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G7B08

PRACTICAL CIRCUITS · - Digital circuits; amplifiers and oscillators

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How is the efficiency of an RF power amplifier determined?

  1. ADivide the DC input power by the DC output power
  2. BDivide the RF output power by the DC input power
  3. CMultiply the RF input power by the reciprocal of the RF output power
  4. DAdd the RF input power to the DC output power
Why Efficiency is always useful power out divided by power in. For an RF amplifier the useful output is the RF signal power delivered to the load, and the power in is the DC power drawn from the supply (volts times amps at the collector or plate). So efficiency = RF output power / DC input power, usually multiplied by 100 to express it as a percent; the rest of the DC power becomes heat. Typical figures are roughly 25-35 percent for Class A, 50-60 percent for Class AB, and up to 80 percent or more for Class C.
Watch out Dividing DC input by DC output is meaningless here because the amplifier's output is RF, not DC, and that ratio would be upside down anyway. Any answer that adds powers or uses reciprocals is not a ratio of output to input at all.
Efficiency = what you get out over what you pay for: RF out / DC in. Output on top, always.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of G7B

  1. G7B01 What is the purpose of neutralizing an amplifier?
  2. G7B02 Which of these classes of amplifiers has the highest efficiency?
  3. G7B03 Which of the following describes the function of a two-input AND gate?
  4. G7B04 In a Class A amplifier, what percentage of the time does the amplifying device conduct?
  5. G7B05 How many states does a 3-bit binary counter have?
  6. G7B06 What is a shift register?
  7. G7B07 Which of the following are basic components of a sine wave oscillator?
  8. G7B08 How is the efficiency of an RF power amplifier determined?
  9. G7B09 What determines the frequency of an LC oscillator?
  10. G7B10 Which of the following describes a linear amplifier?
  11. G7B11 For which of the following modes is a Class C power stage appropriate for amplifying a modulated signal?
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