Make: Radio – Print

Radio waves are all around us.

They’re used by cell phones, Wi-Fi routers, TV dishes, and even satellite and networks to convey data on thousands of different frequencies. When we unlock a car door with the push of a button or stream music to wireless earbuds, that’s radio. It’s a simple yet dynamic technology that has been harnessed by creative experimenters for over a century—and now you can join the adventure!

Author Fredrik Jansson demystifies the world of radio through a dozen innovative projects, enabling readers to build inexpensive radio circuits such as transmitters and receivers, remote controls, and a working metal detector. Radio concepts are also adapted for the Raspberry Pi Pico, updating classic concepts with contemporary tools for accuracy and power.

With more than 150 color images, step-by-step instructions and detailed explanations, and a handy materials list of components and sources, this is the ultimate guide to explore the hidden universe of radio waves!

Get the companion kit here

Fredrik Jansson enjoys tinkering with electronics and is a licensed radio amateur. He works as a researcher on the physics of clouds at the Delft University of Technology and develops weather models that run on supercomputers. He has a PhD in Physics from Åbo Akedemi University in Finland, and lives in Amsterdam.

Charles Platt is a contributing editor and regular columnist for Make: magazine, where he writes about electronics and tools. Platt was a senior writer for Wired magazine, has written various computer books, and has been fascinated by electronics since he put together a telephone answering machine from a tape recorder and military-surplus relays at age 15. He lives in a Northern Arizona wilderness area, where he has his own workshop for prototype fabrication and the projects that he writes about for Make: magazine.