Talk:Analog delay line

The velocity of propagation down an ordinary coaxial cable equals the EM wave velocity down the dielectric. You can find this from the inductance and capacitance per unit length. Coaxial cables are made with helical center conductors, giving them extra inductance, and slowing down the wave. Both the inductance and capacitance are continuous. The same math also applies to the one in the picture, with a wire wound around the outside of a copper pipe. Interestingly, the result is pretty much the ordinary velocity of propagation along the length of the wire. Gah4 (talk) 19:50, 6 March 2019 (UTC)

A delay line's operation is not inherently analog or digital, and I submit that calling it an "analog delay line" is incorrect. A delay line merely delays the signal waveform, without regard to the underlying signal encoding, and indeed the article highlights both analog and digital uses. Historically these were called simply "delay lines", and that's still what they're called in electronic component supply catalogs, without any mention of "analog" or "digital". Calling it "analog" now seems to be a reaction to distinguish it from technologies that operate digitally, but "analog" does not mean "not digital". A delay line is not analog, in the same way that a resistor or a wire is not analog. It's just a component with its own characteristic behavior, which can be used in analog or digital systems.

"Delay line (electronics)" would be a better article title. Balazer (talk) 16:43, 26 March 2026 (UTC)