The Truth about Cb Antennas [Paperback]

William I. Orr (Author), Stuart D. Cowan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1991

Exclusive "Truth Table" which unmasks false antenna claims - shows that db. gain you obtain from 10 different antennas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rac Books (December 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823087085
• ISBN-13: 978-0823087082
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,036,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insanely great book on CB antennas (and more)., July 3, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Truth about Cb Antennas (Paperback)

This is probably the only book of its kind on the market. It cuts through the myths and marketing hype with unquestionable accuracy. It's a must-read for any CBer that experiments with antennas or just wants to know the truth.

It also gets into propagation (the way radio signals behave), SWR (something few CBers trully understand), gain (the truth and the advertising hype), building your own antennas (with outlined projects including a four element "monster quad"), grounding, lightning protection, matching systems, TVI, coax, and even tips on soldering. And all of it is well written and easy to understand. (A full glossary is included.)

In my opinion (based on 18 years in the CB field) no other book handles this subject more completely or accurately. This book is really a cheap education for any CBer that wants to learn the ins and outs of antennas as well as many other things related to radio. And, if this wasn't enough, sprinkled throughout you'll find a number of humorous pictures and comments which makes the book just that much easier to read and learn from. After your first pass through this book you'll know more than 90% of the CBers out there, and what will seem even more amazing is how easy the learning was when you used the right tool!

Enjoy

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great INTRODUCTION to CB antenna basics, July 28, 2010

By 

S. P. Foley (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth about Cb Antennas (Paperback)

For CBer's, this is an excellent starting point. Agree with most everything the other reviewer states. I would only add that this is an OLD book. It was written as best possible based on the data / level of understanding / production and manufacturing practices that we had on this subject at the time. MANY things have changed since then, especially in terms of coil design / mobile antennas.

As previously mentioned, due to the age of this book, most of the mobile designs and commentary are extremely out of touch. Once again, due to the age of this book, it also lacks reasonable coverage of modern low loss coil designs, discussion on the differences in both conductive and dielectric properties of materials, the benefits of controlled angle of radiation / capture angle through proper coil design and placement, feedline based impedance matching, etc....

None the less, this is an EXCELLENT book to start off with, especially if you're lacking a technical background. The basics are all there and covered in a VERY easy to read and understand fashion. You'll soon understand why your "9.9 db gain" antenna doesn't work quite as well as some others rated for less than half that!!!

After reading this book, work your way through some of Orr's other antenna books. Once you've got these down, which are all good, well written and VERY easy to understand, pick up a copy of the ARRL Antenna Handbook. The ARRL book has WAY more info to digest in a FAR more technical manner, but can be worth its' weight in gold. That is, IF you take the time to read, understand and apply the lessons within!!!