The Basic Principles of Super-Regenerative Reception

Abstract

By means of cathode-ray oscillograms and mathematical analyses the principal phenomena occurring in superregenerative receivers are explained. The results verify an earlier theory that in the separately quenched detector the received signal merely causes the detector to oscillate at maximum output for a longer period during each quench cycle, without increasing the maximum amplitude of the oscillations. It is also shown that in the self-quenched detector the signal merely produces an increase in the quench frequency, without increasing the maximum amplitude reached by the oscillations. The sensitivity, selectivity, and characteristic noise of superregenerative receivers are discussed.