Radio Electronics Course

This course builds a complete electronics education for amateur radio operators, starting from absolute zero and ending with the practical skills to design circuits, troubleshoot equipment, and understand every RF system in your shack. No prior electronics knowledge is assumed. Each module builds on the last, so by the time you reach antennas and transmission lines you will have every concept you need already in place.

Our recommended supplier of test equipement and electronic parts is Jameco Electronics We use them in our own lab.

What This Course Covers

The Radio Electronics Course is organized into 22 modules and 190 lessons. It follows the path any working radio engineer would take: start with the physics of electricity, learn the mathematics used to describe it, study the individual components, then apply everything to the circuits that appear inside real radio equipment.

Foundations (M01–M04)

The first four modules establish the foundation every other module depends on. Module 1 covers electricity itself — what voltage, current and resistance are, how Ohm’s Law links them, and what AC and RF signals look like. Module 2 covers the mathematical language: scientific notation, metric prefixes, decibels and how to read a datasheet. Module 3 introduces every common component you will encounter — resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors and integrated circuits — with enough detail to understand what each one does and how to use it. Module 4 teaches you to read schematics, which is the skill that unlocks every service manual and technical article you will ever encounter.

Circuit Theory with Test Equipment (M05–M09)

Modules 5 through 9 move from theory to analysis. You will learn to use test equipment at a basic level first (Module 5) — multimeters, SWR meters and wattmeters — so you can measure real circuits as you study them. Module 6 applies DC circuit theory: Kirchhoff’s laws, voltage dividers and Thevenin’s theorem. Module 7 extends the analysis to AC circuits: reactance, impedance, resonance and filters. Module 8 covers power supplies from basic rectifiers through to switching mode supplies and solar charging. Module 9 covers amplifiers in depth — classes of operation, biasing, gain, distortion and RF power stages.

RF Systems (M10–M16)

Modules 10 through 16 focus on the RF signal path inside and around a radio station. Module 10 covers signal sources: LC oscillators, crystal oscillators, PLLs and DDS. Module 11 examines modulation and demodulation in full — AM, SSB, FM, CW and digital modes, along with the superheterodyne receiver architecture. Module 12 introduces intermediate test equipment — oscilloscopes and antenna analyzers — which become essential tools for RF work from this point on. Modules 13 through 16 cover the external RF path: transmission lines, antennas, propagation and impedance matching.

Advanced Topics and Practical Skills (M17–M22)

The final section covers advanced topics that separate competent operators from skilled engineers. Module 17 addresses advanced test equipment — spectrum analyzers, vector network analyzers and TDRs. Module 18 covers digital electronics, DSP and software-defined radio. Module 19 examines interference and noise in detail. Modules 20 and 21 are entirely practical: construction techniques, soldering and systematic fault-finding. Module 22 closes the course with safety.

Modules