Chapter Overview

To understand communication electronics as presented in this book, you need a knowledge of certain basic principles of electronics, including the fundamentals of alternating-current (ac) and direct-current (dc) circuits, semiconductor operation and characteristics, and basic electronic circuit operation (amplifiers, oscillators, power supplies, and digital logic circuits). Some of the basics are particularly critical to understanding the chapters that follow. These include the expression of gain and loss in decibels, LC tuned circuits, resonance and filters, and Fourier theory. The purpose of this chapter is to briefly review all these subjects. If you have studied the material before, it will simply serve as a review and reference. If, because of your own schedule or the school’s curriculum, you have not previously covered this material, use this chapter to learn the necessary information before you continue.

Chapter Outline

2-1 Gain, Attenuation, and Decibels
2-2 Tuned Circuits
2-3 Filters
2-4 Fourier Theory

Chapter Objectives

• Calculate voltage, current, gain, and attenuation in decibels and apply these formulas in applications involving cascaded circuits.
• Explain the relationship between Q, resonant frequency, and bandwidth.
• Describe the basic configuration of the different types of filters that are used in communication networks and compare and contrast active filters with passive filters.
• Explain how using switched capacitor filters enhances selectivity.
• Explain the benefits and operation of crystal, ceramic, and SAW filters.
• Calculate bandwidth by using Fourier analysis.