Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) is a complicated name for a simple technique. In the simplest of terms, Quadrature amplitude modulation is the combination of amplitude modulation and phase shift keying. More technically, quadrature amplitude modulation is a system of modulation in which data is transferred by modulating the amplitude of two separate carrier waves, mostly …
A breadboard is a thin rectangular piece of insulating material used to hold electronic components when making circuit prototypes. They have many rows and columns of conductive points for inserting component terminals and jumper wires. The original breadboards were just wooden boards, presumably used to cut bread on, but the modern versions have plastic cases …
C Band is the original frequency allocation for communications satellites. C-Band uses 3.7-4.2GHz for downlink and 5.925-6.425Ghz for uplink. The lower frequencies that C Band uses perform better under adverse weather conditions than the Ku band or Ka band frequencies. C Band Variants Slight C Band frequency variations are approved for use in various parts …
Voltage is the measurement for the electrical force between two points that drives the current. More specifically, voltage is the measure of the energy per unit charge that is equal to the electrical potential difference between two measured points. Volts are normally measured by a voltmeter. Voltage drop is the reduction in voltage in an …
An integrated circuit (IC), also called a microchip, is an electronic circuit etched onto a silicon chip. Their main advantages are low cost, low power, high performance, and very small size. History The integrated circuit was invented in 1958 by Jack Kirby (1923-2005), an American engineer. In 2000, he won the Nobel prize in physics …
A speaker is a device that converts electrical signals into actual sound. Speakers accomplish this by using a magnetic reader or antenna to receive an electrical signal from a radio station or magnetic storage device. The magnetic reader is then connected via a wire to an electromagnet that can be turned on and off in …
A Chebyshev filter can either be analog or digital, and is an improvement on the Butterworth filter as it has a steeper roll-off and a greater passband and stopband ripple. These filters minimize overall error between actual and idealized filter characteristics for the designed range of the filter. The filter was named after Pafnuty Chebyshev, …
Pulse position modulation is a signal modulation technique that allows computers to share data by measuring the time each data packet takes to reach the computer. It is often used in optical communication, such as fiber optics, in which there is little multi-pathway interference. Pulse position modulation exclusively transfers digital signals and cannot be used …
An electrical shunt is a component used to transfer currents away from parts of a circuit. Components used as shunts include the resistor, capacitor, diode, and gas discharge tube. The main uses for electrical shunts are to reduce current load in meters, filter out high frequencies, and protect circuits from surges. The term shunt is …
MURS, or the Multi-Use Radio Service, is a public radio service created by the FCC in the Fall of 2000 that can be accessed by any individual for personal or business-related purpose. MURS was created for the general public to use without acquiring a license to broadcast, but requires that users remain within the frequencies …