[Microwave] MIT Rad Lab books on CD?

[root]

On Thu, 2005-03-24 at 17:31 -0500, J. Forster wrote:
> I've heard that the MIT Rad Lab books are available on CD or DVD. Does anyone
> know if this is the case and (shudder) how much they might cost?
> 
> Also, are there other WW II vintage microwave books available (from Harvard, for
> example)
> 
> Thanks,
> -John

I did a bit of google searching. I found prices from $30 to over $400
for the CD, but as low as $7 for isolated volumes of the MIT RAD LAB
series. I only looked at the most promising of the first 100 hits out of
6500.
http://members.fortunecity.com/bookcity/artech/book439.htm
http://www.fetchbook.info/compare.do?search=1580530788

One time a major UPS salesman offered me the full set but I couldn't
take it in good conscience because I didn't like his UPS product and
wasn't going to recommend a $125K version that put out 6 pulse emulation
for sine waves when other vendors did a better approximation of sine
waves for the same price. So I have only the most interesting volumes.
But not all.

If not buying the whole set, watch for a misguided library tossing them
on the thought that they are ancient technology or search the internet
for one volume at a time.

The Harvard book is called "Very High Frequency Techniques." My first
set cost $50 when I set that as a limit for a book store search before
internet. My second set cost 50 cents a volume at a book fair. Having
two sets makes it more likely I can find one in the piles of stuff
around here. My second google search (not run to completion) turned up
sets at $25 and $200. Again they are volumes likely to be considered
ancient history by misinformed librarians. There is so much good stuff
in these and the MIT volumes that every RF engineer should read them
before trying to reinvent the wheel. I had a professor trying to teach
RF fields who didn't even know the MIT volumes existed so all the
formulae he developed about waveguides had no relevance to him. I have
no notes from his classes either. I can read the text book too. Which is
all he did.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471455911?v=glance
http://www.arcsandsparks.com/usedbookpage.html
http://lists.contesting.com/pipermail/amps/2004-August/039634.html

A couple months ago I found a biography of Frederick Terman on the new
books shelf at ISU. It took a lot of reading and there was a whole lot
of Stanford politics detail, but he was head of the Harvard Lab during
WW2. It was fascinating beyond the politics but didn't provide data to
solve any radio problems today.

Terman's books aren't yet obsolete either. Nor are most of John Kraus'
books.

73, Jerry, K0CQ