Journal: News & Comment

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Know and love your radio spectrum

David Coursey of the ZDNet Anchordesk mentioned a book this week that I find strangely appealing:

Wireless Spectrum Finder by Bennett Z. Kobb. Published by McGraw-Hill Telecom, 2001. $49.95 (U.S. dollars).

Coursey writes:

I was cruising the stacks down at Computer Literacy one Saturday when a thick book caught my eye. It was the Wireless Spectrum Finder by Bennett Z. Kobb, an expert on wireless technology who in 500 pages has sought to document "telecommunications, government, and scientific radio frequency allocations" in the United States.

Kobb starts at the low end of what is still called VHF, for very high frequency, and takes us out to the upper edge of the radio frequencies allocated by the Federal Communications Commission.

[...]

You don't have to be an RF geek or a telecom lawyer to appreciate this book, though it wouldn't hurt. All you need is an interest in cool radio technology (and the opportunities it presents) and $50 to invest.

The book reminds me of an excellent one I read a few years ago, The Race for Bandwidth by the late Cary Lu. Like it, Kobb's book seems to go beyond its techie subject and dreary title to delve into things more universal and interesting. Perhaps I'll track it down someday.

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