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preamplifier
(pree-am -plă-fÿ-er) An amplifier used in a radio telescope to boost the signals from the antenna before they are fed to the receiver.Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006
preamplifier
[prē′am·plə‚fī·ər](electronics)
An amplifier whose primary function is boosting the output of a low-level audio-frequency, radio-frequency, or microwave source to an intermediate level so that the signal may be further processed without appreciable degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio of the system. Also known as preliminary amplifier.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Preamplifier
A voltage amplifier suitable for operation with a low-level input signal. It is intended to be connected to another amplifier with a higher input level. Preamplifiers are necessary when an audio amplifier is to be used with low-output transducers such as magnetic phonograph pickups. A preamplifier may incorporate frequency-correcting networks to compensate for the frequency characteristics of a given input transducer and to make the frequency response of the preamplifier-amplifier combination uniform. See Amplifier, Voltage amplifier
McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Engineering. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.