CllAP'fERVII

ELECTRONIC DIAGRAMS

7.1 Objectives
At the end of this progr h
am t e students are expected to be able to differentiate
between block diagrams d . . .
an c1rcu1t diagrams and describe them correctly.
This chapter introduces tw0 lei .
nds of diagrams often used in Electrorucs. They
are block diagrams and circuit diagrams.

7.2 Material
7.2.1 01.1derstanding Electronic Diagrams
Although electronic devices may look complicated, they are
made up of common basic units ('building blocks') connected together.
The function of each of these units and the path of signals between them
can be shown in a block diagram. For example, the block diagram of a
simple radio is shown in fig. 1.

aerial
I

power
AF amp amp
~
r
ILJI --"'-- volume I "'-~
/ -□
j detector
runer control
I L------'! V
L .- -~
Fig. 7

ow the radio works, it is more important to understand

T O understan d h
. f each unit than to know what components are used. This
the funct10n o
. stems approach to electronics .. For example, in fig. I
1s known as a sy
the required signal, the detector separates off the audio
the tuner se1ects
• al and the AF amplifier (amp) amplifies it.
part of the sign ,
 The Conn d
.
ections
basic units c an values of the components inside these
an be shown. . . .
symbols p· m a crrcmt diagram using standard electroruc
. ig. 2 shows the . . .
circuit diagram for the simple radio.

01 +5V
RF OA90
AF
~
L, 100 pF
470µH 5-65 pF C:,
~--_J Ci R1
I 220 k!~ 1 k(! Ri

- sv
tuned circu it detector AF amplifie r volume power amp speaker
control
Fig. 2

7.2.2 Describing Block Diagrams and Circuits:

Look again at Fig. 1. We caI1 describe it like this :

The radio consists of

a tuner, a detector, and an
is composed of AF amplifier

Using comprise, we can start our description with the blocks :

A tuner, a detector, and an AF amplifier I comprise I the·radio

We can describe the links between each building block using these

expressions :

The tuner is connected to the detector

is linked to
 Look again at Fig 1 W .
. · · e can describe the values of compon ents like this

Rl a two-hundred-and-twenty-kilohm resistor
C 2 a hundre d-picof arad (pufj) capacitor.

How to describ e each of the basic units?

Lookin g now at the basic units of the circuit, we can describ e the
volume control like this :

The volume control consists of a ten-microfarad electro lytic

capacit or connec ted in series with a five-kilohm potenti ometer
(pot). The pusitiv e terminal of the capacitor is connec ted to the out
put of the AF amplifi er and the wiper of the pot is connec ted to the
power amp. The third terminal of the pot is connec ted to the zero
voltage supply rail, which is earthed.

Tris table provid es the terms you need.

Prefix Symbo l Multi~ le Exam~le

g1ga G 109 Ghz gigaher tz

mega M 10
6 MO megaoh m

kilo k 103 kV kilovolts

d 1o·' dB decibels
deci
m I 0·3 mW miliwa tts
milli
10-6 µH microh eniies
micro µ
n I 0·9 nF nano farads
nano
1o-12 pF picofar ads
ICO p ,
7J Exercise
7.3.1 Descr ibe the value ofthese components:
1 R2
2 Cl
3 R3
4 C3
5 Pl
6 LI

7.3.2 Fill the gaps in this description of the tuned circui~ shown in Fig.2. Each
gap repres ents one word.
The circui t
1
_____ of a four hundred and seventy2 _ _ _ _ __
3
induct or which 1s connected in parallel with a - - - - - - - - -
capaci tor. The _ _ _ _ _ _ _ can be varied betwee n :five and sixty-
4

6
five5 . The aerial is ______ to the top end of
7
tuner. It is also connected to the positive terminal of the - - - - - -
in L1ie detect or. The bottom end of the turner is connec ted to earth via the
zero voltag e8 _____ rail.

7 .3.3 With the help of the diagram, fi]l in the gaps in the descri ption.E ach gap
repres ents one word. The description should answer these questi ons :
1 What is the diagram of?
·t consist of in terms of blocks ?
2 What d oes 1 ·
blocks connec ted?
3 Howa re th e
. h function of the each block ?
4 What 1st e
 amp fitl!d e-m odul ated
RF earn er aeria l

RF osci llato r r--- -+- ---1 RF pow er

mod ulat or
amp lifier -

micr opho ne

AF amp lifie r ,__...__J

~ -- AF sign al

Fig. 3
odu led (AM ) radi o
-Fig . 3 sho ws the bloc k diagram of an amp litud e-m
1
of radio freq uenc y (RF ), osci llato r, a2
tran smi tter. It _ _ _ _

and an RF pow er
__ __ __, an audi o frequency (AF) amplifier,
4
_ _ _ _ wav e
amp lifie r. The RF _ _ _ _ _ _ generates an RF _
3

whi ch is fed into the modulator.

sign als whi ch are
The mic roph one conv erts sounds into frequency
ulat or then uses
amp lifie d by the AF _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ • The mod
5

e the R.i-C carr ier

the amp lifie d AF6 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to mod ulat

wav e. 7
wav e is incr ease d by the RF
The pow er of the mod ulat ed earn er
to
amp lifie r. The strong modulated outp ut sign als are fed
------ \Vhich enables them to be tran smit ted over long
the&
-- -- -- -
M '\anc e.
~ ~ .-t Identify the folloWing com])Onents m the circuit of the ampli fier and
write out their values in fuJJ :

1 Rs
6 L1
2 R9 7 R1
3 Cs 8 Ilg
4 Ci 9 R3
5 F1 10 c6

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