Electronics and Radio Theory for Amateur Radio
Find circuits, guides, and practical information on electronics, radio theory, and projects for ham radio operators.
Electronics forms the fundamental basis of all ham radio activity, from the simplest crystal radio to complex digital mode transceivers. Understanding basic electronic principles helps operators troubleshoot their stations, build antenna projects, and even homebrew entire pieces of equipment. This knowledge is crucial for anyone looking to go beyond off-the-shelf gear and truly understand how their radio works.
This category offers practical guidance on topics like winding toroids for RF chokes and transformers, and how to build a reliable 13.8 Volt power supply. Hams can also find detailed explanations of core concepts such as negative feedback in amplifier circuits and the physics of electromagnetic radiation. Resources cover essential skills like proper soldering techniques and using ferrite cores for interference suppression, which is vital for maintaining a quiet shack and clean signal.
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Sometimes amateurs like to home-brew their power supplies instead of purchasing one off the shelf at any of the major ham radio retail dealers. -
The MC3423 can protect sensitive circuity from power supply transients or regulator failure when used with an external "Crowbar" SCR. -
Thermocouple ammeters are very rare these days, but the job they were perfect for - measuring antenna currents - is still a modern requirement especially in respect to groundplane currents. By David A. Reid PA3HBB G0BZF -
A little gadget was found in an article in QST, made with 1 pair of powerpole connectors a resistor and two leds -
Basic electronic circuit laws, capacitors, resistors, power circuits examples -
Calculate the inductance of a single-layer, air-core coil. -
Decibels: dB, dBA, dBC, dBV, dBm and dBi? What are they all? How are they related to loudness, to phons and to sones? This page describes and compares them all and gives sound file examples. -
Around 200 electronic circuits in pdf format or images, There are also over 1000 links to useful electronics, freeware, open source websites. There are some 100 useful documents, software and pcbs too. Mainly industrial electronics, instrumentation. Covers Various aspects of electronics and basics of circuit design. -
Explores the necessity of an antenna tuner, detailing its function in matching antenna systems to transceivers and reducing SWR for optimal power transfer. -
Descriptions, summaries,and tutorials about electronic circuits and electronic circuit design including amplifiers, attenuators, logic, transistor, operational amplifiers and much more -
Electronics and Radio Today for electronics and radio information, projects parctical information and introductory articles. Especially useful for those taking GCSE Electronics in the UK and around the world. -
Ferrite Toroidal Cores, Magnetic Properties of Ferrite Materials, EMI - RFI Suppression Design Considerations, Ferrite Beads, Ferrites for RFI Ferrite Cores for RFI Suppression by CWS ByteMark -
Explores using ferrite materials to mitigate Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) in ham radio shacks, focusing on material types and applications. -
Excellent slides explaining radio and radiowaves generation basics -
This article also shows how you can make your own measurements that are as good as those possible with professional equipment -
Negative feedback is often referred to as shunt feedback in conjunction with emitter degeneration. -
Information and tutorials about all aspects of radio and electronics including propagation, ham radio, electronics, radio history, etc -
What electronic parts you can recover from PC monitor, VCR, CD-ROM, FDD, HDD , Laptop, Motherboard, SmartCard reader or Printer -
Index of main electronics topics -
With all the wire you have out, you may run into a problem with static buildup on the antennas. This static may try to make its way into your receiver, causing you major problems and damage that can run into a lot of money. -
This simple modification is applicable to pretty much any 12 volt operated, positive earth equipment. by Chris Cox, N0UK, G4JEC -
Guide to soldering an desoldering -
Winding Toroids can be a real hassle for those of use who are left-handed or not so dexterous as we once were. -
How Vacuum Tubes Really Work. Vacuum tubes rely on hot cathodes emitting electrons and a plate attracting them to create current. A grid in between controls the current flow, enabling amplification. This article explores the nitty-gritty of how it works, including how cathode type, temperature, and electrode spacing affect the process. It explains the physics behind electron emission, space charge, and amplification factor, offering a deeper understanding than the basic principles. -
Excellent guide to using ferrite cores for interference suppression. Understanding and Solving RF Interference and Noise Problems by Jim Brown K9YC Audio Systems Group, Inc. PDF File -
A Guide to safely wind toroidal cores by vu2fd -
An article on origin and usage of the Decibel, that has always been a logarithmically based representation of a power ratio -
This tutorial provides background information on the decibel and instructions for performing calculations involving decibels. This tutorial combines information from several authors, including Bob DeVarney, W1ICW; Walter Bahnzaf, WB1ANE; and Ward Silver, NOAX -
Balanced and Unbalanced Systems -
A DC buss distribution box, make it yourself for less than $10 -
Repairing a KAM interface changing two capacitors and transistors by IK5PWC -
Article about shields, Litz wire, braid, and skin depth. It is still being expanded. -
While transistors have many uses, one of the less known uses by amateurs is the ability for bipolar transistors to turn things on and off