Customer Reviews

Arrl Antenna Book

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I agree totally with the text on the cover, this is the ultimate reference on antennas. I had a specific target in mind when I bought it and as expected I found the topics I was looking for but also and to my surprise found the other chapters very interesting to read and I am now reading the book from cover to cover - really enjoyable, interesting and packed with info.
Especially I appreciate the fine balance between theory and practical info
Further it's a great feature to get the complete book on a CD in the PDF format - great!

Ejner Nicolaisen OZ9EU

This is actually a review of the 20th edition -- Amazon is still selling the 19th edition as of this writing.

The book is essential for anyone wanting to understand and construct antennas, without a lot of math. It covers HF, VHF, and UHF antennas, along with sections on special-purpose antennas.

The only real complaint I have is that the material is not organized in textbook fashion, which often makes information hard to find. For example, information about vertical antenna theory is scattered among three or four chapters. And the book's index is not terribly helpful.

Although this book is angled toward radio amateurs ("ham" radio operators) it would be of interest to all interested in antennas.

It's updated yearly by hams and covers the field from theory to actual construction projects. In addition to antennas it covers transmission lines and antenna tuners (transmatch devices).

I'm buying a new one this year. My 8-year-old one is getting tattered from continual use, so it's time to get a fresh one. However, they are so good I save the old ones too.

No matter what you think of the ARRL, if you are a member or or not, they do provide the ham community with some invaliable resources. This book is one of them. It includes information on how to safely work on a tower, how to build antena, computer modling, RF exposure limits, antena theory, and a lot more. Plus it includes as CD-ROM with some of the programs mentioned in the text.

A must for all new hams, or anyone who wants to know more about antena. For hams who already have previous editions, you may want it just for the software.

This is a great ham reference, for anybody who builds, designs
and puts up antennas. Its not just for the HAM , it also can be for the shortwave listener that has a pricey receiver,and needs a serious antenna. Attn: serious FM DXers:(Sporadic E theory in here!), and also for the AM listener for loop antennas. LOWFERS!: There is a special section for
you also in this book, in page 6-35 to 6-39. There is also some great stuff for the student that needs some extra information on the how radio waves travel. Also there is a EME section in here also for space hams, that use our moon as a reflector to
get somewhere else in the world.

In the last four editions, this reference has doubled in size to its 700+ pages and included software diskette. Almost 30 chapters of details take you from antenna safety though all amateur bands and the antenna approaches for each. Just a fabulous text for theory and practical construction techniques. If you care about high frequency radio antennas, you MUST have this text.

This is the bible for ham radio antenna design. Also covers transmission lines and propagation. Both theory (at graduate EE level) and practice (at the level of mere mortals). -- ws2i

ARRL publishes a handful of titles that occupy the pinnacle in ham radio publishing, including their license manuals, Operating Manual, Handbook, and, of course, the Antenna book. There is nothing that really compares to ARRL's antenna book in terms of either raw coverage or quality. While there are engineering texts and a ham radio titles that dive far deeper on narrow topics, the ARRL Antenna book covers a vast range of antenna types and topics - and in more detail than the majority of hams will ever care to absorb. This book can be read for its more advanced technical content or, alternatively, be used quite effectively as a project book. I don't often see this book discounted. I couldn't find it new at a discount at the last hamfest I attended, for example, nor is it discounted at my local (unnamed) ham radio store. Couple that with free shipping from Amazon, and it's a deal!

This is the stuff all electronics professionals/amateurs/hobbiests' dream about.These are must-have electronics books,I get them every year or so....they are jam-packed with electronics theory and practice.Fantastic.

I am impressed! Safety is not the last chapter, it's the first chapter! It is a full 24 pages in length and includes topics such as: tower support safety, safety belt and climbing accessories, gin pole use, installing antenna on towers, tower climbing safety tips, lockout/tagout, installation of tower shields, electrical safety, NEC, grounding, lightning, AC power lines, feedline protection, rotator use, mobile antenna installation, transient protection, RF radiation/EM field safety, and safe RF exposure limits. Not a bad way to start a practical book on designing, installing, securing, and operating RF transmit/receive antennas.

I have taken electrical engineering courses on antenna analysis and design. Good courses. Although I learned how to analyze antenna performance and model their patterns, I still didn't feel I could design a practical high-performance antenna system yet. That is where amateur radio and earlier editions of this 976-page practical design and construction antenna book came to the rescue. Looking back, I believe it also made a difference in my first five years as a young electrical engineer developing and testing side-looking airborne radars (SLAR) based on phased arrays.

So, what makes this antenna book the one to own?

Coverage: Extensive practical design and performance material on all the popular antenna systems and many unconventional antennas. For most antenna types, design topics include system variables (e.g., number of elements, spacing, matching network), performance vs. frequency, multi-band configurations, stacked arrays, real-world terrain effects, and alternate configurations. Throughout the book are numerous photos of hardware, diagrams, schematics, and performance plots. There are chapters on the design and construction of high-performance yagi antenna: 432 MHz (70 cm band) with 22-elements and 144 MHz (2 m) design supporting 10 to 19 elements. Circular polarized antenna design to establish links to LEO and elliptical orbit amateur satellites are covered. There are chapters on material selection for antennas, towers, and supports. There is an extensive chapter on atmospheric effects on radio wave propagation. There is even a short chapter on HF antenna systems for sailboats!

Reference material: Nearly every chapter includes an extensive bibliography that includes papers from CQ, QST, Antenna Engineering Handbook, RF Design, Proceedings of the IEE, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, and the Radio Handbook. At the end of Chapter 2, there is an extensive list of textbooks on antennas (including the ones from my college courses).

PDF: The CD ROM that is included contains a fully searchable PDF of this book. Nice bonus feature.

This is a first-class reference book on the design of RF antenna systems!

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