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E8D10

SIGNALS AND EMISSIONS · Keying defects and overmodulation of digital signals; digital codes; spread spectrum

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What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?

  1. ABaudot uses 4 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 1 character as a letters/figures shift code, ASCII has no letters/figures code
  2. BBaudot uses 5 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot uses 2 characters as letters/figures shift codes, ASCII has no letters/figures shift code
  3. CBaudot uses 6 data bits per character, ASCII uses 7 or 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
  4. DBaudot uses 7 data bits per character, ASCII uses 8; Baudot has no letters/figures shift code, ASCII uses 2 letters/figures shift codes
Why Baudot is a 5-bit code, so it has only 2^5 = 32 possible combinations, not enough for letters, numbers and punctuation at once. To get around that, it reserves two of those combinations as shift codes, LTRS and FIGS, which switch the receiver between the letters case and the figures/punctuation case. ASCII uses 7 bits (128 combinations, or 8 bits in extended versions), which is plenty to give every letter, digit and symbol its own unique code, so no shift characters are needed.
Watch out The choices that put the letters/figures shift in ASCII have it backwards, and the 4-, 6- and 7-bit counts for Baudot are simply wrong; classic RTTY Baudot is always 5 bits.
Baudot = 5 bits + 2 shifts (LTRS/FIGS); ASCII = 7 bits, no shifting needed.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of E8D

  1. E8D01 Why are received spread spectrum signals resistant to interference?
  2. E8D02 What spread spectrum communications technique uses a high-speed binary bit stream to shift the phase of an RF…
  3. E8D03 Which describes spread spectrum frequency hopping?
  4. E8D04 What is the primary effect of extremely short rise or fall time on a CW signal?
  5. E8D05 What is the most common method of reducing key clicks?
  6. E8D06 What is the advantage of including parity bits in ASCII characters?
  7. E8D07 What is a common cause of overmodulation of AFSK signals?
  8. E8D08 What parameter evaluates distortion of an AFSK signal caused by excessive input audio levels?
  9. E8D09 What is considered an acceptable maximum IMD level for an idling PSK signal?
  10. E8D10 What are some of the differences between the Baudot digital code and ASCII?
  11. E8D11 What is one advantage of using ASCII code for data communications?
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