Question
Why is it good to match receiver bandwidth to the bandwidth of the operating mode?
Answer Options
- A) It is required by FCC rules
- B) It minimizes power consumption in the receiver
- C) It improves impedance matching of the antenna
- D) It results in the best signal-to-noise ratio
Correct Answer: D
Explanation
The bandwidth of the receiver’s Intermediate Frequency (IF) filter determines how much surrounding noise and interference is allowed into the demodulator. If the filter bandwidth is too wide for the signal being received (e.g., using a 3 \text{ kHz} filter for a 200 \text{ Hz} CW signal), a large amount of unnecessary noise enters the system.
By matching the receiver bandwidth precisely to the bandwidth of the operating mode (e.g., narrowing the filter for CW or PSK31), you exclude as much extraneous noise and interference as possible. This process of maximizing the desired signal energy relative to the total noise and interference results in the best signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and improves readability.
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