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E4C05

AMATEUR PRACTICES · Receiver performance: phase noise, noise floor, image rejection, minimum detectable signal (MDS), increasing signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range, noise figure, reciprocal mixing; selectivity; SDR non-linearity; use of attenuators at low frequencies

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What does a receiver noise floor of -174 dBm represent?

  1. AThe receiver noise is 6 dB above the theoretical minimum
  2. BThe theoretical noise in a 1 Hz bandwidth at the input of a perfect receiver at room temperature
  3. CThe noise figure of a 1 Hz bandwidth receiver
  4. DThe receiver noise is 3 dB above theoretical minimum
Why Thermal noise power is P = kTB, where k is Boltzmann's constant and T is absolute temperature. At room temperature (290 K) and a 1 Hz bandwidth, that works out to about -174 dBm, which is the absolute floor a perfect, noiseless receiver would see at its input. Any real receiver adds its own noise on top of this, and the amount it adds is its noise figure. Widening the bandwidth raises the floor by 10 log(B), so 500 Hz of CW bandwidth sits about 27 dB higher, near -147 dBm.
Watch out The choices citing 3 dB or 6 dB above theoretical minimum describe noise figure, the excess noise a real receiver contributes, not the reference floor itself. -174 dBm is the reference point, not an offset from one.
-174 dBm = kTB at 290 K in 1 Hz. Add 10 log(bandwidth) to get the floor in a real filter.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of E4C

  1. E4C01 What is an effect of excessive phase noise in an SDR receiver's master clock oscillator?
  2. E4C02 Which of the following receiver circuits can be effective in eliminating interference from strong out-of-band…
  3. E4C03 What is the term for the suppression in an FM receiver of one signal by another stronger signal on the same f…
  4. E4C04 What is the noise figure of a receiver?
  5. E4C05 What does a receiver noise floor of -174 dBm represent?
  6. E4C06 How much does increasing a receiver's bandwidth from 50 Hz to 1,000 Hz increase the receiver's noise floor?
  7. E4C07 What does the MDS of a receiver represent?
  8. E4C08 An SDR receiver is overloaded when input signals exceed what level?
  9. E4C09 Which of the following choices is a good reason for selecting a high IF for a superheterodyne HF or VHF commu…
  10. E4C10 What is an advantage of having a variety of receiver bandwidths from which to select?
  11. E4C11 Why does input attenuation reduce receiver overload on the lower frequency HF bands with little or no impact …
  12. E4C12 How does a narrow-band roofing filter affect receiver performance?
  13. E4C13 What is reciprocal mixing?
  14. E4C14 What is the purpose of the receiver IF Shift control?
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