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Radiocert

SDR & Bench Practicum

Hands-on labs that turn exam abstractions into things you have seen on a screen: spectrum, modulation, filters, antenna resonance, propagation. Every lab names the hardware it needs and offers a no-hardware fallback.

Modules
4
Study time
99 min

Modules

  1. 01 First Look

    Draft

    Get a receiver running, find a signal you already know, and read what the screen is actually telling you about frequency, amplitude, and time.

    1. 01Your First SpectrumGet an SDR receiving, find a station you can verify independently, and read frequency, amplitude, and time off the display with confidence.
      6:49
      12 min
    2. 02Frequency Accuracy, Resolution, and the Noise FloorCalibrate the receiver's frequency error, choose an FFT size deliberately, and measure your own noise floor so later observations mean something.
      6:32
      12 min

  2. 02 Reading the Spectrum

    Draft

    Identify AM, FM, SSB, CW, and the common digital modes by their shape on a waterfall, without decoding anything.

    1. 01Identifying Modulation by EyeRecognise AM, FM, SSB, CW, FT8, and the common data modes from their shape on a waterfall, before demodulating anything.
      7:38
      13 min
    2. 02Decoding a Known SignalTake four signals from waterfall to decoded text or picture — FT8, APRS, ADS-B, and a weather satellite — and learn the failure modes that stop each.
      7:42
      14 min

  3. 03 Watching Propagation

    Draft

    Turn the propagation module's claims into observations: the day-night change on HF, a sporadic-E opening on 6 metres, and the shape of a satellite pass in Doppler.

    1. 01Watching the Bands Open and CloseTurn the propagation module's claims into your own observations: D-layer absorption at dawn, the grey-line peak, and the MUF falling after sunset.
      7:49
      12 min
    2. 02Doppler and the Shape of a Satellite PassRecord one satellite pass and read the orbit off the waterfall — the Doppler S curve, the closest approach, and the fading that argues for circular polarisation.
      5:35
      11 min

  4. 04 Measuring Antennas

    Draft

    Find where an antenna is actually resonant, see what a bad connector does to a sweep, and measure the loss in a length of coax.

    1. 01Finding Where an Antenna Is Actually ResonantSweep a real antenna, read its resonant frequency and bandwidth off the trace, and cut it to where you want it — with a VNA, or with an SDR and a noise source.
      7:02
      13 min
    2. 02Measuring Feed Line Loss and Finding FaultsMeasure the loss in a real length of coax, locate a fault along it without cutting anything, and recognise what a bad connector looks like on a sweep.
      10:43
      12 min