Immerse yourself in the communications experience by building equipment that contributes to understanding basic concepts and circuits.
Explore wide dynamic range, low distortion radio equipment, the use of direct conversion and phasing methods, and digital signal processing. Use the models and discussion to design, build and measure equipment at both the circuit and the system level. Laced with new unpublished projects and illustrated with CW and SSB gear.
o Basic Investigations in Electronics o Chapters on Amplifiers, Filters, Oscillators, and Mixers o Superheterodyne Transmitters and Receivers o Measurement Equipment o Direct Conversion Receivers o Phasing Receivers and Transmitters o DSP Components o DSP Applications in Communications
4.0 stars (subtracted one star because of some of the material is outdated)
An excellent book, sadly out of print, that is a wealth of information for radio amateurs or experimenters that like to build their own equipment.
The book starts out with circuit building techniques and descriptions of common problems that may be encountered as well as their solutions. This part of the book is easy to understand with a basic knowledge of electronics.
As the chapters progress, more complex topics and theory are introduced along with the underlying mathematics and example projects. Completing the book, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is presented with software (sadly outdated) examples that illustrate several key concepts of DSP.
Published in 2003, this is a book to be digested over time and not read in an evening or two. Some of the material and projects may appear outdated, but the theory is sound and provides insight into the functioning of modern communication radios.
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) should consider an updated version that reflects advances in technology such as FPGA integration and Software Defined Radio.
Can you ever say you have "finished" reading a book like this? It engrossing and packed full of practical information that takes the time to put theory in context; I keep on coming back to it.
A must read for anyone interested in building and designing RF circuits. Wes takes you from simple theory to crystal oscillators and Direct Digital Synthesis.
Excellent for the amateur radio homebrewer, especially in the area of QRP.