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1 kw am transmitter
- Thread starter radiopkwy
- Start date
> Need to purchase a 1kw am transmitter asap - cheap, cheap,
> cheap!
>
Armstrong makes a cool little rack mount package at 1Kw for around $8,000.My only complaint.....no tee network to tweak into a less than perfect antenna.
> cheap!
>
Armstrong makes a cool little rack mount package at 1Kw for around $8,000.My only complaint.....no tee network to tweak into a less than perfect antenna.
M
maximumradio
Guest
> > Need to purchase a 1kw am transmitter asap - cheap, cheap,
>
> > cheap!
> >
> Armstrong makes a cool little rack mount package at 1Kw for
> around $8,000.My only complaint.....no tee network to tweak
> into a less than perfect antenna.
Are we speaking new or used? I happen to have a couple of used available-contact me
>
>
> > cheap!
> >
> Armstrong makes a cool little rack mount package at 1Kw for
> around $8,000.My only complaint.....no tee network to tweak
> into a less than perfect antenna.
Are we speaking new or used? I happen to have a couple of used available-contact me
>
M
maximumradio
Guest
> I saw somewhere the Nautel 1 kw is around $13
>
> That's only $5k difference. I would go with the Nautel
>
There are several manufacturers of low price AM 1kw rigs coming from South America that are type accepted. On top of that Continental (now CEC-Continental Electronics Chile) is back in the US market with an entire catalog of transmitters. I would agree that the Nautel J-1000 would be an excellent choice.
>
> That's only $5k difference. I would go with the Nautel
>
There are several manufacturers of low price AM 1kw rigs coming from South America that are type accepted. On top of that Continental (now CEC-Continental Electronics Chile) is back in the US market with an entire catalog of transmitters. I would agree that the Nautel J-1000 would be an excellent choice.
And don't forget the tiny BE AM-1A. Great little rigs, and VERY effecient. I have 2 that serve us well..
fmnostatic
> > I saw somewhere the Nautel 1 kw is around $13
> >
> > That's only $5k difference. I would go with the Nautel
> >
> There are several manufacturers of low price AM 1kw rigs
> coming from South America that are type accepted. On top of
> that Continental (now CEC-Continental Electronics Chile) is
> back in the US market with an entire catalog of
> transmitters. I would agree that the Nautel J-1000 would be
> an excellent choice.
>
fmnostatic
> > I saw somewhere the Nautel 1 kw is around $13
> >
> > That's only $5k difference. I would go with the Nautel
> >
> There are several manufacturers of low price AM 1kw rigs
> coming from South America that are type accepted. On top of
> that Continental (now CEC-Continental Electronics Chile) is
> back in the US market with an entire catalog of
> transmitters. I would agree that the Nautel J-1000 would be
> an excellent choice.
>
And they are tiny. Shortly after we sold our AM station, the new company had a BE delivered to our studio, since we are only a mile away. (Made more sense than to their studio which was 15 miles away from the AM transmitter site).
Little box like you would expect to get a computer, or perhaps a big office printer in. Of course, much heavier, though it came by UPS.
However, engineer's impression is that the power supply would be a bear to fix if it died. Definitely need good protection on your incoming AC line.
Little box like you would expect to get a computer, or perhaps a big office printer in. Of course, much heavier, though it came by UPS.
However, engineer's impression is that the power supply would be a bear to fix if it died. Definitely need good protection on your incoming AC line.
R
RadioDoc
Guest
> And they are tiny. Shortly after we sold our AM station,
> the new company had a BE delivered to our studio, since we
> are only a mile away. (Made more sense than to their studio
> which was 15 miles away from the AM transmitter site).
>
> Little box like you would expect to get a computer, or
> perhaps a big office printer in. Of course, much heavier,
> though it came by UPS.
>
> However, engineer's impression is that the power supply
> would be a bear to fix if it died. Definitely need good
> protection on your incoming AC line.
>
Having fixed a power supply on a 1A (I had two of them) I can tell you that it is indeed a bear to fix. You have to practically take the whole box apart to get at it. I originally had no protection on the AC line, and lost the power supply three times in one summer.
Other than that, they are great transmitters. Takes very little space, and other than the AC problem, rock solid.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
> the new company had a BE delivered to our studio, since we
> are only a mile away. (Made more sense than to their studio
> which was 15 miles away from the AM transmitter site).
>
> Little box like you would expect to get a computer, or
> perhaps a big office printer in. Of course, much heavier,
> though it came by UPS.
>
> However, engineer's impression is that the power supply
> would be a bear to fix if it died. Definitely need good
> protection on your incoming AC line.
>
Having fixed a power supply on a 1A (I had two of them) I can tell you that it is indeed a bear to fix. You have to practically take the whole box apart to get at it. I originally had no protection on the AC line, and lost the power supply three times in one summer.
Other than that, they are great transmitters. Takes very little space, and other than the AC problem, rock solid.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
T
THEInsultant
Guest
> > And they are tiny. Shortly after we sold our AM station,
> > the new company had a BE delivered to our studio, since we
>
> > are only a mile away. (Made more sense than to their
> studio
> > which was 15 miles away from the AM transmitter site).
> >
> > Little box like you would expect to get a computer, or
> > perhaps a big office printer in. Of course, much heavier,
>
> > though it came by UPS.
> >
> > However, engineer's impression is that the power supply
> > would be a bear to fix if it died. Definitely need good
> > protection on your incoming AC line.
> >
>
> Having fixed a power supply on a 1A (I had two of them) I
> can tell you that it is indeed a bear to fix. You have to
> practically take the whole box apart to get at it. I
> originally had no protection on the AC line, and lost the
> power supply three times in one summer.
>
> Other than that, they are great transmitters. Takes very
> little space, and other than the AC problem, rock solid.
>
I'd get a Nautel or a Harris "Gates One" used. Both of them are very solid and will give you very, very little hell for years to come. If you get the Natuel and an extra cube you'll effectively have a backup to switch out in the event you loose power FETs.<P ID="signature">______________
--- THE Insultant ---</P>
> > the new company had a BE delivered to our studio, since we
>
> > are only a mile away. (Made more sense than to their
> studio
> > which was 15 miles away from the AM transmitter site).
> >
> > Little box like you would expect to get a computer, or
> > perhaps a big office printer in. Of course, much heavier,
>
> > though it came by UPS.
> >
> > However, engineer's impression is that the power supply
> > would be a bear to fix if it died. Definitely need good
> > protection on your incoming AC line.
> >
>
> Having fixed a power supply on a 1A (I had two of them) I
> can tell you that it is indeed a bear to fix. You have to
> practically take the whole box apart to get at it. I
> originally had no protection on the AC line, and lost the
> power supply three times in one summer.
>
> Other than that, they are great transmitters. Takes very
> little space, and other than the AC problem, rock solid.
>
I'd get a Nautel or a Harris "Gates One" used. Both of them are very solid and will give you very, very little hell for years to come. If you get the Natuel and an extra cube you'll effectively have a backup to switch out in the event you loose power FETs.<P ID="signature">______________
--- THE Insultant ---</P>
S
SM100000w
Guest
> I'd get a Nautel or a Harris "Gates One" used. Both of
> them are very solid and will give you very, very little hell
> for years to come. If you get the Natuel and an extra cube
> you'll effectively have a backup to switch out in the event
> you loose power FETs.
>
I'd second that. We got a Gates One 2 years ago for another market, and a new Nautel for us about a year ago. Both, solid.
> them are very solid and will give you very, very little hell
> for years to come. If you get the Natuel and an extra cube
> you'll effectively have a backup to switch out in the event
> you loose power FETs.
>
I'd second that. We got a Gates One 2 years ago for another market, and a new Nautel for us about a year ago. Both, solid.
C
CW
Guest
> I'd get a Nautel or a Harris "Gates One" used. Both of
> them are very solid and will give you very, very little hell
> for years to come. If you get the Natuel and an extra cube
> you'll effectively have a backup to switch out in the event
> you loose power FETs.
Yep, I agree.....I have been around a Gates 1 and G5..but I like the Nautel AMs better than anything else....(I have not been around a Nautel FM but the Q series makes me water everytime I see a picture....to hell with the tube jobs, give me a Q40 for a new xmtr!! No need for a redundant box...I could drop 3db to ~20KW to work on the other side
> them are very solid and will give you very, very little hell
> for years to come. If you get the Natuel and an extra cube
> you'll effectively have a backup to switch out in the event
> you loose power FETs.
Yep, I agree.....I have been around a Gates 1 and G5..but I like the Nautel AMs better than anything else....(I have not been around a Nautel FM but the Q series makes me water everytime I see a picture....to hell with the tube jobs, give me a Q40 for a new xmtr!! No need for a redundant box...I could drop 3db to ~20KW to work on the other side
L
Les
Guest
I gotta partially agree.
I just activated a 1-kW Nautel at a remote station in Alaska. Excellent
performance; simple installation. Only btch is that the MOV power box
was delivered AFTER the transmitter was installed. That seemed to be
more of a problem with the shipping company.
Have run an ND-25 (25-kW AM Nautel) for over eight years at the same
station with zero transmitter-caused downtime. Station "across the
street" installed a 50-kW Gates around the same time and their
record has been, well, somewhat different. Notably they recently
decided to move up from 100 Watts to a kiloWatt and ordered a Nautel.
Illustrating that humans are superior to monkeys in that we learn
from the experience of others.
<P ID="signature">______________
Due to underwhelming popular demand...</P>
I just activated a 1-kW Nautel at a remote station in Alaska. Excellent
performance; simple installation. Only btch is that the MOV power box
was delivered AFTER the transmitter was installed. That seemed to be
more of a problem with the shipping company.
Have run an ND-25 (25-kW AM Nautel) for over eight years at the same
station with zero transmitter-caused downtime. Station "across the
street" installed a 50-kW Gates around the same time and their
record has been, well, somewhat different. Notably they recently
decided to move up from 100 Watts to a kiloWatt and ordered a Nautel.
Illustrating that humans are superior to monkeys in that we learn
from the experience of others.
<P ID="signature">______________
stacker said:
But as with anything electronic, failures do sometimes occur. The big issue then becomes support and Nautel is second to none in that department. They excel in dealing with both the tech types and the non-tech types. Case in point-a stand alone mom and pop FM I contract for. It's Friday night 8 pm central time and I had to contact them due to an amplifier failure in a V5 (under warranty). Left message and got a return call and resolution started within 5 minutes. When the replacement amplifier module arrived one business day later they were more than happy to talk the station's owner through installing the replacement module with zero overall transmitter down time and no extra cost to the owner for my time. Chalk it up to a satisfied station owner and engineer (who had sold the owner on Nautel even though that owner had never heard of them before and only knew about the big H). In short, as a company Nautel 'gets it'. It's my only real recommendation to any client. BE is second, but only second. Buy Nautel with confidence.
TVJunkie12 said:
Same here. I only recommend and spec Nautel transmitters. I tell people that Nautel now is what Harris used to be 20 years ago.
I will say that big H's support HAS got a lot better lately. They were, for a period of time when they had the wrong upper corporate management that didn't like the transmission division, pretty gawd-awful. That's pretty much changed lately. I do think they still have higher restock fees and limited support on their older products which is a definate turn-off, but their support isn't a huge issue with them anymore.
That's good to know. While few of us will recommend a new H transmitter today, we in the trenches are still faced with servicing used ones on a daily basis.OKCRadioGuy said:
Glad to hear support is getting better at the Big H. I still love their HT Series FM rigs a lot. Do wish they would improve on support on older gear. Nautel is superb on support and among the most helpful companies in broadcast gear. And their friendliness when needed is second to none. I am glad Harris is trying to get better.
stacker said:
I agree with you in 99.9% of the cases, but I know of a 10 kW Nautel AM that even they say was a dog and is constantly blowing power modules.
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