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Subelement E8
SIGNALS AND EMISSIONS
Section E8C
Digital signals: digital communications modes; CW; information rate vs. bandwidth; spread-spectrum communications; modulation methods
Which one of the following digital codes consists of elements having unequal length?
  • ASCII
  • AX.25
  • Baudot
  • Correct Answer
    Morse code

There are disagreements as to the use of the term "digital" in this context, but don't be thrown off by thinking that the only time you can use "digital" is referring to computers.

Essentially the argument is that "digital" indicates two basic states; on and off. Whether you agree with this definition or not, the only one here that could be arguably digital but still has unequal lengths (longer or shorter tone for the "dit" or "dah") is morse code.

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What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?
  • Baudot uses four data bits per character, ASCII uses seven or eight; Baudot uses one character as a shift code, ASCII has no shift code
  • Correct Answer
    Baudot uses five data bits per character, ASCII uses seven or eight; Baudot uses two characters as shift codes, ASCII has no shift code
  • Baudot uses six data bits per character, ASCII uses seven or eight; Baudot has no shift code, ASCII uses two characters as shift codes
  • Baudot uses seven data bits per character, ASCII uses eight; Baudot has no shift code, ASCII uses two characters as shift codes

Baudot uses five data bits per character, ASCII uses seven or eight; Baudot uses two characters as shift codes, ASCII has no shift code.

More information can be found below:

ASCII

Baudot

Hint: Baudot is a five-bit code. Only one answer has this.

One Word Key "5".

\(2^5 = 32\) is the smallest size to represent 26 letters.

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What is one advantage of using the ASCII code for data communications?
  • It includes built-in error-correction features
  • It contains fewer information bits per character than any other code
  • Correct Answer
    It is possible to transmit both upper and lower case text
  • It uses one character as a shift code to send numeric and special characters

ASCII, or "American Standard Code for Information Interchange" uses numbers in place of all characters, both uppercase and lowercase.

65-90 are A-Z, 97-122 are a-z

ASCII is an 8-bit code providing a potential for 256 possible characters. As such, it does not require a shift code.

In contrast, BAUDOT code is a 5-bit code only allowing 32 possible combinations. BAUDOT therefore can only support upper case letters.

To see more info visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudot_code

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What technique is used to minimize the bandwidth requirements of a PSK31 signal?
  • Zero-sum character encoding
  • Reed-Solomon character encoding
  • Correct Answer
    Use of sinusoidal data pulses
  • Use of trapezoidal data pulses
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What is the necessary bandwidth of a 13-WPM international Morse code transmission?
  • Approximately 13 Hz
  • Approximately 26 Hz
  • Correct Answer
    Approximately 52 Hz
  • Approximately 104 Hz

Given:
CW Words Per Minute (WPMCW) = 13

What is the necessary bandwidth (BW) for this transmission?

For a CW transmission, remember:
Bandwidth (BWCW) ≈ 4 Hz * WPMCW

So in this case:
BWCW ≈ 4 Hz * 13 WPM
BWCW52 Hz

Test tip: To remind yourself that you must multiply by FOUR to calculate bandwidth in HERTZ from WORDS Per Minute of CW...just think,
"Four letter words hertz."

It may also help to remember that in a deck of cards there are 13 cards in each suit and 4 suits for 52 total cards.

Yet another way to remember it is that morse code is just 2 symbols, dot and dash, and a good rule of thumb from the General exam is to stay at least an extra bandwidth away from the edge of the band. Two doubled is 4!

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What is the necessary bandwidth of a 170-hertz shift, 300-baud ASCII transmission?
  • 0.1 Hz
  • 0.3 kHz
  • Correct Answer
    0.5 kHz
  • 1.0 kHz

The necessary bandwidth of a 170-hertz shift, 300-baud ASCII transmission is 0.5 kHz.


The ARRL Extra Class License manual states: bandwidth (BW) is:

\[\text{BW}_{(\text{Hertz})} = (K \times \text{shift}) + B\]

where:

  • \(K = 1.2\) (an estimated empirical factor)
  • \(B\) = baud, or symbol rate.

Therefore, \begin{align} \text{BW} &= (1.2 \times 170\text{ Hz}) + 300\text{ baud}\\ &= 504\text{ Hz}\\ &\approx 0.5\text{ kHz} \end{align}

Hint1: It's the only answer that has a number not in the question, "5".

Hint2: 'shift' to the number not in the question :)

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What is the necessary bandwidth of a 4800-Hz frequency shift, 9600-baud ASCII FM transmission?
  • Correct Answer
    15.36 kHz
  • 9.6 kHz
  • 4.8 kHz
  • 5.76 kHz

Given:
Frequency Shift = 4800 Hz
Transmission Rate = 9600 baud

What is the necessary bandwidth (BW)?

Remember:
Keying (\(K\)) should be 1.2 for most amateur radio purposes

\begin{align} \text{BW} &= (K \cdot \text{shift}) + \text{baud rate}\\ &=( 1.2 \cdot 4800\text{ Hz} ) + 9600\\ &= 15,360\text{ Hz}\\ &= 15.36\text{ kHz} \end{align}

** Test Tip - '4800' and '9600' consist of 4 digits. The answer is the only choice containing 4 digits '15.36'.

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What term describes a wide-bandwidth communications system in which the transmitted carrier frequency varies according to some predetermined sequence?
  • Amplitude compandored single sideband
  • AMTOR
  • Time-domain frequency modulation
  • Correct Answer
    Spread-spectrum communication

AS PER wikipedia, spread-spectrum techniques are methods by which a signal (e.g. an electrical, electromagnetic, or acoustic signal) generated with a particular bandwidth is deliberately spread in the frequency domain, resulting in a signal with a wider bandwidth.

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Which of these techniques causes a digital signal to appear as wide-band noise to a conventional receiver?
  • Correct Answer
    Spread-spectrum
  • Independent sideband
  • Regenerative detection
  • Exponential addition
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What spread-spectrum communications technique alters the center frequency of a conventional carrier many times per second in accordance with a pseudo-random list of channels?
  • Correct Answer
    Frequency hopping
  • Direct sequence
  • Time-domain frequency modulation
  • Frequency compandored spread-spectrum
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What spread-spectrum communications technique uses a high speed binary bit stream to shift the phase of an RF carrier?
  • Frequency hopping
  • Correct Answer
    Direct sequence
  • Binary phase-shift keying
  • Phase compandored spread-spectrum

In some respects, the best way to know the answer to this is to understand why each of the wrong answers can be eliminated.

In the case of any frequency hopping, there isn't a single RF carrier.

In binary phase-shift keying, there are only two (binary) phases used at all times, and the operation can only flip between one and the other as needed, so it can't support a high-speed bit stream.

In phase compandored spread spectrum, the process of phase companding takes place. That's a compression process, where the amount of phase variation of the original signal is compressed into a smaller phase range at the transmitter, then restored at the receiver. Naturally that means a lower bit rate is used to send a higher bit rate signal, but compression is not possible for all source signals without deliberately discarding data, so either phase compandored spread spectrum is lossy to achieve a given bit rate, or the bit rate must vary depending on the source data -- which doesn't directly eliminate phase compandored spread spectrum, but it does make it less probable than direct sequence spread spectrum.

In direct sequence spread spectrum, there is a single carrier, and more than two phase positions are used so that multiple bits can be represented at one time, and no compression is used, allowing for a high-speed bit stream at the full, raw rate required by the source signal.

Memory Trick: High-Speed to get there Directly

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What is the advantage of including a parity bit with an ASCII character stream?
  • Faster transmission rate
  • The signal can overpower interfering signals
  • Foreign language characters can be sent
  • Correct Answer
    Some types of errors can be detected

A true parity bit is a Single Error Detecting Code. It can detect when one bit has been changed, but conveys nothing about which bit. Parity is also a very simple error detecting code that provides rather poor characteristics at dealing with double errors and beyond.

Simple parity rules have to be agreed-upon by the sender and receiver. Typically, parity is either ignored or set to either an "ODD" or "EVEN" state. The state of the parity chosen for the communication tells the sender the format for how the parity bit will be computed and appended.

If ODD parity is selected, the transmitter will append a parity bit set so that the quantity of "Ones" in the transmission is an odd number.

If EVEN parity is selected, the transmitter will append a parity bit set so that the quantity of "Ones" in the transmission is an even number.

The receiver then independently computes parity for the received value and compares it to what it expects.

Example: ODD PARITY

7-byte value to be transmitted: 100100

This contains an EVEN number of 1's (there are two).

Sender appends a "1" as the parity bit, forcing the count to three (ODD number).

Transmitted value becomes: 1001001 (the right-most bit is the parity bit).

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What is one advantage of using JT-65 coding?
  • Uses only a 65 Hz bandwidth
  • Correct Answer
    The ability to decode signals which have a very low signal to noise ratio
  • Easily copied by ear if necessary
  • Permits fast-scan TV transmissions over narrow bandwidth

JT65 [...] is intended for extremely weak but slowly varying signals, such as those found on troposcatter or Earth-Moon-Earth (EME, or "moonbounce") paths. It can detect signals several dB underneath the noise floor [...] –Wikipedia

Note that the 65 doesn't have anything to do with the bandwidth, it's because the encoded messages are transmitted using MFSK with 65 tones.

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