|
Some time ago, I somewhat humorously suggested using a ". . . for Dummies" book as a college class text. The idea did not survive. While I can understand why — a combination of maintaining some sense of pride and the idea that the course was not for "dummies" — one still must ask why a series of books with such an apparently demeaning title sells so well (along with another publisher's Complete Idiot's Guide to . . . series).
It seems to me that one reason for this popularity is that the books are deliberately, and sometimes even overly, clear about their subject. The slogan "A Reference for the Rest of Us!" (R) tells us what the books are about. They do not assume that you know anything at all, other than how to read, follow, and learn. You can pick up a book simply because the topic seems interesting and learn something. By carefully introducing technical terms or jargon, using a conversational style, and flagging the margin with guide notes, the series makes it easy to learn a complex topic. This probably upsets some people who have various vested interests in maintaining authority that comes from creating an aura of mystery about their field. (As an aside, I have many older textbooks and academic readers that have printed notes in the margins setting out the sections and noting ideas, so it's hard to claim that this is degrading of the state of knowledge.) At the same time, if you are knowledgeable about the topic at hand, you can still find something new. The books are also a great reference. KD5YBP introduced me to them. She has been gardening for years, but has a half-dozen books from the series on various aspects that she refers to constantly. The books reviewed here were chosen because they are helpful for amateur radio operators, even in the internet age. While there are many helpful amateur radio sites, it can be difficult and time-consuming to find some explanations or definitions that are as well-done as these. Comment from a reader: Just a note about "dummies books." Many times I will want to know something about a subject from a 30,000 foot level and not get bogged down slogging through the infinite muck at ground level. I will use the "dummies books." for that overall level. Many times it will be enough however, if not, I usually will have enough information to pursue a deeper probing. Like your site and all of the great references.
However, there are some points to note. First, this is not an "international edition." The technical material is useful across the board, of course. And the author sometimes mentions that non-United States rules or organizations are different, but little more. So despite the presence of Canadian and British prices on the back cover, it seems to be written for a U.S. market. Along with this, the book is an ongoing and less-than-subtle advertisement for the ARRL (just as Gordon West's study guides promote W5YI). Again, this isn't necessarily bad, but ARRL materials predominate in the discussion. Although it is certainly the premiere organization, it's not the only one! On the other hand, I should note that the references to technical material and operating methods from the ARRL website go a long way toward reminding anyone that ARRL goes beyond being a lobbying group, and Silver makes it easy to find this material. So with a couple of minor grumps out of the way, let me point out some things that the book does very well. The first is attitude: "ham radio is a lifetime learning experience and no ham knows everything," or a variation of it, appears frequently. One of the points that makes amateur radio great is that you can pursue it in a variety of ways. If you like to do one thing, you can learn it extremely well. If you like variety, there's no end of it. Another nice feature is that the book explains what all that stuff that an amateur operator acquires is for. A lot of photos of "shacks" can leave the viewer with the impression that being a ham requires an enormous amount of space in which to collect all sorts of radios and related gadgets. You may still have that impression when you're done with this book, but at least you will know what they all do! There is also a web site for the book. Here you can get a very nice feature comparison chart for radios. It listed everything that we looked at when making our purchases — if we had had this back then, the process would have been much shorter. There is also a bonus chapter, "The Technical Basics" that explains what all the knobs and controls do on a radio. It first tells how to make starting settings, and then when and how to change them. It also explains about antennas, again, including both the mechanics and the theory. In front of the book is a "Cheat sheet" with a nice space where you can list net frequencies, along with a list of frequencies by band and license class, and the most common "Q" signals. It also has a list of repeater offsets and ten web sites — something that I don't find as useful. More space for signals or other field information, please! It would also be nice if this sheet was available as a PDF at the web site. It's important to note that this is not a book about how to pass the license exams. There is a section about how to find an exam session and what it involves, but you'll need a guide book for the current exam to prepare. However, don't overlook that the material in this book will help you understand the exam questions better. This in turn will make it easier for you to work through the questions and do better on the exam. To conclude, this is a useful book for anyone from a person who is simply curious about what "hams" do to the person who is interested in pursuing it to the experienced operator. It goes a long way to helping the amateur service in getting away from the popular media images that the advertising blurbs describe as "staticky transmissions sent by people in the middle of nowhere," and explaining the variety of activities that can be part of amateur radio in a way that might get more people interested.
Although 2011 isn't ancient history, there have been changes to some of the services (most notably, a reduction in the GMRS fee), and some of the technology mentioned. Availability of information (including frequencies) on the internet has exploded, as have computer programs and services. But it's still useful if you can think your way out of a paper bag.
It's set up very much the same as the other books: a guide to weather for the non-specialist. The most important point to keep in mind about this book is that it is not a spotter's guide, nor is it intended to substitute for spotter training. Storm spotter training is about how to recognize various forms of storms, what to report, and how to stay safe. The spotter sessions we have been to get into much more detail than this book offers about the particular storms that spotters are called out to observe. However, they don't do a lot to explain the larger processes that bring them about in the first place. An obvious, and major point along these lines is why there are seasons in the first place. The book discusses the variations in earth's orbit that spur seasonal changes. It also points out how large-scale trends affect patterns and how much remains to be understood.
That so much remains to be learned leads to a second point of interest. Amateur radio propagation is highly dependent on large-scale conditions, some of which are weather-related or flow from the same phenomena that produce weather changes. Cox thus reminds us that there is an art, as well as a science, to amateur radio operation as well as to understanding weather.
Comments and questions are welcome! e-mail. |
|
Last revised 8 November 2024, original 13 January 2009.
|
The first book of interest to amateur operators or would-be operators is Ward Silver, Ham Radio for Dummies. As you would expect from what I've written so far, the text and illustrations are clear and follow logically. There just isn't a lot to comment on as far as that goes.
