The Smith Chart
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
February 2019
Unravel the mysteries of transmission lines with this unique chart.
Rotators
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The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
January 2019
The rotator is worth installing carefully and being treated with care. After all, your ham radio success turns on them!
Ham Radio Put to Work
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
November 2018
Ham radio is a fertile source of inspirations!
Filter Design Software
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
September 2018
Conclusion of a short tour through filters and filter design.
Filter Basics: Stop, Block, and Roll(off)
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
July 2018
A discussion on filter basics to give you a better understanding of how filters behave and are specified.
Antenna Supports: What You Need to Know Aloft
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
May 2018
Options and resources for creating the right antenna setup for wireless.
Working with High Voltages
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
March 2018
Avoid the “gotchas” when working with high voltage.
Ham Radio in a Pinch
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
January 2018
When disaster strikes, ham radio keeps working when other means of communication go down.
Vacuum Tubes
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The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
November 2017
At the ripe old age of 100+ years old, is the venerable vacuum tube still relevant in modern designs?
Thermal Management
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
September 2017
Some hot topics for a cool hobby.
The Solar Eclipse and Ham Radio
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
July 2017
Getting ready to follow the on-air activity that will come this August 2017 when we have a total eclipse of the sun.
Wireless Modes — Part 2
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
May 2017
Digital modes — according to the FCC — are those that exchange information as characters.
Wireless Modes — Part 1
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
March 2017
If you employ a wireless data or voice link, you're using modes. This column is an overview of fundamental modes used in communication systems.
Ham Metrics and the Decibel
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
January 2017
Learn the decibel (abbreviated as lower-case ‘d’ followed by an upper-case ‘B’ or ‘dB’) and you and your signal will go a long way!
Shielding and Shielded Cables
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
November 2016
An overview of shielding and shielded cables, including some practices you should know as a defense against gremlins that can mess up your circuits.
Common Antennas You Need to Know About
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
September 2016
Everything acts like an antenna — sometimes, the antenna is you!
Waves and Propagation: Part 2 — Radio Horizon
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
July 2016
Not only hams can take advantage of radio propagation — everybody has a chance to experience some very interesting ways of interacting with the natural world through wireless.
Waves and Propagation: Part 1
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
May 2016
Radio and wireless are all about waves and how they link distant points together. Learn about RF propagation, which is the way radio signals get from Point A to Point B.
Impedance Matching
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
March 2016
Impedance matching is not mysterious, it is really just about controlling reflections in transmission lines.
Transmission Lines and SWR
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
January 2016
Any conductor carrying an AC current can be treated as a transmission line. Here, we'll talk about a basic element of transmission lines: the standing wave ratio. Find out why it’s important and how to measure it.
Protecting Inputs and Outputs
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The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
November 2015
If you’re taking your equipment out into the field, you’re gonna want to make sure it’s protected from any “glitch gremlins” that might be lurking about.
RF Interference
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
September 2015
RFI is everywhere — is it interference to you or is it interference by you? Possibly both! But fortunately there are ways to keep it in line.
All About Ferrite
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
July 2015
Rings, beads, cores ... find out exactly what ferrite is and what makes it ideal for a variety of uses in electronics.
Oscillators
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
March 2015
Let's see how to make an audio oscillator, plus learn about common RF types.
RF Oscillators
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
May 2015
Move up in frequency to the oscillators which make the signals that drive the ham’s wireless world.
An Intro and Antennas
Column:
The Ham’s Wireless Workbench
January 2015
Welcome to the world of wireless know-how in the form of amateur or "ham" radio.Where else can you be an electronics and programming whiz, study solar and atmospheric phenomena, design your own communication system, and provide valuable public service — all at the same time? Amateur radio and the Nuts & Volts readership have a lot in common. Let's get to know each other!
Capacitors — The Family Tree
September 2005
There are many different choices when it comes to capacitor types. Find out why and how to tell which one is right for your project.
Resistors: Types And Applications
March 2006
An ohm is an ohm, right? Not so fast — there are many different types of resistors.
Choosing A Heatsink
July 2006
Let's face it — if this article was titled, "Thermal Analysis," you might put off reading it! But choosing a heatsink? Everybody understands what that's all about, right? To make that choice, you have to do a little thermal analysis (gotcha!), but if you can do Ohm's Law, you already know how!
Making Something From Nothing
November 2006
Radio and vacuum tubes grew up together from their genesis a century ago, but their history was not a clean, step-by-step process. Theory and experiment took turns leapfrogging each other, mixing sudden discoveries and steady refinements. Their story begins in the Age of Steam...
