Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: ARRL Handbook - all years/editions

Category: Books/Manuals/Videos/Pod-WebCasts on ham radio

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : ARRL Handbook - all years/editions
Reviews: 24MSRP:
Description:
ARRL Handbooks - all editions/years
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.arrl.org
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
24243.8
WA2SOC Rating: 2009-11-25
Nice job Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It's hard to take the word of an "expert" who can't even use a traceable identity on a review. I have spent some hours reading the new 2010 Handbook and I think it is very well done. Obviously no single book is going to be a complete reference for electronics or radio. The point should be to provide a reference complete enough for the reader to gain a basic understanding of the concepts involved in various areas.

I remember a two-semester course sequence that focused on Fourier transforms, pole/zero diagrams, and the like. A few pages in the handbook is not a substitute for the course, but it is certainly a good refresher for me and I think would serve as an introduction for someone who is interested in the topic and wants to pursue it further in other texts. At another level, the first chapters can help the newcomer to electronics with the basics of DC and AC circuits and components.

One can use a book like this on several levels. It could just be read lightly for an overview of various topics and it serves that purpose well. It can also engender a deeper interest in a given topic which might then require more study.

Is there an error or misleading statement buried somewhere in the book? Probably; nothing is perfect. Is it worth the money for somebody seriously interested in electronics and ham radio? Absolutely.
QRPNEW Rating: 2009-11-25
Usual Rubbish Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
After reading the ad in QST, I thought I would buy the "much updated" and revised Handbook 2010 edition. I even bought a hardcover thinking it was going to be something good. I was totally disappointed when I received it.

Same old rehashed material with nothing new in it.
Same old tired antenna projects
Same outdated amplifier information.
Everything in this handbook is the same old crap with little revision.

Nice picture of a modern parasitic suppressor for an amplifier. No design information!

Want to build a low pass filter, no design go buy another ARRL book or point your browser to the net! Whats the point of buying the book if you dont provide information to build one?

3cx1500D7 Amplifier, nice amp shame that the tuned input made by LDG is no longer made!

All the juicy stuff from the old Handbooks have been removed. About the only thing new is a couple of antenna projects, updated transceiver information and a new solid state amplifier.

In short dont waste your money on this terrible handbook. All of this information is on the internet, with much better quality articles and information. A book is supposed to be a REFERENCE with all pertinent information not a internet directory and summary of whats on the internet.

The ARRL could make the Handbook a true technical reference for anybody interested in electronics or communications. All they have succeeded in doing is creating a token gesture with no useful purpose to anyone.

What a waste of good paper. ARRL publications are getting worst and worst. They all have nice covers and the content is rubbish.



VA7AAX Rating: 2009-08-04
Love it! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have a 1991 ed. and a 2009 ed. Both eds. are equally good, but I prefer the '09 ed. for it's relevancy for current technology. I love the 2009 one. It has great satellite information. I also like the sections on DSP, and wireless technologies.

Thanks ARRL !
WA4DOU Rating: 2008-07-10
I like mine just fine! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned Handbooks going back to about 1959.
Like so many, I too observed that a purchase of one now and then was plenty. I probably don't buy a new one more often than every 6 or 8 years. If I had two choices, give up my library or give up my ham gear, I'd give up the gear. My handbook would be just about the last book in the library I'd let go of.
KC9GUZ Rating: 2007-11-17
above my head. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own the 2005 ARRl handbook and although some of the info comes in handy most of it is way above my head. Im not at all an EE with a PHD in electronics, but just an average clock punching joe bluecollar that has some limited knoledge of electronics. The book covers too much of the highly technical stuff that im just not that interested in. If they (the ARRL) would put more stuff in it like more emphasis on antennas and propagation and new digital modes, it would be worth buying. The CD is a nice touch though.
KE5QXL Rating: 2007-10-30
Great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
ARRL Handbook Any Year. Excellent reference.
My first was around 1964. Another around 1976, etc. Recent versions include a searchable CD which is well indexed.
I aced my Sep 30, 2007 Technician and General exams. On Oct 28, 2007 I aced the Extra. The ARRL Handbook was my only publication reference for reading and the math formulas. Ham Academay (free) was used for question pool drilling. Downloaded ARRLs Technician, General, and Extra question pools (only used the Extra section E5 for math practice). Also, the ARRL listing of the FCC part 97 rules, current ARRL band plan.

Experienced Hams and other technical persons know that buying the ARRL Handbook once every 5 - 10 years is practical and appropriate. Purchasing the ARRL Handbook any more often generally does'nt offer much bang for the buck.
If you buy the ARRL Handbook every couple of years, don't expect to see much real change.
For those of you with good digital mode or DSP experience, write and submit articles to ARRL. This is where real technology can benefit both older and newer Hams. Got a fantastic digital mode you are enthusiastic about? Have you found the perfect DSP for signal enhancement? Write an article and share the excitement.
WA2DTW Rating: 2007-10-30
Reads like a dictionary Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Has the important material, and is a good reference source.
Older editions from the 1950'2 and 60's were better written.
The newer edition has a very dry writing style, and seems to be written for engineers.
K7SUB Rating: 2007-03-16
Downhill Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The handbook has gone downhill since the early 70's----I realize there is a time lag with getting state of the art projects in, but 2 to 4 years lag is a bit long.
My main complaint though is that the basic electronics stuff has been stipped down from the earlier hanbooks---just compare and you can see a big difference.
In any case 2006 is the last handbook I'll waste my money on unless there is some drastic change.
K6AER Rating: 2007-02-01
Great Reference Publication Time Owned: more than 12 months.
In reading the previous ARRL Handbook review postings it would seem today’s amateurs want titillating articles on the latest digital communication and care nothing for the classics, or more traditional modes but I digress. The ARRL is the finest communication handbook on all aspects of amateur communication ever made. No other book can take a novice from the basics to advanced communication engineering with information form the basics to engineering level theory. Some complain about the price but I bet they have never bought an engineering text in collage.

Every four or five years I buy a Handbook and have copies going back to 1957. Half the information will repeat it self for the Handbook for it is a communication/engineering reference. New articles are gathered form the QST submittals.

Many of the hams have complained there are fewer construction articles but this is a result of the dumbing down of amateur radio technical articles that appear in QST. Hams today have fewer technical skills. Most hams today can barely put a PL-259 on a piece of coax let alone understand or write technical articles. Hence fewer articles appear in the ARRL Handbook because fewer and fewer technical articles are sent into QST.

If you don’t own one of these fine technical journals you should have at least on as a reference in your library.
W1LC Rating: 2005-02-23
CD-ROM saves pages! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
To WM5Z and others who wonder where the project templates went in the 2005 Handbook, they're on the fully-searchable CD-ROM, now included with the ARRL Handbook. This frees up page space for new material and projects, etc! Not EVERY current project has a template available, but many do. Please review the contents of the CD-ROM and see what a wealth of information is now available via your keyboard/mouse. YOU DO HAVE A COMPUTER, DON'T YOU? ;-)