Basic Qualification · B-003 Station assembly, practice and safety · B-003-013-001

What causes the loud noise heard from an FM receiver in the absence of a signal?

  1. A The additional gain following the discriminator
  2. B The nature of atmospheric noise in the VHF range
  3. C The higher intermediate frequency used in FM receivers
  4. D The very large gain of stages ahead of the discriminator

Correct answer: D — The very large gain of stages ahead of the discriminator. From the official ISED question bank, verified word for word.

Why

FM receivers use extremely high amplification in the stages before the discriminator to catch weak signals, but this same massive gain also boosts the tiny background hiss present in every electronic circuit. The full explanation — and one for every question — is in Pro.

Practise this section

Building a station safely: power supplies, grounding, RF exposure, lightning, feedline routing, and what a transmitter, receiver and transceiver actually do.

Drill B-003 — free, no account · All B-003 questions