Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

Unit 5 – Questions File

1. Read through the following information that is pertinent to the online self-
assessment for this unit.

One disadvantage of half-wave rectification is that one half of the source

waveform is not used, resulting in only 50 percent of the available input power
being made available to the load resistor. Smoothing in a full-wave rectifier is
achieved by using capacitors that act as reservoirs, supplying current to a load
resistor.

The amount by which smoothing capacitors reduce the ripple voltage is

determined by the load resistor’s value. A half-wave rectifier with no capacitor
will result in large voltage ripples with a ripple percentage of around 120%.

A capacitor needs to charge when connected to a voltage source and

discharge when disconnected from it, or else it will remain fully charged with
electrons. This is automatically achieved when an alternating current (AC) is
applied across a capacitor, giving it the opportunity to fully charge and then
discharge to a certain voltage, before charging again up to full voltage.

The direction of electron flow through a diode bridge rectifier is always decided
by two diodes that are forward biased, while the other two diodes remain
reverse biased for one half of the input signal.

The design of a power supply starts on the left-hand side where the AC source
must be a peak voltage which is decreased as one moves to the right across
the components as each one introduces its own voltage drop. Any electronic
component in a circuit has a purpose and will always introduce a voltage drop
as it consumes power due to Ohms law.

A transistor may be used as an electronic switch when high power loads need
to be activated by integrated circuits, called IC’s, that only provides a few
electrons. However, the transistor may also be used to design an amplifier
when its active region is used. The design process for a transistor amplifier
should start with calculating VRE, then Icq, then Ib and finally I1. The voltage
value of the emitter resistor should always be between 5 and 15 percent of the
maximum supply voltage. When used as a signal amplifier, Vcq and Icq must
be centered in the middle of the active region, and not near the cut-off or
saturation region.

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

2. Design a half-wave rectifier without a smoothing capacitor using a Silicon diode.

The transformer has a ratio of 60:5. The load resistance is 120 Ω. The RMS
voltage supply from ESKOM is 240 V.
a. Calculate VDC
b. Calculate Voltage ripple RMS
b. Calculate the ripple voltage percentage

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

3. Design a half-wave rectifier with a smoothing capacitor (680 uF) using a

Germanium diode. The transformer has a ratio of 400:20. The load resistance is
20 Ω. The RMS voltage supply from ESKOM is 220 V.
a. Calculate Vmax
b. Calculate VDC
b. Calculate the ripple voltage percentage

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

4. Design a full-wave rectifier with a smoothing capacitor (15000 uF) using Silicon
diodes. The transformer has a ratio of 1500:51. The load resistance is 50 Ω. The
RMS voltage supply from ESKOM is 220 V.
a. Calculate Vmax
b. Calculate VDC
b. Calculate the ripple voltage percentage

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

5. A voltage source of 14.14 Vrms is connected to a half-wave rectifier

(Silicon diodes used), with no smoothing capacitor, that is connected to a
load with a resistance of 680 Ohm. Sketch and FULLY label the input and
output time-domain waveforms for the rectifier which will be visible on an
oscilloscope. TWO complete cycles must be shown.

Input to rectifier

Output from rectifier

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

6. Design a NPN common-emitter amplifier to meet the following specifications:

Gain = 400; Vcc = 45 V;
Lowest frequency = 100 Hz; Collector current = 444 mA
% of VCC = 10%; Show all calculations.

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

7. Refer to the following figure and answer the questions that follow. (6)

Number Parameter CH 2
A Peak-to-peak voltage (mV)
B Peak voltage (V)
C RMS voltage (mV)
D Average voltage (uV)
E Time period for a cycle (ms)
F Frequency of the signal (kHz)

8. Design a linear power supply unit using some of the components listed on the
next page. It must supply 18 V @ 1 A with a small ripple voltage. Sketch the
block diagram showing all components. (5)

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

Components:
Manufacturer Part No KBPC6 VS-36 GBPC1 B250C MB1S GBU4A
Peak Forward Voltage 1.2V 1.14V 1.1V 1V 1V 1V
Peak Average Forward
Current 6A 35A 15A 1.1A 0.5A 4A

Manufacturer Part No TS7809 LM340T L7805 LM317 L7818 MC7912

Output Voltage 9V 15 V 5V 1.2 - 37 V 18 V -12 V
Maximum Output Current 150mA 1A 2A 1.5A 2A 500mA
Maximum Input Voltage 35 V 35 V 35 V 40 V 35 V -35 V dc

Manufacturer Part No EEU B41 UPW B65 B60 B15

Capacitance 1000µF 68000µF 100µF 22µF 5600µF 10µF
Voltage 35 V dc 16 V dc 35 V dc 16 V dc 35 V dc 63 V dc

Manufacturer Part No Trans1 Trans2 Trans3 Trans4 Trans5 Trans6

220-15
Input - output voltage 220-9 V 220-9 V V 220-15 V 220-24 V 220-24 V
Output current 0.5 A 1.5 A 0.5 A 1.5 A 1.1 A 2.2 A

9. Design a linear power supply unit using some of the components listed above. It
must supply 15 V @ 1.4 A with a medium ripple voltage. Sketch the block diagram
showing all components.

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

10. Design a NPN common-emitter amplifier to meet the following specifications:

Gain = 200; Vcc = 48 V;
Lowest frequency = 200 Hz; Collector current = 555 mA
% of Vcc = 13%;
Remember that ALL resistors and capacitor values must adhere to the E12
standard.

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

11. Review the following datasheet, as questions will be asked with regard to
it.

Question Answer
Maximum operating frequency for the BFG410W
Transistor type for the BFT92
Maximum emitter base voltage for the BF840
Maximum power dissipation for the BFS17A
Maximum collector current for the BFG403W

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

12. Complete the line puzzle below and then determine the following:

Number of 90 Degree bends for your pathway

Number of 180 Degree bends for your pathway
List the Units of this module where we referred to Degrees

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

13. Analyze the following figure and calculate the parameters that are
requested.
150 220 330
Ohm Ohm Ohm
Ohm
R1 R4 R5
Ohm 560
390 R8
Ohm V1
820 R7
Ohm
R10 20 V 270 Ohm
R2 470
680 180
R9
Ohm Ohm

R6 R3

a) Total resistance
b) Total current flow in mA
c) Power (mW) dissipated in R6
d) Voltage drop over R2

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 Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

14. Analyze the following figure and calculate the current flow through R1. V1 = 10
V.
47 22
Ohm Ohm

R2 R3
R6 R7 V1 R8
Ohm Ohm Ohm 12 15
82 22 18 Ohm Ohm

R4 R5
27 10
Ohm Ohm

R9 R1

15. Design a half-wave rectifier with an input AC peak voltage of 220 V at 50 Hz.
The transformer has a turn’s ratio of 30:6. Calculate the voltage ripple
percentage if a 10 000 uF capacitor is used for smoothing. The load resistor is
182 Ohm.

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Electronic Fundamentals I – Unit 5

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