The ARRL Operating Manual Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is one of those books you can pick up and read random chapters, or even individual pages and find value. The book is organized topically and covers a wide variety of interests, so whether your interest is RTTY, DX, moonbounce, or whatever, you'll likely find it covered here - not just in shallow survey form, either (in spite of its wide coverage), but with usable advice and perspective. I think this is one of ARRL's better titles, along with their license manuals and the Antenna Book. Highly recommended for the newer ham or experienced ham curious about unfamiliar operating modes.

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If you re an active ham radio operator, you probably have a story about your first radio contact. Many hams remember that experience even more than their first license examination. That s because operating is fun and exciting!The ARRL Operating Manual for Radio Amateurs is the most complete book about Amateur Radio operating. It was written to help guide you through the dozens of ways hams communicate with each other. It contains information that every ham needs:Beginners explore the broad range of ham radio activities, practices and events.Intermediate hams sharpen your skills, earn awards and participate in contests.Experienced hams find frequently needed references, details on new technology, and new ways to enjoy your favorite activities.New Edition - Extensively Updated! This 9th edition is the BIGGEST revision in years! Over 80% of the content has been completely re-written. You'll enjoy the latest information!ContentsAmateur Radio All About OperatingVHF/UHF FM, Repeaters, Digital Voice and Data, SSB and CWEmergency CommunicationsTraffic Handling Getting the Message ThroughDXing Contacting Those Faraway PlacesContesting Competitive WirelessHF Digital CommunicationsImage CommunicationsAmateur SatellitesThe FCC Rules and You Operating Legally, Safely, and AppropriatelyOperating AwardsReferences Call Sign Prefix List, Antenna Bearing Maps, Abbreviations, and much more--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Emergency Power: For Radio Communications Review

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(More customer reviews)An excellent book for those considering using solar or other alternative power sources. It's also useful for folks wanting to know how to use a generator or other sources during power failures or wiring their home for standby use.


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When all else fails...how will you communicate?Tools for...Emergency or Backup Power!Energy Independence!Portable Energy!With Emergency Power for Radio Communications, you will explore the various means of electric power generation from charging batteries, to keeping the lights on. This book covers the foundation of any communications installation--the power source. Use this book to plan ways to stay on the air when weather or other reasons cause a short-term or long-term power outage. Find ways to reach beyond the commercial power grid. Identify methods for alternative power generation that will work best in your particular situation, perhaps taking advantage of possibilities already on hand.

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Now You're Talking: All You Need to Get Your Ham Radio Technician License Review

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(More customer reviews)I am an extra class ham radio operator and teach introduction to ham radio classes. I have found this book to be the best on the market for both in class use and individule study. It covers all the bases and explains everything in simple, easy to understand terms. It also contains all of the possible test questions so that you can practice taking the exam on your own. If you want to become a HAM then this is THE BOOK for you! 73

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ARRL's VHF Digital Handbook Review

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(More customer reviews)Always good information in ARRL publications, and this one is no exception. Worth the price.

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Today's Amateur Radio operators are using digital radio applications for fun, technical achievement, and public service. And it s no wonder. Getting started often requires little more than a VHF radio and a computer.Without complicated owners manual jargon ARRL s VHF Digital Handbook presents the material through a unique how-to approach and friendly, conversational style. Readers will understand how to setup and operate their equipment and software, and make the best use of their VHF digital station.Contents:Packet Radio Fundamentals: All the basics including TNCs, operating commands, and networks (such as DX Packetcluster). APRS The Automatic Position Reporting System: Track moving objects on maps (other stations, public service vehicles, marathon runners, etc.). Connect your own GPS receiver and transmit your location even as you re moving! D-STAR: Enjoy high-speed digital voice and data on the growing network of D-STAR repeaters. High Speed Multimedia: Discover how you can set up your own wireless Amateur Radio data network by modifying over-the-counter gear such as routers and access points. It s ham WiFi consumers can only dream about! Digital Meteor Scatter and Moonbounce: Explore weak signal operating using the software masterpiece WSJT by Joe Taylor, K1JT. Technical Descriptions: In-depth information about AX.25, D-STAR and APCO-25 protocols. Plus, digital applications in public service and emergency communications: Packet radio, APRS, Winlink 2000 and more!

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Technician Class 2010-2014 Review

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(More customer reviews)After becoming interested in an amateur han radio license, I researched instruction information. Gordon West has written numerous technical books on this subject so I ordered his Technician Class 2010-2014 manual. It is easily understood and informative. It has all the questions and the answers for the test that has to be taken to become an licensed amateur ham radio operator. This is the second manual written by Gordon West I have bought and I have enjoyed both. It was promptly shipped with a reasonable shipping rate.

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Gordon West study manual for the 2010-14 FCC Element 2 Technician Class Amateur Radio license exam. Includes all FCC Q&A along with West's educational, fun answer explanations. Fully illustrated to aid learning. Includes list of VEC examiners, and more.

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Fm 101X: Using FM Repeaters: Ac6V's Guide To Vhf/Uhf Fm Repeaters And Your First Vhf/Uhf Radio Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an excellent reference to the world of VHF amateur radio operation. I recently got a technician license and a handheld radio for the two-meter band. After reading through this book in about a week, I feel like I have knowledge that would have taken me 6-12 months to learn on my own. This book helped me successfully operate on simplex and repeaters.
My criticism of this book is about its poor copy editing. I didn't spot any spelling errors or ambiguous phrases, but there are lots of run-on sentences. Some information is repeated two or three times, although the book's introduction suggests that this is necessary to allow the book to be a handy reference rather than just a book to read cover-to-cover.
Please note that this book describes radio operations that require a license for the amateur radio service from the FCC.
Overall, the information provided in this book is accurate, helpful, and practical. Newcomers to amateur radio that want to operate with a two-way FM radio will be able to get a fast start by reading this book.

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AC6V'S Guide to VHF/UHF FM Repeaters and Your First VHF/UHF Radio. It is intended for those entering the world of FM Repeaters and Amateur Radio. The guide is written for new users with or without a technical background.

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World Radio TV Handbook 2008: The Directory of Global Broadcasting Review

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(More customer reviews)I started listening to shortwave radio as a kid, currently own five shortwave radios of varying quality, and even produce a weekly baseball program for Radio Miami International. In short, I'm into the medium. In some ways, it's the "last frontier" of radio.
There are basically two annual publications that are geared towards shortwave fans, and this is one of them. However, the book commonly referred to as WRTH covers much more than just shortwave. It is essentially a guide for broadcasting of all types throughout the world. You can find lists for everything from AM radio stations in America to FM stations in Morocco to shortwave stations in Ecuador to TV stations in North Korea (their children's programming must be fun). They're all there. It is as comprehensive a source for international AND domestic broadcasting as you'll find. You also get good reviews of shortwave sets on the market plus articles on various broadcasters.
The only reason I gave the book four stars instead of five is the "miles wide, inches deep" coverage of all the electronic media in WRTH. There's nothing wrong with that, but shortwave listeners like myself are better served by the "Passport to World Band Radio" book, which includes programming schedules. It's just more shortwave specific and costs $US7 less than WRTH. If you're more interested in TV, AM or FM radio, however, this IS the superior book.
In either case, you can't go wrong with WRTH...it just depends where your interest lies.

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The Beginner's Handbook of Amateur Radio Review

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(More customer reviews)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.

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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

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ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an Amateur Radio Operator (Arrl Ham Radio License Manual) (Arrl Ham Radio License Manual) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is organized as a welcome to amateur radio, followed by chapters with course sections. At the end of each section certain exam questions are listed. You can then flip to the 392 question Element 2 exam at the end and test your knowledge. The book is good for teens through adults and is written in straightforward language with most essentials concisely introduced and explained.
I come from a technical background so the book was a review, but I appreciated the textbook-like layout where each concept was introduced (to a high-school or higher audience), then I could go to see the exact test questions and answer listed at the back. I feel I thoroughly know all the base material now that the questions are derived from.
If you want to go from an 80-90% passing grade on your exam to 100% score, then supplement the ARRL book with Gordon West's "Technician Class" book. Mr. West works the from the other direction, presenting each question, then the answer, and then briefly explaining the answer. I found that a perfect strength to complement the only weakness I was able to find in the ARRL book.

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Get your FIRST ham radio license! Easy-to-understand bite-sized sections. Use this book, and pass the 35-question license test. Includes the latest question pool with answer key, for use beginning July 1, 2006. Designed for self-study and for classroom use. Intended for all newcomers, instructors and schoolteachers.This is the most popular introduction to Amateur Radio! The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual is your ticket to joining the ranks of amateur radio operators.Use this book to discover the appeal of ham radio. The Amateur Radio Service offers a unique mix of technology, public service, convenience and fun. Some hams enjoy communicating across the country and around the globe, making new friends over the airwaves. Others like to build and experiment with electronics, experiencing cutting edge technologies. Some use their radios and skills during emergencies or disasters when all else fails. And, today's ham radio gear offers possibilities for getting started at any level. Your first radio station might be at home, in the car, or small enough to take with you on the go.

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The Arrl Operating Manual (A R R L Operating Manual, 7th ed) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book provides a lot of information. If you are new to the hobby this is great book to have in the shack. If you have been into ham radio for more than a year most of this information will be old, you should already have this information in other books. The chapters on emergency communications and traffic handling are pretty much a waste, if a major disaster happened the last thing I would be thinking about is radio. It seems like a good portion of the book is the standard league propoganda on how they what activities to occur on the air. After careful consideration this book is not worth $25

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W1FB's QRP Notebook Review

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(More customer reviews)An excellent practical book on designing simple low power ham transmitters and receivers. A little short in design theory but a good book nonetheless. Read Chris Bowick's RF Circuit Design book for more theoretical info. If you want to build simple radios and want them to work, this is the book for you.

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Low Profile Amateur Radio: Operating a Ham Station from Almost Anywhere Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a delicious book by Al Brogdon, W1AB, with ideas, suggestions and great stories about how to operate your radio in those locations with restrictions -- like apartment complexes, condos and many residential areas.
I am myself a new ham (less than a year) and I live in an apartment with tight rules; so I had _everything_ to learn from this book. Before I bought it, I was somewhat discouraged and clueless about how to start. After I read it, I realized that I could, and should, go ahead and have my ham station.
This is an enjoyable and easy-to-read text, with 162 pages. And it is well divided in 20 chapters and 9 appendixes, with many photographs and diagrams; it is practical, straightforward and, most important, written in a very entertaining language, with many stories, anecdotes and personal (and funny) situations.
It covers:
* Seven favorite systems and solutions
* Feed lines for HF antennas
* Low profile HF antennas
* A killer antenna, nearly invisible antennas and disguised antennas
* Indoor antennas
* Antenna Tuners
* Screwdriver Antennas, Loop Antennas
* HF Operating Tips
* Low Profile VHF/UHF Antennas
* Deep-cover Antenna Station...
* Going Mobile as an alternative
Another reviewer said that the Appendixes are reprinted articles. But I did not have access to the QST or ARRL Magazines before, and I never had read those articles before. So, the book was 100% new to me, and I was interested in every bit from cover to cover.
Thanks to ideas and suggestions that I read in this book, I installed my own variation: an apartment station with (conveniently placed) vertical antennas in the balcony, without bothering anyone. I don't operate when there is an important game on TV, because I don't risk producing TVI. I respect power limits and operate responsibly. OK, this is not a powerful station since I don't have a beam tower or a long wire. But it is enough for enjoying radio, HF, some occasional DX (even in this solar minimum) -- while also having peace with the XYL (wife).
Above all, this is a very positive book, that shows that it is possible to be creative in restricted spaces, and have a lot of fun.
Thanks, W1AB, for the incentive.


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More and more ham radio operators are faced with installing equipment and antennas amid a flurry of modern day limitations. The need to operate a low profile Amateur Radio station may be imposed by the confines of a small home or apartment. Other hams are restricted by deeds or leases that regulate the size of the antenna they can install.First edition readers will find this second edition contains ALL NEW material.Low Profile Amateur Radio, second edition, includes the information you need to operate your station under many types of restrictive situations. Follow the easygoing discussions of Al Brogdon, W1AB, as he provides details for many real-life examples and techniques for a variety of low profile circumstances.Contents: Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions Low-Profile HF Antennas Disguised Antennas Indoor Antennas Operating Modes and Tips Interference Antenna Tuners Transmitter Output Power Low-Profile VHF/UHF Antennas Mobile Operating...and more!

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Technician Class: 2006-10 FCC Element 2 Amateur Radio License Preparation Review

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(More customer reviews)The strength of this book is for people who already are somewhat familiar with the material and want to study the quiz questions and reinforce their knowledge - to go from 60% right (failing) to 100% right. I wouldn't recommend this book as one's first introduction to HAM essentials -- for that, one may want to purchase the "Arrl Ham Radio License Manual: All You Need to Become an Amateur Radio Operator", which is a more comprehensive classroom text... study that book for fundamentals, and then also study the Gordon West book, and you'll ace the exam.

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THIS BOOK IS VALID FOR EXAMS GIVEN UP TO 6/30/2010. IF YOU WILL BE TAKING YOUR TEST ON OR AFTER 7/1/2010 YOU NEED THE NEW GORDON WEST TECHNICIAN CLASS BOOK, AISN 0945053622. Study guide for the 2006-2010 Technician Class amateur radio license exam written by America's leading ham radio educator, Gordon West. Book includes all possilbe questions and answers for the Element 2 FCC amateur radio license exam, plus Gordon's answer explanations; list of examiners; ham radio operating tips, and more.

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Now You're Talking All You Need to Get Your First Amateur Radio License, Fifth Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is exactly right for someone who wants to become a ham radio operator. This book does two things. It is a self study course that will allow you to pass the Technician level FCC test. It is also a general introduction to all of ham radio, covering the highlights of all that can be done in amateur radio. It has just the right level of sophistication to give a good understanding of all facets of amateur radio but does not get into such extreme detail that it is overwhelming. The technical level is just right as well.
I used an earlier version of this text to study for my amateur radio license (KD4TTC). Even though I studied for the Technician license I was able to pass the written portion of the test for the General license class. However, to get to know Morse code, needed for working the frequencies that will get around the whole globe, you will need to find a way to practice receiving Morse code. While this book won't teach you Morse, you will learn from the book how to go about learning it if you want to. (As an aside, I was not interested in international communications back then, so I skipped that aspect of the hobby. I will be learning Morse this year and will upgrade. There is plenty to do with amateur radio without Morse code, so don't let any disinterest or fear of Morse stop you from becomming a Ham. The book explains all this).
I have not yet come across any aspect of ham radio that was not described at least in overview in this book. I may not know details of lots of aspects of all that is ham radio, but I have not come across anything in Ham radio that I was not introduced to in this book.
You can expect that after reading this book you will be able to pass the Technician license exam, you might even be able to pass the General license written portion, you will have learned how to learn Morse, you will be able to decide what equipment you will need and where to find it, you will be able to set up your station and safely operate it, you will know correct and responsible operating procedures, and you will learn about all the different types of communications you can do so you will pick the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby for yourself.
I have given this book to friends so they can become hams. It works well for that purpose. I came here to buy a copy for yet another potential ham and found myself writing this long review. I am not really that avid of an amateur operator, but I am really enthusiastic about this book because it was such a fun and painless way to learn what I needed to know to get into ham radio.
Buy the book.

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Arrls Low Power Communication: The Art and Science of Qrp Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a new General Class who's interested in QRP. This book was a great introduction. Arland obviously knows his stuff (many years in the U.S. Air Force as a comm/signals guy), and his writing style is very engaging.
Arland offers lots of general information as well as detail, particularly when it comes to what he considers the two most important parts of QRP: antennas and propagation. He has separate chapters devoted to each, and he details some home-brew methods for various kinds of QRP antennas, including good photographs.
If you're interested in vintage military gear, there's quite a bit of info here as well. In addition, he gives many web site resources for further research.
Highly recommended for those (like me) who are just getting started in QRP. Now I need to save up for the Yaesu FT-817 rig (Arland's favorite).

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Welcome to the world of QRP! Now you can explore the excitement of low-power radio operating with this third edition of ARRL s Low Power Communication:Equipment and Station Accessories - commercial gear, kit-building and home-brewAntennas wire beams, loops, dipoles, portable antennas and moreOperating Strategies operating techniques, awards, and contestingNEW! Emergency Communication training, planning and other factorsNEW! Surplus Military Equipment - restoring and using this classic radio hardware.Plus QRP calling frequencies, manufacturers...and much more!--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Practical RF Power Design Techniques Review

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(More customer reviews)Along with Chris Bowick's book, this manual belongs in the library of any engineer or technician who wants to gain an understanding of RF amplifiers, filters and impedance-matching networks. Gottlieb's style makes for enjoyable reading and easy comprehension; and, along with solid-state, he covers vacuum tube technology. That's a real plus, in my opinion. Highly recommended to engineers, students, technicians and hobbyists.

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This book is aimed at electronics hobbyists, especially amateur radio operators and shortwave listeners, electronics technicians, and students of electronics. This practical guide to radio frequency power design and tecniques uses real-world values for electronic components throughout and avoids a theoretical and mathametical approach.

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Morse Code: Breaking the Barrier Review

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(More customer reviews)I found the book very useful in terms of advice and guidance, however there is no actual help in learning the code in the book.
To make this statement clearer, this book serves as an introduction to the method of learning by Koch which seems to cover about 1 1/2 chapters. The rest is spent reviewing Morse history and praising the method, along with a lot of stuff about morse keyers and techniques / watchpoints once the code is learned.
I found it to be a useful book, and I'm glad I bought it - but disappointing and not what I expected from the title and the intro on Amazon pages. Also, I live in Hong Kong and the mentioned support, equipment etc is much harder [read 'impossible'] to find here, than it *probably* is in the US!
Do buy it, there's a lot of good stuff, but beware that it's only a guide to the Koch method and it gets you started on the right path rather than actually teaches any code. Don't expect too much!
Cheers!

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