Question
Why are received spread spectrum signals resistant to interference?
Answer Options
- A) Signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver
- B) The high power used by a spread spectrum transmitter keeps its signal from being easily overpowered
- C) Built-in error correction codes minimize interference
- D) If the receiver detects interference, it will signal the transmitter to change frequencies
Correct Answer: A
Explanation
Spread spectrum (\text{SS}) communication is inherently resistant to interference (jamming) and weak-signal fading, which is the primary reason it was developed for military and secure commercial applications. This resistance comes from the fact that the receiver uses a highly complex digital code (or sequence) to track the signal’s spread and collapse it back to its original narrow bandwidth.
Spread spectrum signals are resistant to interference because signals not using the spread spectrum algorithm are suppressed in the receiver. Since the wideband jamming or noise signal does not correlate with the specific pseudo-random spreading code used by the receiver, the receiver treats it like wideband noise, and its energy is effectively suppressed or ‘despread’ across the wider channel, while the desired \text{SS} signal is collapsed back into a usable narrow signal.
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