Programmable binary amplifier
US4091380A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 30, 1976 |
| Grant date | May 23, 1978 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 30, 1996 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B20/10009
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multistage amplifier having an automatically programmable gain is disclosed in which the amplifier gain is incremented in binary steps to a desired level. Each amplifier stage is switchable between a first and second gain in a binary sequence such that the four digit output of a sixteen bit counter will increment the total amplifier gain in sixteen binary steps. A readback and decoding circuit for reading magnetic tape is also disclosed in which the signal amplitude of data read from the magnetic tape is compared to a reference voltage which corresponds to the data readback clipping level. Only amplified data which exceeds the predetermined clipping level is gated out of the circuit for processing. Since input signal amplitude varies from tape to tape and from head to head, the automatic read amplification burst on each tape is used to preset the amplifier gain such that the amplified amplitude of the readback signal is maintained constant as long as the readback signal supplied to the amplifier is within a predetermined range. The amplifier gain is automatically incremented until the amplifier output exceeds the clipping level, thereby insuring that only valid data and not noise…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.