Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread G3VVT
Jim, in domestic audio equipment I respect your knowledge on the subject,  
but for professional communications equipment where the present digital systems 
 
break down to an analog voice channel, 600 ohms is still very much the  
standard.
 
The problem came with working with different countries was that each  
authority had its own standards for line levels external to the comms system.  
When 
the particular company I worked for until retirement two years back  migrated 
to the now defacto standard of SDH they made a wise decision to change  to 
analog channel levels of 0dBm, TX/RX at test tone levels. This made  life a 
whole 
lot easier when maintaining the communication systems. It was also  now 
possible to run data links at a higher level rather than the  previously 
accepted 
figure of -13dB down on test tone which had roots in the old  analog microwave 
systems channel loading effects.
 
After saying all this little use is now made of analog voice channels with  
most of the links coming through as direct digital links to telephone switches, 
 WAN and LAN systems and the like in 2Mb increments.
 
No 600 ohms audio is not dead yet, at least in the professional  
communications environment.
 
Bob, G3VVT
K2 #4168
___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Jim Brown
On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 06:29:33 -0400, Mike S wrote:

At 11:32 PM 7/1/2004, Jim Brown wrote...
BTW -- forget all that ancient stuff about 600 ohms. Pro audio hasn't used a 
600 ohm 
reference for at 
least four decades.

That may perhaps be true for a limited range of pro audio applications, 
but 600 ohm audio transmission lines are still VERY common both in 
telephone and PA applications. If you forget that stuff, you WILL end up 
with real problems.

I cannot speak with authority for telco practice, but I am very much up to date 
on pro audio 
practice -- I am a member of the Standards Committee of the Audio Engineering 
Society, and 
I have recently been an invited speaker on EMC issues to AES, IEEE, and SBE 
(the Society 
of Broadcast Engineers).  

It is not been common practice (or good engineering practice) to drive from a 
600 ohm source 
or terminate with a 600 ohm load for at least 40 years. Yes, broadcast 
facilities and equipment 
were built that way 40 years ago, but they have not been built that way for 
many years. Richard 
Hess, then at ABC, published an excellent paper on that topic around 1970. Some 
very old 
tape recorders and long obsolete passively matched telco interfaces (for 
example, an 
equalized dry pair) required 600 ohm (or 150 ohm) terminations to work 
properly, or for their 
level matching to be correct. Both practices have been obsolete for many years. 
In fact, as 
long ago as 1975, it was hard to find anyone at our local telco who knew what 
an equalized 
line was! 

Some manufacturers of equipment who don't get it continue to talk about their 
equipment as 
having 600 ohm outputs, but if you measure their output impedance, your 
instrumentation will 
tell you they are 50-100 ohms. A quick look at the schematic will tell you the 
same thing. 
Further, the output stages of most pro equipment are NOT designed to drive a 
load. 600 ohms 
is more of a worst case design spec -- that is, the most current that the 
output stage can 
provide -- and the performance of the output stage will be better (a dB or two 
more headroom, 
less distortion on peaks) if it looks into the 10K load that is the IEC 
standard.  

Jim Brown  K9YC
http://audiosystemsgroup.com
 


___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Jim Brown
I believe you may be confusing voltage levels with impedance.  600 ohms 
has NOTHING to do with it beyond defining the voltage present in a circuit 
where levels are defined in dBm.  dBm means dB with respect to 1 mW, 
where the impedance must also be defined. dBu, the current most 
common reference in pro audio, is defined as the voltage with respect to 
0.78 volts, independent of the circuit impedance. Of course, 0.78V  
corresponds to 0 dBm in 600 ohms. 

There are also issues about how digital guys think about level and how 
analog guys think about level. Digital folks tend to think of absolute 
maximum peak levels -- all the bits on, digital clip. This corresponds 
roughly to 100% modulation of an AM transmitter. But audio levels are 
DEFINED as the RMS value of a waveform. That 13 dB difference you are 
talking about is the approximate difference between RMS and peak of an 
uncompressed audio waveform. Both ways of thinking/talking about it are 
important, but you absolutely must understand the difference. 

Jim Brown K9YC
http://audiosystemsgroup.com

--Original Message Text---
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 07:30:49 EDT

600 ohms is still very much the standard.




___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Michael Harris
G'day,

My interpretation of the point that G3VVT was making is that a blanket
dismissal of the 600 ohm reference is hazardous depending upon the
circumstances.  I also know nothing about pro audio, however, like G3VVT I
have had a long and varied career in telecommunications.  600 ohms is the
general impedance of 0.5mm diameter conductor poly insulated twisted pair
telephone cable at audio frequencies.  This drops to about 150 ohms at
T1/E1 frequencies over the same pair.  All the telco test equipment I have
worked with at audio level offers 600 ohm source and terminations as well
as high impedance bridging.  AF attenuators were all 600 ohm balanced
input/output.

Impedances in transmission systems commonly change along the line.  In our
first earth station, built 20 years ago, we went from 600 ohm input to the
PCM channel equipment, from there 75 ohm to the up/down converters and 50
ohm for the rest of the SHF link.  It was essential to make sure you had
the right matching transformers in your test set-up when making
measurements.

The USA and Europe has a history of doing things differently, a totally
different coding law for PCM, different baseband data rates and
hierarchy. and on.

Standards are great, so many to choose from!

Regards,

Mike VP8NO
(G3VUI)
Ex. GPO/PO/Telecomm and CW


- Original Message -
From: Jim Brown [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Elecraft List elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 10:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level


 On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 06:29:33 -0400, Mike S wrote:

 At 11:32 PM 7/1/2004, Jim Brown wrote...
 BTW -- forget all that ancient stuff about 600 ohms. Pro audio hasn't
used a 600 ohm
 reference for at
 least four decades.
 
 That may perhaps be true for a limited range of pro audio
applications,
 but 600 ohm audio transmission lines are still VERY common both in
 telephone and PA applications. If you forget that stuff, you WILL end
up
 with real problems.


___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Mike S

--Original Message Text---
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2004 07:30:49 EDT

600 ohms is still very much the standard.

At 10:36 AM 7/2/2004, Jim Brown wrote...
I believe you may be confusing voltage levels with impedance.

Analog phone circuits are indeed transmission lines. Try to feed a hybrid with 
an impedance mismatch and you'll get echo and sidetone problems.

Your reference to pro audio is a bit parochial - telco is the largest pro 
audio industry in the world, whether measured by number of employees, 
consumers, amount of revenue, whatever. Broadcast, studio and stage likely 
follow in that order.

You may be expert in your corner of pro audio, but it's a much bigger world, 
and true 600 ohm audio transmission lines are still quite common throughout the 
world. The line in line level refers to telephone lines. Any other use is a 
misnomer - a broadcast engineer can call a 5v p-p signal line level, but that 
usurpation of a well established term doesn't make it correct.  

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Jim Brown
On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 12:47:44 -0400, Mike S wrote:

Analog phone circuits are indeed transmission lines. 

ONLY if they are long enough between electronic output and electronic input to 
be transmission lines. Calculate the wavelength (in the cable of interest) at 
the 
highest frequency of interest. At 6 kHz, 1/20 wavelength in a 0.66 velocity 
factor 
cable (in the ballpark for most real cable used for audio) is nearly one mile; 
at 20 
kHz it is nearly one half mile.  At 3 kHz, the limit of baseband audio on POTS, 
1/20 wavelength is nearly two miles. A line must be 1/20 wavelength at the 
frequency of interest for transmission line effects to be just perceptible.  

If a line is less than 1/20 wavelength (or at frequencies where it is less than 
a 
wavelength), it can be completely characterized by a simple lumped parameter 
model. That is, all of its inductance in one series L, all of its parallel 
capacitance 
as one C, and all of its wire resistance as one R, and all of its leakage 
resistance 
as one parallel R. One of the most important limiting factors on real audio 
lines 
(including telephone lines) is how much parallel capacitance that the output 
stage 
can drive. Real lines typically have 40-60 pF/ft. It is not unusual for a line 
to be 
long enough for the capacitive reactance to fall well below 600 ohms. When this 
happens, there can be distortion as the output stage clips prematurely. 

And the characteristic impedance of a transmission line is defined by the 
physical construction of the wire, NOT a paper standard. The characteristic 
impedance of virtually all cable used to carry any form of audio signals is on 
the 
order of 50-100 ohms. Nothing you can write down as a standard or a practice 
will change that physical reality. See any EE text on transmission lines, the 
ARRL 
Handbook, or the ARRL Antenna Book.  

Modern telephone lines (from a central office to a home) are NOT 600 ohm lines 
because they don't use 600 ohm cable. So calling any audio line, including 
telephone line that isn't a pair of open wire spaced at something on the order 
of a 
foot between insulators a transmission line is simply wrong.  


Jim Brown
Audio Systems Group, Inc.
Chicago
http://audiosystemsgroup.com


___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Don Brown
Hi

First of all I am not an expert on telephone systems or pro audio although I 
have worked with both a little from time to time. With that said it seems to me 
I read somewhere that 600 ohm in the telephone system came about because that 
was the internal resistance of the old carbon microphones used in all 
telephones up through the early 60's. This resistance was also needed in 
conjunction with the off hook current to activate the holding relay in the 
central office when the phone was off hook. Later phones with amplified 
microphones used transformers or IC's matched to 600 ohm impedance so the 
central office equipment was compatible. Perhaps this is where the 600 ohm 
standard in audio originated. I have a HP 200C audio generator and it has a 600 
ohm output impedance and I have seen many other audio generators that also have 
600 ohm outputs. 

In consumer and pro audio the line levels that I remember used on most 
amplifiers was 47K input impedance and about .5 to 1 volt RMS for full rated 
output. Likely 0 dbm. Of course I have not messed with this for many years back 
when many amplifiers had 6L6's and big output transformers so the memory may be 
failing. 

I also checked the specs on a high end sound card that I have and the line 
levels are +4 dbm or -10dbm jumper selectable.

So to answer the original question that started this thread, I assume to know 
what level to send to a sound card for PSK31 and such, it looks like 0 dbm to 
+4 dbm is about right when using the line inputs. If you are using a meter 
about .78 volts RMS or looking at it with a scope 2.2 volts pk to pk would be 0 
dbm. The main thing is to not over drive the sound card and cause clipping but 
supply enough drive so the signal to noise is minimum.

If any of this wrong any of you experts feel free to correct it G


Don Brown

KD5NDB
___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Jim Brown
On Fri, 2 Jul 2004 15:37:33 -0500, Don Brown wrote:

I read somewhere that 600 ohm in the telephone system came about 
because that was the internal resistance of the old carbon microphones

The more likely scenario is that the carbon mics were made to whatever spec Ma 
Bell 
needed to make their phone work well. The carbon mic in a Ma Bell phone did NOT 
hang directly across the line. Rather there was a network called a hybrid (it 
included a 
transformer) that hung across the line and combined the mic with the earphone 
to do 
what became known as sidetone cancellation. On a phone line, the local signal 
is far 
stronger (on the order of 20 dB) than the distant signal because the distant 
signal is 
attenuated by the line. The sidetone network reduces the level of the local 
signal in the 
earphone so that the user hears him/herself, but not at a lot higher level than 
the caller .

600 ohms originally comes from the old intercity transmission lines. 

I also checked the specs on a high end sound card that I have and the line 
levels are
+4 dbm or -10dbm jumper selectable.

Yes, and they really mean dBu, whether they say it or not. Most spec sheets are 
written 
by marketing types, not engineers, and many are wrong. 

So to answer the original question that started this thread, I assume to know 
what 
level to send to a sound card for PSK31 and such, it looks like 0 dbm to +4 
dbm is
about right when using the line inputs. 

Most computer inputs are much closer to consumer levels than pro levels. You're 
lucky 
to have a pro sound card with switchable level matching. I have one on one of 
my 
machines, but the others are the plain consumer cards. 

If you are using a meter about .78 volts RMS or looking at it with a scope 2.2 
volts pk
to pk would be 0 dbm. The main thing is to not over drive the sound card and 
cause
clipping but supply enough drive so the signal to noise is minimum.

You got it right, but you really need to look at it with a scope to see the 
peaks. That's 
because what really counts is keeping it out of clip. 

I recently hooked up my computer to generate PSK31.  I was running the sound 
card 
close to full output, and padding it down before going into the rig's mic 
input. I got 
good level matching, but some guys on the Top Band list suggested that the 
sound 
card might be generating some IM near its max output, even though it wasn't 
clipping. 
Always trying to learn new stuff, I hooked up some fancy instrumentation and 
learned 
that they were right. I dropped the output level of the rig about 6 dB and 
increased the 
input gain of the radio, and the IM produced by the sound card dropped from 
roughly -
30 dB re carrier to about -50 dB re: carrier. If you spend any time around the 
PSK31 
part of the band, you'll see some occasional signals that are producing 
significant 
distortion sidebands. 

Those same guys observed that one of the good reasons for running a rig well 
below 
max output on PSK31 is to reduce the IM that is produced. I haven't seen any 
data for 
a rig's IM vs. power output, and I haven't measured my rig, but I suspect they 
are 
correct. Many rigs, including the K2 and K2/100, are rated for 3 dB less power 
on 
100% duty cycle modes (RTTY, PSK, etc.) to prevent excessive dissipation. 

Jim Brown  K9YC


___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Mike S
At 02:47 PM 7/2/2004, Jim Brown wrote...
On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 12:47:44 -0400, Mike S wrote:

Analog phone circuits are indeed transmission lines. 

ONLY if they are long enough...
 At 3 kHz, the limit of baseband audio on POTS, 
1/20 wavelength is nearly two miles.

According to Verizon, over 20% of US subscriber loops are more than 18,000 feet 
long. The balance of your post continues to demonstrate a lack of familiarity 
with real world audio transmission lines. For instance, you're apparently 
unaware that loading coils are inserted on a long subscriber loops to offset 
the parallel capacitance. 

Nonetheless, throwing out non-sequiturs in defense of an incorrect statement is 
pointless. Your original statement was forget all that ancient stuff about 600 
ohms. Pro audio hasn't used a 600 ohm reference for at least four decades, 
which is demonstrably false.

Line level is a telco term which has well established meaning. Line level 
had meaning before broadcasting or electronic sound recording even existed.

You, in your response, gave an ambiguous answer of at least two significantly 
different values, which illustrates that the term has lost any real meaning in 
your environment through imprecise use and ambiguity.

The original questioner deserved a correct answer. For all you know, he was 
trying to build a phone patch, for which your impedance doesn't matter 
response would cause him no end of grief, as would your ambiguous description 
of what constitutes line level.

Modern telephone lines (from a central office to a home) are NOT 600 ohm lines 
because they don't use 600 ohm cable. 

Your implication is incorrect. By your own statements, what matters isn't 
what's on paper, but what's measured. The measured impedance is in the region 
of 500 to 1000 ohms for normal telco twisted pair cable - 
http://www.qsl.net/vk5br/TransLines.htm Real world and by design, telco twisted 
pair is functionally 600 ohm. There's no doubt a Bellcore standard for all of 
this, too. 

And yes, this does matter beyond formal transmission line theory. You're used 
to unidirectional signal transfer (4 wire, in the telco world). A telephone 
uses two wires full duplex. The hybrids at each end of that line which make 
this possible must be impedance matched, or you get problems like echo, bad 
sidetone or improper levels.

I'm done. My intent was to correct an obvious error, not get into a pissing 
match. 

___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


RE: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Ron D'Eau Claire
I did work on some audio systems - half a century ago - so I'm no expert. We
did use 600 ohm line level output for long distance lines (e.g. from a
microphone mixer just off stage to the power amplifiers up in the projection
booth in theatres). That might involve 200 or 300 feet of cable by the time
the got from one place to another. The connection was made with a shielded
and balanced line with - and this I assumed was the critical part in the 600
ohm specification - a 600 ohm center-tapped transformer at each end to
suppress common-mode noise the line might pick up.

I thought it was interesting that Elecraft resurrected this application
specifically to avoid noise pickup by the circuit traces within the K2
carrying audio. That's why the K2 has a fully balanced audio system until
the signal gets to the LM-386 output I.C. The problem there isn't external
noise, it's the abundant digital noise floating around inside the K2 that
can easily get into the low-level audio lines. 

Ron AC7AC 



___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-02 Thread Don Brown
Hi

You are right I had forgotten about the hybrid. It has been about 30 years ago 
when I messed with this stuff and then it wasn't much. G

Thanks for jogging my memory

Don Brown




  - Original Message - 
  From: Jim Brownmailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
  To: Elecraft Listmailto:elecraft@mailman.qth.net 
  Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 4:16 PM
  Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level


  On Fri, 2 Jul 2004 15:37:33 -0500, Don Brown wrote:

  I read somewhere that 600 ohm in the telephone system came about 
  because that was the internal resistance of the old carbon microphones

  The more likely scenario is that the carbon mics were made to whatever spec 
Ma Bell 
  needed to make their phone work well. The carbon mic in a Ma Bell phone did 
NOT 
  hang directly across the line. Rather there was a network called a hybrid (it 
included a 
  transformer) that hung across the line and combined the mic with the earphone 
to do 
  what became known as sidetone cancellation. On a phone line, the local 
signal is far 
  stronger (on the order of 20 dB) than the distant signal because the distant 
signal is 
  attenuated by the line. The sidetone network reduces the level of the local 
signal in the 
  earphone so that the user hears him/herself, but not at a lot higher level 
than the caller .

  600 ohms originally comes from the old intercity transmission lines. 

  I also checked the specs on a high end sound card that I have and the line 
levels are
  +4 dbm or -10dbm jumper selectable.

  Yes, and they really mean dBu, whether they say it or not. Most spec sheets 
are written 
  by marketing types, not engineers, and many are wrong. 

  So to answer the original question that started this thread, I assume to 
know what 
  level to send to a sound card for PSK31 and such, it looks like 0 dbm to +4 
dbm is
  about right when using the line inputs. 

  Most computer inputs are much closer to consumer levels than pro levels. 
You're lucky 
  to have a pro sound card with switchable level matching. I have one on one of 
my 
  machines, but the others are the plain consumer cards. 

  If you are using a meter about .78 volts RMS or looking at it with a scope 
2.2 volts pk
  to pk would be 0 dbm. The main thing is to not over drive the sound card and 
cause
  clipping but supply enough drive so the signal to noise is minimum.

  You got it right, but you really need to look at it with a scope to see the 
peaks. That's 
  because what really counts is keeping it out of clip. 

  I recently hooked up my computer to generate PSK31.  I was running the sound 
card 
  close to full output, and padding it down before going into the rig's mic 
input. I got 
  good level matching, but some guys on the Top Band list suggested that the 
sound 
  card might be generating some IM near its max output, even though it wasn't 
clipping. 
  Always trying to learn new stuff, I hooked up some fancy instrumentation and 
learned 
  that they were right. I dropped the output level of the rig about 6 dB and 
increased the 
  input gain of the radio, and the IM produced by the sound card dropped from 
roughly -
  30 dB re carrier to about -50 dB re: carrier. If you spend any time around 
the PSK31 
  part of the band, you'll see some occasional signals that are producing 
significant 
  distortion sidebands. 

  Those same guys observed that one of the good reasons for running a rig well 
below 
  max output on PSK31 is to reduce the IM that is produced. I haven't seen any 
data for 
  a rig's IM vs. power output, and I haven't measured my rig, but I suspect 
they are 
  correct. Many rigs, including the K2 and K2/100, are rated for 3 dB less 
power on 
  100% duty cycle modes (RTTY, PSK, etc.) to prevent excessive dissipation. 

  Jim Brown  K9YC


  ___
  Elecraft mailing list
  Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.netmailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
  You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
  Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecrafthttp://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
Help:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htmhttp://mailman.qth.net/subscribershtm
  Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.comhttp://www.elecraft.com/
___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


[Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-01 Thread Able2fly
When an input to, or output from an audio device is specified as being  line 
level, what exactly does that mean? Is it a specific RMS voltage perhaps?  
Its a term that I've heard bandied about over the years but either never knew,  
or have forgotten the precise meaning.
 
Bill  K3UJ
___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com


Re: [Elecraft] OT: Line level

2004-07-01 Thread Jim Brown
Line level for pro equipment is generally considered to be a nominal 
(average) level of +4 dBu, 
where 0 dBu = 0.78 volts rms. For typical, uncompressed speech, the rms value 
of a sine wave equal 
to the peaks is usually about 10 dB higher than the average level. Compression 
or limiting will 
generally reduce that difference to about 6 dB. Translating that to volts, +4 
dBu is about 1.23 volts, 6 
dB more is 2.5 volts, 10 dB above +4 is 3.9 volts. The key number there is the 
peak value of the 
waveform at clip, which is 1.414 x 3.9 volts = 5.5 volts. So an output stage 
(or input stage) that handles 
line level would expect to see a peak to peak swing of 11 volts with a nominal 
line level signal. But VU 
meters often swing against the peg, so we need some headroom -- another 6-10 
dB just in case.  
6 dB more is double the voltage, so that's 22 volts peak to peak. 

For consumer (home) equipment, the nominal level is roughly 300 mV, with 
peaks of 1-2 volts.  The 
same math applies, except that virtually all pre-recorded music has already 
been subjected to 
considerable peak limiting and compression, so headroom is less important. 

BTW -- forget all that ancient stuff about 600 ohms. Pro audio hasn't used a 
600 ohm reference for at 
least four decades. 600 ohms came from the characteristic impedance of 
telegraph lines between 
cities (spaced at a foot or so) where lines were long enough that they needed 
to be treated as 
transmission lines. Audio lines are almost never that long (4000 ft or more).  
Besides, the 
characteristic impedance of audio cable is on the order of 60-80 ohms (do the 
math on conductor size 
and spacing), so if termination WERE used, that's the value that would be 
required! Modern audio 
gear has a low (50-100 ohm) output impedance and a high (10K typical) input 
impedance. Mic input 
stages have a much lower input impedance (1K typical) to maximize signal to 
noise. 

Jim Brown  K9YC
http:audiosystemsgroup.com 

 On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 19:44:45 EDT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

When an input to, or output from an audio device is specified as being  line 
level, what exactly does that mean? Is it a specific RMS voltage perhaps?  
Its a term that I've heard bandied about over the years but either never knew, 
 
or have forgotten the precise meaning.


___
Elecraft mailing list
Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net
You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): 
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraftHelp:  
http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com