BEST RADIO BOOKS

Now in its 24th edition, this book continues to be one of my few go-to resources, because it highlights decades of high-quality antenna design and practical applications.

If you need a book that starts with simple wire antennas and takes you to complex arrays, this is it. The authors discuss HF, VHF, UHF, and microwave antennas.

The most recent edition is updated with some of the newest antenna technologies, including software-defined radios (SDRs), digital modes, and so on. And if that wasn’t enough, The Antenna Book also comes with software tools for antenna modeling and performance analysis...

American Radio Relay League has just published the 100th edition of the ARRL Handbook, a top resource for both novice and seasoned radio amateurs.

Organized into 25 chapters and spanning over 1,200 pages, the book contains in-depth information on a large number of topics, including radio theory, circuit design, antenna systems, digital communications, and even software-defined radios.

Beginners will love the clear explanations that can be found in chapters such as "Radio Fundamentals", while advanced users will enjoy the thorough information in sections such as "RF Amplifiers"...

"LPWAN Technologies for IoT and M2M Applications," edited by Bharat Chaudhari and Marco Zennaro, is one of the few resources you can get your hands on if you want to understand Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) and their role in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications. It’s a book that explains LPWAN technologies in great detail, covering both theory and practice.

The first chapter explores the basics of LPWAN, highlighting the key benefits of this innovative technology: low cost, long range, and low power consumption.

Then, the editors explain several cellular-based LPWAN technologies, such as NB-IoT, LTE-CatM, and GSM-IoT, discussing technical specs and advantages, as well as their most important limitations...

Constantine Balanis' book is a comprehensive, authoritative text in the antenna engineering field. It’s an advanced antenna design book that targets industry professionals and researchers, rather than beginners to RF engineering.

"Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design" starts by discussing electromagnetic theory, radiation patterns, and so on, but quickly moves on to antenna arrays, microstrip antennas, frequency-independent antennas, metamaterials, etc.

It is not a dry lecture, though, because the blocks of text are accompanied by lots of illustrations and/or practical examples, and the end-of-chapter problems show how the theory is used in real-world applications...

"The Art of Electronics" is considered a top-of-the-line guide for people who love electronics, whether they are hobbyists or professionals. It’s an accessible, yet thorough book that discusses topics ranging from basic components to advanced electronic circuits design.

I especially like the way the authors have managed to explain basic, foundational concepts, and then build on them to help readers understand much more complex subjects.

The first chapter starts by discussing resistors, capacitors, etc. but the next chapters move into semiconductor territory...

The "Practical Antenna Handbook" is a cornerstone not only for professionals in the radio communication industry, but for amateur radio enthusiasts as well.

This ambitious goal has been achieved by combining well-explained theory with plenty of practical advice and examples. On a side note, here you can find most of the parts required for the projects in the book.

The authors start by discussing electromagnetic theory and signal propagation, then tackle basic antenna design principles. The following chapters teach readers how to build different types of antennas, ranging from simple dipoles to complex antenna arrays, and even satellite antennas...

The "Springer Handbook of Global Navigation Satellite Systems" is a comprehensive book that brings together contributions from over 100 experts in the field and explores both the theory and the practical aspects of GNSS.

It’s a book for industry professionals, so it covers advanced theoretical foundations such as orbital mechanics, signal design, and atmospheric effects. Then, it discusses various GNSS constellations, highlighting design, signal structure, and performance metrics.

The authors explain signal acquisition, tracking, and data processing in great detail. Then, they cover essential GNSS computational methods and algorithms thoroughly...

Lots of RF specialists consider that Theodore Rappaport wrote a masterpiece in the field of wireless engineering, and who am I to disagree?

"Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice" is essential for beginners and professionals, because it merges a well-laid theoretical foundation with many practical applications.

This is the book to get if you want to learn how wireless signals travel and behave while passing through different environments. You’d better know your math, though, because you’ll also learn about path loss models, shadowing, and multipath propagation...