Super

Heterodyn
e Receiver
SUBMITTED BY:
TANUJ KUMAR (12104025)
ANKIT SOTI (12104069)

Receivers

Intercept the electromagnetic waves in the receiving

antenna to produce the desired RF modulated carrier.

Select the desired signal and reject the unwanted signal.

Amplify the RF signal.

Detect the RF carrier to get back the original modulation

frequency voltage.

Amplify the modulation frequency voltage

Features of receivers

Simplicity of operation

Good fidelity

Good selectivity

Average sensitivity

Adaptability to different types of aerials

Why a Super
heterodyne
receiver?

If receiver has poor

selectivity.

If receiver has poor sensitivity.

If receiver has poor fidelity

A good solution to overcome these

problems is using superheterodyne
receiver.it is the major breakthrough
in the communication field..

Super Heterodyne Receiver

Mixer /
Converter
Section
RF Section

Pre
selector

IF Section

Mixer

RF
amplifier

Band pass
filter

IF
Amplifier

IF signal

RF signal

Local
Oscillator
Gang tuning

speaker

Audio amplifier
Section

Audio
Amplifier
Audio
Frequencies

Audio detector
Section

AM
Detector

Sections
Heterodyne receiver has five sections

RF section

Mixer/converter section

IF section

Audio detector section

Audio amplifier section

RF section
Preselector stage
Broad tuned band pass filter with adjustable frequency that is tuned
to
carrier frequency

Provide initial band limiting to prevent specific unwanted radio

frequency called image frequency from entering into receiver.

Reduces the noise bandwidth of the receiver and provides the

initial step toward reducing the over all receiver bandwidth to
the minimum bandwidth required to pass the information signal.

Amplifier stage

It determines the sensitivity of the receiver.

RF amplifier is the first active device in the network it

is the primary contributor to the noise. And it is the
predominant factor in determining the noise figure.

Receiver may have one or more RF amplifier

depending on the desired sensitivity.

Due to RF amplifier

Greater gain and better sensitivity

Improved image frequency rejection

Better signal to noise ratio

Better selectivity.

Mixer or conversion section

It consists of two components

Mixer

Local oscillator

Mixer stage :

Heterodyning takes place in the mixer stage.

Radio frequencies are down converted to intermediate

frequency

Carrier and sidebands are translated to high frequencies

without effecting the envelope of message signal.

Frequency conversion
The difference between the RF and Local oscillator frequency is always
constant IF.
High side injection

Local oscillator
frequency is tuned
above RF
f

LO

= fRf + fIF

Low side injection

Local oscillator
frequency is tuned
below RF
f

LO

= fRf - fIF

RF-to-IF conversion

Receiver RF input (535 1605

kHz)
Preselecto
r
535 - 565
kHz

53
5

54
5

55
5

565 kHz

Mixer
Oscillator

44
0

45
0

46
0

470 kHz

f lo f RF f IF
45
0

460 kHz

IF filter
450
460 kHz
IF Filter output

1005 kHz
high-side
injection
(fLO > fRF)

Gang tuning

The adjustment for the center frequency of the

preselector and the adjustment for local oscillator are
gang tuned.

The two adjustments are mechanically tied

together and single
adjustment will change the center frequency of
the preselector and
the local oscillator

Local oscillator tracking:

TRACKING:
It is the ability of the local oscillator in a receiver
to oscillate either above or below the selected radio
frequency carrier by an amount equal to the IF
frequency through the entire radio frequency band.

Tracking error

Tracking error: the difference between the actual

local oscillator frequency to the desired frequency.

The maximum tracking error 3KHz + or -.

Tracking error can be reduced by using three point

tracking.

The preselector and local oscillator each have

trimmer capacitor in parallel with primary tuning
capacitor that compensates for minor tracking errors
in the high end of AM spectrum.

The local oscillator has additional padder capacitor

in series with the tuning coil that compensates for
minor tracking errors at the low end of AM spectrum.

Local Oscillator Radiation

It is difficult to keep stray radiation from the local oscillator
below the level that a nearby receiver can detect. The
receiver's local oscillator can act like a lowpowerCWtransmitter. Consequently, there can be mutual
interference in the operation of two or more super heterodyne
receivers in close proximity.
Intelligence operations, local oscillator radiation gives a means
to detect a covert receiver and its operating frequency. The
method was used by MI-5 duringOperation RAFTAR.This same
technique is also used inradar detector detectorsused by
traffic police in jurisdictions where radar detectors are illegal.
A method of significantly reducing the local oscillator radiation
from the receiver's antenna is to use an RF amplifier between
the receiver's antenna and its mixer stage.

Local Oscillator Sideband

Noise
Local oscillators typically generate a single frequency signal
that has negligibleamplitude modulationbut some
randomphase 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 oscillator phase noise,
usually by ensuring that the oscillator never enters anonlinear mode.

Image Frequency
One major disadvantage to the super heterodyne 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 super heterodyne
receiver.

For example, an AM broadcast station at 580kHz is

tuned on a receiver with a 455kHz IF. The local
oscillator is tuned to580 + 455 =1035kHz. But a
signal at580 + 455 + 455 =1490kHz is also 455kHz
away from the local oscillator; so both the desired
signal and the image, when mixed with the local
oscillator, will also appear at the intermediate
frequency. This image frequency is within the AM
broadcast band. Practical receivers have a tuning stage
before the converter, to greatly reduce the amplitude of
image frequency signals; additionally, broadcasting
stations in the same area have their frequencies
assigned to avoid such images.

Image frequency It:

is any frequency other than the selected

radio frequency carrier that is allowed to
enter into the receiver and mix with the local
oscillator
will
produce
cross
product
frequencies that is equal to the intermediate
frequency.

flo =fsi+fif
fsi=flo-fif when signal frequency is mixed with
oscillator frequency one of the by products is the difference
frequency which is passed to the amplifier in the IF stage.
The frequency fim= flo+fsi the image frequency
produce fsi when mixed with fo .

will also

For better image frequency rejection a high IF is preferred.

If intermediate frequency is high it is very difficult to design
stable amplifiers.

2fif
fif

IF

RF
SF

fif

LO

IM

frequency

Image frequency rejection ratio

It is the numerical measure of the ability of the preselector to reject the
image frequency.
Single tuned amplifier the ratio of the gain at the desired RF to the gain
at the image frequency.

IFRR (1 Q 2 2
f im

f RF

f RF

f im

Choice of IF : Factors
If the IF is too high

Poor Selectivity and Poor adjacent channel rejection.

Tracking Difficulties.

If the IF is too low

Image frequency rejection becomes poorer.

Selectivity too sharp and cutting off sidebands

Instability of oscillator will occur.

Detector section

It contains detector and AGC or AVC

Detector: Rectifies the modulated signal, then filters

out the 455 KHz. Leaving only the audio frequency or
intelligence of 50 Hz 20 KHz Which is sent to the AF
amplifiers.

Automatic Volume Control or gain control is taken at

the detector (demodulated and fed back to the first
IF amplifier base). Required to overcome atmospheric
and terrain conditions that adversely affect signal
strength between the transmitter & receiver.

Amplifier section

The resultant audio signal is amplified in this section

and fed into the
output device(ex: loudspeaker)
In this section we have

Audio preamp stage

Audio driver stage

Audio push pull stage

Double superheterodyne receiver

Although the basic idea for the superheterodyne receiver works very well,
to ensure the optimum performance under a number of situations, an
extension of the principle, known as the double superheterodyne radio
receiver may be used.
Improves image rejection ratio and adjacent channel filter performance .

Advantages
In the case of modern television receivers, no other technique was
able to produce the preciseband passcharacteristic needed
forvestigial sidebandreception, similar to that used in
theNTSCsystem first approved by the U.S.
This technique is already in use in certain designs, such as very
low-cost FM radios incorporated into mobile phones, since the
system already has the necessarymicroprocessor.
It is cost effective.

Disadvantages
Image Frequency
Local Oscillator Radiation
Local Oscillator Sideband noise

Conclusion
After invention of
superheterodyne,there are
many inventions but it is a great
receiver..

References

IEEE paper 3.1.023 on electronic

communication systems receivers.

IEEE paper on superheterodyne.

www.hyperphysics.com/superheterodyne

www.Wikipedia.com/superheterodyne

MCQs
10 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS.

Q.1 The tuned circuits prior to the

mixer in a superheterodyne receiver
are called the

a)

Front End

b)

Tuner

c)

Preselector

d)

All of the above

Ans. C. Preselector

Q:2 Why are image frequencies

somewhat less of a problem in FM
receivers than they are in SSB or AM
receivers?
a)

SSB uses less bandwidth than does FM.

b)

FM signals have a capture effect characteristic.

c)

FM mixer stages are square-law devices.

d)

FM recievers dont use the superheterodyne design

Ans. B. FM signals have a capture effect characteristic.

Q.3 Frequency conversion which is a

form of amplitude modulation is
carried out by a mixer by a process
known as:
a)

Phasing

b)

Heterodyning

c)

Demodulating

d)

Multiplexing

Ans. B. Heterodyning

Q.4 One way to obtain selectivity

while eliminating the image problem
is to use:

a)

a single-conversion superheterodyne receiver

b)

a dual-conversion superheterodyne receiver

c)

more tuned circuits

d)

a TRF receiver

Ans. B. a dual-conversion superheterodyne

receiver

Q.5 A special version of the

superheterodyne that converts the
incoming signal directly to baseband is
known as the
a)

indirect conversion receiver

b)

zero-IF receiver

c)

dual-conversion receiver

d)

special conversion receiver

Ans. A. indirect conversion receiver

Q.6 Main advantange of

superhetrodyne receiver is:
a)

Improvement in sensitivity and selectivity

b)

Simple tracking alignment

c)

High fidelity

d)

Better image rejection

Ans. A. Improvement in sensitivity and selectivity

Q.7 A superhetrodyne receiver receives

desired signal at 1000khz frequency,
assuming IF=455khz, the corresponding
image signal:
a)

Depends on modulating frequency

b)

Depends on modulating index

c)

Is within its medium band

d)

Is outside its medium band

Ans. C. Is within its medium band

Q.8 The image frequency rejection in

a superhetrodyne receiver is
achieved by
a)

RF stage only

b)

IF stage only

c)

RF and detector stage only

d)

RF, IF and detector stage only

Ans. B. IF stage only

Q.9 When a superheterodyne receiver is

tuned to 555khz, its local osciallator
provides the mixer signal at 1010khz. The
image frequency is ____khz:

a)

1465

b)

1010

c)

555

d)

455

Ans. A. 1465 khz

Q.10 Which section is used

in the Preselector Stage?
a)

RF section

b)

Mixer/converter section

c)

IF section

d)

Audio detector section

Ans. A. RF Section.