> >From time to time I see references to this book, now available from the
> ARRL for $35. Any opinions on whether it's worth it? If you were choosing
> between it and the new edition of the Antenna Book (and had last year's
> Antenna Book), which would you choose?
The two books are written from different perspectives and have different
goals.
The ARRL book is a compendium of theory and practice, with a high emphasis
in recent editions on Yagi design, but with lots of
general/background/theoretical information. The Editor is a Yagi and
propagation expert and has written transmission line loss software (which
is updated in the current edition).
Les Moxon's book is aimed toward the English garden (backyard) size
antenna, with strong theoretical background from a computational
perspective that differs from ARRL's and with strong arguments for and
against certain antenna types. Because of the differences, it makes a
good complement to the ARRL book, although Moxon's writing style is
straight from the 19th century English novel, and hence tough for some to
decipher.
If your book shelf is empty, you might start with the ARRL Antenna
Handbook and add Moxon later. (No I have not written a word for the ARRL
book.) But do not try to read it cover to cover. Sample topics of
interest and read more deeply each time, eventually doing some sample
calculations. THen you can figure out whether you need some further
specialized books and materials to supplement coverage. The ARRL book is
not the last word on any one topic, but it is a fairly good start to more
topics than almost any other book around.
Like all book reviews, the above notes are this note-writer's views and
they may not be shared by everyone else.
-73-
LB, W4RNL
L. B. Cebik, W4RNL /\ /\ * / / / (Off)(423) 974-7215
1434 High Mesa Drive / \/ \/\ ----/\--- (Hm) (423) 938-6335
Knoxville, Tennessee /\ \ \ \ / / || / (FAX)(423) 974-3509
37938-4443 USA / \ \ \ \ || cebik@utk.edu
URL: http://funnelweb.utcc.utk.edu/~cebik/radio.html
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