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Reviews For: Kurt Speaks Out

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Review Summary For : Kurt Speaks Out
Reviews: 3MSRP: $20 including postage.
Description:
A compilation of columns on antennas which appeared in World Radio
1999-2006. Kurt N Sterba was the pseudonym of a widely-
experienced ham and broadcast engineer. Well-written, often
humorous or sharply-pointed observations about how antennas and
transmission lines actually work. Including deflations of performance
claims about some commercial products.
Product is in production
More Info: http://palomar-engineers.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0035
KE5GK Rating: 2020-04-30
Amazing Re-Discovery Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have copies of Kurt's columns in a notebook. I recently found my notebook---complete with mice chewed pages. A few days later I discovered the Palomar free ebook. Kurt was a straight shooter. QST missed a rare opportunity to have him as a regular contributor. (He was too hot for the QST advertising department---commercial ads trump truth!) Hams of all ages and experience will profit by reading this free download.
KE6BB Rating: 2015-07-28
Informative, entertaining, accurate! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
An excellent book to read if you want the bottom line on antenna issues such as gain, SWR, reflected power, etc. It does not present the math behind the principles, but in most cases, tells you where to look for more details. This is a good book for any ham to have in his library.

Too bad QST didn't pick Kurt's column up so that it could have been disseminated to a wider audience. Sadly, Kurt is SK now.
W6MK Rating: 2013-02-12
Very informative Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Many very good points are made by the author who expresses complex ideas very clearly, with humor and without complex math. For instance he points out that it's most useful, because of common mode currents, to think of coax as having three-conductors. He also takes apart nonsense claims about commercial antennas. Just today there is a new eham review of a T2FD which the reviewer thinks is "great." Sterba points out that the broadband quality of this antenna comes at a great cost in efficiency.