As of May 31, 2023, we have updated our Code of Conduct.

Questions tagged [amplifier]

Questions about amplifiers, typically RF power amplifiers. For low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) consider using the "lna" tag.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
3 votes
0 answers
48 views

Repeater Amplifiers DMR vs Analog

I have recently purchased an amplifier for my repeater. This was actually my first amplifier purchase ever and should probably have asked more questions prior to buying it. The repeater is a ...
1 vote
2 answers
86 views

What's the maximum possible "DC input to radiated RF" energy efficiency of a radio transmitter system?

It's simply a bromide amongst hams that you need to match the output impedance of a transmitter to the input impedance of an antenna, but I never thought through the implications of this until I came ...
5 votes
1 answer
97 views

Why does my received power rise so much when I connect an antenna?

I am in early stages of making a narrow-band radio receiver (block diagram below). To give you an idea, I am using a simple CP-FSK based modulation scheme, and have achieved 5dB SNR with a Tx signal ...
0 votes
2 answers
163 views

Connect an LTE ("4G") signal booster (amplifier) directly to my router will break it?

The goal is to connect an LTE ("4G") signal booster (amplifier) directly to my router to avoid the radio signal feedback¹ by the LTE ("4G") signal booster (amplifier). ¹ ...
3 votes
1 answer
91 views

RFID extension cable

I am trying to build an extension cable to relay an RFID signal (125kHz) to various distances (2,5,10m). I am using 2 identical antennas at the two ends of a 75Ohm coax cable, and I also put 2 ...
2 votes
1 answer
124 views

How much does a RF amplifier use of its input power?

I've been casually aware that signal gain can be added in "stages" but never really considered how that might actually work in practice. And it seems that some RF amplifiers really prefer to ...
2 votes
1 answer
65 views

Looking for specifications for Wilson Electronics WAU 420 amplifier

Hey there helpful people I'm trying to track down some specifications on a Wilson Electronics WAU 420. I have no idea on its exact age but guessing its from the late 90's. It's likely UHF band and ...
4 votes
1 answer
122 views

Really a Class C design?

In the March 2000 QST there was an article on the Tuna Tin QRP transmitter, which I thought I might build: The text describes Q2 as a C Class amplifier, but I just can't see how that can be true. &...
1 vote
0 answers
49 views

Design of an LNA housing box for a UHF/VHF satellite ground station

I'm currently designing a waterproof metallic case to house LNAs, power cables, and RF switches for a UHF/VHF satellite ground station. As shown in the diagram below, the antennas are connected to an ...
2 votes
1 answer
59 views

How can a low-impedance load can damage a FET final amplifier?

I believe I understand how an excessively high impedance can damage a final output power MOSFET (voltage rises until avalanche breakdown). But how does an excessively low impedance do that? If the ...
0 votes
1 answer
44 views

How do you create a DC-blocking ground-shunt that looks inductive in an "L" match?

We are optimizing an impedance match with s2p models for an LNA and found that an "L" match with a serial cap and shunt inductor will optimize to provide +3 dB of output, versus using serial ...
0 votes
4 answers
410 views

Does an RF amplifier allow us to receive a signal from further away?

From my understanding a RF amplifier boosts the transmission power of your antenna, this will in turn give you a higher gain. However I've read that this only will give you a further "...
6 votes
2 answers
244 views

Purpose and sizing of capacitors placed across RF push-pull power amplifier transformer windings

I keep finding RF push-pull power amplifier designs specified with a small(-ish) capacitor across the primary (or secondary) windings of the coupling transformers. Here's an example: This is one ...
1 vote
0 answers
68 views

S-Parameters Power amplifier impedance matching

I recently decided to conceive a 10W class 446MHz amplifier. I want to be able to amplify a 100mW signal into a 10W, for that i'm going for a two stages amplifier : SKY65162 to amplify the signal to ...
1 vote
0 answers
125 views

Need help in the fabrication of an UHF power amplifier

I recently decided to conceive a 10W class 446MHz amplifier. I want to be able to amplify a 100mW signal into a 10W, for that i'm going for a two stages amplifier : SKY65162 to amplify the signal to ...
13 votes
3 answers
319 views

UHF FM power amplifier design without expensive software

I'm designing a small UHF data transceiver for the 70cm band, based on a Silicon Labs EZRadioPro Si4463 IC. Modulation is FM, 12.5kHz channel step. The concept is similar to SiLabs' AN656 application ...
3 votes
2 answers
137 views

What safety procedures should be followed when developing and testing a high power amp?

I'm designing a 300W power amplifier using the MRF300AN from NXP targeting a center frequency of 146 MHz. Obviously I need to keep my fingers out of it and test into a dummy load, but generally ...
4 votes
2 answers
608 views

Reduction in transceiver power output into high SWR

How much do transceivers drop their output power, when the SWR is high? Most amateur solid state amplifiers or transceivers are (fully?) protected against high SWR, by a circuit which reduces the ...
5 votes
1 answer
495 views

Using a Return Loss Bridge and Nano VNA to measure amplifier characteristics

One of the difficulties of measuring active devices like LNA and IF amplifiers with the Nano VNA is the care needed to avoid over-driving the amplifier input and, more importantly perhaps, to avoid ...
3 votes
3 answers
1k views

The amplifier does not work for hack rf one

Good day! I ask for help with repairing the hackrf one amplifier. Doesn't work at all. Accepts signals without amplifier, and LNA and VGA adjustment in SDR sharp works too! But when I put a tick on &...
3 votes
3 answers
791 views

How does the Maximum Power Transfer Theorem relate to RF power amplifiers?

The Maximum Power Transfer Theorem says that maximum power transfer occurs when the source impedance equals the load impedance, when the power transferred to the load is 50%, the other 50% being ...
1 vote
0 answers
38 views

Is it beneficial to boost the transmit power from a transmitter past 2W around 2.4GHz?

I have a ready-made transmitter that outputs 2W of RF power at 2.4GHz carrier frequency (I'm trying to transmit TV using DVB-S2) into the antenna, and I was wondering if it made sense to add a power ...
0 votes
3 answers
160 views

Is it possible to boost WIFI signal? [closed]

Whilst strictly not radio ham question, it does fall in to the RF area so hopefully this is not too far off topic... I have BT broadband account which entitles me to use BT-WIFI hotspots. The trouble ...
3 votes
1 answer
107 views

Why is my experiment to produce 3rd order harmonics by saturating a receiver not working

I've been trying to devise an experiment to produce a third order harmonic in radio receiver that's been saturated, but I'm not seeing the expected results. My understanding of the theory is that when ...
11 votes
4 answers
8k views

What is dBm and why is it used rather than watts?

Reading through an RF power amplifier datasheet, I found the sheet only referenced dBm output power, rather than watts. What is dBm? How do I convert it to watts? Why, or when, would you use dBm to ...
9 votes
1 answer
706 views

How effectively do modern transmitters protect against high SWR?

The following are fairly common knowledge: Transmitting at full power with too much of an impedance mismatch can damage your finals. If we do so inadvertently, modern radios drop the power ...
4 votes
0 answers
106 views

Checklist for QRO remote setup

In a few weeks I'm hoping to set up a solid state linear amplifier at a remote shack that I've set up at the house of a friend who lives in a rural area. I've been connecting to this shack remotely ...
0 votes
1 answer
117 views

Circuit for RF Splitter [closed]

Does anyone know of any resources which describe how to design a circuit with one RF input and multiple (at least 6) RF outputs, whereby the signal strength of each output matches (does not exceed and ...
4 votes
3 answers
309 views

High-Z RF amplifier for magloop RX vs Q-factor

I've noticed that increasing load on magloop reduces it's Q-factor, it becomes less selective. Traditional way to approach this is reducing size of pickup loop, or alternatively, using transformer. ...
3 votes
1 answer
60 views

What is the difference between an RF amplifier's DC or quiescent operating point and the RF operating point?

I chose the resistor values in the following schematic to set the DC bias point of VCE=6V and IC=5mA because the transistor data sheet gave the S-parameters at 162MHz for these values. I learned how ...
1 vote
2 answers
203 views

Increasing communication range by boosting output and input power

ORIGINAL QUESTION I am trying to increase the range of communication between two SDRs to simulate near space communication. The output power of TX is 10dBm but I would need 37dBm for near space ...
2 votes
1 answer
273 views

Hypothetical question: Repeater with power amplifier

This is my first time ever asking a question on stack exchange or any stack site, so please be gentle if I missed something here. I am currently working on building a UHF (GMRS) repeater, and while ...
0 votes
0 answers
47 views

Simple minimum component RF Amplifier Design

Looking for advice/assistance in Retrofitting sans Cabinet Antique 2 and 3 Dialer 1920's TRF tube radios to operate with low safe Plate voltages.Both Hollow State and Solid State. The plan is to ...
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the purpose of the transformer at the input (and output) of this RF push-pull amplifier

Firstly, feel free to move this to Electronics SE if it's not on-topic, but it's strongly related to ham radio and RF circuitry. Reading Hayward's classic "Solid State Design for the Radio Amateur" ...
4 votes
3 answers
178 views

Coax braid acting as power supply ground between radio and amplifier connected to the same supply, is this a problem?

I have a Kenwood TH-D72 and I just got an old Radio Shack HTA-20 2m amplifier to use with it. They're both powered from a sizeable 3S2P Li-Ion battery pack and they work great together for the most ...
1 vote
1 answer
209 views

Signal power measurement

I have a radio with a nominal output of 1-30mW (frequency dependent) and amplify this with a 21.8dB capable amplifier (frequency dependent, but should be ~150mW). The signal output then passes through ...
0 votes
4 answers
864 views

Building an AM Radio receiver

I am making an AM radio with the specifications of: Part 1. Design a circuit with an antenna for tuning your receiver to a signal of a specific carrier radio frequency so that you can select a certain ...
2 votes
4 answers
2k views

what are the alternatives to LM387 and SA602AN?

I am building a 20 Mhz RF receiver out of the NASA radio JOVE instruction manual and they have recommended the use of LM387 as an audio amplifier. SA602AN as mixer IC:
0 votes
2 answers
193 views

sdr as watts and amps [closed]

Thanks to rclocher3 for helping edit more to English why closed so my struggle to get thought to English thank rclocher3 I round back too best I put in avuenue what I was asking why closed i tryed ...
0 votes
2 answers
87 views

What is an optimal amplifier arrangement with ham radios?

As I am settling on a design for a radio I need to figure out one thing: Should I modulate on low power and boost it up with a post amp, or should I go on full power right out of the gate?
4 votes
1 answer
186 views

What is unique about a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA)?

What is so special about a low noise amplifier? If I were to design an amplifier, I would always design an amplifier with low noise anyway. Why is it emphasised as being “Low Noise”? What are the ...
1 vote
0 answers
51 views

How to calculate combined power of two amplifiers

If I have 1 amplifier running at 95%, and another identical one running at 60%, how may I calculate the output power of the combiner? I believe this combiner is a "Magic T", but if there is a ...
4 votes
4 answers
1k views

Why does an RF Amplifier fail when the SWR is high?

Exactly why does an RF output transistor fail if the SWR is bad ? Is it A because the impedance mismatch between the transmission line and the antenna results in maximum power not being transferred ...
2 votes
3 answers
747 views

Under what circumstances does intermodulation become an issue in a filter after LNA setup?

I'm reading about using software-defined radio for picking up ADS-B signals at 1090MHz. There is this blog which considers (among others) a setup as follows: ...
0 votes
3 answers
394 views

How to make simple AM detector using an LED?

I'm new to amateur radio, and as a beginner project, I wanted to use some of the basic components I have to create an AM receiver. Anyway, what I'm trying to do is create a simple AM receiver that ...
9 votes
1 answer
314 views

How can I do direct digital synthesis of a 630m WSPR signal?

I want to do direct digital synthesis of a 630m band WSPR signal. Specifically I'd like to use an Atmega 328 chip running at 20 MHz to produce such a signal. I will use standard phase accumulator ...
4 votes
2 answers
319 views

Pi Matching circut for tube PA - what values?

I am working on my 80m and 40m CW transmitter and ran into a problem: I need to match the high impedance of PL504 to 50ohm coax, a Pi match seems to be the best, but I don't know how to calculate ...
7 votes
1 answer
998 views

Double power-handling ability of RF amplifier output transformer

I want to base the output network for a 500W push-pull HF amplifier on "A 250W Broadband Linear Amplifier" described in Chapter 17 of the 2014 ARRL Handbook. I need advice on whether and/or how the 1:...
1 vote
0 answers
122 views

Parasitic inductance of relay contacts

I need to switch a bank of filters operating on bands from about 2MHz to 30MHz. The parasitic series inductance of the relay contact system will have an effect on the performance of my system. ...
1 vote
2 answers
113 views

Toroid Coupling Issue in Common-base Amplifier

I'm working on an old school VFO for the 15 meter band based on a JFET Hartley oscillator. The plan is to follow the oscillator section with a JFET buffer, then a CB amplifier (for increased reverse ...