The power output from a transmitter increases from 1 watt to 2 watts. How many decibels does that increase represent?

In radio electronics, a common shortcut to remember is that doubling the power of a signal always results in an increase of approximately 3 decibels (3 dB). The mathematical formula for calculating power in decibels is 10 times the base-10 logarithm of the power ratio: 10 * log10(P2/P1). Since the base-10 logarithm of 2 (the ratio of 2 watts to 1 watt) is approximately 0.3, multiplying by 10 gives you exactly 3 dB. Therefore, increasing a transmitter's output from 1 watt to 2 watts is a 3 dB increase. Distractors like 6 dB are incorrect because 6 dB represents a quadrupling of power (or a doubling of voltage), while 10 dB represents a tenfold increase in power.