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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Practical Handbook for RF Experimenters and Pros, March 31, 2006
This review is from: Experimental Methods in Rf Design (Radio Amateur's Library) (Paperback)
Anyone with an interest in RF design needs this book. The authors are well known and respected in the ham radio community for their prolific writings covering the full range of RF-related topics. The keys to the success of this book are its emphasis on practical solutions and a conversational writing style, not unlike the famous ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications (a.k.a., The Handbook). It focuses on the building blocks of transmitters and receivers, gradually moving from fundaments (e.g., oscillator topologies) to practical building blocks (a stable VFO), and finally to complete systems such as a receiver. Some very useful and straightforward test equipment is also designed. Much of the book is devoted to analog RF/audio design, but the chapters on DSP are quite welcome and again, quite accessible.
Each example is clearly illustrated with clean, consistent, annotated schematics and parts lists and a nice narrative thats walks the reader through the circuit. Above all, they explain exactly WHY that particular funny component was placed in that particular place, and how its value was selected, and what happens if you change its attributes. Theory is not overlooked, either, though they do try to steer away from calculus so far as possible, leaving that to the countless textbooks. References for each chapter are extensive and many are also supplied on the included CD-ROM.
If you have any interest at all in RF design, and especially if you plan on building any equipment, I recommend that you buy this book. You will not be disappointed!
-Gary, WB9JPS
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Covers too many topics with not enough details, February 10, 2011
I was a bit disapointed with this book after reading the reviews.
I found this book to be more like the ARRL Handbook in the sense
that it covered many topics but without details.
For example, in the filter chapter it referenced FIR and IIR filters but
did not explain what they were. I already knew but, if you already know then
what new information is this book adding. One or two paragraphs on about 25 different subjects just ends up being a confusing mess. It should instead focus
on 10 important topics and go in to detail on those. Just briefly touching a bunch of different areas really does no good except forces the reader to seek other books to figure out what they are talking about.
As a side note I am happy with a book called "RF Circuit Design" by Chris Bowick. It covers a few topics from the ground up and shows you a design process. The chapter on filters showed me how to design a filter in 20 minutes.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ham Radio Must Have Library, August 30, 2007
This review is from: Experimental Methods in Rf Design (Radio Amateur's Library) (Paperback)
Any amateur interested in the technical side of the hobby or who still builds some of his own equipment will find that this book is one of the most rewarding to be found! It deserves to be book number two in any ham library, right after the Handbook!
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