super regenerative receiver, wiki

Hi,
Would any one pls. tell me what's the descranpancy between the super re-gerative and re-generative princples? What "super" mean here?


Thanks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_circuit

These things are real crap! Avoid them if you can.

They are oscillators that lock onto AM modulated signals, and by watching the device DC current draw, you can demodulate the AM. REALLY squirrelly! In order for them to not take off and randomly self oscillate, they "quench" the RF oscillations periodically.

A regenerative receiver uses an external quenching oscillator to periodically reset the oscillator output. A super-regenerative receiver is self-quenching, and the quenching frequency depends upon the signal being received. Both circuits were invented by Armstrong.
I wouldn't go and say that the circuits are worthless - they are actually widely used in garage-door opener circuits, walkie talkies, etc.. They do not deliver the performance of a superhet or other more complex circuits, but they offer huge advantages in cost (very low part count!)