What is RF?
Definition of RF, RF wave characteristics: Frequency, wavelength, power, phase, impedance, RF history, radio signals, frequency bands, safety issues, legal issues.
RF systems
Microwaves, cellular/mobile RF, WLANs, other fixed wireless networks, basic RF components. Hands on: Building a basic WLAN network.
RF system components
Transmitters:
Antennas: Isotropic, Dipole, ho- antennas achieve gain.
Modulation
Schemes, bandwidth, AM, FM, FSK, PSK, QAM, QPSK, interference, performance. Hands on: Interference and performance.
Multiple access schemes
FDMA, CDMA, TDMA, CSMA/CA.
Wireless systems
Cellular (GSM, UMTS), Wifi, WiMax, others: GPS, DBS, RFID, radar, Bluetooth. Hands on: cellular.
Spread Spectrum technologies
Spread spectrum benefits and disadvantages, ho- it works, Direct Sequence, Frequency Hopping, hybrids.
RF propagation
Models, link budget, Smith chart, RF matching with the Smith chart. cell capacity, tradeoffs: power vs. bandwidth, free space, reflection, diffraction, multipath cancellation, propagation prediction and measurement tools. Hands on: Smith charts.
RF testing
Why power rather than voltage/current, units of power, dB and dBm power conversions. Test equipment: signal generators, power meters, network analysers, spectrum analysers. RF test setups: return loss, insertion loss. Hands on: RF testing.
Radio Frequency engineering is an important yet often overlooked area in today's wireless world. This course provides a grounding in RF theory and practice for wireless, cellular and microwave systems.