RF 101 Shorts
RF from the first surprise: one wire, two voltages. Wavelength, reflections, standing waves and VSWR, with every graph recomputed from the equations.
Episodes
What this series covers
7 episodes made so far, 1 of them published. A tick marks the ones already on YouTube.
- 01Same wire, two voltages. Can you see why? (10 GHz)✓ published
- 0210 GHz gets less than 1 micron into copper. Guess how deep?
- 03Short one end of a cable. The other end looks open?
- 04Hang 200 Ω on a cable. The other end reads 12.5 Ω?
- 05One strip of copper turns 100 Ω into 50 Ω. 75 Ω or 70.7 Ω?
- 0620 dB of return loss = 1 % of your power back. 10 dB or 20 dB?
- 07Mismatch a line and the wave stops travelling. That's VSWR
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.
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.
Antenna Project Starter Pack
Templates, a measurement log, a report skeleton and a verification checklist for a first antenna project.
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