One reason the KX-1 can pack in so much functionality is that it uses the Analog Devices AD9834 Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS). On the Elecraft mailing list, Pete WD4LST pointed to this Analog Devices DDS primer. Here’s an excerpt:
A DDS chip, or direct digital synthesizer, produces an analog waveform—usually a sine wave, but triangular and square waves are inherent—by generating a time-varying signal in digital form and then performing a digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion. DDS devices are primarily digital, so they can offer fast switching between output frequencies, fine frequency resolution, and operation over a broad spectrum of frequencies.
Leave a Reply