HF voltage increase

Jan 31, 2010 2 Replies

My 2 to 10 gigahertz sig gen has an output of 2.2V,RMS,,,,how can I bring this up to 5 volts NOT rms. Thanks Joe in Texas


  1. Assume a sine wave.
  2. Multiply by 2.8
  3. You now have 6.2Vp-p (P-P is NOT RMS).
  4. If necessary, add a pad to get to 5V

--- The short answer is: get a 2dB pad.

The "why?" is:

VPP = VRMS * 2 sqrt(2) = 2.2V * 2 * 1.414 = 6.22 volts

E2 5.0V dB = 20 log 10 ---- = ------ = 20 log 10 (0.804) E1 6.22V dB = -1.896

Attenuate the 2.2V signal by 1.896 dB: JF

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