Electrical Engineering Senior RF Project

[pemo]

Hi Folks,


I didn't know exactly where to put this post, so if it's in the wrong section, I apologize.

On to it then. I'm in my final year in EE, and I want to work on a project that let's me become comfortable with RF/Communications concepts commonly run into in industry. I was bouncing around the idea of building a WiFi sniffer or simple RF transmitter/receiver - but I wanted to come here to get some advice first.

My end goal is to work in the RF industry, preferably in RFIC design, although I know those are extremely tough jobs to get, and would possibly accept a less competitive role. I've interned in product development at a RF switch company for around a year and a half, and I just can't figure out anything that will give me good experience without expensive equipment.


Thanks for your time.

 

[berkeman]

Hi Folks,


I didn't know exactly where to put this post, so if it's in the wrong section, I apologize.

On to it then. I'm in my final year in EE, and I want to work on a project that let's me become comfortable with RF/Communications concepts commonly run into in industry. I was bouncing around the idea of building a WiFi sniffer or simple RF transmitter/receiver - but I wanted to come here to get some advice first.

My end goal is to work in the RF industry, preferably in RFIC design, although I know those are extremely tough jobs to get, and would possibly accept a less competitive role. I've interned in product development at a RF switch company for around a year and a half, and I just can't figure out anything that will give me good experience without expensive equipment.


Thanks for your time.

Welcome to the PF.

Building a transmitter involves government licensing issues, so for your project, building a receiver and processing the received signal is probably the way to go. A WiFi sniffer sounds like a good project. You could also look into building a trunked scanner type of receiver -- those can get pretty complicated.

 

[pemo]

Thanks berkeman, a trunked receiver seems to be largely related to software defined radio, am I correct in that assumption?

Why would a WiFi sniffer be a good project?

Back to the topic of software defined radio, I would like to pick up some experience in this field, as it's pretty interesting (I've always liked DSP) and I could see it going places. Any other suggestions with topics related to software defined radio?

Thanks again.