In Reply to: After 15 edits and deletes, maybe this is finally close to what I mean. posted by Ugly on April 23, 2016 at 11:56:41:
"They may not always be the same point on the graph but I would argue that noise level in a transmitted signal must always set a practical limit for making distortion measurements. And every signal has noise."
This is not necessarily the case. If for example the transmitted signal consists of a low level sine wave that is buried in the noise then it will be possible to pull out distortion created by non-linearities, such as those caused by lack of dither. This can be done by doing a spectrum analysis to average out the noise and bring into view the signal and its harmonics. The practical limit to this operation depends on the stability of the clocks involved and the patience of the experimenter. Clock stability can be reduced or eliminated if it is possible to synchronize the clocks or run them off a common source. It may also be necessary to temperature control your entire apparatus, lest it begin to operate as an unwanted thermometer. :-)
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
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Follow Ups
- RE: After 15 edits and deletes, maybe this is finally close to what I mean. - Tony Lauck 04/23/1614:44:37 04/23/16 (3)
- Crookwood says 20-30dB into the noise is possible. - Ugly 15:09:29 04/25/16 (2)
- RE: Crookwood says 20-30dB into the noise is possible. - Tony Lauck 12:10:22 04/26/16 (1)
- RE: Crookwood says 20-30dB into the noise is possible. - Ugly 21:09:25 04/26/16 (0)