The Complete Shortwave Listener's Handbook [Paperback]

Andrew R. Yoder (Author)

Book Description

Series: Complete Shortwave Listener's Handbook | Publication Date: April 10, 1997

This updated edition includes information on the latest shortwave broadcasting stations, their frequencies and formats. Also included is the latest information on popular Web sites maintained by shortwave enthusiasts, as well as a directory of E-mail addresses of broadcasters.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Now shortwave is more fun than ever! Shortwave radio may be the most fun you can have sitting down, and this A-to-Z guide for everyone from absolute beginners to advanced hobbyists is your all-in-one partner in listening. It gives you complete, up-to-date information on equipment, worldwide stations, clubs, satellites, computers, and much more! All you need is enthusiasm to use this book's: Help with choosing and using equipment-from the simplest to the most sophisticated; Guidance on finding hot, newsworthy stations, espionage broadcasts, and pirate and illegal frequencies; Up-to-date listings on stations and frequencies for all inhabited portions of the globe; Insider's guide to web sites with shareware for translating audio Morse code to text, receiver-control demo programs, and much more: Simple, cheap ways to improve reception; Convenient lists of station and equipment dealer addresses; And much more! "Yoder has honed his impressive talent as a writer, making him today one of the hobby's brightest stars."-Monitoring Times.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 5 Sub edition (April 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0079130100
• ISBN-13: 978-0079130105
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,214,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK for beginners; others should skip, June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Shortwave Listener's Handbook (Paperback)

Yoder's book provides a clear and useful account of a great many subjects dealing with SW listening that can be exceptionally useful for beginners without being at all patronizing. Nowhere else, for instance, have I seen as understandable a description of SSB (which I had never quite understood before), and the beginner or even devoted non-fanatical listener can learn about a large number of both essential and delightfully arcane topics (utility, number and pirate stations spring immediately to mind) that are either completely uncovered in the major guides or treated so cursorily that they are useless. On the other hand, much of Yoder's volume is devoted to a country-by-country survey of SW listening, and it is here that his guide is severely inadequate for nearly all users, for he fails to provide the detailed information about frequencies and programming that is essential for any SW listener. Much better is the superb Passport to World Band Radio and (if you can stomach it) the World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH), both of which are far more up-to-date (since they're published annually) and significantly less expensive as well. Still, Yoder's volume contains info on a lot of topics that are either unexplained in the other volumes or explained so cursorily as to be useless. If you think of it as a book for people interested in learning about SW without having a radio nearby, then it has real merit, but if you're looking for a vade mecum to keep next to your radio, this isn't the book you want.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay book, but why hype its sales?, July 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Shortwave Listener's Handbook (Paperback)

Andy Yoder has done a yeoman's job with this book, but calling it "far and away the #1 bestseller in the field" is beyond hyperbole. Just look at its Amazon ranking and compare it to, say, Passport to World Band Radio or other books in the field.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worth while purchase., October 28, 2002

By 

Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Shortwave Listener's Handbook (Paperback)

A solid introduction to short-wave Radios and much more (CB radio, Computers, Amateur radio, etc.). The writing is straight forward and very informative. Solid tips that include a small selection of viable radios to purchase. This book along with "Passport to World Band Radio" should be on every serious short-wave enthusiast's bookshelf. Worthy purchase 4 stars.