SBE Broadcast Engineering Handbook

Welcome to the web-based resource for the SBE Broadcast Engineering Handbook. This page provides readers with additional information of interest, pointers to valuable resources, and any errata/corrections that we have identified to the printed book. We also hope to add new articles to this page over time to keep readers up to date on all aspects of broadcast technology covered in the Handbook.

The SBE is pleased to dedicate the SBE Broadcast Engineering Handbook to John H. Battison, the founding president of the SBE. John's influence can still be felt today within the organization through the countless members he mentored over his long and distinguished career. John is remembered in an article by Editor-in-Chief Jerry Whitaker.

With the launch of the SBE Broadcast Engineering Handbook, we have assembled nearly a dozen supplemental sections/chapters, encompassing hundreds of pages of classic works of interest to broadcast engineers. Details on this archive can be found below.
We urge you to check back with this site from time to time for additional information and resources.

Thanks for your interest in the SBE Broadcast Engineering Handbook: Hands-on Guide to Station Design and Maintenance.

Additional Resources: Downloadable Chapters - Basic Principles

Within the practical limits of page count for a printed book, many items that we would have liked to include in the SBE Broadcast Engineering Handbook simply would not fit. As a service to the reader, the SBE and McGraw-Hill are providing downloadable chapters that cover various topics of interest. These chapters are focused on fundamental audio, video, and RF principles.

The chapters are provided at no cost to individuals who have purchased the SBE Broadcast Engineering Handbook. They are intended for personal use only. Further distribution is not allowed.

Some elements of these chapters may not represent current technologies. They do, however, explain fundamental principles of general importance to broadcast systems.

Fundamental Audio Principles and Technologies

The following chapters cover basic principles of audio technology and human hearing. They represent the classic application of fundamental technologies. The chapters are extracted from the Standard Handbook of Audio and Radio Engineering, Second Ed., Jerry C. Whitaker and K. Blair Benson (eds.), McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 2002. All rights reserved.

• The Physical Nature of Sound - Floyd E. Toole, E. A. G. Shaw, G. A. Daigle, M. R. Stinson; This section includes chapters on: Sound Propagation, Resonance, and The Physical Nature of Hearing

• Signals and Spectra - Douglas Preis; This section includes a chapter on Spectral Changes and Linear Distortion
• Microphones - Jon R. Sank, Ronald D. Streicher, Wesley L. Dooley

• Loudspeaker Devices and Systems - Katsuaki Satoh; This section includes chapters on: ElectroacousticTransducers, Direct-Radiator Loudspeakers, Dynamic-Type Direct-Radiation Speakers, Loudspeaker Systems, Public Address System Loudspeakers, Headphones and Headphone Systems

• Principles of Magnetic Recording - E. Stanley Busby; This section includes chapters on Analog Tape Recording and Analog Recording Formats

• Compact Disk Recording and Reproduction - Hiroshi Ogawa, Kentaro Odaka, Masanobu Yamamoto, Tosh Doi

Fundamental Video Principles and Technologies

The following chapters cover basic principles of fundamental imaging technologies. The chapters are extracted from the Standard Handbook of Video and Television Engineering, Fourth Ed., Jerry C. Whitaker and K. Blair Benson (eds.), McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 2003. All rights reserved.

• Geometric Optics - W. Lyle Brewer, Robert A. Morris; This section includes a chapter on: Fundamental Optical Elements

• Electron Optics - Sol Sherr; This section includes chapters on: Electrostatic Deflection, Electromagnetic Deflection, Distortion Correction Circuits

• Video Recording Fundamentals - Charles P. Ginsburg, Beverley R. Gooch, H. Neal Bertram; This section includes a chapter on: Properties of Magnetic Materials

• Magnetic Tape - Robert H. Perry

• Motion Picture Film - Kenneth G. Lisk

Fundamental RF Principles and Technologies

The following chapters cover basic principles of RF broadcast technologies. The chapters are extracted from the Standard Handbook of Broadcast Engineering, Jerry C. Whitaker (ed.), McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 2005. All rights reserved.

• Propagation - William Daniel, Edward W. Allen, Donald G. Fink

• Modulation Systems and Characteristics - Jerry C. Whitaker

• Television Transmitting Antennas - Oded Ben-Dov, Krishna Praba, Jerry C. Whitaker