🔍 Key Concepts

• Purpose of a low-noise amplifier (LNA) in a receiver chain • Where the weak incoming signal first enters the receiver • How noise added early in the receiver affects overall sensitivity

💭 Think About

• In which receiver stage is the signal at its weakest level and most vulnerable to added noise? • If you add noise late in the chain (after several amplifications), does it affect overall performance as much as noise added at the very beginning? Why or why not? • Which stage directly handles the antenna input before most of the signal processing occurs?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which stage is closest to the antenna input of the VHF receiver • Recall that an LNA is used to improve sensitivity by boosting weak signals while adding minimal extra noise • Eliminate any stages where the signal is already strong and demodulated, since LNA benefits are much smaller there