Radio Systems Engineering - Revised First Edition

Reviewed by Dimitrie Popescu, Professor, Old Dominion University on 5/9/25

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a comprehensive textbook that teaches operating principles and practical implementations of radio communication systems. The textbook topics cover:
- Fundamental concepts on radio frequency (RF) spectrum, antennas, and electromagnetic wave propagation (Chapters 1, 2, 3).
- Operational considerations in the presence of noise and RF link analysis (Chapters 4, 7)
- Analog and digital modulation schemes for information transmission (Chapters 5, 6)
- Detailed discussions of circuit and implementation aspects (remaining chapters 8-18).

Content Accuracy rating: 5

All chapters include accurate coverage of presented topics that is supported by mathematical details and arguments.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Topics presented in the textbook cover the fundamental principles of radio communication systems and will not become obsolete anytime soon. Characteristics of some existing (and currently common) radio systems are given in Appendix B, which is the only part of the textbooks that may require an eventual update in the future.

Clarity rating: 4

The textbook is written in a prose that is accessible to upper-level students majoring in electrical engineering and/or computer engineering students and professionals working in the field of radio communication systems. However, it is not self-contained, and readers should be familiar with prerequisite knowledge on circuits, signals and systems, and electronic circuits.

Consistency rating: 4

Terminology and notations appear to be consistent throughout the textbook and they follow vocabulary and variable names commonly used in electrical and computer engineering.

Modularity rating: 5

Chapters are focused on specific topics and each chapter is divided into sections that can be covered in distinct lectures or could be assigned as reading material to students in preparation for lectures or as a study guide.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Chapters are presented in a logical sequence, starting from simple concepts that are fundamental to understanding the operation of radio communication systems, and moving on to more advanced concepts and applications used in practical systems.

Interface rating: 4

The textbook is available as a PDF file with built-in navigation features. The functionality of these features depends on the software used to view the PDF file, but basic clickable links seem to work on both Windows and Mac OS systems.

All the original figures and diagrams in the textbook are of excellent quality and serve as meaningful visual aids in the presentation. There are a few figures reprinted with permission from other references, which are not of the same high quality, but these figures still serve the purpose providing visual aids in the presentation.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The textbook contains no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This is an engineering textbook that has no culturally insensitive or offensive content.

Comments

I have enjoyed reviewing this book and, in my opinion, it can be considered for adoption as textbook in an engineering course on wireless communication systems. However, some topics that are usually taught in such a course are not included in this book and one will have to find alternative resources. These topics include multiple access techniques and cellular concepts, and are relevant to modern radio communication systems.