Greetings fellow nerds: I am trying to find out what the final drive TX of the Voyager spacecraft is. I wondered if it was a Traveling Wave Tube or some other device for the transmitter output..

Also, what is the makeup of the RX (receiver side). Did they use Gallium Arsenide Field effect transistors or similar in chip form? As we all know these devices were state of the art in 1977 or before this when the final receiver design was conceived. They are very noisy compared with modern devices.

Has anyone here any details on the TX and RX. If so, drop me an email to mmalky@yahoo.com.
Antony

You might talk to someone at JPL -- I found an interesting web page about space probe hardware at http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf11-2.php, and it mentions Traveling Wave Tube but doesn't say what Voyager actually used.

Ah - while writing this, I found this page, which indicates the transmitter use strategy on both Voyager probes for their 30-year lifespan plan -- looks like they have TWTs.  Check it out!