[.ca] Practical Radio Frequency Test and Measurement: A ... (ISBN 0750671610)

finebuss handbook for serious amateur radio operators:
This is my first Joseph Carr book and I am totally hooked. Being a new ham and with no EE background, I find this book to be very clear and easy to understand, even for newbies like myself. To fully grasp the ideas inside I would guess being a ham helps. With basic college EE background this book sure is a breeze to read. This is also a good handbook in case you forget RF fundamentals. I am looking forward to buying more Josheph books. frank chen, bx2ah, taipei

Excellent RF manual:
As contributing editor and technical consultant to Mobile Radio Technology magazine I try to keep up with the latest books on radio and RF in general. I have never seen a Joe Carr book that was anything less than very good. This one is excellent. He knows the subject matter and writes in a practical, down-to-earth way that technicians can relate to. If you need to increase you knowledge of RF this book is for you. I highly recommend it! Harold Kinley (WA4GIB).

Too advanced for Newbie:
I have a BS in electronics technology. I know alot about digital electronics, but RF frequency is something I know little about. This book is definitely not meant for a beginner to the RF world. I am totally lost.

Outstanding!:
This book is a truly outstanding reference for the RF laboratory. (It is so good, that I'm thinking about buying a second copy just in case I ever lose the first) Although this book says it is a "technician's handbook", I think engineers and technicians alike will find this book invaluable. If you are a young engineer, this book will answer all of the "stupid" questions you're afraid to ask your more senior colleagues. If you are a senior engineer, this book will help you remember how to perform that obscure receiver benchmark measurement. You really can't lose with this book.

Okay for the first draft!:
I think it has the makings of a good handbook. However, I think the author should have had it reviewed by his RF colleagues. Being no RF expert, I was able to pick out several obvious mistakes. A few gems: Pg. 64, "Velocity factor (v) of 0.80, which means that the wave propagates along the line at 8 - 10 the speed of light". Pg 284, Hot S22 Methods, Lists all the S parameter formulas but leaves out S22. Several times in the book, Joseph Carr tries to point out the significance of the Third-order intercept point with variations of the same graph along with variations of the same description. I would rather have settled for one in depth explanation. By the way Joseph, just how do you come up with the straight-line equation for the 3rd Order Response? There were some good examples on plots using the Smith Charts. However, the graphs were barely legible.