Question 3-55G4

Single-sideband (SSB) voice signals transmit information by varying the amplitude of an RF envelope, directly reflecting the characteristics of the human voice waveform. * **Peak Envelope Power (PEP)** is the maximum power attained by the RF envelope during the highest peaks of modulation. * **Average Power** is the power averaged over a period of time, typically several seconds or minutes, encompassing multiple syllables and pauses. Human speech is characterized by high, brief peaks (e.g., certain consonants) and lower average energy over time. Because SSB's envelope mirrors this voice characteristic, its average power will be significantly lower than its peak power. During normal voice modulation, the average power for an SSB signal is typically about 1/4 to 1/3 of the PEP. Therefore, the ratio of PEP to average power is approximately 3:1 to 4:1. Option A, 2.5 to 1, is the closest and most commonly accepted approximation for this ratio in practical amateur radio operation, acknowledging that the average power is substantially less than the peak power. Options B (1 to 1) would imply constant power, which is not the case for modulated voice. Options C (25 to 1) and D (100 to 1) represent a much higher peak-to-average ratio than observed during typical, continuous voice modulation.