District No.

: 3 School: HHS
Grade Level: 12 Specialization: EPAS NC II
Learning Activity Sheet No. 4
Quarter: 1 Week: 4

Name of Student: _____________________________________________ Section: _________________

I. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPT
This Activity Sheet will provide you with basic information about radio receivers and
electronic musical instruments. It will also provide some common practices in maintaining and
troubleshooting them to serve as guide whenever you encounter servicing that equipment. Activities
follow afterwards for your mastery of the information presented.

II. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Learning Competency: Diagnose faults and defects of consumer electronic products and systems
(TLE_IAEPAS9-12SCEP-APS-IIIf-h-54)
Maintain/repair consumer electronic products.
(TLE_IAEPAS9- 12SCEP-APS-IIIh-j-Iva-c-55)

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this Learning Activity Sheet, you must be able to:
1. explain how a radio receiver works;
2. identify possible defects for troubles of radio receivers; and
3. enumerate practices in maintaining electronic keyboards.

Information sheet no. 1

Radio Receivers
A radio receiver, also known as a receiver, a wireless or simply a radio, is an electronic device
that receives radio waves and converts the information carried by them to a usable form. Audio
signals are received through an antenna, then amplify the resulting
sound and delivers it through speakers. The signals are either amplitude modulated (AM) or
frequency modulated (FM).
Over the years, many different types of radio receiver have been designed. The different types
of receiver have arisen out of the needs of the day and the technology available. Early radio
receivers had poor performance compared to those used today. Nowadays with advanced
techniques like digital signal processing, and high-performance semiconductors and other
components, very high-performance radios are commonplace.

Components of a Radio Receiver

There are many variations in radio receivers design. Many receivers include additional
filtering and tuning circuits to better lock onto the intended frequency or to produce better quality
audio output. The following are the basic elements found on most receiver circuits:
 Antenna. Captures the radio waves. Typically, the antenna is simply a length of wire. When
this wire is exposed to radio waves, the waves induce a very small alternating current in the
antenna.
 RF amplifier. A sensitive amplifier that amplifies the very weak radio frequency (RF) signal
from the antenna so that the signal can be processed by the tuner.
 Tuner. A circuit that can extract signals of a particular frequency from a mix of signals of
different frequencies. The tuner usually employs the combination of an inductor (for example,
a coil) and a capacitor to form a circuit that resonates at a particular frequency. This

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 frequency, called the resonant frequency, is determined by the values chosen for the coil and
the capacitor.
 Detector. Responsible for separating the audio information from the carrier wave. For AM
signals, this can be done with a diode that just rectifies the alternating current signal. What’s
left after the diode has its way with the alternating current signal is a direct current signal that
can be fed to an audio amplifier circuit. For FM signals, the detector circuit is a little more
complicated.
 Audio amplifier. This component’s job is to amplify the weak signal that comes from the
detector so that it can be heard. This can be done using a simple transistor amplifier circuit.

Block diagram of radio receiver

Types of Radio Receivers

 Table radio. A self-contained radio with speaker designed to sit on a table.
 Clock radio. A bedside table radio that also includes an alarm clock. The alarm clock can be
set to turn on the radio in the morning instead of an alarm, to wake the owner.
 Tuner. A high fidelity AM/FM radio receiver in a component home audio system. It has no
speakers but outputs an audio signal which is fed into the system and played through the
system's speakers.
 Portable radio. A radio powered by batteries that can be carried with a person. Radios are
now often integrated with other audio sources in CD players and portable media players.
 Boombox. a portable battery-powered high fidelity stereo sound system in the form of
a box with a handle, which became popular during the mid-1970s.
 Transistor radio. an older term for a portable pocket-sized broadcast radio receiver.
Made possible by the invention of the transistor and developed in the 1950s,
transistor radios were hugely popular during the 1960s and early 1970s, and changed
the public's listening habits.
 Car radio. An AM/FM radio integrated into the dashboard of a vehicle, used for entertainment
while driving. Virtually all modern cars and trucks are equipped with radios, which usually
also includes a CD player.
 Satellite radio receiver. subscription radio receiver that receives audio programming from a
direct broadcast satellite. The subscriber must pay a monthly fee. They are mostly designed
as car radios.
 Shortwave receiver. This is a broadcast radio that also receives the shortwave bands. It is
used for shortwave listening.
 AV receivers. common component in a high-fidelity or home-theatre system; in addition to
receiving radio programming, the receiver will also contain switching and amplifying functions
to interconnect and control the other components of the system.

Radio Receivers Troubleshooting Guide

As a radio repairman or technician, your real worth lies in your ability to analyze and isolate
troubles. With extensive and complicated radio circuits, such ability helps you save considerable
time and effort. Usually, if you can locate the trouble, the actual repair is merely a mechanical
operation replacing a tube or a capacitor, or making a new connection.

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 If you draw on your experience and your understanding of radio principles, each trouble
suggests its own cause and its means of correction. This amounts to a preliminary analysis. Then
you troubleshoot that is, you check this analysis. If the analysis is correct, repairs can then be
made.

Trouble Possible problem/s

1 No signal  Burnt out rectifier valve
 Broken down filter capacitors
 Open-circuit field winding or filter choke
 Short in H.T. by-pass capacitors
 Open circuit cathode resistors
 H.T. supply line open circuit
 Open circuit R.F. or I.F Coil
 Shield is shorting to grid cap
 Disconnected wiring
 Faulty valve socket or speaker connection
 Low B+ Voltage
2 Poor volume  Weak valves
 Low H.T. or filament voltage
 Poor alignment
 Open circuit R.F. or I.F. coils
 Faulty volume control
 Incorrect valve types
 Leaky high voltage caps
3 Distortions  Open circuit bias or grid resistors
 Audio feedback
 Low emission valves
 Incorrect voltages
 Leaky coupling capacitors
4 Crackles and whistles  Faulty resistors
 Faulty capacitors
 Loose contacts at sockets
 Dry joints
 Faulty output transformer
 Faulty power transformer
 Ineffective valve shield (Whistles in particular)
 Faulty valve
 Poor wiring layout
 Poor alignment
5 Hum  Poor filtering
 Short between cathode & heater
 Poor shielding on audio leads
 Bad rectifier
 Faulty electrolytic capacitor
6 Severe hum  Shorting electrolytic capacitor
 Internal fault in rectifier
 Shorted field coil or H.T. choke

Information sheet no. 2

Electronic Musical Instrument

An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces

sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or
digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into a power amplifier which drives a loudspeaker,
creating the sound heard by the performer and listener. Instruments such as the electric guitar that
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generate sound by acoustic or mechanical means but that amplify the sound electrically or
electronically are also considered electronic instruments. Their construction and resulting sound,
however, are usually relatively similar to those of their nonelectronic counterparts.
There’s a lot of electronic musical instrument that are available today but in this information
sheet we will only focus on the most common one – the electronic keyboard.
Some of electronic musical instrument invented are the following:
 Drum machine. Designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments.
They are most commonly associated with electronic music, but are also used in many other
genres. They are also a common necessity when session drummers are not available or
desired.
 Dubreq stylophone. A miniature analog stylus-operated keyboard. Invented in 1967 by Brian
Jarvis, it entered production in 1968. It consists of a metal keyboard played by touching it
with a stylus—each note being connected to a voltage-controlled oscillator via a different-
value resistor—thus closing a circuit. The only other controls were a power switch and a
vibrato control on the front panel beside the keyboard, and a tuning control on the rear.
 Sampler. Similar to a synthesizer but instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of
sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of the
sampler program itself, a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or
compose music.
 Telharmonium. An early electronic organ, developed by Thaddeus Cahill in 1897. The
electrical signal from the Telharmonium was transmitted over wires; it was heard on the
receiving end by means of 'horn' speakers.
 Theremin. An early electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the
thereminist. It is named after the Westernized name of its Russian inventor, Léon Theremin,
who patented the device in 1928. The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two
metal antennas that sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control
oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude with the other. The electric signals
from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.
 Eigenharp. Promoted as a replacement for a piano, guitar, and woodwind all in one
instrument. It has the advantages of having controllers that add effects and drums and
a sequencer that can be programmed for accompaniment.
 Reactable. A round translucent table with a backlit interactive display. By placing and
manipulating blocks called tangibles on the table surface, while interacting with the visual
display via finger gestures, a virtual modular synthesizer is operated, creating music or
sound effects.
 The XTH sense. A wearable instrument that uses muscle sounds from the human body
(known as mechanomyogram) to make music and sound effects. As a performer moves, the
body produces muscle sounds that are captured by a chip microphone worn on arm or legs.
 Wavedrum. A dynamic percussion synthesizer with ready to play sounds, built in effects, and
rhythm patterns.

Electronic Keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic musical instrument that is also called a portable
keyboard, digital keyboard or home keyboard. It is typically composed of a synthesizer, a low-
wattage power amplifier and small speakers and they normally have unweighted keys.
Electronic keyboards have a variety of users and types of use: children using them as a toy,
a beginning piano player using them for practice, or a
serious musician or producer may even use them for
recording—it all depends on the features and type of
electronic keyboard.
The more serious keyboards will give the user
much more control over their sound and will include
different tones, rhythms, voices and sound effects loaded
in the device. Keyboards as opposed to pianos were

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made to generate a greater variety of sounds. Electronic keyboards can be used by beginners but
they might be more appropriate for intermediate or experienced musicians who are able to create
their own sound. Electronic keyboards also cost quite a bit less than a regular piano or even a
digital piano.
Electronic keyboards are capable of recreating a wide range of instrument sounds (piano,
Hammond organ, pipe organ, violin, etc.) and synthesizer tones with less complex sound synthesis.
Electronic keyboards are usually designed for home users, beginners and other non-professional
users. They typically have unweighted keys. The least expensive models do not have velocity-
sensitive keys, but mid- to high-priced models do. Home keyboards typically have little, if any, digital
sound editing capacity. The user typically selects from a range of preset "voices" or sounds, which
include imitations of many instruments and some electronic synthesizer sounds. Home keyboards
have a much lower cost than professional synthesizers. Alesis, Casio and Yamaha are among the
leading manufacturers of home keyboards.

Major Components of a Typical Modern Electronic Keyboard

 Musical keyboard. The white and black piano-style keys which the player presses, thus
connecting the switches, which trigger the electronic circuits to generate sound.
 User interface system. A program which handles user interaction with controllers such as the
musical keyboard, menus, and buttons. These controllers enable the user to select different
instrument sounds (e.g., piano, guitar, strings, drum kit), digital effects (reverb, echo, chorus
or sustain), and other features (e.g., transposition, accompaniments, sequencer, recording,
external media, etc.).
 Computerized musical arranger. A software program which produces rhythms and chords by
the means of computerized commands, typically MIDI. Electronic hardware can also do this.
Most computerized arrangers can play a selection of rhythms (e.g., rock, pop, jazz).
 Sound generator. A digital sound module, typically contained within an integrated read-only
memory (ROM), which is capable of accepting MIDI commands and producing electronic
sounds.
 Amplifier and speaker. An internal audio power amplifier, typically a few watts, connected to
the sound generator chip. The amplifier is then connected to small, low-powered speakers
that reproduce the synthesized sounds so that the listener can hear them.
 Power supply. Keyboards may or may not have an internal power supply system built to the
main circuit board, but most modern keyboards are often equipped with an included AC
adapter.
 MIDI terminals. Most keyboards usually incorporate 5-pin MIDI connections for data
communication, typically so the keyboard can be connected with either a computer or
another electronic musical instrument, such as a synthesizer, a drum machine or a sound
module, allowing it to be used as a MIDI controller.
 Flash memory. Some electronic keyboards have a small amount of onboard memory for
storing MIDI data and/or recorded songs.
 External storage device. Usually available on professional-grade keyboards and
synthesizers, this allows the user to store data in externally connected storage media such
as ROM cartridges, floppy disks, memory cards and USB flash drives.
 Music stand. A metal or plastic rack for holding sheet music or music books upright. The
music stand is usually removable to facilitate storage and transportation.
 Sustain jack. If keyboard has sustain feature, it replicates the device used on acoustic
pianos.

Electronic Keyboard Troubleshooting Guide

Digital pianos and keyboards are usually sturdy instruments that will provide years of joy and
entertainment if properly maintained. But there are occasions when things go wrong and you must
get it repaired. The most common problems with digital pianos are:
 Broken or sticky keys
 A keyboard that won’t switch on
 No volume or uneven tone
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  LCD is broken, cracked or won’t light up
In many cases, the repairs are fairly simple in nature, and can be completed quickly.
However, remember that pianos are delicate by nature, and by applying too much pressure fixing it
could actually do more damage than good. If you bend or break a contact beyond repair, a new
contact board will be required. And if the new part is no longer available, it could mean having to
purchase a new instrument instead.
If the problem is a contact issue – some of the notes won’t play, or the volume is uneven or
too loud – it’s a sign the contacts need to be cleaned. Most contacts are made of graphite, and a
proper cleaning will generally solve the problem. Avoid using WD40 or any other chemical cleaner
as they can do more harm than good.
If the piano is freezing, locking, or simply won’t turn on properly, it could need a simple
rebooting. Check out the “initialize” or “factory reset” procedure in the user manual, or check on the
manufacturer’s website for more detail. Do not attempt to reset if the user/owner have saved his/her
own songs, styles, etc., without saving the data first, as it will restore operation to factory default

III. ACTIVITIES

Directions: Read and understand the directions for each activity. Answer by writing DIRECTLY on
the activity sheets.

Activity 1. In not less than 100 words, briefly discuss how a radio receiver operates. Write your
answer on the space (box) provided below.

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 Activity 2. Given the signs of trouble of a radio receiver, give at least three (3) possible defects on
the receiver. Write your answers on the space provided.
1. Distortions: 1.____________________________
2._____________________________
3._____________________________
2. No signal: 1._____________________________
2._____________________________
3._____________________________
3. Crackles: 1._____________________________
2._____________________________
3._____________________________
4. Severe hum: 1.__________________________
2._____________________________
3._____________________________
5. Poor volume: 1.___________________________
2._____________________________
3._____________________________

Activity 3. Enumerate at least 5 good practices in maintaining and troubleshooting electronic

keyboard. Write your answer on the space provided.
1. ___________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________

IV. RUBRICS FOR SCORING

Activity 1.
5 4 3 2
Extraordinarily Satisfactorily Poorly
Quality of written, very written, organized, Very poorly
writing informative & wellinformative & insufficient organized.
organized. organized. information.
Few errors in Errors in
spelling and spelling, A lot of errors
Almost no error
punctuation and punctuation and in spelling,
Grammar, in spelling,
has minor grammar are punctuation and
usage & punctuation and
grammatical mostly evident. grammar.
mechanics grammar
errors. (With 6 to 7 (With more than 7
(3 errors at most)
(With 4 to 5 errors) errors)
errors)
Activity 2. Score depends on number of correct answers.
Activity 2. Score depends on number of correct answers.
V. REFERENCES
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  “Old Radios Troubleshooting Quick Guide.” Antiqradio.com,
antiqradio.com/troubleshooting.html. Accessed 28 Sept. 2021.
 Lowe, Doug. “Radio Electronics: Transmitters and Receivers - Dummies.” Dummies, 2019,
www.dummies.com/programming/electronics/components/radio-electronics-transmitters-and-
receivers/.
 Wikipedia Contributors. “Radio Receiver.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Oct. 2019,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_receiver.
 “Electronic Instruments - Instruments in This Family.” Ranker, www.ranker.com/list/electronic-
instruments-instruments-in-this-family/reference. Accessed 29 Sept. 2021.
 “Electronic Musical Instrument.” Wikipedia, 13 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Electronic_musical_instrument.
 “Electronic Keyboard.” Wikipedia, 29 June 2021,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_keyboard#:~:text=An%20electronic%20keyboard%2C
%20portable%20keyboard%2C%20or%20digital%20keyboard. Accessed 29 Sept. 202
 Memphis, Piano World. “Common Problems with Digital Pianos and How to Repair Them.”
Coltharp Piano World Memphis Tennessee, 1 Oct. 2014, coltharppianoworld.com/common-
problems-with-digital-pianos-and-how-to-repair-them/.

Prepared by:

Mr. Jubith D. Escota

SHS Teacher