[MLB-WIRELESS] Physics guide

[Michael Borthwick]

"Tony Langdon, VK3JED" wrote:

> At 06:18 PM 15/01/2002 +1100, you wrote:
>
> >Hey,
> >
> >Can someone point me to a handy reference to the physics surrounding radio
> >communications? I'm afraid I didn't touch it after Sixth form, and sometimes
> >I get very confused.
>
> Look up any decent amateur textbook (ARRL Handbook, RSGB Handbook, etc),
> and there's some on line references by Ron, VK2DQ
>

I'm sure Tony will understand when I say that I have found these references a
little opaque.

I have just read through VHF/UHF/Microwave Radio Propagation: A Primer for
Digital Experimenters

available as HTML and PDF at
http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/ve3jf.dcc97/ve3jf.dcc97.html

the first time you scan through it you might freak out over some of the formulae
but if you actually print it out and *read* it like people used to do in the old
days I think most people should be able to get their heads around it.

Based on this text I was able to develop a spreadsheet that can estimate
received signal strength based on distance, card output power and antenna gains
at each end. Don't ask me to post it - just like Danny Dun's homework machine
you learn more by actually building it yourself.


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