Essential Guide to RF and Wireless, The

LOSS AND GAIN

Devices

While an electrical signal is in the form of a current inside a transmitter or receiver, cruising around on some conductor, it encounters many different objects called components or devices. There are literally hundreds of different components which exist for some reason or another, but all components fall into one of two categories: active or passive. The difference is very simple. If it requires a power supply for it to work properly, it is an active component, otherwise, it is passive.

All components (active and passive) exhibit one of two properties: loss or gain. If the signal coming out is bigger than the signal going in, the device exhibits gain. If the device exhibits gain, it is called an amplifier. All amplifiers ...