This is actually a compilation of articles written for "Ham Radio" in the 80's by James L. Lawson, W2PV. It is a very thorough walkthrough, starting from deriving equations for mutual and self impedance of parasitic elements in chapter 1 and going on through simple antennas, performance optimizations, loop antennas, the effects of ground, stacking, and several practical designs, including those for 7,14,21, and 28 MHz. As the editor, Bill Myers puts it, "the very large ratio of figures and tables to text has made the logical presentation of this material exceptionally challenging." There are lots of polar plots and tables for gain and front to back ratio. There are plenty of formulas with experimental verification/validation included. Feedpoint resistance/reactance is mentioned, but there aren't too many details in manipulating the resistance, partly because the author feels that discussion is trivial and because it is only valid at single operating point. The computer modeling methodology is somewhat dated and broad band yagis are barely touched on. Other than that, this book is the best I've found on Yagis. With this book, you can reverse-calculate all the assumptions that the other guys made when they wrote their books. Not perfect, but still 5 stars.

We had this as a reference book for a course in Microwave engineering and was used in a design problem. This is not your leisure book that you can just browse! You have to have advanced calculus/electromagnetism background to understand the concepts.

The book covers all the basic antennae theory and types to topics ranging to radar design.

This is a must have for any RF design engineer.

Since most of the RF jobs in US are with defense and companies like Lockheed Martin and you have to be US citizen to get such jobs, I had to opt for computer networks for graduate studies in US, otherwise I'd have ended up as a RF designer myself.

I would normally rate such a book as five stars, but I've given it four stars to draw some attention that this book is not so easily comprehended as two preceding reviewers suggest. Indeed, the book is well written and organized. However, I think the level of mathematics used is that of advanced calculus. I believe this book is intended for a senior EE or EE graduate student. However, it is not all mathematics and there is still much to be learned about antennas from the book without having had exposure to some of the mathematics used. If you are in doubt, you might consider an alternative before purchasing this book, or at least purchase it with the thought of returning it within a 30 day inspection period.

I found this book to be very helpful and to the point on mostof the material. I thought the math, when given, was quitestraightforward, and the author was sure to explain the actual meaning of the math in quick to understand terms. I have only had this book for two days, and have already been able to walk away with a good bit of knowledge END

Contrary to the previous reviewer's belief, this text has nothing to do with "installation" of "satellite dishes"... The subject of this book is phased array antenna design... It does a reasonably decent job... It's nicely focused on it's subject... As always, where Artech published books are concerned, it's a bit overpriced for what it provides, but it's still a reasonably good buy... (Handy man???)

this book completely tells you everything about all types of antennas and satellite dishes too!!!! It won't lie and tell you its easy to do, because its definitly not. But you will feel confident with this book. Kind of like a "handy man to go".

I was looking to see if this book was ever updated and found ithad been republished in 1993. I don't know if this is a new edition,but the 1983 version, which I have, is a fairly straightforward book. It has good diagrams and details on construction of various Yagis, Quads, Log Periodic, and other HF antennas. Not a bad buy at the price. Since it now has an additional author, contributor, I'd guess this is a new edition or at least revision.

I haven't read this book and would like to buy any books about antenna but I think I can't shop from the internet because I do not have any credit card so please tell me what to do. Thanks. Day Kurniawan

I found the book to be VERY basic. If you are a ham, or in the engineering aspect of the broadcast industry there is nothing new to you in this book.

A wonderful book for anyone who has even a slight interest in the world of AM radio. This book provides a comprehensive overview of how an AM signal is transmitted through the air by many different types of antennas. The book also contains a section on propagation which is very helpful in understanding how radio signals travel. As a DXer myself and a casual listener I found this book to greatly increase my enjoyment of AM radio as well as give me some background information on just how those pretty metal towers work. This book is very well written with many helpful pictures illustrating the concept being taught. The most important reason I found this book helpful is that it requires nearly no background information to understand the concepts presented. For the everyday listener to the advanced DXer I would not hesitate in purchasing this book!

This book is inexpensive and introduces the concepts employed in broadcast antennas without the use of complicated formulas. It explains the broadcast channel concepts and FCC regulations as they relate to antenna arrays using simple language, and plenty of diagrams and photographs.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants an introduction to how AM broadcast antenna arrays work. The book can also be a help to those who are educated in electronics, but haven't explored this area in depth.

Antenna books follow either the practical approach (e.g. Carr's Practical Antenna Handbook) or the mathematical approach (e.g. John Kraus's Antennas). To be a true antenna expert, one has to know both. But for the majority of us who are not equipped to handle the mathematical approach, the practical approach will do just fine, in which case I would recommend ARRL's Antenna Book and Carr's Practical Antenna Book. Carr's book is more readable, but ARRL's is much more comprehensive.

I get the uneasy feeling, however, that Carr may not be a true antenna expert. For one thing, I am not aware that he writes research-level papers on the subject. Moreover, his book has hints of what appears to be his disdain of the mathematical approach. These two things do not really bother me. What is more significant, however, is that he seems to have made some fundamental errors. For example, on page 127 he describes a vertical wire with the current going up. If you look DOWN into the wire, you will see concentric circles of the magnetic field about the wire. Whereas Carr says the circles will appear clockwise (left-hand rule), all my other books say they will appear counterclockwise (right-hand rule, from the Biot-Savart law). For example, page 82 of John Kraus's Electromagnetics With Applications (Fifth Edition) says that the circles are counterclockwise. Kraus is a famous expert on antennas, and has been awarded IEEE's Thomas Edison gold medal and Heinrich Hertz gold medal. See also page 136 of Schaums Outline, Electromagnetics, Second Edition, which agrees with Kraus.

I am not an expert on the subject, so I may be wrong in my analysis. If indeed Carr has made a mistake, that mistake is not a typo error (he calls it the left-hand rule and the diagram shows a left hand) but is a basic misunderstanding of the subject. It is almost like saying that electrons are positively charged, or that the electric field is the positive gradient of the electric potential.

On the other hand, ARRL's book gives me the assurance that it was written by experts. That reassurance is important to me, a non-expert on the subject.

Anyway, the subject of antennas is too vast for any one individual to cover comprehensively, simply because each antenna type requires a lot of time for analysis and experimentation. Hence I prefer ARRL's multi-author approach (with technical checks and balances) to Carr's one-man approach. Moreover, Carr contains no bibliographical references, whereas ARRL provides you with tons of references for further reading.

I am still giving Carr's book four stars because it is full of helpful information and genuine insight into antennas. Carr is an antenna veteran who explains things better than most experts do.

An overwhelming text written for the novice and well as the expert in mind. If you want to build an antenna or have looked up curiously at the antenna in your neighbor's yard, then this is the book that will give you the answer as well as anything else you could need to get into the world of communications and RXing.

As a radio operator for an Airborne Infantry (Long-Range Surveillance) unit, this book is indispensable! If you need an HF antenna for a certain wavelength or a specific job, or want an explanation of how long-range 'sky-wave' communications work, then this book is a must have!

I too would have appreciated a glossary. Also illustrations would have been very helpful along with the explainations and descriptions of the various instruments used to attempt to detect gravity.

This book would have greatly benifited from the inclusion of a glossary. Any work covering a subject this complex needs definitions set out and collected together. The publisher's given web site was unavailable.

To the publisher I would appreciate it if the publisher could produce an audio adaptation of this book. I would love to listen to this while I drive to work and to let my 16 month old son listen to it as a bedtime story. Arnold D Veness

Special topic for antenna application

The book is well written but not very extensive. It points to the applications right from the beggining and it is certainly of great value for students and engineers already engagged with Balanis Book on antenna theory. I strongly recommend Makarov's book for training students with a strong numerical methods background on electromagnetics, as a prerequisite before taking the course.

A VERY USEFUL BOOK FOR THOSE WHO DESIGN ANTENNAS