FCC Exam Question: 8-22C5

The high-gain IF amplifiers in a RADAR receiver may amplify a 2 microvolt input signal to an output level of 2 volts. This amount of amplification represents a gain of:

A. 60 db.
B. 100 db.
C. 120 db.
D. 1,000 db.
Correct Answer: C

Explanation: The amount of amplification, or gain, in electronic circuits is commonly expressed in decibels (dB). For voltage gain, the formula is: Gain (dB) = 20 * log10 (V_out / V_in) In this case, the output voltage (V_out) is 2 volts, and the input voltage (V_in) is 2 microvolts (which is 2 x 10^-6 volts). 1. Calculate the voltage ratio: V_out / V_in = 2 V / (2 x 10^-6 V) = 1 / 10^-6 = 1,000,000 2. Calculate the base-10 logarithm of the ratio: log10 (1,000,000) = 6 3. Multiply by 20 to get the gain in dB: Gain (dB) = 20 * 6 = 120 dB Therefore, an amplification from 2 microvolts to 2 volts represents a gain of 120 dB. Options A, B, and D are incorrect as they would correspond to different voltage ratios. For example, 60 dB is a voltage ratio of 1,000, and 100 dB is a voltage ratio of 100,000.

Pass Your FCC Exam!

Study offline, track your progress, and simulate real exams with the GMDSS Trainer app.


Includes Elements 1, 3, 6, 7R, 8, and 9.