Essential Guide to RF and Wireless, The

About

Features

• Accessible.

  • Requires no technical background or prior knowledge of the subject. Ex.___

• Complete coverage—Covers every level of the subject from fundamental concepts to complete systems.

• An abundance of figures, photographs, and visual analogies.

  • Describes complex RF phenomena in several ways to ensure understanding by students with a variety of learning styles. Ex.___

• Use of humor and witticisms.

  • Motivates students by keeping the subject matter fun. Ex.___

• Text now, reference later.

  • Because each chapter is self-contained, yet builds systematically on the one before it, students can study the text for a deep understanding of the entire subject, can refer to any single chapter for a quick grasp of a single subject, and can use the book's many tables, glossary, and various appendices as a convenient reference. Ex.___

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Description

• Copyright 2000
• Edition: 1st

• Book
• ISBN-10: 0-13-025962-4
• ISBN-13: 978-0-13-025962-2

2596B-2

The only easy-to-understand guide to the wireless revolution!

There's a wireless revolution underway -- and with The Essential Guide to RF and Wireless, you can learn all you need to know about it, even if you don't have a technical background! Industry veteran Carl J. Weisman presents wireless and RF technology at every level: fundamental concepts, basic terminology, components, system building blocks, complete systems, and more. You'll find up-to-the-minute coverage of all of today's hottest wireless and RF technologies -- and tomorrow's!

• Spread spectrum and CDMA: how they work, where they're used
• Wireless local loop (WLL): wireless solutions for the "last mile"
• ISM-based wireless LANs
• Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS): a new alternative for broadband wireless service
• And more!

The Essential Guide to RF and Wireless is friendly and accessible -- with dozens of charts, diagrams, and photographs that make advanced wireless and RF technology easier to understand than ever before. Whether you're a sales or marketing pro, customer, investor, tech writer, PR specialist, or student, it's the complete, up-to-the-minute briefing you've been searching for!

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Sample Content

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Click here for a sample chapter for this book: 0130259624.pdf

Table of Contents

I. FUNDAMENTALS.

1. Basic Concepts.

Introduction. Vocabulary. Prefixes. Basic Electronics Terminology. RF Basics. Transmitters and Receivers. Signals. Analog Signals. Frequency. Digital Signals.

2. RF Behavior.

Loss and Gain. Devices. Attenuation. Insertion Loss. Decibels. Definition. Decibel Math. Bandwidth. Definition. Octaves and Decades. Wideband and Narrowband. RF in the Environment. Signal Behavior. Skin Effect. Absorption. Reflection. Match. What is Match? The Meaning of 50 Ohms. VSWR. Return Loss. Consequences of an Imperfect Match. Impedance matching.

II. RF HARDWARE.

3. Basic System Components.

Block Diagrams. Receiver. Transmitter. Antennas. Block Diagram. Antenna Characteristics. Active and Passive. Sizes and Shapes. Signal Strength and Direction. How Antennas Work. Wavelength. Antenna Performance. Antenna Patterns. Polarization. Antenna Dimensions. One-Dimensional Antennas. Two-Dimensional Antennas. Amplifiers. Block Diagram. Fundamental Properties of Amplifiers. Gain. Noise Figure. Output Power. Linearity. How Amplifiers Work. Special Amplifiers. Limiting Amplifiers. Balanced Amplifiers. Variable Gain Amplifiers. Filters. Block Diagram. The Filter's Function. The Role of the FCC. Filter Types. Filter Performance. Frequency Response. Special Filters. Duplexers. SAW Filters. Mixers. Block Diagram. The Mixer's Function. The Mathematics. Changing Frequencies. Other Names for Mixers. How Mixers Work. Three Ports. Conversion Loss. Mixer Configurations. Two-Stage Mixers. Mixer Types. Frequency Doublers. Sources. Block Diagram. How Oscillators Work. Different Kinds of Oscillators. The Reason for the Different Oscillators. What Distinguishes Them. How the Frequency is Determined. A Special Oscillator—The VCO. How They Work. Synthesizers. The Use of Feedback. Phase-Locked Loops. A Quick Review. Transmitter Block Diagram. Receiver Block Diagram. Review. Transmitter. Antenna. Receiver.

4. Other Components.

Switches. Block Diagram. Switch Function and Performance. Function. Performance. Types of Switches. Electromechanical Switches. Solid State Switches. Poles and Throws. System Use. Attenuators. Block Diagram. The Attenuator's Function. Types of Attenuators. Fixed Attenuators. Voltage Variable Attenuators. Digital attenuators. Dividers and Combiners. Block Diagram. The Divider's and Combiner's Function. System Use. Couplers. Block Diagram. How Couplers Work. Types of Couplers. Directional and Bidirectional Couplers. Quadrature Couplers. Circulators and Isolators. Block Diagram. How Circulators Work. System Use. Isolators. Transformers. Block Diagram. The Transformer's Function. Impedance Ratio. Detectors. Block Diagram. The Detector's Function.

5. Circuits and Signals.

Semiconductors. Materials and Devices. Solid State Technology. Silicon and Gallium Arsenide. Diodes and Transistors. Diodes. Transistors. HEMT Transistors. Integrated Circuits (MMIC). MMIC Performance. Circuit Technologies. Lumped and Distributed Circuits. Lumped Circuits. Distributed Circuits. Discrete, Hybrid, and MMIC Circuit Choices. Subassemblies. Cavities. Modulation. What is Modulation? Types of Modulation. Amplitude Modulation. Binary Amplitude Shift Keying. Frequency Modulation. Phase Modulation. Quadrature Amplitude Modulation. Modulators and Demodulators. Getting Around. Cables. Cable Construction. Cable Types and Designations. Connectors. Connectors in Cable Assemblies. Connector Families. Adapters. Waveguides. Circuit Traces. Hybrids and Printed Circuit Boards. Stripline, Microstrip and Coplanar Waveguide.

III. RF SYSTEMS.

6. Older Technology.

Broadcasting. What is Broadcasting? Characteristics. Constraints. The Role of Frequency. Allocation. Propagation. Tuning In. The Tuner. Television Delivery. Three ways. Breaking News. Radar. What is Radar? Definition. The Role of Frequency. How Radar Works. The Role of Reflection. How Radar Determines Distance. How Radar Determines Direction. How Radar Determines Velocity. Different Radar Systems. Pulsed Radar Systems. Doppler Radar Systems. Satellite Communications. Why Satellites? How Satellites Work. Geosynchronous Orbit. Uplink/Downlink. Satellite Dishes. Footprints. RF Electronics. About the Spacecraft. Satellite Systems. Three Topologies. The Role of Frequency. A Special Satellite System—GPS. What is GPS? Theory of Operation. The Next Generation Satellites—LEO. Why LEOs? How LEOs Work.

7. The New World of Wireless.

Fixed Wireless Applications. Point-to-Point Microwave. What is Point-to-Point Microwave? Uses for Point-to-Point Microwave. Point-to-Point Operations. Wireless Local Loop. What is the Local Loop? Why Wireless Local Loop? Wireless Local Loop Technology. The Perfect WLL Solution—LMDS. A New Technology—Spread Spectrum. ISM—Unlicensed Spread Spectrum. Spread Spectrum—Theory of Operation. ISM Spread Spectrum Applications. Other Applications. FCC Allocations. Mobile Telephony. Mobile Telephony Choices. Different Technologies. A World of Choices. The Next Generation. The Cellular Concept. Topology. Infrastructure. Mobility. Frequency Reuse and Air Interface. Frequency Reuse. Air Interface. Adding Capacity. Within a Cell. Uncovered Areas. Glossary.

Appendix A: Acronyms.
Appendix B: Specifications.
Bibliography.
About the Author.
Index.

Preface

Preface

Nobody disputes the importance of wireless communications, and while it will surely continue to change and evolve, it is here to stay. Anybody who has received an urgent page, made an emergency call on a mobile phone, watched cable television, or been caught speeding by radar, will attest to its pervasiveness throughout everyday life. It is in recognition of the importance of RF electronics and its role in wireless communications that this book is written.

This book simplifies the subject of RF electronics with analogies, metaphors, and a minimum of mathematics. Many photographs and figures are included to further help explain the subject. Unlike other books of its kind, however, it takes a distinctly lighthearted approach to the subject by incorporating witticisms and sarcasm, occasionally directed at the book's hypothetical protagonist: the RF engineer. This book is intentionally made lighthearted because the subject matter is so dry. My feeling is, no matter how brilliantly written or factually correct an introductory book on RF is, if it is too long and boring, you will never get past the first chapter.

The Essential Guide to RF and Wireless takes an overly simplistic approach to the subject matter. In this vein, it accomplishes two main objectives: it provides a conceptual understanding of RF components and wireless systems, and it exposes you to the main vocabulary used in the industry. You can hardly expect to understand a topic as complex as wireless communications without first learning its lingua franca.

The Essential Guide to RF and Wireless is intended for nontechnical people who know absolutely nothing about RF, but need to or just want to explore the subject. For every engineer working in the field of RF, there are many more nontechnical people working in the field who can benefit from understanding and speaking RF. They include nontechnical managers, sales administrators, distribution specialists, manufacturer's representatives, buyers, marketing and communications personnel, advertising agents, trade show booth staffers, executive recruiters, financial analysts, and technical writers.

This book can be used in three different ways. First, it can be read cover-to-cover as the material is organized in such a way that each successive chapter builds on the one before it, starting with basic concepts and terminology, and ending with the various kinds of wireless systems. Second, each chapter can be read on a stand-alone basis, for those who need to quickly grasp a single subject or concept. Because of this stand-alone structure, some of the subject matter is repeated in an effort to make each chapter understandable by itself. Finally, this book can be used as a reference. The many tables, the Glossary, and Appendices A and B provide quick access to terminology, acronyms, and specifications used in the wireless industry.

Regardless of how you use this book, if you are new to the subject of RF, you should read all of Part 1 (Chapters 1 and 2), as the rest of the book builds on the fundamental concepts and vocabulary introduced there.

Part 2 (Chapters 3, 4, and 5) is primarily intended for those working in the RF and wireless industry, as it covers the workings of an RF system in great detail. All of the important building blocks used to make RF hardware are explained in detail, as are the different technologies used to manufacture them. Also covered is the fascinating topic of modulation, which is how ground-based information gets prepared to enter the wireless world.

Finally, Part 3 (Chapters 6 and 7) is where the fun begins. This part of the book gives you an overview of several wireless systems. Chapter 6 discusses some systems you are already familiar with, but probably never knew how they worked. Finally, Chapter 7 introduces you to the newer systems, for which the term wireless was invented. You will learn about some established wireless systems, as well as some systems that are so new they have yet to be fully deployed, or in some cases, even fully authorized.

I would like to thank one very special person, Deborah Person, who spent her valuable time to help me with this book. She was a tremendous source of encouragement and her effort was invaluable in proofreading the manuscript, which is quite a feat for an accountant.

If you would like to provide me with feedback on this book, feel free to contact me at weisman@flash.net

Enjoy.

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