gobo wrote:
Does anyone have any book recommendations of a "cookbook" for RF
design? Cookbook might not be the best word. Something that covers
network design, S-parameters, filters, Smith charts, etc. Something
without the calculus! I had all this in school (oof, 25 years ago)
and didn't retain it because I've not used it. Now I have an amateur
license and want to just play with vhf and uhf circuits. I want to do
things right, but don't want to have to go back and audit three
calculus courses to remember how to do LaPlace transforms. (Yeah,
someone's going to say "you gotta" and I know that, but I want to play
with the electronics and not spend months on the math.)
Good news: to "do things right", you don't actually "needta" revisit
those courses. Their uses in RF design would be far too specialized for
what you need right now.
What you need much more is the basic knowledge that qualified you to
take those higher courses... and even after 25 years, I bet that
knowledge is still with you. Simply being prepared to plug numbers into
formulae, and maybe transpose a few variables, will take you a long,
long way into RF design.
So... just explore, follow your instincts, and the math you need will
come back to you.
Although not an RF design text, 'The Art of Electronics' by Horowitz and
Hill is an excellent example to how to use math when you need it, while
always avoiding unnecessary 'math for math's sake'.
Some areas do require math because they're fundamentally math-driven,
for example complex modulation and DSP techniques - but even there you
can understand a lot from an *appreciation* of the math (by which I mean
the ability to understand where it's going, as distinct from the ability
to do it yourself).
The huge advantage of being an amateur is that you don't need to go into
areas that require knowledge you don't possess. The *other* huge
advantage of being an amateur is that, if you decide that's where you
want to go, then nothing is off-limits!
RF design, now... to get yourself started, try Bowick (sorry, I can't
remember the exact title, but the name will find it) and also Hayward's
'Introduction to RF Design' (now published by ARRL).
The other growing-point in RF design is the use of computer-aided design
and analysis. Gradually, radio amateurs are moving towards this
approach, where you spend quite a lot of time designing, but don't
switch the soldering iron on until quite late in the process. Seek out
books that use this approach (but avoid books that are too closely tied
to any specific brand of software). There are lots of free 'student
version' software downloads on the web, but that's a separate large
topic.
Finally, pick up an old copy of Terman's 'Radio Engineering', to keep
yourself in touch with the days when it all had to be done using algebra
on the bare metal. That demanded a very fundamental level of
understanding, which is in danger of becoming lost.
--
73 from Ian G3SEK 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek