The Book Team is responsible for the editorial integrity of most of the books ARRL publishes. The team collaborates with authors to produce books that will be of value to League members and others.

"I passed my license exam with the help of The ARRL License Manual," or "My antenna came right out of The ARRL Antenna Book." You can hear a similar conversation on the air on any band at one time or another. The information in ARRL publications is accurate and reliable. The Lab reviews projects to be sure they actually perform as described. The ARRL's FCC Rule Book, for instance, goes beyond mere recitation of the rules: it explains the rules to help readers understand them.

The ARRL publishes books in three general categories: Technical, Operating, and Licensing. Editors generally specialize in one category of books but will be assigned to edit books in all categories according to the team's workload.

The Book Team Staff

Two people make up the Book Team staff: Senior Assistant Technical Editor Larry Wolfgang, WR1B and Senior Assistant Technical Editor Dean Straw, N6BV--who works from his home in California. In addition a group of Technical Advisors provide input and review of material being considered for publication.

Senior Assistant Technical Editor Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, is Handling Editor for Now You're Talking, ARRL's Tech Q&A, The ARRL General Class License Manual, Your Introduction to Morse Code--on cassettes and CDs--and The ARRL Extra Class License Manual. He wrote Understanding Basic Electronics, a popular book among young hams and hams-to-be. Larry also edits several chapters of The ARRL Handbook and is responsible for the video licensing courses.

Senior Assistant Technical Editor Dean Straw, N6BV, is Handling Editor for almost all of the many books on antennas. He's also a regular contributor to QST.

Senior Assistant Technical Editor Larry Wolfgang, WR1B, always has a book project or two on his desk.

New Books

Where do ideas for new books come from? Authors of current books are a good source. They know their field well and can anticipate trends. Readers sometimes contact authors and share ideas. Prospective authors send unsolicited manuscripts to ARRL for consideration. An author of an article published in an ARRL periodical may later be asked to write a book on the same subject.

Book editors look to their readers for feedback. Comments regarding an interest in a particular subject not yet covered by an ARRL publication are particularly important. Readers can e-mail their comments to the editors.

New technologies can be the genesis of a book. Several recent transceivers offer digital signal processing (DSP) technology, and the FCC has adopted rule changes to facilitate deployment of software defined radio technology. To help amateurs understand these new developments, the ARRL published Digital Signal Processing Technology by Doug Smith, KF6DX.

Senior Assistant Technical Editor Dean Straw, N6BV, entertains his granddaughter Cassidy at his home in San Francisco.

ARRL recognizes the need for books that explain today's complex world to the beginner. Understanding Basic Electronics is an example of a book written in a style that all readers will enjoy.

The ARRL Handbook is the Book Team's most comprehensive project. Selected chapters are updated in each new edition. Whole chapters may be rewritten or replaced to reflect a developing technology.

Other books must also be updated periodically to reflect changes in the underlying technology. License manuals must be revised or rewritten when the FCC changes rules or the Volunteer Examiner Coordinators' Question Pool Committee issues a new question pool.

Authors

What is the role of the author in this process? At the outset, the author's intellectual effort is paramount. The author creates ideas, explains their importance and suggests applications for the new information. He writes the manuscript. The editors check facts, test equations (perhaps with the assistance of Lab engineers) and put it all together in an easy to follow style. The author then reviews the editor's efforts. Although this author-editor collaboration may require more than one iteration, the result will be a product worthy of bearing the ARRL diamond.

Other Media

The ARRL publishes not only books, but also CDs and videotapes. The ARRL Operating Manual, The ARRL Handbook and The ARRL Antenna Book are examples of ARRL publications available both in print and on CD-ROM. Technician and General Class license courses are available on videotape with accompanying CD-ROM practice exams.

Other departments produce printed material used in their specialty areas. Various station resources such as operators' log books, Smith Charts, Radiograms and maps are produced by others, under contract to ARRL.

As a matter of interest, one of the earliest ARRL publications was a call book. The League published a List of Amateur Stations in 1914. The list, a map of the US, seven state maps and a pad of 50 official message blanks were sold for 50 cents!

See our Online Products Catalog for a complete list of ARRL books and other items.