A Study of Heterodyne Amplification by the Electron Relay

The amplifying action of the regenerative oscillating electron relay is carefully studied. It is found, by separation of the various effects, that there exist three distinct types of amplification. The first, or equal heterodyne type, occurs when the local oscillating current is equal to the signaling current. The second, or optimum heterodyne type, occurs when the local oscillating current is increased to the critical value for maximum response. The third, or regenerative type, results from the amplifying action of the relay and its associated circuits. The roughly approximate numerical values of the three types are five-, twenty-, and fifty-fold, making a total amplification of five thousand times or more. The mechanism of these phenomena is considered in detail with especial reference to the limitations of each process.