What type of device has one type of analog signal as an input and produces another type of analog signal as an output?

• A. Signal Conditioner
• B. Signal Converter
• C. Transducer
• D. Amplifier

Answer: (B)

Converting an analog signal from one form to another is what a signal converter does. It takes an input that is an analog signal of a certain type (such as voltage or current) and produces an analog output of a different type (for example, a voltage-to-current or current-to-voltage conversion, or another signaling standard) so equipment that expects different signal formats can interoperate while the signal remains continuous.

A transducer differs because it starts from a physical quantity (like pressure or temperature) and outputs an electrical signal, so the input isn’t another electrical signal type. A signal conditioner tweaks an existing analog signal—adjusting level, impedance, filtering, or noise suppression—without necessarily changing the fundamental signal form. An amplifier increases the magnitude of the same type of signal (voltage-to-voltage or current-to-current) but doesn’t switch to a different signal type.