Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good overview, August 11, 2008
This review is from: Basic Radio: Understanding the Key Building Blocks (Paperback)
This book is a good introduction to radio from a top down perspective. Alone, it isn't going to make you an RF engineer or teach you everything you need to build a radio from scratch, but it could definitely be the stepping stone that gets you moving in that direction.
I found the book too light on math to be of practical use, but it does a good job explaining how radios work if not why. Regardless, I don't regret the purchase and find it a good refresher.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Basic Radio Described Through Ordinary Everyday Examples, April 17, 2010
This review is from: Basic Radio: Understanding the Key Building Blocks (Paperback)
In my opinion this book could be used by anyone interested in learning about basic radio principles with very little (if any) prior knowledge about the subject. I wish I had this book when I was a teenager. The ARRL or American Radio Relay League has always had very good publications by very good authors. One of my first books published by the ARRL was Understanding Amateur Radio, 2nd edition, 1971. Basic Radio is actually easier to understand. If the reader should have additional questions about terms, definitions of words, etc. they can usually be found through web searches. But in most cases the author does so well at explaining, if the reader takes a little longer to absorb the information, and/or reads the passage again, they should grasp the full impact of the authors meanings. Very, very well written! The author begins with radio principles dating back over 100 years ago and explains in very elementary terms how far radio electronics has come over the years.
I bought Basic Radio to teach my communications club students about radio. Anyone with at least a 6th grade reading level should be able to understand if they take their time reading the information.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book with some left to be desired, September 8, 2010
This review is from: Basic Radio: Understanding the Key Building Blocks (Paperback)
I built my first radio thanks to that book, something that I wished since I was a kid but never had the help or the know-how. Since then I'm hooked.
The projects that I have completed (I'm not done with the book yet) are well explained. What was best for me is a parts list! The author tells you exactly which parts to use, their part numbers, and even where you can order them. Something that was crucial for the absolute beginner like me since I am usually intimidated by seeing antenna, coils, variable capacitors, and oh those high-impedance headphones! on a schematic and had no idea where to get them. I actually discovered a local store where you can get most of those things, and even vacuum tubes! ([...]). The explanations of theory are good but not very thorough.
I can't help but get the feeling that the book is half baked though. The book has about 25 chapters, but only 7 hands-on projects, 4 of them about the crystal-set which is only 2 chapters. I wish there were more hands-on projects in the same style that the crystal-set has been introduced. Oscillators/Mixers/Filters/etc. These are all missing. I wish the author had taken the time to demonstrate those concepts and use them to progress gradually to building a super-hetrodyne receiver, but it seems to me as if the hands-one projects were an after thought. The crystal radio project was extremely useful though, I was able to build it and can't describe the feeling that I got listening to my first radio station. I have gradually refined it with the help of the book and other sources and personal experience, and added an audio-amplifier, volume control, and the ability to use normal 8 Ohm headphones. And now I can probably assemble the whole thing in its most basic form in less than an hour. Priceless.
Anyway, I recommend getting the book to get your juices running and learn something new if you are a beginner, then you can proceed by doing lots of experimenting on your own and maybe consulting other books/websites.
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