The Book End

Digital Frequency Synthesis Demystified
Bar-Giora Goldberg
LLH Technology Publishing
335 pages plus CD-ROM; $49.95
ISBN: 1-878707-47-7

Frequency synthesis is no longer a novelty but ubiquitous in today’s electronic equipment. Every radio design uses synthesized signals for generation and control. The purpose of this book is to present a comprehensive review of digital techniques used in modern frequency synthesis design. The text is aimed specifically at practical designers and utilizes many intuitive explanations and design examples. It assumes the reader has some understanding of frequency synthesis.

The basic elements of the three major frequency synthesis techniques are presented in Chapter 1 as part of a brief review of frequency synthesis techniques. Chapter 2 presents a short survey of basic synthesizer system design parameters and analyses common to all frequency synthesizers. The various requirements and their effects on the design and numerous operations pertinent to frequency synthesis are described. Chapter 3 covers measurement techniques for determining parameters such as phase noise, switching speed and phase transients.

Chapter 4 describes general direct digital synthesis (DDS) technology as well as how it has evolved and improved during the last 10 years. Chapter 5 describes phase-locked loop (PLL) synthesizers with a concentration on digital techniques and progress in the overall architecture and PLL circuitry, particularly fractional-N concepts and architecture. Chapter 6 focuses on accumulators and describes the two main types: binary and decimal. Chapter 7 discusses the lookup table and sine read-only-memory (ROM) compression. A variety of ROM compression algorithms are presented along with standard equations to generate the ideal sine digital waveform. Digital-to-analog converters are covered in Chapter 8. A short review of reference generators is presented in Chapter 9 along with a description of frequency synthesizers commonly used in various applications. The final chapter presents the original article published almost 30 years ago by Tieney, Rader and Gold that started the DDS technological evolution. The attached CD-ROM contains software files and a PDF version of the book as well as a tutorial on digital signal synthesis.
To order this book, contact: LLH Technology Publishing, 3578 Old Rail Rd., Eagle Rock, VA 24085 (540) 567-2000.

Microwave Radio Transmission Design Guide
Trevor Manning
Artech House Inc.
231 pages; $79, £54
ISBN: 1-58053-031-1

This book covers each step in the design of a microwave communications link from conceptual planning to transmission design to frequency planning and interference analysis. Each step is explained in detail along with potential problems and pitfalls. Essential equations and formulas are given that can be easily solved with a pocket calculator but, mercifully, the rigorous mathematical derivations have been left out. The book covers many radio types, equipment configurations and antennas in current use. The result is a handy planner’s guide, which summarizes all of the issues that need to be considered when designing a radio network and provides some basic theory for backup.

After general descriptions of what a microwave radio link is all about, the book jumps right into link planning. The initial planning includes site location, a network diagram, path profiles, frequency considerations and site surveys. Reliability standards are discussed early in the process as an integral part of the design objectives. Once those areas are determined, the book describes radio equipment characteristics. The radio link performance standards are derived from the International Telecommunication Union ITU-T circuit-based standards that define limits for end-to-end circuits.

Microwave propagation and the effects of atmospheric characteristics on microwave propagation are explained along with signal fading and multipath. Antenna considerations -- the main component under the control of the radio planner and one critical to the performance of the link -- are detailed. Several microwave antennas are described along with feeder characteristics and performance parameters. An entire chapter is devoted to frequency planning and gaining an understanding of fading mechanisms. In addition, the various forms of interference are analyzed extensively. This knowledge is next applied to link design where an example radio link is designed and analyzed. The final chapter describes synchronous digital hierarchy and the use of multiplexing schemes.
To order this book, contact: Artech House Inc., 685 Canton St., Norwood, MA 02062 (781) 769-9750, ext. 4002; or 46 Gillingham St., London SW1V 1HH, UK +44 (0) 171 973 8077.