver, or by the abbreviated form superhet) is a receiver which
uses the principle of frequency mixing or heterodyning to convert the
received signal to a lower (sometimes higher) "intermediate"
frequency, which can be more conveniently processed than the original
carrier frequency. Virtually all modern radio and TV receivers use the
Superheterodyne principle.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Overview
3 Design and its evolution
4 Drawbacks
4.1 High-side and low-side injection
4.2 Image Frequency (fimage)
4.3 Local oscillator radiation
4.4 Local oscillator sideband noise
5 See also
6 References
7 Footnotes
8 External links



[edit] History

Two section variable capacitor, used in superhet receiverThe word
heterodyne is derived from the Greek roots hetero- "different", and -
dyne "power". The original heterodyne technique was pioneered by
Canadian inventor-engineer Reginald Fessenden but was not pursued far
because local oscillators were not very stable at the time.[1]

Later, the superheterodyne (superhet) principle was conceived in 1918
by Edwin Armstrong during World War I, as a means of overcoming the
deficiencies of early vacuum triodes used as high-frequency amplifiers
in radio direction finding (RDF) equipment. Unlike simple radio
communication, which only needs to make transmitted signals audible,
RDF requires actual measurements of received signal strength, which
necessitates linear amplification of the actual carrier wave.

In a triode RF amplifier, if both the plate and grid are connected to
resonant circuits tuned to the same frequency, stray capacitive
coupling between the grid and the plate will cause the amplifier to go
into oscillation if the stage gain is much more than unity. In early
designs, dozens (in some cases over 100) low-gain triode stages had to
be connected in cascade to make workable equipment, which drew
enormous amounts of power in operation and required a team of
maintenance engineers. The strategic value was so high, however, that
the British Admiralty felt the high cost was justified.

Armstrong had realized that if RDF could be operated at a higher
frequency, it would allow detection of enemy shipping much more
effectively, but at the time, no practical "short wave" amplifier
existed, (defined then as any frequency above 500 kHz) due to the
limitations of triodes of the day.

A "heterodyne" refers a beat or "difference" frequency produced when
two or more radio frequency carrier waves are fed to a detector. The
term was originally coined by Canadian Engineer Reginald Fessenden
describing his proposed method of making Morse Code transmissions from
an Alexanderson alternator type transmitter audible. With the Spark
gap transmitters then in wide use, the Morse Code signal consisted of
short bursts of a heavily modulated carrier wave which could be
clearly heard as a series of short chirps or buzzes in the receiver's
headphones.

The signal from an Alexanderson Alternator on the other hand, did not
have any such inherent modulation and Morse Code from one of those
would only be heard as a series of clicks or thumps. Fessenden's idea
was to run two Alexanderson Alternators, one producing a carrier
frequency 3kHz higher than the other. In the receiver's detector the
two carriers would beat together to produce a 3kHz tone and so in the
headphones the morse signals would then be heard as a series of 3kHz
beeps. For this he coined the term "heterodyne" meaning "Generated by
a Difference" (in frequency).

Later, when vacuum triodes became available, the same result could be
achieved more conveniently by incorporating a "local oscillator" in
the receiver, which became known as a "Beat Frequency Oscillator" or
BFO. As the BFO frequency was varied, the pitch of the heterodyne
could be heard to vary with it. If the frequences were too far apart
the heterodyne became supersonic and hence no longert audible.

It had been noticed some time before that if a regenerative receiver
was allowed to go into oscillation, other receivers nearby would
suddenly start picking up stations on frequencies different from those
that the stations were actually transmitted on. Armstrong (and others)
eventually deduced that this was caused by a "supersonic heterodyne"
between the station's carrier frequency and the oscillator frequency.
Thus, for example, if a station was transmitting on 300 kHz and the
oscillating receiver was set to 400 kHz, the station would be heard
not only at the original 300 kHz, but also at 100 kHz and 700 kHz.

Armstrong realized that this was a potential solution to the "short
wave" amplification problem, since the beat frequency still retained
its original moduation, but on a lower carrier frequency. To monitor a
frequency of 1500 kHz for example, he could set up an oscillator to
say, 1560 kHz, which would produce a heterodyne of 60kHz, a frequency
that could then be much more conveniently amplified by the triodes of
the day. He termed this the "Intermediate Frequency" often abbreviated
to "IF"

Early Superheterodyne receivers actually used IFs as low as 20 kHz,
often based around the self-resonance of iron-cored transformers. This
made them extremely susceptible to image frequency interference, but
at the time, the main objective was sensitivity rather than
selectivity. Using this technique, a small number triodes could be
made to do work that formerly required dozens or even hundreds.

1920s commercial IF transformers actually look very similar to 1920s
audio interstage coupling transformers, and were wired up in an almost
identical manner. By the mid-1930s superhets were using much higher
intermediate frequencies, (typically around 440-470kHz), using tuned
coils very similar in construction to the aerial and oscillator coils.
However the term "Intermediate Frequency Transformer" or "IFT" still
persists to this day.

Modern receivers typically use a mixture of Ceramic Filters and/or Saw
Resonators as well as traditional tuned-inductor IF transformers

Armstrong was able to put his ideas into practice quite quickly, and
the technique was rapidly adopted by the military. However, it was
less popular when commercial radio broadcasting began in the 1920s.
There were many factors involved,but the main issues were the need for
an extra tube for the oscillator, the generally higher cost of the
receiver, and the level of technical skill required to operate it. For
early domestic radios, Tuned RFs ("TRF"), also called the Neutrodyne,
were much more popular because they were cheaper, easier for a non-
technical owner to use, and less costly to operate. Armstrong
eventually sold his superheterodyne patent to Westinghouse, who then
sold it to RCA, the latter monopolizing the market for superheterodyne
receivers until 1930.[2]

By the 1930s, improvements in vacuum tube technology rapidly eroded
the TRF receiver's cost advantages, and the explosion in the number of
broadcasting stations created a demand for cheaper, higher-performance
receivers.

First, the development of practical indirectly-heated-cathode tubes
allowed the mixer and oscillator functions to be combined in a single
Pentode tube, in the so-called Autodyne mixer. This was rapidly
followed by the introduction of low-cost multi-element tubes
specifically designed for superheterodyne operation. These allowed the
use of much higher Intermediate Frequencies (typically around
440-470kHz) which eliminated the problem of image frequency
interference. By the mid-30s, for commercial receiver production the
TRF technique was obsolete.

The superheterodyne principle was eventually taken up for virtually
all commercial radio and TV designs.


[edit] Overview
The superhet receiver consists of three principle parts, the local
oscillator, a mixer that mixes the local oscillator's signal with the
received signal, and a tuned amplifier.

Reception starts with an antenna signal, optionally amplified,
including the frequency the user wishes to tune, fd. The local
oscillator is tuned to produce a frequency close to fd, fLO. The
received signal is mixed with the local oscillator's, producing four
frequencies in the output; the original signal, the original fLO, and
the two new frequencies fd+fLO and fd-fLO. The output signal also
generally contains a number of undesirable mixtures as well. (These
are 3rd- and higher-order intermodulation products. If the mixing were
performed as a pure, ideal multiplication, the original fd and fLO
would also not appear; in practice they do appear because mixing is
done by a nonlinear process that only approximates true ideal
multiplication.)

The amplifier portion of the system is tuned to be highly selective at
a single frequency, fIF. By changing fLO, the resulting fd-fLO (or fd
+fLO) signal can be tuned to the amplifier's fIF. In typical amplitude
modulation ("AM radio" in the U.S., or MW) receivers, that frequency
is 455 kHz; for FM receivers, it is usually 10.7 MHz; for television,
45 MHz. Other signals from the mixed output of the heterodyne are
filtered out by the amplifier.


[edit] Design and its evolution
The diagram below shows the basic elements of a single conversion
superhet receiver. The essential elements of a local oscillator and a
mixer followed by a fixed-tuned filter and IF amplifier are common to
all superhet circuits. Cost-optimized designs may use one active
device for both local oscillator and mixer--this is sometimes called a
"converter" stage. One such example is the pentagrid converter.


The advantage to this method is that most of the radio's signal path
has to be sensitive to only a narrow range of frequencies. Only the
front end (the part before the frequency converter stage) needs to be
sensitive to a wide frequency range. For example, the front end might
need to be sensitive to 1-30 MHz, while the rest of the radio might
need to be sensitive only to 455 kHz, a typical IF. Only one or two
tuned stages need to be adjusted to track over the tuning range of the
receiver; all the intermediate-frequency stages operate at a fixed
frequency which need not be adjusted.

To overcome obstacles such as image response, multiple IF stages are
used, and in some case multiple stages with two IFs of different
values. For example, the front end might be sensitive to 1-30 MHz, the
first half of the radio to 5 MHz, and the last half to 50 kHz. Two
frequency converters would be used, and the radio would be a "Double
Conversion Super Heterodyne"--a common example is a television receiver
where the audio information is obtained from a second stage of
intermediate frequency conversion. Occasionally special-purpose
receivers will use an intermediate frequency much higher than the
signal, in order to obtain very high image rejection.

Superheterodyne receivers have superior characteristics to simpler
receiver types in frequency stability and selectivity. They offer much
better stability than Tuned radio frequency receivers (TRF) because a
tuneable oscillator is more easily stabilized than a tuneable
amplifier, especially with modern frequency synthesizer technology. IF
filters can give much narrower passbands at the same Q factor than an
equivalent RF filter. A fixed IF also allows the use of a crystal
filter when exceptionally high selectivity is necessary. Regenerative
and super-regenerative receivers offer better sensitivity than a TRF
receiver, but suffer from stability and selectivity problems.

In the case of modern television receivers, no other technique was
able to produce the precise bandpass characteristic needed for
vestigial sideband reception, first used with the original NTSC system
introduced in 1941. This originally involved a complex collection of
tuneable inductors which needed careful adjustment, but since the
early 1980s these have been replaced with precision electromechanical
surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters. Fabricated by precision laser
milling techniques, SAW filters are much cheaper to produce, can be
made to extremely close tolerances, and are extremely stable in
operation.

Microprocessor technology allows replacing the superheterodyne
receiver design by a software defined radio architecture, where the IF
processing after the initial IF filter is implemented in software.
This technique is already in use in certain designs, such as very low
cost FM radios incorporated into mobile phones where the necessary
microprocessor is already present in the system.

Radio transmitters may also use a mixer stage to produce an output
frequency, working more or less as the reverse of a superheterodyne
receiver.


[edit] Drawbacks
Drawbacks to the superheterodyne receiver include interference from
signal frequencies close to the intermediate frequency. To prevent
this, IF frequencies are generally controlled by regulatory
authorities, and this is the reason most receivers use common IFs.
Examples are 455 kHz for AM radio, 10.7 MHz for FM, and 38.9 MHz
(Europe) 45 MHz (US) for television.

(For AM radio, a variety of IFs have been used, but most of the
Western World settled on 455kHz, in large part because of the almost
universal transition to Japanese-made ceramic resonators which used
the US standard of 455kHz. In more recent digitally tuned receivers,
this was changed to 450kHz as this figure simplifies the design of the
synthesizer circuitry).

Additionally, in urban environments with many strong signals, the
signals from multiple transmitters may combine in the mixer stage to
interfere with the desired signal.


[edit] High-side and low-side injection
The amount that a signal is down-shifted by the local oscillator
depends on whether its frequency f is higher or lower than fLO. That
is because its new frequency is |f - fLO| in either case. Therefore,
there are potentially two signals that could both shift to the same
fIF one at f = fLO + fIF and another at f = fLO - fIF. One or the
other of those signals, called the image frequency, has to be filtered
out prior to the mixer to avoid aliasing. When the upper one is
filtered out, it is called high-side injection, because fLO is above
the frequency of the received signal. The other case is called low-
side injection. High-side injection also reverses the order of a
signal's frequency components. Whether or not that actually changes
the signal depends on whether it has spectral symmetry or not. The
reversal can be undone later in the receiver, if necessary.


[edit] Image Frequency (fimage)
One major disadvantage to the superheterodyne receiver is the problem
of image frequency. In heterodyne receivers, an image frequency is an
undesired input frequency equal to the station frequency plus twice
the intermediate frequency. The image frequency results in two
stations being received at the same time, thus producing interference.
Image frequencies can be eliminated by sufficient attenuation on the
incoming signal by the RF amplifier filter of the superheterodyne
receiver.


Early Autodyne receivers typically used IFs of only 150kHz or so, as
it was difficult to maintain reliable oscillation if higher
frequencies were used. As a consequence, most Autodyne receivers
needed quite elaborate antenna tuning networks, often involving double-
tuned coils, to avoid image interference. Later superhets used tubes
especialy designed for oscillator/mixer use, which were able work
reliably with much higher IFs, reducing th eproblem of image
interference and so allowing simpler and cheaper aerial tuning
circuitry.





[edit] Local oscillator radiation
It is difficult to keep stray radiation from the local oscillator
below the level that a nearby receiver can detect. This means that
there can be mutual interference in the operation of two or more
superheterodyne receivers in close proximity. In espionage, oscillator
radiation gives a means to detect a covert receiver and its operating
frequency.

Further information: Electromagnetic compatibility

[edit] Local oscillator sideband noise
Local oscillators typically generate a single frequency signal that
has negligible amplitude modulation but some random phase modulation.
Either of these impurities spreads some of the signal's energy into
sideband frequencies. That causes a corresponding widening of the
receiver's frequency response, which would defeat the aim to make a
very narrow bandwidth receiver such as to receive low-rate digital
signals. Care needs to be taken to minimize osicllator phase noise,
usually by ensuring that the oscillator never enters a non-linear
mode.

Phil Allison April 21st 09 07:35 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 

"Greegor"

What specifically are your complaints with this Wiki ?



** What a ****ing stupid thing to do - post an entire bloody 180KB Wiki
!!!

Even worse, the post is nor directed to anyone.

Greegor = MORON !!



...... Phil




Robert Baer April 21st 09 09:01 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
Joerg wrote:

John Larkin wrote:

On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:36:12 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Tim Shoppa wrote:

A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

If you want to file a new patent for old stuff you could try
subheterodyne and it just might sail through :-)

Oh wait, call it hyperheterodyne, has more glitz. Just like the
supermercados in Spain.




I meant hypermercados :-)


I think we're going to be doing a superhet receiver soon. Maybe we'll
do it in an FPGA!


How'd you do the preamp in there?

Bit shift?

TheM April 21st 09 01:24 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
"Robert Baer" wrote in message net...
Joerg wrote:

John Larkin wrote:

On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:36:12 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Tim Shoppa wrote:

A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

If you want to file a new patent for old stuff you could try subheterodyne and it just might sail through :-)

Oh wait, call it hyperheterodyne, has more glitz. Just like the supermercados in Spain.



I meant hypermercados :-)


I think we're going to be doing a superhet receiver soon. Maybe we'll
do it in an FPGA!


How'd you do the preamp in there?

Bit shift?


Yes, but 2x zero is still zero... :)

M



Tim Shoppa April 21st 09 01:34 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 21, 1:05*am, "Phil Allison" wrote:
"AF6AY"

Everyone ought to realize that "Wikipedia" data can be written by
ANYONE


** As are NG posts.

The difference being that Wikis are full of checkable references and are
subject to on-going correction.


The best Wikipedia articles are often filled with good checkable
references, but other times it sounds like they were written in a
foreign language and translated into English and have few (if any)
good references.

Just because a Wikipedia entry isn't well-written or sounds awkward
doesn't mean it's wrong, but I will often reject what I don't like in
the poorly written ones.

Somewhere there's a bunch of people who spend their time correcting
and improving Wikipedia entries, and I think overall they are doing a
good job, but that doesn't mean the result is always devoted to my
interests. Just like anything else in this world, it's got workers and
it's got managers and they aren't always devoting their attention to
the little corners of arcania that I live in.

It's not that the Encyclopedia Britannica is perfect either. I can
open it up to the very few subjects that I happen to be expert on and
find over-simplifications and a lack of cites to what I consider to be
the best references. That doesn't mean it's out-and-out wrong, just
that it's an Encyclopedia, and by definition they can't do anything
but touch on the surface of all the interesting stuff in the world.

Of course in academia I got real used to opening a journal and instead
of reading the articles, to go straight to the references and see if
they are quoting one of my articles :-). Breadth vs specialization,
can't pick them both.

Tim.

Phil Allison April 21st 09 01:49 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 

"Tim Shoppa"
"Phil Allison"

Everyone ought to realize that "Wikipedia" data can be written by
ANYONE


** As are NG posts.

The difference being that Wikis are full of checkable references and are
subject to on-going correction.


The best Wikipedia articles are often filled with good checkable
references, but other times it sounds like they were written in a
foreign language and translated into English

** Only indicates your lack of comprehension.


Just because a Wikipedia entry isn't well-written or sounds awkward

** You are irrationally obsessed with style over content.

Mostly likely because you cannot comprehend the content.


Somewhere there's a bunch of people who spend their time correcting
and improving Wikipedia entries, and I think overall they are doing a
good job, but that doesn't mean the result is always devoted to my
interests.

** What a revolting, pompous little narcissist you are - Tim.


Just like anything else in this world, it's got workers and
it's got managers and they aren't always devoting their attention to
the little corners of arcania that I live in.


** I was much too kind earlier ....


It's not that the Encyclopedia Britannica is perfect either. I can
open it up to the very few subjects that I happen to be expert on and
find over-simplifications and a lack of cites to what I consider to be
the best references.

** Mere narcissism has just turned into full blown ego-mania.


Of course in academia I got real used to opening a journal and instead
of reading the articles, to go straight to the references and see if
they are quoting one of my articles :-).


** Wot a nauseating computer geek puke.



....... Phil



Tim Shoppa April 21st 09 02:23 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 21, 2:02*am, Greegor wrote:
What specifically are your complaints with this Wiki ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver


A 180 Kbyte article about a technology developed in the 1910's, yet
the oldest reference is to a textbook from 1996 aimed at freshman or
sophomore EE students of the 90's. More original references would have
gone a long way, especially to the patents and journals of the 1910's
and 1920's.

Don't get me wrong, it's a kinda nice textbook that they reference, as
I realize that by the 90's many EE programs had been so entirely taken
over by VLSI and CAD techniques and the particular textbook fills a
very important niche in education. It isn't the textbook that I
learned about radio from but I see how it fits the modern times well.
(I prefer Terman or Clarke&Hess but those guys weren't around in 1918
either.).

A smaller point, is that the language sounds a lot like it was written
in a language other than English and then translated. In principle
this isn't fundamentally bad, it's just that a lot of the terminology
used sounds very awkward. I think that's fine if they reference 80
year old patents using the same language, but they don't.

Tim.

Tim Shoppa April 21st 09 02:26 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 21, 8:49*am, "Phil Allison" wrote:
** *Only indicates your lack of comprehension.
** You are irrationally obsessed with style over content.
** What a revolting, pompous little narcissist you are *- *Tim.
** *I was much too kind earlier ....
** *Mere narcissism has just turned into full blown ego-mania.
** *Wot a nauseating computer geek puke.


There's a thin line between ignorance and arrogance, Phil. I have
erased that line.

Tim.

mikea April 21st 09 02:27 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
In rec.radio.amateur.homebrew Phil Allison wrote:

"AF6AY"


Everyone ought to realize that "Wikipedia" data can be written by
ANYONE


** As are NG posts.

The difference being that Wikis are full of checkable references and are
subject to on-going correction.


The word prefix 'super' generally refers to something 'better' than
the word without that prefix.



** So this radio ham clot has no idea what the origin of the term is really
is ( although it has been posted) and is making the classic ****wit
BLUNDER of trying to de-cipher the meaning from the word alone.



Think also SUPERman.


** And supercilious.


73, Len AF6AY
ex-ARRL member (for good reason)



** Lunatics like Len are not welcome as members ?


Killfile, Phil. Phil, killfile.

--
Mike Andrews, W5EGO

Tired old sysadmin

Mike Silva April 21st 09 03:00 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 20, 12:50*pm, Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

Tim N3QE


Remember that his previous receiver invention, the regenerative
detector, would produce an audible heterodyne when used in the
oscillating-detector mode (for reception of CW, not AM signals). So
it would make sense for him to think of his new principle as producing
a supersonic heterodyne (IIRC around 50kHz or so).

And then there's the super regenerative detector, a regenerative
detector which is driven into and out of oscillation at (typically) a
supersonic frequency.

Mike

Rich Grise April 21st 09 08:39 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:02:59 -0700, Greegor wrote:

A 5-tubes superhet receiver made in Japan about 1955.


Notwithstanding I didn't see this line at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver ,
when I was a kid, we had an "All-American Five" WELL before 1955.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_American_Five

Hope This Helps!
Rich


AF6AY April 21st 09 10:46 PM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
On Apr 21, 5:34�am, Tim Shoppa wrote:
On Apr 21, 1:05�am, "Phil Allison" wrote:

"AF6AY"


Everyone ought to realize that "Wikipedia" data can be written by
ANYONE


** As are NG posts.


The difference being that Wikis are full of checkable references and are
subject to on-going correction.


The best Wikipedia articles are often filled with good checkable
references, but other times it sounds like they were written in a
foreign language and translated into English and have few (if any)
good references.


One can write just about anything so that it looks good and
authentic. :-)

There is plenty of rather authentic information on Edward Howard
Armstrong, including scans of Armstrong's patents.

As to the words "supersonic" and "subsonic" I doubt that those were
coined
prior to around 1930, rather long after the superheterodyne came into
being as the very model of a modern major receiver structure.

Argument over the 'super' prefix/designator would come a cropper on
things
like the super-regenerative receiver which use a sort of burst
oscillation at
frequencies quite higher than young adult hearing maximum of 15 KHz,
i.e., "supersonic" in terms of frequency. In aerospace, "supersonic"
is a term for going faster than the speed of sound.

As to "typically converting the signal frequency below the range of
tuning," that WAS true but it applies only to most superhets that were
designed prior to WWII (at least 60 years ago). Those mixers used
only the difference frequency output while the sum frequency output
just dissipated internally. That changed with UP-conversion, notably
in Collins Radio designs for their lowest selectable bands, then in
the first wideband spectrum analyzers covering a full GHz in one
sweep. Those early spectrum analyzers would up-convert 0 to 1 GHz to
a 2 GHz first IF, then down-convert from there. 2 GHz is so far above
'supersonic' that it would be a misuse of it.

Somewhere there's a bunch of people who spend their time correcting
and improving Wikipedia entries, and I think overall they are doing a
good job, but that doesn't mean the result is always devoted to my
interests. Just like anything else in this world, it's got workers and
it's got managers and they aren't always devoting their attention to
the little corners of arcania that I live in.


There's also a lot more folks who just vent their frustrations on
everyone else, such as Phil Allison (who's profile can't be accessed
because he violated the Terms of Service on Google).

As to the ORIGIN of technical terms, speaking as a lifetime engineer
and technician and worker IN engineering, it matters little as to
etymology but a great deal more on the SUBJECT the word is referring
to.

If anyone wants to think "supersonic" applied in 1918 to anything at
all, then they are welcome to point out the "supersonic" aircraft of
that time...made of pieces of steel, wood, wire, and fabric. :-) It
was a long time between 1918 and 1947 when the first aircraft broke
the 'sound barrier' (Bell X-1 piloted by Chuck Yeager).

73, Len AF6AY


ken scharf April 22nd 09 12:14 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
Jean-Christophe wrote:
On Apr 20, 5:50 pm, Tim Shoppa wrote:
A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?
Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).
Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..


A superheterodyne can be Supradyne or Infradyne,
depending of the IF against the RF.

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).


I don't superthink so.

There was a type of circuit called the 'heterodyne', which is actually
just a direct conversion receiver. Adding the IF stage made it a
'super' heterodyne.

Also remember the 'super-regenerative' circuit? That was an improvement
over the regenerative receiver in that feedback could be increased past
the self oscillation point to get even more gain via the use of a
supersonic quench oscillator. So maybe the prefex DOES refer to supersonic.

ken scharf April 22nd 09 12:22 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
P
Is there a Subheterodyne?


** No.

But if you wind your tickler coil bass-ackwards you end up
with a degenerative receiver circuit.

Phil Allison April 22nd 09 01:35 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 

"AF6AY" = radio ham nutter


One can write just about anything so that it looks good and
authentic. :-)

** Shame how that leaves this retarded old ham out in the cold.


As to the words "supersonic" and "subsonic" I doubt that those were
coined prior to around 1930,


** So the clot has no idea what terms were in use back then at all - but
it suits him to pretend that he knows.

What a hee-hawing bloody ASS.




....... Phil





Joerg April 22nd 09 01:38 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 
TheM wrote:
"Robert Baer" wrote in message net...
Joerg wrote:

John Larkin wrote:

On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:36:12 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

Tim Shoppa wrote:

A terminology question I suppose about the derivation of the term
"Superheterodyne" more than anything else:

Does the "Super" actually mean anything? Is there a Subheterodyne?

Traditionally superhets mix a higher radio frequency down to a lower
IF frequency, but certainly in the past few decades radios with IF's
above the RF frequency have become very common in broadband
applications, and those are still called superhets, not subhets :-).

Google turns up a couple hits on subheterodyne but other than one that
might mean "IF higher in frequency than RF" I don't recognize what
they mean..

I suspect that "Super" was more a marketing term than anything
else :-).

If you want to file a new patent for old stuff you could try subheterodyne and it just might sail through :-)

Oh wait, call it hyperheterodyne, has more glitz. Just like the supermercados in Spain.

I meant hypermercados :-)


I think we're going to be doing a superhet receiver soon. Maybe we'll
do it in an FPGA!

How'd you do the preamp in there?

Bit shift?


Yes, but 2x zero is still zero... :)

M


.... +/-3dB.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

"gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam.
Use another domain or send PM.

Phil Allison April 22nd 09 01:43 AM

If Superheterodyne, why not Subheterodyne?
 

"Tim Shoppa the ****** "
Greegor the Geek
What specifically are your complaints with this Wiki ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver


A 180 Kbyte article about a technology developed in the 1910's,

** Irrelevant when it was first developed - cos it is still current tech.

The article is not pretending to be being a history lesson.


A smaller point, is that the language sounds a lot like it was written
in a language other than English and then translated.


** That is an utterly absurd idea.

Smacks of paranoid schizophrenia.

Shoppa has completely lost it.



...... Phil



Phil Allison April 22nd 09 01:54 AM

Tim Shoppa the Shithead Troll
 
"Tim Shoppa the ****head Troll "


Everyone ought to realize that "Wikipedia" data can be written by
ANYONE


** As are NG posts.

The difference being that Wikis are full of checkable references and are
subject to on-going correction.


The best Wikipedia articles are often filled with good checkable
references, but other times it sounds like they were written in a
foreign language and translated into English

** Only indicates your lack of comprehension.


Just because a Wikipedia entry isn't well-written or sounds awkward

** You are irrationally obsessed with style over content.

Mostly likely because you cannot comprehend the content.


Somewhere there's a bunch of people who spend their time correcting
and improving Wikipedia entries, and I think overall they are doing a
good job, but that doesn't mean the result is always devoted to my
interests.

** What a revolting, pompous little narcissist you are - Tim.


Just like anything else in this world, it's got workers and
it's got managers and they aren't always devoting their attention to
the little corners of arcania that I live in.


** I was much too kind earlier ....


It's not that the Encyclopedia Britannica is perfect either. I can
open it up to the very few subjects that I happen to be expert on and
find over-simplifications and a lack of cites to what I consider to be
the best references.

** Mere narcissism has just turned into full blown ego-mania.


Of course in academia I got real used to opening a journal and instead
of reading the articles, to go straight to the references and see if
they are quoting one of my articles :-).


** Wot a nauseating computer geek puke.



....... Phil




Tim Shoppa April 22nd 09 02:47 AM

Tim Shoppa the Shithead Troll
 
On Apr 21, 5:54*pm, "Phil Allison" wrote:
** *Only indicates your lack of comprehension.
** You are irrationally obsessed with style over content.
** What a revolting, pompous little narcissist you are *-
** *I was much too kind earlier ....
** *Mere narcissism has just turned into full blown ego-mania.
** Wot a nauseating computer geek puke.


There is a thin line between ignorance and arrogance, Phil. I have
erased that line!

Tim.

Phil Allison April 22nd 09 03:03 AM

Tim Shoppa the Autistic Troll
 

"Tim Shoppa = Autistic Troll "


The best Wikipedia articles are often filled with good checkable
references, but other times it sounds like they were written in a
foreign language and translated into English

** Only indicates an autistic lack of comprehension.


Just because a Wikipedia entry isn't well-written or sounds awkward

** You are autistically obsessed with imaginary flaws in the writing.

Mostly likely because you have gone quite insane.


Somewhere there's a bunch of people who spend their time correcting
and improving Wikipedia entries, and I think overall they are doing a
good job, but that doesn't mean the result is always devoted to my
interests.

** What a revolting, pompous narcissistic pig you are - Tim.


Just like anything else in this world, it's got workers and
it's got managers and they aren't always devoting their attention to
the little corners of arcania that I live in.


** I was much too kind earlier ....


It's not that the Encyclopedia Britannica is perfect either. I can
open it up to the very few subjects that I happen to be expert on and
find over-simplifications and a lack of cites to what I consider to be
the best references.

** Mere narcissism has just turned into full blown, autistic ego-mania.


Of course in academia I got real used to opening a journal and instead
of reading the articles, to go straight to the references and see if
they are quoting one of my articles :-).


** Shoppa's self delusions have made him a legend in his own mind.

When all he really has become is " history ".



...... Phil






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