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Radio Engineering

The Internet can help you bone up on radio engineering technology

Last time in Off the Beaten Path we looked at well-known voice-over guys and included a link to “Star Trek” technology (the transporter or replicator) as German scientists are now creating an early predecessor to this technology. This week we’ll look at some more great technology links to help engineers with today’s technology.

Broadcast Engineering Notes
Digging around the Internet, there are many ways to find pieces and parts to help us with engineering. Here’s an excellent site with many tips and information all in one place.

Harmonics
A little more for the advanced engineer, but a necessity for anyone working with RF, is the understanding of harmonics. Here’s a very good link to help understand the “off shoots” of generating an RF signal. The skinny is that anything that transmits has the potential to transmit “in other places” that you wouldn’t expect. These are called harmonics … and here’s more info.

Antenna Technology Evolution
This recently was posted at Radio World. The technology behind antennas is not only fascinating, but magical at times, (hence the expression for FM being “Freaking Magic” (using a more socially-acceptable phrase than the one often used).

Repairing a Solid-State FM Transmitter Module
My first experience with repairing solid-state transmitters really made me appreciate the simplicity of the technology. Here’s some excellent info for those less experienced with solid-state transmitters and repairing failed modules.

And finally …
From The Consumerist comes “Coat Hangers Versus Monster Cable.” I’ve never been one to buy into the idea that expensive speaker wire produces a better sound in some way. Certainly the idea of better shielding can make a difference with audio (especially when dealing with mics), but when it comes to speakers in a home theater, this was a funny article about a test involving substituting coat hangers for expensive speaker wire.

If you stumble across a good or unusual web site that might be of interest, please don’t hesitate to send me the link and any info you might have about it. My email address is [email protected].

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