Impedance mismatches in a radio-frequency (RF) electrical transmission line cause power loss and reflected energy. Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is a way to measure transmission line ...

This is the fourth in a series of articles about FM transmission systems. The bandwidth of a commercial FM broadcast signal, depending on whether or not subcarriers are used, is about 260 kHz. This ...

Here’s a little troubleshooting quiz for you to think about. Fig. 1: Wallwarts lined up like soldiers — and identified. Let’s imagine that the weather has been hot, with record high temperatures; ...

Maxim Integrated Products has introduced the MAX2016, aimed at measuring VSWR, gain, and power up to 2.5GHz. The SiGe chip can be configured as a simple RF-power detector and comparator, or as a ...

Once again the ubiquitous USB TV tuner dongle has proved itself more than capable of doing far more than just receiving broadcast TV. Over on the RTL-SDR blog, there’s a tutorial covering the ...

Building a successful microwave test system requires the use of many different components to control signal flow, signal level, and signal integrity. The design engineer must consider the impact of ...

Knowing the directivity specification of your measurement device can go a long way in setting measurement expectations. Directional power measurements are important when determining transmitter output ...