Sign-In
Cart
Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators: Volume 4: Transmission Lines, Antennas and RF Propagation
Hardcover
Series: Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators, Book 4
Publisher: Ham Radio Base Publishing
Published: May 23 2026
Pages: 444
Weight: 2.89
Height: 1.00 Width: 8.50 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
Volume 4: Hardcover - Transmission Lines, Antennas and RF Propagation moves beyond electronic circuits and explores how radio-frequency energy is transferred, radiated, propagated, and efficiently delivered between transmitters, antennas, and receivers. Building on the electronic principles developed in the previous volumes, this book provides the practical knowledge needed to design, install, analyze, and optimize complete amateur radio antenna systems.
Readers begin by mastering transmission line theory, learning how characteristic impedance, velocity factor, electrical length, and standing waves influence the performance of every radio installation. The book explains coaxial cable construction, open-wire and ladder line systems, feedline loss, impedance transformation, reflections, SWR, reflection coefficient, matched and mismatched loads, stub matching, quarter-wave transformers, baluns, and common-mode chokes. Each concept is presented through practical examples that connect theory directly to real-world amateur radio installations.
The second section explores antenna fundamentals, explaining how antennas convert electrical energy into electromagnetic waves and how antenna design influences radiation patterns, efficiency, bandwidth, polarization, and gain. Readers study dipoles, vertical antennas, ground-plane antennas, directional beam antennas, antenna loading techniques, radiation resistance, near-field and far-field behavior, and antenna tuning systems. Practical discussions help readers understand why antenna placement, height, orientation, and matching networks have such a significant effect on station performance.
A comprehensive section on RF propagation explains how radio waves travel through the Earth's atmosphere and beyond. Topics include ground-wave propagation, sky-wave communication, ionospheric layers, maximum usable frequency (MUF), lowest usable frequency (LUF), skip distance, tropospheric ducting, Sporadic-E propagation, meteor scatter, Earth-Moon-Earth communication, path loss, and link-budget analysis. Readers learn how changing atmospheric conditions influence communication distances and why different amateur radio bands perform differently throughout the day, season, and solar cycle.
The final portion of the volume examines filters and impedance matching techniques used throughout modern RF systems. Readers learn the operating characteristics of Butterworth, Chebyshev, elliptic, crystal, helical, and cavity filters before exploring impedance-matching networks including Pi-L networks, gamma matches, beta matches, stub matching, and practical Smith Chart applications. These chapters demonstrate how proper filtering and impedance matching improve efficiency, reduce unwanted emissions, and maximize transmitter performance.
Throughout the book, engineering concepts are presented through clear explanations, detailed illustrations, worked examples, practical calculations, review questions, and hands-on exercises that reinforce both theoretical understanding and practical application. Mathematical concepts are introduced gradually and always tied directly to real amateur radio situations, making even complex RF topics approachable for readers with varying levels of experience.
Designed specifically for amateur radio operators, electronics students, experimenters, and RF enthusiasts, Volume 4 bridges the gap between electronic circuit design and complete radio communication systems. Whether installing an HF station, optimizing a VHF antenna system, improving feedline efficiency, designing matching networks, or understanding long-distance propagation, readers gain the knowledge needed to build higher-performing stations and make more effective use of the radio spectrum.
1 different editions
Also available
Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators: Volume 4: Transmission Lines, Antennas and RF Propagation
Barlet, Terry L.
Paperback
Also from
Barlet, Terry L.
Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators: Volume 3: RF Systems and Signal Processing
Barlet, Terry L.
Hardcover
Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators: Volume 1: Foundations of Electronics
Barlet, Terry L.
Hardcover
Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators: Volume 3: RF Systems and Signal Processing
Barlet, Terry L.
Paperback
Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators: Volume 4: Transmission Lines, Antennas and RF Propagation
Barlet, Terry L.
Paperback
Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators: Volume 5: Advanced Topics and Practical Skills
Barlet, Terry L.
Paperback
Radio Electronics for Amateur Radio Operators: Volume 5: Advanced Topics and Practical Skills
Barlet, Terry L.
Hardcover
Ham Radio Base Antenna Build Guide: Volume 5: Baluns, Ununs, Connectors & Coax
Barlet, Terry L.
Paperback
Also in
Technology & Engineering
All Data Are Local: Thinking Critically in a Data-Driven Society
Loukissas, Yanni Alexander
Paperback
The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution
Hockfield, Susan
Paperback
Ingenious Patents: Bubble Wrap, Barbed Wire, Bionic Eyes, and Other Pioneering Inventions
Ikenson, Ben
Bennett, Jay
Hardcover
The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think about Artificial Intelligence--Before It's Too Late
Doctorow, Cory
Paperback
Improvised Munitions Black Book: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume
U S Government
Paperback
AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter
Tyrangiel, Josh
Hardcover
The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, Deepmind, and the Quest for Superintelligence
Mallaby, Sebastian
Hardcover
The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything
Jezer-Morton, Kathryn
Hardcover
Ultimate Guide: Wiring, Updated 10th Edition: Meets Current National Electrical Code Standards
The Editors of Creative Homeowner
Paperback
The Agi Chronicles: The Inside Story of the Race to Create an Artificial Superintelligence
Roose, Kevin
Hardcover
Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online
Latifi, Fortesa
Hardcover
Lightning Beneath the Sea: The Race to Wire the World and the Dawn of the Information Age
Tabor, James M.
Hardcover
Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game: Beef, Veal, Pork, Lamb, Poultry, Rabbit, Venison
Mettler, John J.
Paperback
You Don't Need a Smartphone: A Practical Guide to Downgrading Your Phone and Upgrading Your Life
Lamm, August
Paperback
No One's Coming: The Rogue Heroes Our Government Turns to When There's Nowhere Else to Turn
Hazzard, Kevin
Hardcover
Empire of Ink: The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals Who Invented the American Newspaper
Wright, Alex
Hardcover
The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It's Too Late
Beyond Plastics
Enck, Judith
Mahoney, Adam
Hardcover
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Higginbotham, Adam
Paperback
The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth
Niarchos, Nicolas
Hardcover
The Home Blacksmith: Tools, Techniques, and 40 Practical Projects for the Home Blacksmith
Ridgway, Ryan
Paperback
City on the Edge: Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco
Weber, Jonathan
Hardcover
Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
Crawford, Kate
Paperback
AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference
Kapoor, Sayash
Narayanan, Arvind
Paperback
Generation Regeneration: Codesigning the Future of Cities Through Regenerative Placemaking
Cho, Tony
Hardcover
Curved Air: A Biography of Sickle Cell Anemia and the Quest to Cure the First Molecular Disease
Davies, Kevin
Hardcover
Crisis Engineering: Time-Tested Tools for Turning Chaos Into Clarity
Dickerson, Mikey
Nitze, Marina
Weaver, Matthew
Paperback
Meat: How the Next Agricultural Revolution Will Transform Humanity's Favorite Food--And Our Future
Friedrich, Bruce
Hardcover
The New Age of Sexism: How AI and Emerging Technologies Are Reinventing Misogyny
Bates, Laura
Hardcover
Human + Machine, Updated and Expanded: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI
Wilson, H. James
Daugherty, Paul R.
Hardcover
The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization: A Technical Manual for the Post-Collapse Era
Evans, James
Paperback
Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans (with a New Preface)
Mitchell, Melanie
Paperback
Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have
Schlossberg, Tatiana
Paperback
CompTIA Tech+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Third Edition (Exam FC0-U71)
Wempen, Faithe
Paperback
The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America Into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home
Hartung, William D.
Freeman, Ben
Hardcover
The Baofeng Radio Revolution: The Beginner Guerrilla's Guide to Break Through the Complexity, Secure Communications, and Prepare for Disaster With Pre
Code Publishing, Morse
Hardcover
Kobuk the Destroyer: And Other Tales from the Wild, Unseen World of Test Engineering
Davies, Alex
Hardcover
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
Kamkwamba, William
Mealer, Bryan
Paperback
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: Faa-H-8083-25c
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Hardcover
Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew
Leinbach, Michael D.
Ward, Jonathan H.
Paperback
CNC Woodworking for the Absolute Beginner: Winning Tips, Techniques & 5 Skill-Building Projects
Bagnall, Ralph
Paperback
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition
Reisner, Marc
Paperback
Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet with a New Introduction by the Author
Blum, Andrew
Paperback
Broken Money: Why Our Financial System is Failing Us and How We Can Make it Better
Alden, Lyn
Paperback
Make: Electronics: Learning by Discovery: A Hands-On Primer for the New Electronics Enthusiast
Platt, Charles
Paperback
AI Projects with Raspberry Pi: High-Performance Artificial Intelligence for Robotics, Security, Home Automation, and Vision
Jepson, Brian
Hattersley, Lucy
Paperback
Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happiest Place on Earth
Betancourt, Roland
Hardcover
Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work, and Life
Davenport, Thomas H.
Bornet
Wirtz, Jochen
Paperback
Drawing Lessons with Da Vinci: An Artist's Guide to Geometry, Anatomy and Proportion
Roig, Gabriel Martín
Paperback
The Powerful Primate: How Controlling Energy Enabled Us to Build Civilization
Ennos, Roland
Hardcover
AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can't, and How to Tell the Difference
Narayanan, Arvind
Kapoor, Sayash
Hardcover
Texas DMV Driver's Handbook: Practice for the Texas Permit Test with 350+ Driving Questions and Answers
Prep, Discover
Paperback
Bioinspired: How Nature Made Us Modern, Drives Today's Technological Innovation, and Inspires a Future Worth Inventing
Stier, Samuel Cord
Hardcover
Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work, and Life
Wirtz, Jochen
Davenport, Thomas H.
Bornet, Pascal
Hardcover
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century's Greatest Dilemma
Suleyman, Mustafa
Hardcover
The Mercury 13: The True Story of Thirteen Women and the Dream of Space Flight
Ackmann, Martha
Paperback
The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions--And How the World Lost Its Mind
Davies, Dan
Paperback
Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit
Schmidt, Eric
Mundie, Craig
Kissinger, Henry a.
Paperback
The Fourth Intelligence Revolution: The Future of Espionage and the Battle to Save America
Vinci, Anthony
Hardcover
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
Sobel, Dava
Paperback
Designing for People: An Introduction to Human Factors Engineering
Liu, Yili
Boyle, Linda Ng
Wickens, Christopher D.
Paperback