The Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library hold a sale every Saturday and Sunday (except during the summer). According to their web page, the Friends resell more than 100,000 books a year. I used to go nearly every weekend, until my bookcases couldn’t hold any more books. I still go there from time to time, but I’m much more selective now as to what I buy.
I just got back from the library. I donated a bunch of old software and culled a few books from my collection. Feeling as though I now had some space for more books I did a walk-through to see if there were any gems. I actually found two:
- The Radio Amateur’s Handbook, 1954 edition. In 1954, the Handbook costs $3. Possibly the most interesting thing about this edition is the catalog section. It’s 180 pages long and includes ads from well-known names, such as National, Hallicrafters, and E.F. Johnson (of Viking and Matchbox fame). What’s perhaps more interesting, though, are the ads from companies long out of business, such as Lampkin Laboratoies and the Multi-Products Co., the latter of which apparently made the PMR-6A receiver and AF-67 transmitter near here in Hazel Park, MI.
Many of the advertisers made both assembled receivers, transmitters, or test equipment, as well as components. James Millien, for example, advertised oscilloscopes, a grid-dip meter, and a linear amplifier, as well as panel dials, tube socket, and variable “condensers.” - Elements of Radio, Third Edition, Marcus and Marcus. I’ve owned several copies of this book, which according to a source on the Internet, was first written as a World War II training manual. After the war, Prentice Hall published four different editions of the book for use in high schools. Of all the books I’ve read on radio and electronics, this one is the most well-written. I never really understood how capacitors were supposed to work until I read the appropriate chapter in Elements of Radio.
If you ever find a copy–and it’s not too expensive–buy it. If you don’t need it, you can always pass it on to some beginner who is having a hard time with the theory. That’s what I’ve done with most of mine.
Finding this 1954 edition of the Handbook has gotten me thinking that maybe I want to try to collect as many of them as I can. Several years ago, I bought a 1965 edition at the Friends’ book sale, so now I have two of the 80 different editions that the ARRL has put out over the years. Got any you want to sell cheap?
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