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FLEX-6000 Signature Series – Maestro User Guide

Page 85

20 HOW TO OPERATE DIVERSITY RECEPTION (FLEX-6600(M) AND

6700 ONLY)

Diversity reception is a powerful method for improving the readability of a signal by using two or

more communication channels with different characteristics. Diversity reception is very useful for

aiding reception in weak and fading (QSB) signal conditions. With optimally configured antennas,

weak signal QSB copy can be improved by as much as 75%.

Two common diversity reception methods are space and polarization. These methods use separate

antennas to receive different versions of the same signal. The FLEX-6700 incorporates two fully

independent Spectral Capture Units (SCUs) that allow two separate antennas to be simultaneously

digitized. The analog to digital converters (ADCs) in the respective SCUs are driven from a single clock

source to provide stable synchronous reception.

Note: Since the FLEX-6500 and FLEX-6300 use a single SCU, they are not capable of diversity

reception.

For best results, antennas should be de-correlated in some way so that fading on one antenna is likely

to be seen as increased signal strength on the other antenna. De-correlation can be accomplished by

using different types of antennas (dipole and vertical), using the same type antenna at wide spacing

(e.g. multiple wavelengths), or using the same antenna with different polarizations (horizontal and

vertical or right and left). The more de-correlated the antennas the better, but even small amounts

can be beneficial. One interesting example of the application of circular polarization diversity on HF

is discussed in the December 2010 QST article, “Gimme an X, Gimme an O, What’s that Spell? –

Radio.”

The diversity reception implementation provided in Maestro is intended for use only with

headphones. Two Slice Receivers attached to separate antennas are automatically routed to the left

and right ears so that the brain can provide discrimination between the signals. Speakers are not

recommended because they allow the audio signals to combine in the space between the speakers

to cause undesirable peaks and nulls in the sound.

FlexRadio FLEX-6000 Signature Series User Manual

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