- Radio Communications in
the Digital Age,
- by the Harris Corporation
The Harris Corporation (external
link) publishes two free .pdf files essential to understanding
radio. You should download these files, print them out, then
read and re-read them again. The writing is excellent; the best
radio principles and propagation primers I've found on the web.
They are oriented to military users, you won't find a discussion
on cellular radio, but the basic points discussed pertain to
all of wireless. One bad point, they now make you register, but
that's seems a small penalty.
Since they are focused on the military you should keep three
questions in mind while you read. Military communications seeks
to develop battlefield awareness. That awareness means answering
these questions:
1) Where am I?;
2) Where is the enemy?;
3) Where are my buddies?
And naturally, in a war, radio technology tries to deny those
answers to the enemy. Thus, all the effort put into radio develops
this information, while preventing the other side from getting
that information. Learn these files and you'll learn the rules
of radio chess.
Here are the Harris Corporation's descriptions of the files
and links to their site. Click on the blue links to go there.
The summaries sound dry but the reading is not. I'd start with
Volume Two:
 Radio
Communications in the Digital Age, Volume One: HF Technology
(external link)
Published and copyrighted by Harris Corporation's RF Communications
Division.
Volume One is a 101-page primer that covers basic concepts
of High Frequency radio propagation, describes HF radio equipment,
discusses techniques for overcoming noise and interference, and
examines the state of the art in data technology and communications
security. It also provides some typical examples of HF systems
and applications, and includes a handy checklist for designers
and users of HF systems. Appendices include a glossary of terms
and a description of international standards applying to HF radio
design.
Volume One is the first volume in a series of books on modern
radio communications. It is written in layman's terms, with all
technical terms and concepts carefully explained. Future volumes
are planned that will cover other frequency bands and technologies,
COMSEC [secure communications, ed.], and specialized user applications
-- all areas of expertise Harris has gained building equipment
and systems to meet diverse worldwide customer requirements.
This series has been created to fill an important information
gap, by providing standard introductory reference works on modern
radio for the new generation of communicators.
Radio
Communications in the Digital Age, Volume Two: VHF/UHF Technology
(external link)
Published and copyrighted by Harris Corporation's RF Communications
Division.
Volume Two is the second volume of an introductory series
on Radio Communications Technology. This volume covers VHF, UHF,
and SATCOM technologies, as well as the modern digital coding
and modulation capabilities that optimize information output
and security. It describes how the technology has advanced to
achieve high standards of performance that were unheard of just
a few years ago. Subsequent chapters in this handbook develop
the basic principles and operating modes of the VHF/UHF/SATCOM
radios. Operating characteristics of each radio frequency band
are described and compared with respect to performance and application.
[One of dozens of helpful illustrations from these files.
This is from Volume 2, ed.]
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