NEC-LIST: RF Lab

Dear Ram,

Some thoughts on the subject of an RF Lab.

I'm a former Physics teacher (University of the South, Sewanee
Academy) now working in radio broadcast. If there is one thing that I
believe to be critical in RF lab pedagogy it would be HANDS ON at
any/all costs. It is absolutely essential that the student have a very
practical feel for concepts like wavelength, standing waves,
reflection coefficient, power level, power density, etc. Don't be
tempted to buy a room full of modern network analyzers, synthesizers,
etc. and call that an RF lab. The students will learn how to take very
precise measurements and gain absolutely no intuitive knowledge of
RF. If your budget allows for modern, sophisticated equipment, buy it
- but use it for a second or third course.

I would recommend trying to find a copy of the old Hewlett-Packard
"Microwave Measurements" lab manual and adapting it to currently
available RF sources and waveguide devices. I have a copy of that book
around here somewhere and would be glad to make a copy of it for you
if your library can't produce one. If you decide to exactly reproduce
the HP lab, most of the waveguide devices are available through used
test equipment houses like Tucker in Dallas. However, I would use
something more up-to-date for the X-Band source such as a Gunn Diode
generator, etc. rather than the original Klystron!

I also believe it would be very good idea to include high-power RF
devices in an RF lab. There are many modern applications for
high-power, including broadcast, particle physics, communications,
industrial materials processing, etc and there is enough black magic
left in high-power design to make it a challenging area. If your goals
are to include teaching high-power RF concepts you might contact
Harris Broadcast's training division. They administrate a series of
transmitter technical training courses for engineers currently working
in radio and television. They might be able to provide teaching
materials and recommend equipment purchases for an RF lab high-power
component.

Broadcast Technology Training Center
3200 Wismann Lane
PO Box 4290
Quincy, IL USA 62301-4290
Phone: 217-221-7589
Fax: 217-221-7087
training_at_harris.com

Sincerely,

Hal Smith, MS
Member, IEEE Broadcast Technology Section
AM/FM Services Company
7312 Shannon Circle
Edmond, OK 73034
405-359-1100
FAX 348-6600
halsmith_at_okla.net
Received on Sun Nov 19 2000 - 19:01:23 EST