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Brent Dietz, director of corporate communications at Qorvo, has seen a lot of engineering and technology during 30⁺ years in the tech industry. His primary role is making geek-speak understandable to the non-geek public, reporters and non-technical analysts. It's challenging — simplifying without distorting — and it helps to have a sense of humor. Brent does, which he shares with Microwave Journal readers from time to time.

The Web World of RF

December 21, 2016

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Since the dawn of the web, RF and the internet have been hopelessly intertwined. We use RF to access the internet, and the internet to explain RF to friends and family over the holidays — “Oh, you work with microwave ovens?”

Don’t see the connection? Try turning your smartphone to airplane mode and shutting off your Wi-Fi. Though search engines vanish in airplane mode, you can certainly consult a myriad of “old school” resources for answers, including:

Encyclopedias (you might need to visit a library for these)
A crystal set radio receiver
Fellow ham radio operators
A CB radio, good buddy
A slide rule

Thankfully, for those answering holiday questions about hinterplexers, the world is digital. There’s an app for slide rules, and turning off airplane mode opens up a whole new world of online RF resources for the engineer, the product marketer and the uncle who thinks RF is the newest boy band.

RF Resources on the Web

There are as many web-based resources for understanding RF as flavors of GaN. While some provide general information on the industry, companies and products, others focus on standards and regulations critical to future technologies, like 5G.

Need a place to start? Here are a few online RF resources, and who I’d recommend them for:

For RF design engineers

Microwave Journal Design Tools — links to free online design calculators, spreadsheets and websites with useful RF/microwave design guides.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore Digital Library — a huge archive of technical papers on a variety of RF topics.
Qorvo Design Hub — an easy-to-navigate library of block diagrams, design tools, videos, whitepapers and other content on the freshly re-designed Qorvo website.
RF Globalnet — a leading online source of cutting-edge technical information for RF/microwave design engineers and engineering managers.

For the RF community

LinkedIn RF and Microwave Community — a professional group for sharing new product and business ideas, networking and discussing industry developments.
Frequency Matters — a Microwave Journal video series discussing the latest products, merger news and upcoming industry events.

For RF standards and regulations

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) — an organization covering cellular telecommunications network technologies, including radio access, the core transport network and service capabilities.
International Wireless Industry Consortium (IWPC) — a community that facilitates global knowledge-capital collaboration for all things wireless.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies, which develops the technical standards for connecting the world.
FCC Equipment Authorization for RF Devices — a U.S. regulatory body for RF devices and standards.

And for explaining RF to friends and family this holiday? Try our For Dummies® books.

Have a favorite resource not listed here? Be sure to share it in the comments and with us on social media @QorvoInc.

Happy Holidays!

Brent Dietz is director of corporate communications at Qorvo. Follow him on Twitter @QorvoInc.