Antenna Fundamentals 101
Antenna theory from the ground up: why a current radiates, what isotropic really means, and how directivity differs from gain.
Episodes
What this series covers
2 episodes made so far. A tick marks the ones already on YouTube.
- 01A steady current radiates nothing. So what makes a radio wave?
- 02Every antenna gain is measured against an antenna that can't exist
Watch them on the Electronics 101 YouTube channel. Episodes without a tick are finished and queued for release.
Resources
Material for this series
Notes, formula sheets and guides that stay useful after the episodes.
RF & Microwave Formula Sheet
One page: transmission-line equations, reflection coefficient, VSWR and return loss conversions, cascade noise figure, and the dB identities worth memorising.
Reading the Smith Chart
Where the chart comes from, how to move on it, and worked single-stub and L-network matches with the algebra shown alongside.
Antenna Parameters — Notes
Gain, directivity, efficiency, bandwidth, beamwidth and polarisation, each with the definition, the units and the measurement that would confirm it.
HFSS — Your First Correct Model
A step-by-step build of a microstrip patch, with the setup mistakes that silently produce plausible wrong answers called out at each step.
ADS — Matching Network Walkthrough
Build a matching network in ADS, verify it on the Smith chart, and check the result against the hand calculation.
Python for RF Engineers
scikit-rf, touchstone files, plotting S-parameters and automating a parameter sweep. Notebook included.
Related Courses
Take it further
Structured programmes covering the same ground in more depth, with a deliverable at the end.
RF & Microwave Engineering
The full RF groundwork: transmission lines, the Smith chart, S-parameters and front-end architecture, each derived rather than quoted.
- Duration
- 8 weeks
- Modules
- 8
- Certificate
- Yes
- Price
- Pricing on registration
Tools used: Keysight ADS · MATLAB · Python
Antenna Design with HFSS
Model, simulate and verify real antennas — and learn to tell a converged result from a pretty one.
- Duration
- 6 weeks
- Modules
- 6
- Certificate
- Yes
- Price
- Pricing on registration
Tools used: Ansys HFSS · MATLAB