Unisys Corporation

Jeffrey Mac Thornock

Christopher R Keate

Bruce H Williams

Apparatus is provided for locking onto a severe doppler shifted data modulated carrier signal. A phase lock loop of the type having a data detection branch, a carrier tracking branch and a voltage controlled oscillator branch is modified to provide a summing circuit at the input of the voltage control oscillator in the voltage controlled oscillator branch. A sweep control circuit is connected to the input of the summing circuit for sweeping the voltage controlled oscillator through a range of frequencies which encompass the doppler shifted carrier frequency. An automatic frequency control circuit is connected to the input of the summing circuit for automatically disconnecting the sweep control circuit from the summing circuit when the frequency of the voltage controlled oscillator reaches a predetermined value defining a window which encompasses only the center frequency of the doppler shifted carrier frequency. The automatic frequency control circuit is adapted to drive the output of the voltage controlled oscillator to the center frequency of the doppler shifted carrier frequency without overshoot and then enable the phase lock loop to phase lock onto the phase of the doppler shifted carrier frequency to provide a locked on condition.

Smart sweep apparatus for data rate receivers

The present invention describes a phase shift key receiver or demodulator having an A.C. couple base band automatic gain control. A pair of detectors for the automatic gain control are A.C. coupled to the output of a pair of linear analog multipliers for the purpose of eliminating DC offset signals and for minimizing thermal noise at the input of the automatic gain control circuit. The outputs of the pair of detectors connected in the data detecting branch and the carrier tracking branch of the PLL are connected to a input of the summing circuit whose output is connected to the automatic gain control loop filter. The output of the filter supplies the scaling signal employed as the scaling input to the linear analog multipliers.

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Layton, UT, United States of America

Jeffrey Mac Thornock