Radio Systems Engineering

Ellingson, Steven W.Steven W. Ellingson is an Associate Professor at Virginia Tech. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University. He held senior engineering positions at Booz-Allen and Hamilton, Raytheon, and the Ohio State University ElectroScience Laboratory before joining the faculty of Virginia Tech. His research focuses on wireless communications and radio frequency instrumentation, with funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the commercial communications and aerospace industries. Dr Ellingson serves as a consultant to industry and government on topics pertaining to RF system design, and is an avid amateur radio operator.

Using a systems framework, this textbook provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the performance, analysis and design of radio systems for students and practising engineers. Presented within a consistent framework, the first part of the book describes the fundamentals of the subject: propagation, noise, antennas and modulation. The analysis and design of radios, including RF circuit design and signal processing, is covered in the second half of the book. The former is presented with minimal involvement of Smith charts, enabling students to grasp the fundamentals more readily. Both traditional and software-defined/direct sampling technology are described, with pros and cons of each strategy explained. Numerous examples within the text involve realistic analysis and design activities, and emphasize how practical experiences may differ from theory or taught procedures. End-of-chapter problems are provided, as are a password-protected solutions manual and lecture slides to complete the teaching package for instructors.

Using a systems framework, this textbook clearly explains how individual elements contribute to the overall performance of a radio system.

1. Introduction; 2. Antenna fundamentals; 3. Propagation; 4. Noise; 5. Analog modulation; 6. Digital modulation; 7. Radio link analysis; 8. Two-port concepts; 9. Impedance matching; 10. Amplifiers; 11. Linearity, multistage analysis and dynamic range; 12. Antenna integration; 13. Analog filters and multiplexers; 14. Frequency and quadrature conversion in the analog domain; 15. Receivers; 16. Frequency synthesis; 17. Transmitters; 18. Digital implementation of radio functions; Appendix A. Empirical modelling of mean path loss; Appendix B. Characteristics of some common radio systems; References; Index.