Low-Noise Ultralinear Line Repeaters for the L5 Coaxial System

Two major characteristics of the coaxial cable that are of paramount importance in the design of coaxial line repeaters are the nominal cable loss and the variation in the cable loss due to seasonal variations in cable temperature. As a result, there are two types of line repeaters used to equalize for the cable loss characteristics. One is a low-noise ultralinear fixed-gain amplifier. It is designated the basic repeater and is used to equalize for the nominal loss of the coaxial cable. The second type, called the regulating repeater, includes a basic repeater plus additional circuitry which automatically corrects for dynamic variations in cable loss due to temperature. Some of the important design techniques that are used to achieve these low-noise ultralinear repeaters are described. In addition, an analysis of the steady-state response of a tandem string of regulating repeaters is included.