BasicB-003-012-002
What may happen if an SSB transmitter is operated with too much speech processing?
D
Answer
Basic radio theory
Type
A
It may cause insufficient modulation of the carrier
B
It may cause interference to other stations operating on a higher frequency band
C
It may cause digital interference to computer equipment
D
It may cause audio distortion or splatter interference to other stations operating near its frequency
Answer Notes
Speech processing is used to increase the average power of a voice signal, making it sound louder and more readable under poor conditions. However, applying excessive speech processing severely clips the audio waveform.
Just like setting the microphone gain too high, this excessive clipping drives the transmitter's amplifier into its non-linear range. This creates intermodulation distortion products, commonly referred to as "splatter."
The resulting splatter widens the signal bandwidth and spills over into adjacent frequencies. This results in severe audio distortion for the receiving station and interferes with other operators nearby on the dial.
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What is the term for the average power during one RF cycle, at the crest of the modulation envelope?