single-sideband

detectors

I
The air is full of single-sideband signals
these days. Up and down the ham phone
bands, a-m holdouts can hear the donald-
duck chatter of their modern-minded co-
g horts QSOing away-squeezing every last
N
q decibel of usefulness from every watt-on
v

Howthe 2 sideband.
It doesn't take much to turn that chat-
a
*
ter into plain talk. Just a special detector
single-sideband signal 2 will do it. At least those guys with a-m sets
.-
- could listen.
is demodulated .ia The sideband operator already has that
0 special demodulator, built right into his
4
ssb receiver. It goes by many names, but
the one used most is single-sideband de-
tector. Other names come from the method
of operation. Product detector, heterodyne
detector, carrier-insertion detector, bfo de-
tector-are among the terms that describe
typical ssb demodulators.
The basics of a sideband detector are
simple. The signal your sideband receiver
picks up is nothing but one sideband of
some operating frequency. To recover the
voice modulation which created that side-
",
g band signal, you need a carrier for the
2 sideband to heterodyne with. (That's how

22 november 1968
an a-m detector works; the sidebands het- tion) at the same frequency as the i-f.
erodyne with their carrier i n a nonlinear Whatever its source, the fixed frequency is
detector-usually a diode.) fed to the demodulator system along with
A single-sideband signal has no carrier the sideband.
of its own; that was removed at the trans- You can see one oversimple system i n
mitter. So a carrier has to be added at the fig. 1A. (Don't bother copying i t though; it's
receiver. Then the carrier and sideband inefficient.) For distortion-free detection in
can be fed together through an ordinary any mixing-type ssb demodulator, the car-
diode detector, and the voice signal re- rier signal must be much stronger than the
covered. sideband signal. One way is to attenuate
The i-f amplifier is the best place to mix the sideband signal; that's why the vari-
the carrier and sideband signals. The fre- able attenuator is included.
quency there is always the same, no mat- The arrangement i n fig. 1 B is a little
ter what band is tuned in up front. A more effective. The improvement comes
single-sideband detector mixes the i-f side- from isolation provided by an amplifier be-
band signal with a signal at the frequency tween the carrier source and the mixer. The
the i-f carrier would be if there was one. amplifier also gives that needed boost to
The steady signal is then called the car- the carrier signal.

fig. 1. The slmplert principlas

of ssb demodulmtion. There is
no isolation between signals In
A; Isolation plus cerrler empli-
fication ere prov1d.d In B. O R R ~
SIGNAL 1
:"

rier, since its purpose is to supply a signal toward a better way

against which the sideband can beat for Extra care must be taken with single-
demodulation-the purpose of a carrier.
sideband detectors. Distortion is always a
The steady signal in receivers i s most of-
posslbility, unless each signal is handled
ten supplied by the bfo that is used for
so that the only nonlinearity is i n the de-
code reception. Adjusting the bfo pitch con-
tection circuit itself. Applying the signals to
trol lets you control the timbre of the de-
modulated voice. I n transceivers, the signal a single detector diode i s not the most de-
more often comes from the carrier oscilla- sirable way to get this particular job done.
tor; it's common practice to generate the Better efficiency can be had from the
initial carrier (before balanced modula- improved version i n fig. 2, using two diodes.
tion, sideband filtering, and up-transla- The carrier signal is applied to them i n a

november 1968 Q 23
 parallel mode (its coupling capacitor is ing the output-should sound familiar if
connected between their cathodes). The i-f you've read earlier articles i n this series.
sideband signal, on the other hand, is i n Beginning on page 24 of the May issue, I
series with both diodes. This parallel- described balanced modulators i n ssb
series hookup lets the two signals mix in equipment. They also use this two-mode
the special way that produces an audio way of handling input and output signals.)
signal. Tubes offer a better means of isolating
The special way mixing takes place i n and mixing (see fig. 3). Furthermore, the
fig. 2 as the result of how the signals are tubes can build up the carrier-signal

fig. 2. More elaborate

fundamental resemblance
to balanced demodula-
tors.

CARRIER
SIGNAL
, I
[ P O TIMES STRONGER THAN SIEBAND 1-F SIGNALI

brought together. The carrier signal is fed strength. The sideband signal from the i-f
to the stage i n a mode different from that amplifier is applied to a cathode follower;
of the sideband. The mixing generates a that isolates the signal source from the
product of the two signals instead of sums mixing circuit, without adding any gain.
and differences. (That's where the name The sideband is then cathode-coupled to
product detector comes from.) the mixing tube. Meanwhile, the carrier
Furthermore, the output signal is taken signal i s also fed to the grid of the mixer,
from the stage in series-a mode opposite and is amplified.
to the carrier input mode. This encourages These signals mix within the tube. The
cancellation of the input carrier, keeping output is a product of both signals-a het-
i t from the output. The product of this erodyne product that includes the original
mode of mixing, therefore, is a relatively modulation that has been carried by the
pure audio signal-the recovered voice sig- sideband. All rf is filtered out by the pi-
nals that originplly formed the sidebands. network, and clean audio is sent t o the
Any slight remaining carrier or sideband audio amplifiers.
signal i s eliminated by the 470-pF capac-
itors and 47k resistor. balanced ssb detectors
(The parallel/series method of feeding You've already seen a simple single-side-
the two signals into the stage-and of tak- band detector with characteristics ap-

fig. 3 Two-triode version exemplifies principles of sideband detection and is used commercially.

24 Q november 1968
proaching those of a balanced modulator. the resulting audio signal while eliminat-
The fact is, you can use a circuit very like ing the carrier. The action in a balanced
a balanced modulator to demodulate side- detector is thus very like the action i n a
band signals. balanced modulator; whatever signal is
If you study the stage i n fig. 4A, you will fed into the stage in a mode opposite from
see that i t differs only slightly from a bal- the output mode is canceled. This helps
anced modulator. Both input transformers considerably i n a ssb detector, since the
are rf types, whereas in a balanced modu- carrier must be applied at a level so much
lator one of them would be an audio higher than the level of the sideband.

fig. 4. Ring type ssb

demodulators. Pri-
mary version in A Is
balanced demodule-
tor; eliminating the
costly and bulky
transformers doesn't
alter stage operation
(B).

RMV IEng
AwuF I-F w=r&z;
1 1
A
FROM
ffo

type. The output transformer i n fig. 4A is The ring demodulator can be simplified.
an audio transformer; in a balanced mod- Transformers are costly and bulky, and
ulator i t would be an rf type. What you any circuit alteration that eliminates
see in fig. 4A, therefore, is a balanced de- them has an advantage. An altered ver-
modulator. sion i s shown in fig. 4B.
The diodes are in what's called a ring Major characteristics remain. The solid-
arrangement; if you trace through them, state diodes are hooked in a ring, the i-f
you'll see they are essentially in series- sideband signal is applied i n push-pull,
'round and 'round. The name of the stage and carrier signal is applied i n parallel.
is ring demodulator. With the bottom of the sideband-input
Its operation i s exactly what is needed transformer grounded (instead of the cen-
to recover audio from sideband signals. It ter tap), ground i s made one side of a
accepts the sideband i-f signal and the push-pull arrangement; the output is there-
carrier signal (from a bfo or a carrier os- fore effectively in push-pull, even though
cillator), reinserts the carrier so the signal it i s single-ended for any circuit following.
can be demodulated, and then couples out The effect is thorough demodulation of the

november 1968 Q 25
 -- - fig. 5. Commercial ver-
sion of ring demodula-
I-F 3- so tor looks slightly differ-
XFH9
IPNF ent, but uses all princi-
+ ] e o ples of others.

-- -

sideband signal, with the carrier canceled supply bus, and the collector goes to
in the output. The pi-network eliminates ground through its load. The two inputs are
any slight rf that remains. not isolated in this particular demodula-
Does anyone use the balanced side- tor. The carrier signal is already ampli-
band detector? Yes. One version is fied before i t is applied to the transistor
part of the Sideband Engineers 38-34 trans- base (through the 50-pF capacitor). It and
ceiver. There's a schematic of the stage i n the sideband signal mix i n the transistor.
fig. 5. I've redrawn the ring circuit to sim- What keeps this from being a simple
plify the looks of the stage for you, but amplifier for both signals is the bias level
operation is the same as already de- chosen for the transistor. The base-emitter
scribed. The carrier signal, which i n this junction is strongly backward-biased; the
case comes from the oscillator that gen- heavy carrier signal then is amplified class
erates the initial carrier for the transmit C, which is nonlinear.
function, is fed to a resistive balancing Mixing in the base resistor as they do,
network; the resistors also isolate i t from these two signals generate considerable
the ring diodes. cross modulation. When the cross-modula-
The carrier is applied i n the parallel tion products are amplified by the Class-C
mode, as you can see; the sideband input
is push-pull, because of the "phantom"
fig. 6. Transistor product detector, with no isolation
center-tap ground point offered by the between input signals. Bias of the transistor is what
ground connection between the two capac- makes it a demodulator rather then amplifier.
itors. I n the ring circuit, input and output
connections are the same as i n fig. 4B;
you'll see i t if you trace them carefully,
even though they may look different at
first glance.

a one-transistor version
Diode sideband demodulators are all
solid-state, since almost no manufacturer
uses vacuum-tube diodes today. Semicon-
ductor diodes are more efficient and less
expensive. When you talk about solid state,
though, you must include transistors. At
least one manufacturer uses a transistor transistor, the audio is easy to separate
ssb detector. from the other products of this nonlinear
You can see the circuit i n fig. 6. This mixer. The 0.01-rF capacitor across the
stage is from a Gonset Sidewinder trans- volume control eliminates most of the rf
ceiver. The pnp transistor is biased i n a signal that i s left over. The original modu-
way normal for negative-ground power lation, which has been masquerading as
supplies-the emitter goes to the power- a sideband, is thus recovered.

26 november 1968
 This transistor sideband detector hasn't permits product detection-and therefore
become popular; no other set uses i t that sideband demodulation.
I know of. But transistors can be substi- The pi-network i n the output of this tri-
tuted in any triode-tube demodulator, pro- ode single-sideband detector consisting of
vided you consider their dc supply require- two 500-pF capacitors and a 47k resistor
ments and their low impedance. eliminates whatever rf products get through
the detection process. Good rf filtering is
ssb detection with tubes more important i n a detector stage like
I n any single-sideband detector system, this than in a balanced type, simply be-
isolation of the two input signals is de- cause the balanced stage inherently keeps
sirable. One way to achieve this is i n a most rf from reaching the output.
simple triode product detector-fig. 7. The The fig. 7 circuit is popular because of
high-level signal from the bfo (or from the its economy and simplicity. You'll find it i n
carrier oscillator) is fed to the cathode, several Heathkit sets and i n the Halli-
using a 300-pH choke as high-impedance crafters SR-2000 transceiver.
-and therefore efficient-input load. The A tube version like the one I described i n
i-f signal, which is the sideband to be fig. 3 is part of the Hammarlund HQ-180.
demodulated, is applied to the grid, across The stage configuration is the same; the
a low-impedance load: the 470-ohm re- only differences are i n parts values. A tri-
sistor. This disparity between the two in- ode Colpitts bfo is used i n the HQ-180 to
put-load impedances goes part-way to- furnish the carrier.
ward setting the 10-to-I ratio you want be- The other Hammarlund models revert to
tween these two signal strengths. the single-tube product detector using a
This triode stage is another reminder of pentode: the HQ-110 and the HQ-145. There
an important principle of product detec- is no isolation between the two inputs;
tors. I t isn't always the circuit arrangement both signals are applied to the control
that makes a stage detect sideband sig- grid. Some isolation is achieved by the
nals; i t is the way the stage is operated. weak coupling used for both signals. The
Without the high bias developed by the strong carrier signal is applied through a
3-pF capacitor, small even i n this service.
The i-f sideband signal is coupled only by
fig. 7. Triode product detector with some isolation
for signals. Same idea could be used with a transis-
a twisted-wire "gimmick" capacitor offer-
tor. ing less than 1 pF of coupling capacitance.
The high gain of the pentode makes up for
any expected weakness i n the output-the
demodulated voice signal.

using special tubes

You read earlier that product detection
is more how the tube is operated than
what kind of circuit it's in. That being the
case, imagination suggests that tubes with
certain special operating characteristics
could do an efficient job of demodulating
single-sideband signals. That's right. One
such tube i s the gated-beam detector, a
tube with pentode qualities and special
construction that makes i t particularly
4.7k cathode-bias resistor, the triode would suitable for product detection. The beamed
be nothing more than an amplifier. It electron stream in a gated-beam tube is
would transfer both signals to its output, controlled by both the control grid and a
amplified but otherwise unaltered. I t i s special "gating" grid near the plate. Both
the nonlinear operating characteristic that grids have exceptionally linear control

november 1968 Q 27
over the electron stream, and very little ef- This tube, like the gated-beam detector
fect on each other. tube, is touchy. Signal levels must be
Combine these characteristics into the guarded to avoid crossmodulation that
stage i n fig. 8 and you have a better-than- might upset output clarity. The diode be-
passable product detector. The sideband tween the i-f transformer and the tube in-
signal is applied to the control grid, or put acts as something of a safeguard, to
G I . The carrier-oscillator (or bfo) signal i s prevent overdriving grid 3. (The diode can't
applied to the special grid, G3. act as a detector because there i s no carrier
The gated-beam stage is a little tricky with the i-f sideband signal.)
to adjust. Unless the bias i s just right for The connection going to the balanced
each particular tube, considerable output modulator i s shown because the oscillator
distortion i s common. Designers also must portion of the 6GX6 circuit doubles-
carefully work out the strength ratios of during transmission-as the carrier os-

fig. 8. Gated-beam de-

tector, used for years in
tv and fm receivers, can
also make a good sub
detector.
4
8+ REG

signals applied to the two grids. Properly cillator. That connection has no bearing
designed and adjusted, though, the gated- on detector operation during recepiton.
beam ssb detector does a good job.
An offshoot of the gated-beam idea is beam-deflected ssb detection
used in the Galaxy V Mark 2 transceiver. If you did read the earlier article on
The circuit is shown i n fig. 9. The tube is a balanced modulators, you may remember
6CX6, a pentode specially designed for a rather unusual stage using a beam-de-
broadcast-receiver use i n fm detectors. Its flection tube. The tube is an RCA 7360, and
non-interacting quality between grid 1 and makes an efficient-though expensive-
grid 3 serve sideband detection admirably. balanced modulator. This circuit can be
As you can see from the diagram, a crys- altered slightly to become a balanced de-
tal-controlled oscillator is formed by the modulator, as can other balanced modu-
cathode/grid Vscreen portion of the tube. lators.
The 6GX6 thus provides its own insertion The sidebands are applied to the beam-
carrier. Sideband signals from the i-f deflecting plates i n push-pull. (Supply cir-
stages are applied to grid 3. cuits are not shown to keep the diagram

fig. 9. Another special tube, the BGXG, makes an excellent ssb demodulator if care is
taken with the levels of carrier and sideband signals fed to it.
01
a a
STAGES

_im:- T7
6GX6
irw"

'
4 71
a

I 8+

4mw
I(
--'
L%
11

28 november 1968
simple.) The carrier signal is applied to the in carrier and sideband signals instead of
control grid, which puts that signal i n carrier and voice signals. A balanced
parallel insofar as the rest of the stage is modulator becomes a balanced demodu-
concerned. The demodulated audio out- lator by that simple switch; of course, you
put is taken off in push-pull by the simple have to change one input transformer from
device of grounding one output plate for an audio type to an rf type and change
audio through C4. (C5 i s a different value the rf output transformer to an audio type.
because i t s purpose is to eliminate any In demodulators of the product-mixer
stray rf signal that might be left over after kind, you have to be sure the carrier signal
demodulation.) Output is from the other is 10 or 20 times as strong as the sideband
plate, coupled to the audio amplifiers by signal. That's because the carrier is al-
C6. ways much more powerful than the side-

FROM I-F C6

T l & - ~ ~ ~ ~
--

fig. 10. Tube developed especially for use in ssb communications; can be either a modulator or ~ o d u l a t o r .

The beam-deflected method of ssb de- bands in an ordinary a-m signal, and that
modulation hasn't been used i n any com- relationship must be maintained for proper
mercial ham equipment I know of. Its ex- demodulation. If you're working up your
pense, though not great, is more than for own demodulator circuit, you should ad-
diode balanced-demodulator systems; cost just the ratio between the two signals un-
i s always a deterrent to inclusion i n fac- til you get the best output signal-to-noise
tory-built equipment. The circuit is showing quality; at the same time, keep both sig-
up occasionally, however, in home-brew nals low enough i n strength that one
designs. I t is efficient, and you might want doesn't overload the tube(s) you're using.
to try i t i n a receiver of your own. Operat- With the information here, you should
ing characteristics for the 7360 can be find that sideband detectors have few se-
found in The Radio Amateur's Handbook, crets anymore. You've seen both tube and
in the Special Receiving Tubes table. From transistor types, as well as solid-state di-
those, you can work out parts values. ode types.
And-speaking of transistors-that's what
sideband detectors in general we'll go into i n the next article: transistors
Summing up the characteristics of vari- i n single-sideband equipment. More tran-
ous single-sideband detectors, you can sistors are being used, so there should be
draw certain general conclusions. First of a lot of dope that will help you i n your
all, any ssb modulator can be altered to future ssb activities.
become a demodulator. You merely feed ham radio

november 1968 29