Engineer Radio Electronic Communication study plan
Engineer Radio Electronic Communication · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Radio wave propagation and antennas
Derive the free-space path loss formula and compute link budget losses for VHF and SHF links by hand
Classify propagation mechanisms (ground wave, sky wave, tropospheric scatter, ducting) and predict which dominates at given frequency and distance
Calculate MUF, critical frequency and skip distance from given ionospheric parameters
Sketch radiation patterns for half-wave dipole, quarter-wave monopole and Yagi and state gain, beamwidth and front-to-back ratio
Your checkpoint
A one-page hand-written link budget worksheet with three fully worked propagation calculations, checked against your own re-derivation
Radio wave propagation and antennas & RF circuits and components
Compute characteristic impedance, VSWR, reflection coefficient and return loss for mismatched transmission lines
Use the Smith chart to solve two impedance-matching problems (L-network and quarter-wave transformer)
Identify function and failure modes of filters, mixers, amplifiers, attenuators and directional couplers in a receiver front end
Calculate noise figure and cascaded noise temperature for a three-stage RF chain
Your checkpoint
A solved problem set of ten RF calculations (impedance, matching, noise figure) with answers and a short note on each error you corrected
RF circuits and components & Communication systems and modulation
Explain AM, FM, SSB and PM in terms of spectrum, bandwidth and sideband structure, and compute Carson's rule bandwidth
Compare sensitivity, selectivity and dynamic range requirements for AM, FM and SSB receivers
Describe superheterodyne architecture, image frequency and IF selection, and calculate image rejection for given IF and RF frequencies
Relate modulation index, deviation and signal-to-noise ratio for FM
Your checkpoint
A comparison table of five modulation schemes covering bandwidth, SNR behaviour and typical application, plus two worked image-frequency calculations
Communication systems and modulation & Transmitters, receivers and transceivers
Trace signal flow through a complete transmitter chain from oscillator to antenna and state the purpose of each block
Analyse AGC, AFC and squelch circuits and explain how each affects receiver performance
Diagnose five described transceiver faults (spurious emission, low output, drift, desensitisation, intermodulation) and propose a cause
Explain duplexer, circulator and T/R switching requirements for a shared-antenna transceiver
Your checkpoint
A block diagram of a transceiver you draw from memory, annotated with measured or specified levels at each stage, plus a fault-diagnosis sheet for five cases
Digital communication and signal processing
Convert between sampling rate, bit rate, symbol rate and bandwidth for QPSK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM
Explain Nyquist sampling, aliasing and quantisation noise and compute SNR for a given ADC resolution
Describe FEC, interleaving and ARQ and state where each is used
Compare OFDM and single-carrier modulation in terms of spectral efficiency and multipath tolerance
Interpret a constellation diagram and identify the impairment shown
Your checkpoint
A digital link calculation sheet: one worked end-to-end budget from source bit rate to occupied bandwidth, with sampling and coding assumptions stated
Electromagnetic compatibility and interference & Radio monitoring, measurement and testing
Distinguish conducted and radiated emissions and identify the coupling paths that produce each
Explain intermodulation, harmonic and adjacent-channel interference and describe mitigation measures for each
Select the correct instrument (spectrum analyser, receiver, power meter, VNA) for five stated measurement tasks and justify the choice
Describe how to measure occupied bandwidth, spurious emissions and frequency stability to a stated tolerance
Explain grounding, shielding and filtering practice for reducing interference in an equipment installation
Your checkpoint
A measurement plan for one EMC test and one spectrum-monitoring task, listing instrument settings, limits and pass/fail criteria
Spectrum management and radio regulations & Network architecture and radio communication services
Classify radio services (fixed, mobile, broadcasting, amateur, radiodetermination) and match each to its allocation context
Explain the roles of ITU Radio Regulations, national administration and frequency assignment in authorising a station
Distinguish harmful interference from permissible interference and state the operator's obligations when interference occurs
Describe typical network topologies (point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, trunked, cellular) and match each to a service requirement
Identify licence, coordination and notification steps for bringing a new link into service
Your checkpoint
A two-page regulatory and network summary covering five services, their allocation basis and the coordination steps for one example link
Radio wave propagation and antennas & Communication systems and modulation & Digital communication and signal processing
Re-solve one representative calculation from each of the nine domains under timed conditions
Review every previously missed question and write the underlying principle in your own words
Rehearse the link budget, modulation and digital rate calculations until each is completed without notes
Identify your two weakest domains and list the specific facts still uncertain
Your checkpoint
A full timed mock exam scored by domain, with a written error log and a prioritised list of remaining gaps
Milestones
Week 2: You can compute path loss, VSWR, matching and cascaded noise figure from memory with no formula sheet, scoring at least 8 of 10 on your own problem set
Week 4: You can draw the transmitter and receiver chains from memory and correctly diagnose at least 4 of 5 described faults
Week 6: You can justify instrument choice and state pass/fail criteria for EMC and monitoring measurements without referring to notes
Week 8: Timed mock exam completed with every domain attempted and an error log that names a specific principle for each miss