By Frank Pennypacker, P. Eng. and Emanuele DiLecce, P. Eng., Lindsay Specialty Products Ltd.
This paper presents the results of a study conducted as part of a preamplifier design project. It was considered important that the preamplifier being designed be the best combination of performance to suit system operator requirements. These results will also be of great interest to the system operator to aid him in choosing a suitable preamplifier.
The emphasis was placed on system considerations, that is how the performance of the preamplifier affects the overall performance of the system.
Antenna preamplifiers are used to improve the signal to noise ratio of weak signals. It is hoped that an overall improvement in signal to noise ratio will result for the entire system. The antenna preamplifiers can be characterized numerically by certain measurable parameters. These are: noise figure, overload capability, gain, and match. Not as easily measured is reliability.