Communication Systems [Hardcover]

A. Bruce Carlson (Author), Paul Crilly (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0073380407 | ISBN-13: 978-0073380407 | Publication Date: February 25, 2009 | Edition: 5th

This exciting revision of Communication Systems, a classic text in the communications field, presents an introduction to electrical communication systems, including analysis methods, design principles, and hardware considerations. The fifth edition has been updated to reflect current technology covering both analog and digital communication in this ever-evolving field. Conceptual/descriptive/thought questions have been added throughout the book as well as MATLAB® questions and lecture Powerpoint files on the website.

The text covers both analog and digital communications. It features worked examples and exercises for students to solve within chapters, helping them to master new concepts as they are introduced.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bruce Carlson (Troy, NY) teaches at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

P.B. Crilly (Knoxville, TN) teaches at University of Tennessee.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 944 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 5th edition (February 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073380407
• ISBN-13: 978-0073380407
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but needlessly difficult, February 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Communication Systems (Hardcover)

The strong points of this book are its mathematical rigor and its ability to convey the intuition behind the math. Unfortunately, there are several weak points. First, there are a surprising number of typos in the book for a fourth edition, even in text that is carried over from the third edition. Second, it is very difficult to read because the authors define a variable once, then use it repeatedly without redefinition, even if the variable is unused for many pages. If you have a photographic memory, this is ok. If not, you spend needless time searching the text for the definition. Finally, the problems at the end of each chapter are often ambiguous. This is life in the real world, but is needlessly frustrating in an academic setting.

If you have the time to dig through this tome, it is worth the effort. But given the clarity with which it explains its topics, such effort is required primarily due to deficiencies in the books style and not the difficulty of the subject matter.

23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good introduction to the topic for EE students, August 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Communication Systems (Hardcover)

I used an earlier edition of this text in the Communications Systems course at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (where Prof. Carlson was, at that time, the head of the Electrical Engineering Department) and found it to be a very good book. The explanations were concise and easy-to-understand. The book explains the underlying concepts well. The mathematical tools needed for the understanding of the concepts are introduced at the appropriate times.

This book is used in the EE curricula at RPI and at Stanford University (in the EE 279 Introduction to Communication Systems course) and at other schools.

For an EE student at the undergraduate level, this is an excellent introduction to communication systems and should help you understand quite a variety of topics dealing with both analog and digital communications.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5th edition of Communication systems, March 15, 2009

By 

Dale Kempf (Valparaiso, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Communication Systems (Hardcover)

I teach a Communication Systems class (senior electrical engineers) and have been using the Carlson Crilly Rutledge 4th edition. Paul Crilly has done an excellent job of updating this communications textbook, adding homework problems and material on wireless propagation. Some of the material is mathematically difficult, but I have not found an easier book except those suited for a BET degree.

The 4th edition contained a number of errors. I sent Paul Crilly a list of errors I found in the 4th edition and he has corrected 100% of them. I will use this 5th edition in my class next year.