CNSST 1.

1: INTRO TO COMMS, NOISE AND dB

MEASURMENTS
1.

The theory of radio waves was

originated by:
Ans. Maxwell *
2.

The first person who sent the first

radio signal across the Atlantic
ocean:
Ans. Marconi *
3.

The transmission of radio waves was

first done by:
Ans. Hertz *

20.

Flicker noise in radio

communications is also known as.
Ans. pink noise *
21.

What determines the BW of a

transmitted signal?
Ans. the highest frequency component of
modulating signal *
22.

What formula is used to calculate

the overall noise performance of the
receiver or of multiple stages if RF
amplification?
Ans. Friis formula *

When two or more signals share a

common channel, it is called:
Ans. Multiplexing *

If the bandwidth is doubled,

considering all other parameters
unchanged except the normal thermal
noise only. The S/N will be___
Ans. decreased by 3 dB *

5.
Man-made noise can come from:
Ans. equipment that sparks *

24.

4.

6.
Thermal noise is generated in:
Ans. transistors and diodes, copper wire,
and resistors *
7.
Shot noise is generated in:
Ans. transistors and diodes *
The power density of flicker noise
is:
Ans. greater at low frequencies *

23.

Noise at the receiver is in terms

of:
Ans. V *
25.
Reference tone level for Ba:
Ans. 85 dBm *
26.
Ans.

Reference tone level for dBrn:

-90 dBm *

8.

9.

So called 1/f noise is also

called:
Ans. pink noise *
10.
Pink noise has:
Ans. equal power per octave *
11.
Noise figure is a measure of:
Ans. how much noise an amplifier adds to a
signal *
12.

Resistor that generates the lowest

thermal noise:
Ans. wire-wound *
13.

Resistor with typical voltage range

of
Ans. metal film*
14.
Reference for noise temperature in
C:
Ans. 17 *
15.

Standard test tone connected on

audio equipment?
Ans. 1.0 kHz tone *
16.

Reference standard test tone

normally used is indicated in:
Ans. dBm *
Power lost in device, due by the
path of energy flow.
Ans. insertion loss *

27.
Reference tone level for F1A:
Ans. -85 dBm *
28.

Reliable measurement for comparing

amplifier noise characteristics:
Ans. noise factor *
NOISE PROBLEMS
29.
A receiver has noise power bandwidth
of 10 kHz. A resistor that matches
the receiver input impedance is
connected across its antenna
terminals. What is the noise power
contributed by that resistor in the
receiver bandwidth if the resistor
has a temperature of 27 degrees
Celsius?
Ans.

30.

A 300 ohm resistor is connected

across the 300 ohm antenna input of
the television receiver. The
bandwidth of the receiver is 6 MHz,
and the resistor is at room
temperature. Find the noise power
and noise voltage applied to the
receiver input.

Ans. 24.2 fW, 2.7 uV.

17.

18.

The noise generated with

semiconductor devices.
Ans. shot noise *
19.

Bandwidth is approximately _____ the

highest baseband frequency.
Ans. 2 times *

31. A diode noise generator is

required to produce a 10 uV of noise
in a receiver with an input
impedance of 75 ohms, resistive, and
a noise power bandwidth of 200 kHz.
What must be the current through the
diode be?
Ans. 276 mA

32.

Two noise-source resistors R1 and R2

connected in series at different
temperatures, 300K and 400K
respectively. If R1 = 100, R2 =
200, find:
A. the total noise voltage
B. the noise power at the load with RL =
300, over a BW = 100 kHz.
Ans. A. 779 nV; B. 0.506 fW

33. A receiver produces a noise power of

200mW with no signal. The output
level increases to 5W when a signal
is applied. Calculate (S+N)/N as a
power ratio and in decibels.
Ans. 25, 14 dB

34. The signal power at the input to an

amplifier is 100 uW and the noise
power is 1 uW. At the output, the
signal power is 1W and the noise
power is 30 mW. What is the
amplifier noise figure, as a ratio?
In dB?
Ans. 3; 4.77dB

35. The signal at the input of an

amplifier has an S/N of 42 dB. If
the amplifier has a noise figure of
6 dB, what is the S/N at the output
in decibels?
Ans. 36 dB

36. An amplifier has a noise figure of 2

dB. What is the equivalent noise
temperature?
Ans. 170 K

37. A three-stage has stages with the

following specifications: First
stage with power gain and noise
figure of 10 and 2 respectively, 25
and 4 for the second stage and 30
and 5 for the third stage. Find the
noise temperature.
Ans. 382 K

Ans. The value at any given point on the

sine wave
41. What term describes how much of a
cycle has been completed?
Ans. Phase or phase angle.
42. Define the heterodyne principle.
Ans. Process of combining two signal
frequencies in a nonlinear device.
43. What is a nonlinear impedance?
Ans. An impedance in which the resulting
current is not proportional to the
applied voltage.
44. What is spectrum analysis?
Ans. The display of electromagnetic energy
that is arranged according to
wavelength or frequency.
45. What two conditions are necessary for
heterodyning to take place?
Ans. At least two different frequencies
applied to a nonlinear impedance.
46. Name two methods of oscillator keying.
Ans. Plate keying and Cathode keying
47. State the method used to increase the
speed of keying in a CW transmitter.
Ans. Machine keying
48. Name a disadvantage of a single-stage
CW transmitter.
Ans. Antenna to-ground capacitance can
cause the oscillator frequency to
vary
49. What is the purpose of frequencymultiplier stages in a VHF
transmitter?
Ans. To raise the low frequency of a
stable oscillator to the vhf range.
50.

What are the two major sections of a

typical AM transmitter?
Ans. Rf and af units
51. When 100 kilohertz and 5 kilohertz are
heterodyned, what frequencies are
present?
Ans. 100 kilohertz, 5 kilohertz, 95
kilohertz, and 105 kilohertz
52. What determines the bandwidth of an AM
transmission?
Ans. The highest modulating
frequency
53. What is percent of modulation?
Ans. The depth or degree of modulation

AMPLITUDE MODULATION
38. What is heterodyning?
Ans. Mixing two frequencies across a
nonlinear impedance.
39. What waveform is the basis of all
complex waveforms?
Ans. The sine wave
40. What is the instantaneous amplitude of
a sine wave?

54. With a single modulating tone, what is

the amplitude of frequencies at 100percent modulation?
Ans. One-half the amplitude of the carrier
55. What is the formula for percent of
modulation?
Ans. %M = Em/Ec
x 100%
56. What is high-level modulation?

Ans. Modulation produced in the plate

circuit of the last radio stage of
the system.

Ans. By changing the reactance of an

oscillator circuit in consonance
with the modulating voltage.

57. For what class of operation is the

final rf power amplifier of a platemodulator circuit based?
Ans. Class C

71. What characteristic of a transistor is

varied in a semiconductor-reactance
modulator?
Ans. Collector-to-emitter capacitance

58. The modulator is required to be what

kind of a circuit stage in a plate
modulator?
Ans. Power amplifier

72. What circuit section is required in

the output of a multivibrator
modulator to eliminate unwanted
output frequencies?
Ans. An LCR filter

59. How much must the fpa plate current

vary to produce 100-percent
modulation in a plate modulator?
Ans. Between 0 and nearly two times its
unmodulated value
60. The collector-injection modulator is
similar to what type of tube
modulator?
Ans. Plate modulator

73. What characteristic of a varactor is

used in an fm modulator?
Ans. Capacitance
74. What type of modulation depends on the
carrier-wave phase shift?
Ans. Phase

61. When is a control-grid modulator used?

Ans. In cases when the use of a minimum of
af modulator power is desired.

75. What components may be used to build a

basic phase modulator?
Ans. A phase-shift network such a s a
variable resistor and capacitor in
series

62. What type of modulator is the cathode

modulator (low- or high-level)?
Ans. Low-level

76. Phase-shift keying is similar to what

other two types of modulation?
Ans. Cw and frequency-shift keying

63. What causes the change in collector

current in an emitter-injection
modulator?
Ans. Gain is varied by changing the
voltage on the emitter

77. Overmodulating an rf carrier in

amplitude modulation produces a
waveform which is similar to what
modulated waveform?
Ans. Pulse modulation

ANGLE AND PULSE MODULATION

64. What are the two types of angle
modulation?
Ans. Frequency and phase

78. What is prt?

Ans. Pulse-repetition time

65. Name the modulation system in which

the frequency alternates between two
discrete values in response to the
opening and closing of a key?
Ans. Frequency-shift keying
66. What is the primary advantage of an
fsk transmission system?
Ans. Resistance to noise interference
67. What characteristic of a carrier wave
is varied in frequency modulation?
Ans. Instantaneous frequency
68. How is the degree of modulation
expressed in an fm system?
Ans. As the ratio of the frequency
deviation to the maximum frequency
deviation allowable
69. What two values may be used to
determine the bandwidth of an fm
wave?
Ans. The number of significant sidebands
and the modulation frequency.
70. How does the reactance-tube modulator
impress intelligence onto an rf
carrier?

79. What is nonpulse time?

Ans. Rest time
80. What is average power in a pulsed
system?
Ans. Peak power during a pulse
averaged over pulse time plus rest
time
81. What action is necessary to impress
intelligence on the pulse train in
pulse modulation?
Ans. Some characteristic of the pulses has
to be varied
82. To insure the accuracy of a
transmission, what is the minimum
number of times a modulation wave
should be sampled in pulse
modulation?
Ans. 2.5 times the highest modulation
frequency
83. What, if any, noise susceptibility
advantage exists for pulse-amplitude
modulation over analog-amplitude
modulation?
Ans. Both are susceptible to noise and
interference
84. What characteristics of a pulse can be
changed in pulse-time modulation?
Ans. The time duration of the pulses or
the time of occurrence of the pulses

85. Which edges of the pulse can be

modulated in pulse-duration
modulation?
Ans. Either, or both at the same time
86. What is the main disadvantage of
pulse-position modulation?
Ans. It requires synchronization between
the transmitter and receiver.
87. If a modulating wave is sampled 10
times per cycle with a 5-element
binary code, how many bits of
information are required to transmit
the signal?
Ans. 50
88. What is the primary advantage of
pulse-modulation systems?
Ans. Low susceptibility to noise
DEMODULATION
89. What is the simplest form of cw
detector?
Ans. A circuit that can detect the
presence or absence of rf energy
90. What principle is used to help
distinguish between two cw signals
that are close in frequency?
Ans. Heterodyning
91. How does heterodyning distinguish
between cw signals?
Ans. By giving a different beat frequency
for each signal
92. What simple, one-transistor detector
circuit uses the heterodyne
principle?
Ans. Regenerative detector
93. What three functions does the
transistor in a regenerative
detector serve?
Ans. Oscillator, mixer, and detector
94. What does the simplest diode detector
use to reproduce the modulating
frequency?
Ans. The modulation envelope
95. What is the function of the diode in a
series-diode detector?
Ans. Rectifies the rf pulses in the
received signal.
96. Which junction of the transistor in
the common-emitter detector detects
the modulation envelope?
Ans. Emitter-base junction
97. How is the output signal developed in
the common-emitter detector?
Ans. By the collector current flow through
R4

100. What is the simplest form of fm

detector?
Ans. Slope detector
101. What type of tank circuit is used in
the Foster-Seeley discriminator?
Ans. A double-tuned tank circuit
102. What is the primary advantage of a
ratio detector?
Ans. Suppresses amplitude noise without
limiter stages.
103. What circuit functions does the tube
in a gated-beam detector serve?
Ans. Limits, detects, and amplifies.
104. What condition must exist on both the
limiter and quadrature grids for
current to flow in a gated-beam
detector?
Ans. Both grids must be positively biased
105. Name two advantages of the gated-beam
detector.
Ans. Extreme simplicity, few components,
and ease of adjustment.
106. Where is the intelligence contained
in a phase-modulated signal?
Ans. In the amount and rate of phase shift
of the carrier wave.
107. How is a quadrature detector changed
when used for phase demodulation?
Ans. The quadrature grid signal is excited
by a reference from the transmitter.
108. In its simplest form, what functions
must a radar detector be capable of
performing?
Ans. Detecting the presence of rf energy.
109. What characteristic of pulse does a
peak detector sample?
Ans. Pulse amplitude or pulse duration
110. What is the time constant of the
resistor and capacitor in a peak
detector for PAM?
Ans. At least 10 times the interpulse
period
MODULATION/RECEIVERS/TRANSMITTERS
111. The power output of a single-sideband
transmitter is normally expressed as
the _____ power.
Ans. peak envelope *
112. SSB modulation is classified as
______
Ans. AM *
113. Used to suppress carrier in single
sideband transmitters.
Ans. balance modulator *

98. Which junction acts as the detector in

a common-base detector?
Ans. Emitter-base junction

114. Carrier is said to be overmodulated

if the positive peak rises to a
value _____ of the maximum
unmodulated carrier.
Ans. more than twice *

99. To what circuit arrangement is a

common-base detector equivalent?
Ans. A diode detector followed by a stage
of audio amplification.

115. Class of bias produce least harmonics

Ans. class A *

116. Devices used to make modulated

envelope visible.
Ans. oscilloscope *

133. Transmitter power output in SSB

operation is expressed in terms of
Ans. PEP *

117. What will be the result in balanced

modulation if not perfectly
balanced.
Ans. the carrier is transmitted *

134. For SSB transmitter, the average

power is typically _____ of the peak
envelope power, with the typical
human speech.
Ans. 1/4to 1/3 *

118. Advantage of series modulation

Ans. generate high power *
119. Filter attenuates signals, passes
below and above that band.
Ans. band stop *
120. To provide 2 or more voice currents
with same carrier.
Ans. ISM emission *
121. To raise the power levels of AM
signals, the class of amplifier used
is _____.
Ans. class A *
122. Supposed a voice frequency of 400 Hz
is transmitted on an AM radio
station operating on 590 kHz, the
voice frequency 400 Hz is NOT the
______ frequency.
Ans. modulated *
123. What will normal AM receiver detect
from an unmodulated RF AC wave?
Ans. nothing *
124. Splatter is the result of ________.
Ans. overmodulation *
125. What happens in standard AM
transmission, no modulating signal
is being transmitted?
Ans. there are no sidebands *
126. B8E, form of modulation also known as
______.
Ans. Independent Sideband Transmission *
127. Colloquial term describes additional
side frequencies produced by
overmodulation or distortion in AM.
Ans. splatter *
128. Shape trapezoidal pattern at 100%
modulation.
Ans. triangle
129. What is the effect if the gain level
being too high for signals entering
the modulator?
Ans. distortion and splatter *

135. Modulation system most noise

resistant
Ans. FM *
136. Pre-emphasis provides extra noise
immunity by
Ans. converting phase modulation to FM *
137. The three major types of
demodulators:
Ans. Foster-Seely, Quadrature, PLL *
138. In a frequency synthesizer, smallest
amount which output frequency can be
changed?
Ans. resolution *
139. Internal capacitance, causes feedback
produces same effect on
Ans. Miller effect *
140. Small length of wire found in some RF
equipment, connected only at one end
and use as a capacitance to ground.
Ans. gimmick *
141. Movement of signal from one frequency
to another using mixer-oscillator
combination.
Ans. frequency translation *
142. Feature of modulating tone, FM
deviation is proportional
Ans. amplitude *
143. Modulating 2 waves of the same
frequency, but with _____ phase
difference is equivalent to
modulating both amplitude and phase
of the same carrier.
Ans. 90 degrees *
144. Frequency of unmodulated carrier of
an FM.
Ans. rest frequency *
145. What determines stations that will be
selected by a tuner?
Ans. resonant frequency of tuner *
146. Periodic waveforms consist of add
harmonics.
Ans. square wave *

130. The RF signal produce; carrier

frequency (fc) minus modulating
frequency (fm).
Ans. LSB *

147. Major problem with VHF oscillator.

Ans. poor frequency stability *

131. Mixer is also known as:

Ans. converter *

148. What happens to a spectrum of

repetitive pulse as the pulse width
decrease?
Ans. more harmonics of the same phase *

132. In filter design, the maximum SB

suppression is:
Ans. 50 dB *

149. Keyed AGC is AGC that

Ans. is used in TV receivers *

150. Main disadvantage of single-tube

transmitter.
Ans. frequency instability *
151. What is reduced by rounding off
squarewave emission.
Ans. bandwidth *
152. Gained by operating oscillator on
some subharmonic of frequency.
Ans. frequency stability *
153. Multiplexing, oldest and simplest.
Ans. space division multiplexing *

164. An AM broadcast transmiiter has a

carrier power output of 50 kW. What
is the total sideband power with 80%
modulation?
Ans. 16 kW

165. An AM broadcast transmitter radiates

66 kW power when 100% modulated. If
the carrier and one sideband is
suppressed, how much power is save?
Ans. 55 kW

154. Device display signal state of many

lines simultaneously.
Ans. logic analyzer *
155. Most common IF carrier frequency.
Ans. 70 MHz *
156. Citizen Band (CB) Radio Service is a
two-way voice communication device,
it uses frequency range from ______
MHz.
Ans. 26.965 to 27.405 *
157. What determines the rate of frequency
swing for an FM broadcast
transmitter?
Ans. modulation frequency *
158. In PLL demodulating an FM signal.
Ans. VCOout = FMin *

166. A transmitter with 10 kW carrier

power transmit 12 kW when modulated
with a single sine wave. When
modulated with another sinewave at
50% modulation, calculate the total
transmitted power.
Ans. 13.25 *

167. The rms antenna current of a

transmitter is 10 A when
unmodulated, it increases by 2 A
when modulated. Calculate the
modulation index.
Ans. 93.8% *

159. In PLL frequency modulator, fm

Ans. error signal *
160. Find the modulation index if a 10V
carrier is amplitude-modulated by
three different frequencies with
amplitudes of 1V, 2V, and 3V,
respectively.
Ans. 0.374

168. In SSBSC system, if the peak envelope

power (PEP) is 10 W, what will be
the value of the maximum
instantaneous peak power?
Ans. 20 W *

161. Calculate the modulation index for a

waveform with a maximum voltage of
150V and minimum voltage of 70V.
Ans. 0.364 or 36.4%

169. In SSBSC system, if the peak voltage

is 25 volts and the load resistance
is 50 ohms, what will be the value
of the peak envelope power (PEP)?
Ans. 6.25 W *

162. An AM broadcast transmitter has a

carrier power output of 50 kW. What
is the total power would be produced
with 80% modulation?
Ans. 66 kW

163. An AM broadcast transmitter has a

carrier power output of 50 kW. What
is the power in one sideband with
80% modulation?
Ans. 8 kW

170. A carrier wave with an RMS voltage of

20 V and a frequency = 1.5 MHz, is
modulated by a sine wave with a
frequency of 500 Hz and amplitude of
10 V RMS. Determine the peak voltage
of the carrier and of the lower side
frequency.
Ans. 28.3 V; 7.1 V *

171. An FM modulator has a modulator

deviation constant of kf = 30 kHz/V
and operates at a carrier frequency
of 175 MHz. Find the output
frequency instantaneous value of the
modulating signal equal to -2V.
Ans. 174.94 MHz

Carsons rule, calculate the

bandwidth of the signal.
Ans. 16 kHz
172. An FM modulator has a modulator
deviation constant of kf = 30 kHz/V
and operates at a carrier frequency
of 175 MHz is modulated by a 3V sine
wave. Calculate the deviation.
Ans. 127.2 kHz

173. An FM broadcast transmitter operates

at its maximum deviation of 75 kHz.
Find the modulation index for a
sinusoidal modulation signal with a
frequency of 50 Hz.
Ans. 1500

174. A phase modulator has a phase

modulator sensitivity of kp = 2
radians per volt. What RMS voltage
of a sine wave would cause a peak
phase deviation of 60 degrees?
Ans. 0.37 V

175. An FM communications transmitter has

a maximum frequency deviation of 5
kHz and a range of modulating
frequencies from 300 Hz to 3 kHz.
What is the maximum phase shift that
it produces?
Ans. 16.7 radians

176. An FM communications transmitter has

a maximum frequency deviation of 5
kHz and a range of modulating
frequencies from 300 Hz to 3 kHz.
What is the minimum phase shift that
it produces?
Ans. 1.67 radians
177. A phase modulation system, has a
modulation index mp = 1.5, what is
maximum phase shift?
Ans. 86 degrees *

178. A phase modulator has a sensitivity

of kp = 3 radians per volt. How much
frequency deviation does it produces
with a sine-wave input of 2V peak at
a frequency of 1 kHz?
Ans. 6 kHz

179. An FM signal has a deviation of 3 kHz

and a modulating frequency of 1 kHz.
Its total power is 5W, developed
across a 50-ohm resistive load. The
carrier frequency is 160 MHz. Using

180. An FM signal has a modulation index,

mf = 3 and a modulating frequency of
2 kHz. Its total power is 5W,
developed across a 50-ohm resistive
load. The carrier frequency is 160
MHz. Using Carsons rule, calculate
the bandwidth of the signal.
Ans. 16 kHz

181. An FM signal has a frequency

deviation of 5 kHz and a modulating
frequency of 1 kHz. The signal to
noise ratio at the input to the
receiver detector is 20 dB.
Calculate the approximate signal-tonoise ratio at the detector output.
Ans. 34 dB

182. A crytal oscillator is accurate

within 0.0005%. How far off
frequency could be at 27 MHz?
Ans. 135 Hz
183. A transmitter has a carrier power
output of 10W at an efficiency of
70%. How much power must be
supplied by the modulating amplifier
for 100% modulation?
Ans. 7.14 W

184. A transmitter operates from a 12V

supply, with a collector current of
2A. The modulation transformer has
a turns ratio of 4:1. What is the
load impedance seen by the audio
amplifier?
Ans. 96 ohms

185. A collector modulated class C

amplifier has a carrier output power
Pc of 100W and an efficiency of 70%.
Calculate the supply power and the
transistor power dissipation with
100% modulation.
Ans. Ps = 214W; Pd= 64W

186. An AM transmitter is required to

produce 10W of carrier power when
operating from a 15V supply. What is
the required load impedance as seen
from the collector?
Ans. 11.25 ohms

187.

A portable radio transmitter has to

operate transmitter has to operate
at temperature from -5 to 35 degrees
C. If its signal is derived from a
crystal oscillator with a
temperature coefficient of +1 ppm
per degree Celsius and it transmits
at exactly 146 MHz at 20 degrees C,
find the transmitting frequency at
the upper temperature limit.
Ans. 146.00219 MHz

188. A phase-locked loop has a VCO with a

free-running frequency of 12 MHz.
As the frequency of the reference
input is gradually raised from zero,
the loop locks at 10 MHz and comes
out again at 16 MHz. Find the
capture range and lock range.
Ans. Capture range = 4 MHz, Lock range = 8
MHz