My rule of thumb for FSK is:
"Bandwidth is greater than Shift." 

On the surface, that may seem quite 
simplistic :) But, the deeper one looks, 
the more one finds that this is just about 
as far as one can go in making a universal 
statement of truth in the relationship between 
bandwidth and shift in real world transmitted FSK.

Mathematical computation of "How much greater?" 
requires knowledge of many variables, as 
well as what type of bandwidth and how that 
bandwidth is to be described. There are 
many types of bandwidth definitions, 
for different applications. It is possible 
to make a very simplistic definition of 
bandwidth, without variables, but it probably 
won't be an accurate definition of real world 
signals emitted by real world transmitters. 

In actual practice, making good spectrum 
analysis measurements of some types of FSK 
signals can also be somewhat difficult. 
The instrumentation and adjustment of the 
test gear greatly affects the measurement. 

Here is an example of a spectrum analyzer 
measurement on an 8FSK waveform that I made, 
using 30Hz resolution bandwidth, peak hold, 
for 240 seconds:
http://hflink.com/technical/

As most digital mode operators know quite 
well, the adjustment of audio and transmitter 
is a huge variable in the bandwidth of a 
digital signal. 

How many hams have a spectrum analyzer 
with accurate 30Hz resolution bandwidth?

As DSP receivers have become widely available, 
it is possible to use them for spectrum 
analysis, and this can control some of the 
instrumentation variables more closely 
than with traditional spectrum analyzer methods. 
Still, operator knowledge of how to get good 
calibration and use reference standards is 
quite important to derive useful measurements.

Bonnie KQ6XA


Reply via email to