EMRFD
Experimental Methods in RF Design
Many RF experimenters were pleased to learn of the release of EMRFD by the ARRL in early 2003. I have been patiently waiting for this book since 1995. Written by Wes Hayward, W7ZOI, Rick Campbell, KK7B and Bob Larkin, W7PUA, this book is a follow-on to the 1977 ARRL publication, Solid State Design For The Radio Amateur.
A treasure trove of information, schematics, references and photographs adorn this lengthy (512 page) book which also comes with a data CD filled with even more information. With the included software, EMRFD is about twice the size of the original SSD.
This book emphasizes basic equipment design. It is not considered a project collection to casually reproduce without further experimentation and learning. There are plenty of kits available for those who chose to build but not design or extensively modify their radio equipment. This book is for builders who want the pleasure of learning by performing the actual design, layout and building of their chosen circuits, one stage at a time. EMRFD is replete with sidebar examples measuring or calculating data for certain stages under construction. In many cases, general purpose stages such as a monoband superhet receiver front end or a universal AF chain are provided instead of complete projects which would not be as versatile. The design information provided is vibrant and flexible. Some of the material is very original or presented in a way which greatly adds to the existing amateur radio knowledge base. For example, some new front-end mute circuits are presented throughout the book.
I like the layout of this book. The first chapter is simply called Getting Started. On page 8 of this chapter, the first simple receiver design is presented. This chapter does what it states! EMRFD has information and designs for all levels of experimenters, although I would suggest some basic experience with electronics is needed to get the most out of this publication. The graphs, schematics and printed digital photographs are of excellent quality.
There are some new ideas for RF and IF amplifiers ranging from simple to state of the art. This book has something for everyone. I have no doubt this book will profoundly influence radio home brewing to the extent that Solid State Design, its predecessor did.
The software is also outstanding. There are a number of great programs. For example you can design complex double tuned filters for your receiver projects without all the math. The software gives you the capacitor values so you do not have to worry about putting links on your inductors to match circuit impedances.
This is the must have reference book for your homebrew workshop.
To the right. The Supplemental CD that ships with EMRFD.
Link to the W7ZOI errata page for EMRFD
