Radio Propagation and Antennas

It is from the hands-on perspective of a lifelong ham radio operator turned professional "RF and antenna guy" that this book is written. The intense mathematical treatment given in most antenna handbooks is more befuddling than enlightening for many. So in this book the intuitive is emphasized and mathematics is minimized. The purpose of this book is to provide a basic understanding of antennas and radio propagation. The characteristics of many antenna types are discussed to help the reader determine which might be appropriate for a given situation. Cookbook type recipes are given for building selected antenna types although the real intent is to provide enough basic understanding so that the interested readers can select an appropriate antenna for their application and then design and build it for themselves. More than anything this book is intended to give the reader a basic understanding of what radio waves are, how they behave, and insight to the creative thought processes used to build the antennas that launch and receive them.