Armstrong 10000T FM transmitter

[river radio ranch]

Anyone care to share experiences/insights/thoughts on these?

thanks

bob

 

[oldiesstation]

Have a good eng consultant friend who swears by these things.And several others who swear at these things.But it sure beats ptek.IMHO

 

[OKCRadioGuy]

I think their FM stuff is O.K. based on what others have told me. Their AM stuff should be avoided though...

 

[bossbill]

These are Italian rigs. I put one on the air about 4.5 years ago, running at 9 kw, still running 9 kw, no problems.

 

[Dale H. Cook]

But it sure beats ptek.

I would never buy Ptek because they are a spammer and I don't do business with spammers.

 

[VoiceOfReason]

Depends on the vintage. New or used.

I haven't had my hands on the current gen, but for the older ones...

Pros:
- They get the job done.

Cons/weak points:
- Sliding shorting plane in the cavity (aka Plate Tuning) must be raised all the way to change tubes. With age they tend not to want to move too far - the torque available from the motor isn't enough to overcome friction and you end up having to help it up by hand (a bit dangerous!).
- Meters tend to go bad mechanically, especially if the blower has any imbalance / vibration.
- Keep an eye on the finger stock around the shorting plane. Usually okay over the long haul, but can start to burn pretty quick. Usual symptom is erratic readings when adjusting the tuning and hot spots on the cavity wall near the suspect burnout.

The cons don't happen all of the time, but are the more common issues in my experience.

 

[TomZ]

Depends on the vintage. New or used.

I haven't had my hands on the current gen, but for the older ones...

Pros:
- They get the job done.

Cons/weak points:
- Sliding shorting plane in the cavity (aka Plate Tuning) must be raised all the way to change tubes. With age they tend not to want to move too far - the torque available from the motor isn't enough to overcome friction and you end up having to help it up by hand (a bit dangerous!).
- Meters tend to go bad mechanically, especially if the blower has any imbalance / vibration.
- Keep an eye on the finger stock around the shorting plane. Usually okay over the long haul, but can start to burn pretty quick. Usual symptom is erratic readings when adjusting the tuning and hot spots on the cavity wall near the suspect burnout.

The cons don't happen all of the time, but are the more common issues in my experience.

Who/where can I buy some finger stock?

 

[Chuck]

But it sure beats ptek.

I would never buy Ptek because they are a spammer and I don't do business with spammers.

Maybe I've been lucky, but I don't recall getting any spam from P-Tek. I do get an occasional sales offer from them, but I also get those from a variety of broadcast equipment suppliers and manufacturers. I actually like getting those, since they are items I'm interested in.

I'll also admit to purchasing one of their 3000 watt Gamma series transmitters. It's been in service for almost 2 1/2 years and has been fine.

 

[jboyd]

TomZ:
Harris has the finger stock with the sticky back and they are proud of it (Silver Plate )
JBI

 

[RadioFan2J3]

Who/where can I buy some finger stock?

I just checked my parts room and found lots of fingerstock in EIMAC boxes, so that might be one source.

I also found some MIL packed finger stock made by:

Value Industries
2000 Ave G. Ste 802
Planto, TX 75074


Laird Technologies

http://www.lairdtech.com/About-Laird-Technologies/Contact-Us/Americas/


I've got no interest in any of these, just passing along information from the pacakges on the shelf. My gut feeling is that these last two sources aren't going to be cheap and might not be selling small qualntities. YMMV.

 

[Bengalsfan]

TomZ:
Harris has the finger stock with the sticky back and they are proud of it (Silver Plate )
JBI

Ironic considering Harris is getting out of the transmitter business. You'd think they would cut the prices on everything to get be getting rid of it. Instead, I think they are raising their prices on everything!

 

[Kmagrill]

TomZ:
Harris has the finger stock with the sticky back and they are proud of it (Silver Plate )
JBI

Ironic considering Harris is getting out of the transmitter business. You'd think they would cut the prices on everything to get be getting rid of it. Instead, I think they are raising their prices on everything!

If they're liquidating the business, then maybe yes, but Harris wants to sell the business. They will want the revenues to be as high as possible to promote the sale.

 

[sonic]

Have a Ptek Gamma 3000 as well - no issues - fantastic unit that's saved us quite a bit on our electric bill and has greatly reduced our maintenance time.....

 

[bossbill]

After posting no problems with an Armstrong 10,000 watt unit, we suffered a power outage the other day and now all the transmitter wants to do is trip the main breakers... stay tuned.

 

[Dale H. Cook]

I don't recall getting any spam from P-Tek.

I have never done business with them, have never asked for information from them, and have never asked to be put on their mailing list. What I get from them is unsolicited commercial email, i.e., spam. I segregate my many email addresses by function. The addresses at which I get their spam are never used to request information - they are used only on mailing lists and for boards such as this one. That shows that P-Tek is using harvested email addresses for their spam. Their email server changes frequently, undoubtedly because their postmasters keep getting spam complaints and so force them to switch to a new email host.

 

[Chuck]

I have never done business with them, have never asked for information from them, and have never asked to be put on their mailing list. What I get from them is unsolicited commercial email, i.e., spam.

Do you subsribe to Radio World, Radio Magazine, Radio Ink, or maybe get email newsletters from NAB? Maybe you signed up (or attended) NAB or a state broadcasters convention? If so, that's where they get your address. The databases can be purchased. If you were selling items of interest to the broadcast community, wouldn't you want to buy a list of pre-qualified names? I'm not defending P-Tek or anyone else, but it is common practice. I get at least 50 unsolicited emails from radio related companies every day. Most is crap - usually someone wanting me to play their song or run their barter show - but occasionally there is something good in there. In fact, I saved a small fortune on my transmitter, thanks to their eamil blast.

Why don't you contact P-Tek and ask to be removed from their list if it bothers you so much.

 

[Dale H. Cook]

Do you subsribe to Radio World, Radio Magazine, Radio Ink, or maybe get email newsletters from NAB?

I get Radio Ink, but the email address they have is not the one where I get the spam. No to the other three.

Maybe you signed up (or attended) NAB or a state broadcasters convention?

The last NAB I attended was so long ago that we were still using Compuserve and Genie - long before I had any email acounts.

If you were selling items of interest to the broadcast community, wouldn't you want to buy a list of pre-qualified names?

No, because those adresses would not have solicited information from me. If I sent email to them it would be unsolicited commercial email, and that is the very definition of spam. There are other, legitimate, ways to get information out, such as mass snail mail and advertising in trade magazines.

... but it is common practice.

"Everybody is doing it" does not justify misbehaviour.

Why don't you contact P-Tek and ask to be removed from their list if it bothers you so much.

Because it is spam and so gets reported to the major spam reporting agencies. It is not my responsibility to ask them to stop using harvested addresses, it is only my responsibility to ask for removal from emails that I have opted into. It is the responsibility of the spammer to stop spamming, to stop purchasing lists of harvested email addrsses, and to restrict their emails to those who have opted into them. The fact that P-Tek has to frequently change email services is a red flag to those who understand how spammers work.

 

[Sgeirk]

We had an Armstrong 15k. Nothing. Nothing but headaches. Built in 95.

Replaced with a Continental. We dont even use the Armstrong as a backup.

Instead, we use a lower powered solid state Harris, which despite only having 200 hours in 4 years...has had its share of problems. The Continental? A total champ.

 

[oldiesstation]

Way back in the day, i would ask the late John Mulanney about equipment specs. He had 2 lists,one if i was just going to put a station on and sell it,the other if i was planning to own it a long time.Guess which list the cheaper xmtrs showed up on?? keeper list usually had continental.

 

[Chuck]

Because it is spam and so gets reported to the major spam reporting agencies. It is not my responsibility to ask them to stop using harvested addresses, it is only my responsibility to ask for removal from emails that I have opted into. It is the responsibility of the spammer to stop spamming, to stop purchasing lists of harvested email addrsses, and to restrict their emails to those who have opted into them. The fact that P-Tek has to frequently change email services is a red flag to those who understand how spammers work.

I'm merely a customer of theirs and have no further interest in debating this, but I only get emails from them every two or three months, usually alerting me to a new product, or more likely a "deal" they have on B-Stock items. I hardly think of that as spam. I'm actually interested. I may need to replace a transmitter or exciter some day. I also get similar emails from Nautel, Telos, BW Broadcast, BSW, The Broadcaster's General Store, Bay County Broadcast and a host of other well respected companies. They are not that frequent nor are they an imposition to me. Evidentially, they are to you.

On the other hand, I have no patience for "The pills you need from a Canadian pharmacy," or "Hot Asian girls want your credit card numbers." Now that is spam...