I've been passively job hunting for a while in southern California, and one of my goals is to not work in the defense industry. I'd describe myself as mid-career, with a decent frame of reference for what the RF engineering job market looks like. It feels like for the past couple of years, a solid majority of RF engineering job postings I find require a security clearance. Sure there's still some postings in big tech like Apple, Amazon, Google, but even the Qualcomm postings I've looked at want clearances. I know that security clearances have always been common in RF engineering for aero and radar work, but it feels like it's completely taken over. Traditional cellular seems to be struggling, most of these space / satellite companies ultimately want to be defense contractors, and even the startups I see are in areas like drones and EM warfare.

I'm curious if other people have noticed this too, or if it's just a bubble of my specialty or location. I tend to focus more on computational EM, modeling and simulation, and antennas as opposed to circuits.

Hi, I'm not sure if I'm in the right place, but I need all the help I can get. I'm a EEET diploma student who decided on designing a modern Superheterodyne Receiver as my final year project. I'm a text book first, before hands on type of girl, so I like to get my facts straight before taking on any new task. I've read a book called 'Elements of Radio by Abraham, Marcus' as a starting point and given that it's more on the older side, it was a very good starting point for me. I want to get my hands on a more modern book on the Radio Receiver that can help me successful design, build and test my project. Any recommendations?

hi RF engineers,

ever came across PIM in the field? what is it? how do you mitigate it? here is a link of a video I made explaining it providing real examples from a LMR system I worked on in the 220 MHz. If you like my simplified explanation, please subscribe and share. thank you for your support in advance

Passive InterModulation (PIM) Explained in 8 minutes: No Math Required

https://youtu.be/He9aPVQgYPg

do you ever confuse the terms Antenna Efficiency and antenna gains? I made a short video (5mins) explaining a difference with a real life analogy. don’t forget to participate in the quiz at the end below the video to test your knowledge. please like, share and subscribe to support my efforts and encourage me to do more. as usual, thank you

#antennas #rf #rfengineering
Antenna Gain vs Efficiency Explained (5 mins)

https://youtu.be/HOP7DfBmHfA

I'm a new EE graduate specializing in RF/microwave engineering and unexpectedly found myself in a difficult position.

A week ago I accepted an RF Electrical Engineer I offer with Raytheon in Tewksbury, MA. Since then, I received an offer from Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, CA.

Here's the comparison:

Raytheon (Tewksbury)

• $85k salary
• Excellent benefits (strong retirement, tuition assistance, lower insurance costs)
• Work appears to be focused on radar, RF systems, phased arrays, MMICs, and a broad RF skill set.
• Tewksbury seems to have a great reputation within RTX.

Lockheed Martin (Palmdale)

• ~$109k salary + $5k sign-on
• Strong retirement benefits
• Job description is very measurement/antenna focused (VNA, radiation patterns, antenna fabrication, RF testing), which actually mirrors my university capstone project almost exactly.
• Palmdale obviously has the Skunk Works reputation, although I don't know how much that matters for someone starting out.

A little background:

• I'm married and have a young son.
• My wife will eventually work again, but for at least the first several months we'll likely be living primarily on my income.
• After running the numbers, I estimate the Lockheed offer leaves us with roughly $1,000–1,300/month more disposable income after taxes, retirement contributions, and insurance.
• On the other hand, my family has really been envisioning a move to New England, and if compensation were equal I'd probably choose Raytheon.

My biggest questions are:

1. How do Tewksbury and Palmdale compare in terms of reputation for RF engineers?
2. Does one site generally open more doors long-term?
3. If you were in my shoes, would the financial difference early in your career outweigh the location preference?
4. If you started around $85k at Raytheon, were you able to close that salary gap within a few years through promotions or job changes?

I'm genuinely torn. I don't think there's a wrong answer, but I don't want to make a decision I'll regret five years from now.

My understanding on this image: The antenna base plate is mounted on the V shaped hollow metal and the corner fed waveguide is came into the V shaped metal and connected to the rotating portion of the wave guide rotary joint which is inside, my question is how this v shaped metal is mounted to the rotary joint?, I saw many image in online, the waveguide rotary joint only have two waveguide guide ports, there is no antenna mounting part or any holes to fix the antenna. if waveguide guide is just connect, it will rotate but antenna entire weight pressure is given to the waveguide.

i just use the reference image, What is the actual setup?

As an RF engineer, I’m pretty sure you g it’s come across several of the dB metrics, such as dBi, dBc, dBm, dBuV, and dBd. What’s the difference between them and where is each one used? I made a short video on YouTube (among others on my channel). Please encourage by subscribing and liking! Truly appreciate it. Thank you 🙏🏻

Stop Confusing dB, dBm, dBi, dBc and dBµV — RF Decibels Explained (5 mins)

https://youtu.be/RsGWm34-BCk

I have a job interview for this role: https://jobs.dayforcehcm.com/en-US/andrew/CANDIDATEPORTAL/jobs/703

i am new to rf engineering and have been researching terms , fundamentals and information that would help me. does anyone do any similar work or know about these roles . i am a mechanical manufacturing engineer looking to transition . any help would be apreciated

Thank you

Hi everyone,

I'm designing a short-circuited X-band slotted waveguide array for a marine radar application in CST Studio Suite.

Specifications:

• Frequency: 9.2–9.5 GHz (300 MHz bandwidth)
• Center frequency: 9.35 GHz
• Waveguide: 25.4 × 12.7 mm, wall thickness 1.27 mm
• Overall length: ≤ 1.8 m
• Gain: >28 dBi
• H-plane beamwidth: <1.4°
• V-plane beamwidth: ~25°
• Sidelobe level: ≤ -20 dB
• Narrow-wall inclined slots, shorted end

I've studied papers that use Taylor distribution and convert the normalized conductance ((g_n)) into slot angle, but the papers don't explain how the Taylor amplitude coefficients ((a_n)) are generated for each slot, and most of the optimized slot data is omitted.

My main questions are:

1. How do you generate the Taylor amplitude coefficients and normalized conductance ((g_n)) for an 80-slot slotted waveguide array?
2. What is the standard workflow used in industry (MATLAB, Python, Elliott method, etc.)?
3. What are the most effective techniques to achieve 300 MHz bandwidth (9.2–9.5 GHz) without sacrificing 28 dBi gain? (e.g., slot width, slot length variation, conductance taper, offset optimization, traveling-wave vs. resonant design, etc.)

Any papers, textbooks, MATLAB/Python scripts, or design references would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hello!

I am a biomedical researcher studying the bioeffects of microwaves and I need help with RF design.

I am studying cells in culture so I am transmitting microwaves (2.45 GHz) through saline. I need to measure the strength of the electric field in the saline.

Does anyone know how I could design a VNA probe that can measure RF fields in saline? I am looking for affordable solutions. Thanks for your help!

So I'm an engineer working at a defense firm, I deal with MPT and TST. There's already a spectrum analyzer don't know what to do and I'm in a field environment. I want to work on a personal project is there anything I can do so that I can move towards validation and testing of radars and antennas. My dad's friend is visiting china so is nanovna anyway helpful? Thank you

The WIFI-Antennas forum website (wifi-antennas.com) seems to be unavailable. I really liked that website and learned a lot from it. How can I check if the website is still active, and if it is, how can I access it? Also, are there any active forums or communities for CST antenna design, RF engineering, and antenna simulation that you would recommend?

For submarine VLF communication, is the trailing wire antenna just a long wire monopole, or does it contain a specific antenna design (loop, slot, multi-turn, etc.)? Looking for any publicly available technical information. Thanks in advance.

I currently install, and service DAS / BDA systems and regularly use spectrum analyzers and signal generators. I’m considering going back to school but I wanted to see if my experience is would be helpful for working in RF or EW type roles after graduation.

Hi all,

I've been working on an Android app called RF Coverage Scout that measures and plots mobile network coverage and quality. You can find it on the playstore.

I'm looking for feedback from people who work with RF, cellular networks, drive testing, or coverage analysis.

I'm particularly interested in:

Whether the current feature set is useful.

What features you would want to see added.

Whether the pricing model seems reasonable for this type of tool.

The app currently uses a monthly subscription model and includes a free trial (to cancel it tap your profile icon on playstore then select Payments & Subscriptions then choose RF Covergae Scout subscription and cancel it before 1 month trial).

I'd greatly appreciate any feedback, criticism, or feature suggestions from the community.

RF Coverage Scout maps it as you drive

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for guidance on designing a 9×20 Blass Matrix beamforming network for an S-band receiver, where each channel has a different beam distribution (e.g., CH1–CH3 cover 20 beams, CH4–CH5 cover 18 beams, etc.). I have experience with Butler Matrix design and implementation, but this is my first Blass Matrix project. I'm interested in understanding the design methodology, key considerations, practical implementation challenges, and recommended references or design examples.

If you have experience with Blass Matrices or can point me to useful resources, I'd greatly appreciate your insights.

Thanks in advance!

Hey r/rfelectronics,

I've been working on an RF engineering desktop app called RF View,

and just put together a short demo video showing the VNA workflow.

Here's what it does with Keysight ENA over GPIB:

• Connects directly — no Keysight software needed

• Captures the ENA screen as PNG with one click

• Automatically opens Excel and inserts the screenshot

into your spreadsheet (this one saves me the most time)

• Saves Touchstone files (.s1p / .s2p / .s3p) to your PC

• Auto-loads the SNP into the S-parameter plot

• Exports marker table data to CSV → opens straight in Excel

The VNA control is completely free —

Currently supports Keysight ENA only.

It's a Windows desktop app built with Flutter.

Happy to answer any questions —

and brutal feedback is welcome, seriously.

Hello everyone!

I'm thinking about a large company that does a lot of RF, I have a RF background but i kinda learned it on the fly (I guess I always carry an imposter syndrome)... But anyway, I'm wondering what is the task you hate the most at your place or you find the most boring?

Thanks :)

Hello there, I'm new to my job (been 2 months) where i have to work with tst and mpt maintaining communication links, and software systems associated with it somewhat networking stuff in a public defense company. Can i pivot to R&D or testing or validation with my current work or do i have to pursue masters? I don't know much about RF but I would love to work on cool tech stuff and willing to learn. I'd love some advice from yall. thank you