Cognitive Radio Technology, Second Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Two years ago I received my copy of Fette's First Edition, and wrote a review indicating that it would be a useful reference for participants in the maturing Software Defined Radio and emerging Cognitive Radio technology. As I pick up my copy of the original book, a massive number of bookmarks and plethora of underlining attest to the accuracy of that prediction. As a regular participant in the Software Defined Radio Forum's work in this area, I habitually reach for this book to understand the context of our ongoing technical work.
The Second Edition adds eight new chapters to the previous sixteen; it constrains the size of the book to an additional 206 pages by using a smaller typeface (which actually improves readability). Page composition is also improved with an appealing layout and very helpful headers: the Chapter name on the left, and section name on the facing pages.
This book is not a bedtime read; rather it is encyclopedic in its approach. Individual articles are derived from the work context of authors, who are authoritative in their own areas. Reading technical journals is made difficult (as observed by Thomas Kuhn) by the convention that the reader is fully knowledgeable about the topic under discussion. This volume takes material that would be (or already has been) published, and provides a context for it. Fette has retained his "book-end" approach, with the first and last (moved from 16th to 24th) chapters in which he explains the relevance of the material in each chapter. Then each article has introductory and conclusionary material often not included in published papers.
The new chapters address topics such as Cognitive antennas, Spectrum Sensing, Rendezvous, and Networking. They significantly increase the book's utility. In looking over the discussion of Policy-Driven CR Architecture, for example, I found myself drawn to the website of the Maude language; an excursion that provides an example of how the articles can be used as an introduction to a topic, with updates and expansions obtained by using references and browsing websites.
The classical means of making a scientific discipline clear and consistent (again according to Kuhn) is through textbooks. But the contemporary velocity of technological advancement renders that approach impractical, so this book provides timely information by not waiting for issue resolution.
There is something here for virtually everyone working in the area, from high-level overviews to mind-consuming mathematical depth. Many of our legacy information institutions are rocking from advances in (or misuse of?) Cognitive functionality (e.g. banks); this book provides valuable insight into the specific technologies that will arm us to cope with the impending information tsunami.

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Wireless Spectrum Finder: Telecommunications, Government and Scientific Radio Frequency Allocations in the US 30 MHz - 300 GHz Review

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(More customer reviews)Wireless Spectrum Finder has come full circle. It was originally published as SpectrumGuide in hardcopy, then published as an electronic book, and has now reverted back to hardcopy, published by McGraw-Hill. I was permitted to see a review copy of SpectrumGuide, and while it was tremendously useful to have the ability to do keyword searches, I like the book format of Wireless Spectrum Finder even better than I liked SpectrumGuide. Wireless Spectrum Finder is an annotated list of the various spectrum allocations in the US. In that role, it's extremely valuable to see Kobb's notes on how a particular chunk of spectrum came into use (and often what use it served prior to being reallocated), how it is encumbered, and what "special features" it has. Kobb basically works his way through the spectrum, and handles what could be a dry and dull job with grace and humor. In the sections of particular interest to me, such as 902 - 928 MHz, 2.4 to 2.485 GHz, etc. Kobb does a very credible job of explaining the varying (and at times conflicting) uses of a particular chunk of spectrum. At one point I offered some feedback that Kobb didn't make particular note of the fact that 2.4 - 2.485 GHz was heavily used by ISP's using Part 15 equipment, and that comment was included in the next issue of SpectrumGuide (and was incorporated into Wireless Spectrum Finder). Of particular note is that Kobb maintains an online errata list on his web page. This is particularly welcome for a reference work. I highly recommend Wireless Spectrum Finder. It's an excellent reference work and I find it indispensable in my work as a writer dealing with wireless issues. It has found a permanent home on the "gotta be within easy reach" top shelf of the bookcase behind my desk.

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