Patent ID: 7570934

Claim:
An automatic gain control circuit, the circuit comprising: an input for receiving in a radio frequency signal; a first gain loop having a changeable overall gain, the first gain loop operating on the radio frequency signal; a first programmable gain amplifier and a second programmable gain amplifier in the first gain loop; a filter for filtering the radio frequency signal; a second gain loop receiving the filtered radio frequency signal and having a changeable overall gain; the second gain loop including a digital to analog converter for converting the filtered radio frequency signal into a digital output; at least one signal detector for detecting a signal level in the first gain loop and a signal level in the second gain loop; a gain distribution module for determining the overall gain for the first gain loop and distributing the overall gain of the first gain loop between the first programmable gain amplifier and the second programmable gain amplifier; an adjustment module for adjusting the gain of the second gain loop based upon the detected signal level of the second gain loop and the overall gain for the first gain loop wherein overall gain of the first and the second gain loops is increased no greater than a predetermined value.