Learn how to build your own radio receiver circuits, simple working antennas, and other useful projects - including a spectrum analyzer and time domain reflectomer - in this handy guide by Joseph J. Carr, one of today's most respected electronics authors. Building these hands-on projects and performing the included experiments will help you master the important theory of RF electronics and gain practical experience at the same time. Students, electronics hobbyists, ham radio operators, shortwave listeners, and others interested in the field will find thorough coverage of a variety of RF-related topics, including selecting, using, caring for, and repairing variable capacitors; designing, applying, and building RF amplifiers and receiver preselectors; building radio receiver circuits; designing and winding inductor coils for radio circuits; and building and using RF bridges. You'll also find information on types and uses of RF transmission lines, radio frequency instruments, and spectrum analyzers and time domain reflectometers.
While certainly helpful in understanding radio frequency circuits, for a person like me playing around I couldn't do much with it as it relys heavily on new chips that I just didn't find on the old junk I'd drag home from the dump to salvage parts for making something more interesting.