How Radio Works: Waves, Circuits and the Electromagnetic Spectrum (RadioBook)

RadioBook Book 2: How Radio Works takes you beyond “turn it on and listen” and into the physics, circuits, and invisible forces that make radio possible.

Written for new and growing amateur radio operators, this book explains the foundations of radio in plain language without watering them down. You will learn how waves carry information, why frequency and wavelength matter, how basic electronic components behave, and how tuned circuits, modulation, propagation, receivers, and transmitters all fit together.

Inside, you will explore:

• Radio waves and the electromagnetic spectrum
Understand frequency, wavelength, bands, and why different parts of the spectrum behave differently.

• Ohm’s Law and practical circuit basics
Build confidence with voltage, current, resistance, power, series circuits, and parallel circuits.

• Resistors, capacitors, inductors, and diodes
Learn what each component does and why these simple parts are the building blocks of radio.

• Resonance and tuned circuits
See why LC circuits are at the heart of tuning, filtering, oscillators, and antennas.

• Propagation
Learn how signals travel by ground wave and skywave, why day and night matter, what skip zones are, and how operators choose the right band.

• Modulation, receivers, and transmitters
Understand AM, FM, SSB, digital modes, superheterodyne receivers, mixers, filters, amplifiers, and transmitter block diagrams.

• Hands-on projects and simulations
Connect the theory to practice with Circuit Builder labs, propagation simulator activities, and real-world projects such as a crystal radio, a 2-meter dipole, an SWR bridge, and a simple audio amplifier.

This is not a memorization book. It is a “why it works” book. By the end, formulas like V = IR, f = c / λ, and f₀ = 1 / (2π√LC) will no longer feel like exam trivia. They will feel like tools.

If Book 1 helped you find your way into amateur radio, Book 2 gives you the technical foundation to understand what is happening when you press the button, tune the dial, choose a band, or hear a distant signal rise out of the noise.