RF BASICS

Transmitters and Receivers

Electrical energy moves from place to place in one of two ways. It either flows as current along a conductor (a bunch of electrons moving down a metal wire), or it travels in the air as invisible waves. In a typical wireless system, the electrical energy starts out as current flowing along a conductor, gets changed into waves traveling in the air, and then gets changed back into current flowing along a conductor again (see Figure 1-1).

Figure 1-1. Block diagram of a generic wireless system.

In Figure 1-1, the electrical signal flows as current along a conductor (from the left) into the box marked "T." Inside ...

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