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RF (Radio Frequency) technology

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Radio frequency (RF) is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals. RF usually refers to electrical rather than mechanical oscillations

The RF spectrum is very large and encompasses many different types of frequencies, we’re going to concentrate on radio waves

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Electric currents that oscillate at radio frequencies have special properties not shared by direct current or alternating current of lower frequencies

The energy in an RF current can radiate off a conductor into space as electromagnetic waves (radio waves); this is the basis of radio technology

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In order to receive radio signals an antenna must be used however, since the antenna will pick up thousands of radio signals at a time, a radio tuner is necessary to tune in to a particular frequency (or frequency range)

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This is typically done via a resonator – in its simplest form, a circuit with a capacitor and an inductor forming a tuned circuit, the resonator amplifies oscillations within a particular frequency band, while reducing oscillations at other frequencies outside the band

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Simple radio tuner

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Radio frequencies

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Visible light is an electromagnetic wave, consisting of oscillating electric and magnetic fields traveling through space.

The frequency of the wave determines its color: 4×1014 Hz is red light, 8×1014 Hz is violet light, and between these (in the range 4-8×1014 Hz) are all the other colors of the rainbow

400,000,000,000,000 = 4THz (400 Trillion Hz)

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Here is the visiblelight spectrum that we can see

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The audible frequency range for humans is typically given as being between about 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (20 kHz)

Sound is made up of changes in air pressure in the form of waves. Frequency is the property of sound that most determines pitch

Mechanical vibrations perceived as sound travel through all forms of matter: gases, liquids, solids, and plasmas, sound cannot travel through a vacuum

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As a matter of convenience, longer and slower waves, such as ocean surface waves, tend to be described by wave period rather than frequency. Short and fast waves, like audio and radio, are usually described by their frequency instead of period. These commonly used conversions are listed below:

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A radio communications signal must occupy a range of frequencies carrying most of its energy, called its bandwidth

Bandwidth in it’s simplest form is info carrying capacity

Allocation of radio frequency ranges to different uses is a major function of radio spectrum allocation

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Now that you know the basics of RF and the frequency spectrum let’s take a look at Modulation.

Modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a high-frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating signal which typically contains information to be transmitted

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Frequency modulation,the red signal is impose on the green carrier wave and the output is the blue waveform

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