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Reviews For: ARRL Antenna Book

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Review Summary For : ARRL Antenna Book
Reviews: 3MSRP: 30
Description:
19th edition is extensively rewritten. The latest computer modeling techniques have improved traditional antenna designs. Find a new treatment of broadband antennas; gain and size comparisons for multielement arrays; and updated information on log periodic, quad, long-wire and traveling-wave antennas.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.arrl.org/catalog/8047/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0034.7
W4KYR Rating: 2013-11-26
Good but with some glaring omissions. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am reviewing the 18th Edition of the ARRL Antenna book. The publishing date is 1997/1998. You can find these used on E-Bay and at hamfests from $10 and up.

Overall this is a good reference book on ham radio antennas and theory. However (at least in this edition) there are some glaring omissions.

To be fair I was not expecting to find mention of recent antennas such as the Maldol, Buddistick, Ventenna and others in a 1997 book. I believe these antennas did not come to the market until the 2000's. As a result there is nothing on pedestrian mobile or antennas for the trail friendly radios. There doesn't seem to be a QRP section either.

Perusing through the book, by the index. I saw no mention of the Saint Louis Antenna or the Gotham Antenna. (The latter was heavily advertised in QST in the 60's and 70's). However a lesser known antenna, the "Snyder Antenna" was listed. (Perhaps these antennas are known generically as something else in the book).

While helical antennas were in this book, the popular $20 - $25 "Hamstick" antenna (as it is generically known as) was also absent from this book. I thought these antennas were on the market in the mid to late 90's. Perhaps not.


I was looking for information on using a slingshot for launching wire antennas and there was nothing in the index (and nothing so far that I have seen in the book). While a slingshot is not an antenna, it is a device to launch a wire antenna high up into the tree. Rotators and Smith Charts are mentioned, sling shots are not.

There seems to be no mention of the "Doublet Antenna". (Maybe the antenna goes under a different name?). This is an antenna that is also used by the military according to Wiki. The simplicity of it is that you can use ribbon wire (or a flat 4 conductor TV antenna rotor wire to assemble it with good results). If you are wondering, the G5RV antenna is mentioned.

Overall this 728 page book is good reference to ham antennas as well as antenna theory. However it is my hope that newer, subsequent editions corrected a few of these glaring omissions like the Slingshot, Doublet, St Louis, Gotham and Hamstick.

If you can find these older editions for $10 or less, then buy it. Otherwise spend $30+ and get a newer edition, however do check first to see if the antenna you are using or plan to use is mentioned in the book.

N5YPJ Rating: 2007-07-14
Great but expensive Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is my third ARRL Antenna Handbook, 20th edition. It has probably the greatest wealth of antenna information an amateur can readily obtain. It's nice to see newer topics addressed like radiation exposure and an expanded propagation section giving practical reports about which bands are open and to where on a timetable. You're not going to get this collection of information on this wide a variety of antennas anywhere else. There's also a CD that I'm fixing to check out. In my opinion the quality is 100%, the price has more than doubled $44.95 from my last handbook purchased in 1995 $20 and the League has added advertisers to the handbook. I would have hoped that the advertising revenue would allow the League to seel the book for a bit less
WZ7I Rating: 2002-11-03
The best ham radio investment you will ever make! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If you have any interest in amateur radio, you need this book. It is the first place to look for the answers to your antenna questions. Compared to most publications in our field, this is well written with real attention to teaching complex concepts to those of us without an engineering background. In addition to the necessary theory, it has very practical designs that demonstrate the concepts and serve as a starting point for your own designs. The software included on the CD-ROM bound in volume is also useful.

By far the best treatment on HF antennas that I have seen

This book is so valuable that I buy each new addition to see what chapters have been edited.

Before you spent a dollar on an antenna, spend $30 dollars on this book.