No comments about Vintage Radios (Crowood Collectors' Series).

No comments about Radiola: The Golden Age of RCA, 1919-1929.

2 comments about Guide to Old Radios: Pointers, Pictures, and Prices (Guide to Old Radios).

1. This is great overview of antique radios. There are many clear B&W photos and a few color ones, but this is not a coffee table book. It has a nice historical narrative accompanied by a generous amount of vintage magazine page ads and radio pictures. I love the way it transports me back in time to feel radio's impact on the people of that era. When I received this book I couldn't put it down. It has a personal relevance for me beccause I own some the 1920's radios pictured.
   
   I took away one star from the rating because Edwin Armstrong was not given enough mention. Also, I was hoping for a more technical explanation of the archaic buzzwords that followed the evolution of the early radios.
   
   Like most guide books, the prices are only useful for determining relative desirabiltiy. The book was written before EBAY raised both the visibility and prices of these radios.



2. If your tastes run the gambit from crystal sets to early tube sets and novelty items, check out this Guide. Plenty of history and tips, lots of photos, and some listings with prices and manufacturing dates. Plenty of cool old ads too. An intriguing trip through the early days.

3 comments about Radio Receiver Design.

1. This book contains tons of practical information on receiver design. While it has a good amount of theory, what makes the book unique is that it has a lot of applied information based on the authors experiences. Once you've learned the theory (from Pozar maybe) this books will reinforce the concepts and help you apply them.
   
   Very detailed treatment of mixers, oscillators, amplifier nonlinearities, and signal chain design.



2. This book is excellent. The writing is very easy to understand and practical examples are given to help soidify concepts. Just enough technical calculation detail is given so as to notIconfuse the reader. It's a must have.



3. By way of full disclaimer, I just received this book. I previously searched for customer reviews but could find none. I took a chance on the rather skimpy reviews and ordered the book. Am I ever pleased!
   
   Having read through just the first chapter, I am impressed with the authors writing style. My sense is that the book is tutorial in nature, delivers an easy-to-read discussion of all the architectural components needed understand a receiver, and is full of specific examples of the topics discussed. The book is not a "cookbook" with specific circuit examples. The book approaches receiver design from the standpoint of architecture at a systems level with discussion of the specification, considerations, and other characteristics needed to understand good receiver design.
   
   Chapter 1 "introduces many of the basic concepts". I found that chapter one was a good review of the basic concepts more so than an introduction. Review of dB math, standard use of dBHz, dbK, etc. Following topics include frequency, propagation, and wavelength, transmission lines, two-port networks, matching and power transfer, modulation theory (AM, FM, PM) in the time and frequency domain, and noise theory. Each topic is short in the sense that a 140+ page chapter cannot do justice to a complete coverage of each topic. That written, the authors provide clear explanations with great examples of each topic of discussion. I found the discussion of transmission line theory very well written, did not overwhelm the reader excessive high-level math, and covered the key transmission line concepts that a receiver designer needs to master. The authors tell "war stories" to discuss real-life issues illustrating why mastering each topic is important in practice. A discussion of transmission line propagation using "bounce diagrams" was as clear as I've ever read.
   
   More to follow as I read through the book...
   
   Note: The copy I am reading has many errors. There is no email address to reach the authors and Noble does not appear to monitor (or respond) to email. It would be nice to provide corrections or have an errata sheet of known errors. So, Kevin and Tom, if you read this and plan on revising the book...

2 comments about Transistor Radios: A Collector's Encyclopedia and Price Guide.

1. The rather long title says it all. It's a nice collection of transistor radios, their descriptions, price estimates, and hundreds of (mostly black and white) photos. Lots of good history here, along with tips for collectors. Not as fancy as some of the others, but a classic, and another must-have.



2. Excellent book with good coverage of every set I could find. Easy to follow and I particularly enjoyed the history section about the beginning of the transistor age. Very nice book!!

1 comments about Fixing Up Nice Old Radios.

1. I have read a number of restoration books. This book deals with radios from the 20's to the 40's. The book is written in a relax style and is one of the better books it can be read by a beginner and also by a experienced repair person.

5 comments about Shortwave Receivers Past & Present: Communications Receivers 1942-1997.

1. Fred has done an excellent job of cataloging a wide range of shortwave receivers from the early WWII "boat anchors" up through the modern integrated-circuit PLL synthesized high performance radios of the 1990s. He not only covers the usual radios such as Collins, Drake and National but also the more obscure like the beautiful Gelosos from Italy (I DROOLED over those in catalogs in the '50s).
   
   I guarantee you this book will raise your appreciation for the radios created by the gifted engineers (and the "dogs" created by some NOT so gifted ones) - these wonderful devices not only entertain and educate us but help save lives at sea and keep our conuntries safe.



2. If you do not already have this book, and have avid interest in communications receivers, shame on you. You have no right to gripe if you are in the dark without the info. Fred needs to come out with a new edition soon. A bargain at the price. A must have, what else is there to say?



3. The Shortwave Receivers Past & Present: Communications Receivers 1942-1997 is an excellent resource book for collectors and those interested in used radios. There are pictures specs and evaluations of hundreds for the shortwave radios in this era.If you are in the market for a used receiver or a collector this is an invaluable resource. Also provided is a realistic pricing of the true value of each receiver as well as a 1 to 5 star evaluation based on the author's many years in the hobby.
   This is the Bible for radio hobbists on the subject



4. Yes, this is a catalog of base receivers, 1945-now. Osterman provides many useful informations, and if it may be true that some informations may not be useful to an european reader (e.g. the 'used' prices), you wil not find elsewhere a so comprehensive guide. Another book will be dedicated to portable sw radios. Osterman is not God, so many data are provided by the readers: it's the way the informations flow in the scientific communities, why not here? If you are an european reader, and you know something Osterman does not, write him. I've done so, and a new chapter in this edition was added with the informations I retrieved.



5. Nearly 500 pages of pictures & data on most SW receivers built in North America & abroad. Contains basic specs & features, picture, descriptions, and data on when built, physical dimensions, and estimates on values. A must for collectors.

No comments about Modern Receiver Front-Ends: Systems, Circuits, and Integration.

3 comments about The Golden Age of Televisions.

1. I'm not literate enough--I make typing errors too--to add to the BEAUTY of this work. Saw it in a bookstore but I thought I'd try "A.com". What's shipping, etc.? I was slow to buy ebay--but I'm not missing this book! If I'm reviewer #3-- I have some sorta dibs on communicating w/Mr. Collins. I only felt comfy w/looking at the pics--but the layout, props, & text are segs I'm looking forward to examining closely. Holmes says it's very interesting & elementaryly XLNT--a veritable ABC's of TV. If you like this book email me--cause I want to see/know more early TV stuff--thanks--to this book, I hope we all will be energized to share TV history images. davideo has left the box. P.S. GOOD GOIN' GARY B.!(Photographer)



2. Boy, does this bring back memories, and although I did not see any of the several different sets that I grew up with in the 50's and 60's, there were some models here that were very familiar to me. Philip Colins and Gary Brod have done this creatively but without clear objective. I constantly found myself wishing for more descriptions of the various models. I had some real questions about them, and felt a little cheated that there was not more information about how they came to be. I did not need the information about television events -- where does one begin? Mr. Colins gave us a few, but it is like having 3 pieces to a 6,000- piece puzzle. The photos were great, however, and now I would like to see their book "Radios: The Golden Age."



3. The Golden Age of Television is the latest "picture book" from Philip Collins (author of the well-known "Radios: The Golden Age" and "Radio Redux"), this time focusing on classic television sets from the 20's to the early '90s. I say "picture book" because Collins' books are always scant on text -- he's only written 3 pages of text on television design, the rest devoted to synopses about important TV "events" -- but the pictures (by Garry Brod) are what make the book. And what great pictures! The book is a pictorial survey of television design from its beginnings. A lot of the trends in television are implied, like the pictures that show the evolution in design that lead to the famous Philco Predictas of 1958-59. The pictures are stellar, accompanied by contemporary magazine covers, ads and cartoons. Still, you sometimes wish Collins would spend more time getting things straight. For example, its a bit incongruous reading all about "American know-how" followed by several pages of English-made sets, or to see a picture of Phil Silver's "Sgt. Bilko" appear on a pair of British-made sets from the early 50's. I ended up buying my copy from the States (online through Amazon.com) because General Publishing had not yet secured a Canadian distributor. This is one of the first books aimed at the non-specialist that will undoubtedly help raise interest in the field. Books like this remind us of the times when TV sets were not just the flat monitors they are today, but when they had real character.

No comments about Antique Phonograph: Gadgets, Gizmos, and Gimmicks (Schiffer Book for Collectors).