The Beginner's Handbook of Amateur Radio (Paperback)

by Clay Laster (Author) "Have you ever listened to an AM or FM radio receiver and wondered how radio waves travel through space?..." (more)
Key Phrases: station license grant, static discharge unit, day sky waves, United States, Radio Shack, Data All (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Essential A-to-Z Ham Radio Guide

The revised edition of the most trusted guide in ham radio is here just in time to help you pass the new No-Code Technician Class exams! Used by thousands of ham operators to set up their first shortwave transmitters and to get their licenses, Clay Laster's Beginner's Handbook of Amateur Radio, Fourth Edition delivers all the guidance you need -- from radio and electronics fundamentals needed to set up a transmitter to the newest equipment to revisions to the Federal Communications Commission rules and tests. If you want to communicate over the airwaves both locally and globally and listen in on conversations heard by very few, take this book home, and it will take you into the realm of communication, new friends, good times, and technical mastery beyond your dreams.

You get:
Understandable instruction in wave propagation, power supplies, and electronic circuits
Complete study guide for getting your Novice Operator or No-Code Technician Class licenses
Study hints for preparing for FCC exams
Shortwave operator's do's-and-don't's, practices and procedures
Appendix packed with 250 sample examination questions and answers

From the Back Cover
This revised edition of the most trusted guide in all of ham radio is here just in time to help you pass the new No-Code Technician Class exams!

Used by thousands of ham operators to understand and set up their first shortwave transmitters, and to get their licenses--Clay Laster's Beginner's Handbook of Amateur Radio is the proven way to start sending from your own set. Complete Get-Hamming and Get-Your-License Kit. You don't need any special training or skills to begin. All you need is this book! Clay Laster explains radio and electronics fundamentals needed to set up a transmitter and become a licensed "ham" operator from the ground up. Reflecting both the newest equipment and revisions to the Federal Communications Commission rules and tests, this guide gives anyone interested in amateur radio:

*An exciting introduction to shortwave--used for round-the-world fun and communications, for emergency and disaster signaling, and, yes, still used by spies
*All the guidance you need to become a ham radio operator
*A mini-course in electronics, focused on radio fundamentals
*Understandable instruction in wave propagation, power supplies, and electronic circuits
*Complete study guide for getting your Novice Operator or No-Code Technician Class licenses*Study hints for preparing for FCC exams
*Recent FCC RF Safety Rules and Guidelines
*384 FCC Technician Class Question Pool with Answers
*Shortwave operator's do's-and-don't's, practices and procedures

If you want to communicate over the airwaves both locally and globally, and listen in on conversations heard by very few--if you want to launch your own ham radio station and earn a coveted FCC license, you've picked the very best place to start. Take this book home, and it will take you into the realm of communication, new friends, good times, and technical mastery beyond your dreams.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 4 edition (November 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071361871
• ISBN-13: 978-0071361873
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #941,328 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 15, 2002

By	Bruce Appelbaum (Yorktown Heights, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

To challenge myself, I decided to study in order to take the Technician amateur radio operating license exam. I picked up this book, which bills itself as a complete source of information. Not so.

Despite the fact that the book is in its 4th edition, it is poorly edited. Information jumps from basic to full jargon in the same paragraph, without any definition of the new terms used. Much of the information on the basics of electric circuits and electronics seems to be pulled from an electronics text.

I'm an engineer, but not an electrical engineer. It's been years since I studied electric circuits and this book did little to refresh my memory. The information on FCC regs is sparse -- the complete Part 97 is not included. The question pool for the multiple choice Tech exam is included, but only the letter answers are provided without any explanation of the answers (leaving the reader to try to find the information in the rest of the book).

I'll look to another source to help prepare for the exam.

5 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A must?, March 28, 2000

By	Mastopiero "mastropiero" (Garden City, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beginner's Handbook of Amateur Radio (Paperback)

A must? for beginners. Very easy to read. I'll recomend this book only if you have extra time. You can die without reading it.