Online workshops: microwave, comms, antennas

Comms Connect is running a series of online workshops and masterclasses from June to August 2020, following the cancellation or postponement of face-to-face conferences due to the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

The events are already proving very popular, with the first — a Microwave Radio Masterclass, beginning 4 June and ending 25 June — fully booked out well before commencement. But for those who missed it, don’t despair — the masterclass will be repeated in August.

The next available course is the Radio Communications 101 Workshop, which will comprise five, two-hour sessions run online over three weeks in July. The course is designed for students who are new to the radio and critical communications industry, and will include an overview of:

• radio as a transmission medium
• how transmitters and receivers work
• an overview of wave propagation and radio antenna systems
• power systems and earthing
• transmission lines, feeders and interference
• data networks, linking and fibre optics
• satellite communications
• testing and maintenance, and
• standards and quality control.
   

The following course will be a Critical Communications Antenna Fundamentals Workshop, run over two, two-hour sessions on 22 and 29 July, and covering:

• frequency bands
• broadband versus narrowband
• attenuation and noise
• transmitters, receivers, modulation and carriers
• propagation, and
• a full overview of antenna systems.
   

As mentioned, the final course will be a repeat of June’s booked-out Microwave Radio Masterclass. Presented by Trevor Manning, the masterclass will help unravel the mysteries of the many confusing standards, as well as simplify the complexities of radio design with its dependence on complex weather conditions, to equip you to know when, and how, to deploy microwave radio in current real-world networks.

Manning is the author of the Microwave Radio Handy Reference Guide and the classic Artech House book Microwave Radio Transmission Design Guide (Second Edition). You can read an extract of the former here.

The masterclass will cover the following topics:

• an introduction to microwaves
• planning considerations
• propagation
• hardware types
• antenna considerations
• interference, and
• link design and reliability.
   

Don’t delay — these events are filling up quickly. You can find more information, including pricing and registration details, at live.comms-connect.com.au.

And don’t forget that Comms Connect New Zealand is coming in October (postponed from earlier in the year), as is Comms Connect Melbourne in November. You can find more details of those two events at comms-connect.com.au.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/checubus