• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

ARMSTRONG TRANSMITTERS

I have a 10kw; it works fine. I actually thought the product was made in the USA until I took delivery. It is not as efficient as the specs would indicate, and uses a larger tube than needed. It draws more current than it should and the "manufacturer" (distributor) didn't seem to be able to offer any help on why. In fact they weren't too sure just what it should draw.

Mine has been on air for 14 months. One time it blew the main breaker plus the wall breaker plus another breaker downstream. We never did figure out what happened. We reset the breakers and it has been fine since. I suspect a small rodent met his demise, but haven't found it.
 
We had some serious issues with ours...a 20kw unit...getting in and working on the innards of the radio is a little hairy. Have extra band-aids on hand. Real ones.
 
I installed a 3KW unit several years ago. It blew the output filter several times. We retrofitted it with a larger 10 KW unit, which eventually blew also. Never could figure out why. Spectrum was clean. The schematic was in Italian. The company didn't know too much about the thing. Another quirk was the metering. All the panel meters were driven by op amps, and they needed calibration from time to time.
 
Inherited from another station in our company. They got rid of it. Frankly, after a rash of issues with the final in ours, it's been stable for the past year and a half. Go figure.
 
I have a 60KW (two 30KW) combined system on the air in Los Angeles. Installed in 2002. After we worked out the high voltage at altitude problems, the transmitter has settled down. That being said, it is happier running at 50 KW than 60 KW. It uses an Andrew Switchless combiner, which is a fine piece of gear, and smooths out everything if power levels vary on either 30KW box. The Armstrong uses very large air blowers, and it is loud.
I have a 15KW single-phase unit in Texarkana Texas and Lihue (Kaua`i) The Texas transmitter is pretty much trouble free, now on it's second tube since 2003. The Lihue transmitter blew a couple of rectifiers recently, but they were easily replaced. I blame flaky island power, but the lack of a clean HVAC environment also hurts. They like clean cool air (so do I!).
I installed a pair of 20KW boxes in 2001 in Washington DC. They ran great, but the local contract engineer hates them and took one apart and made it a 2KW standby. I still don't know what his problem was or is.
I like the design of the high power boxes, but the manual leaves almost everything to be desired.

Armstrong gear is re-branded RVR from Italy. Armstrong goes through it and makes it right for the US Market. Bigger power supplies, and other things. The solid state gear is really very good. Bext re-brands most of the RVR solid-state stuff as their own and it also is very good (mostly).
 
Thanks for all your input, folks. I'm looking at a 1kw model, and was hoping to get some good feedback. (from the posters, not the transmitter) ;D
 
For what it's worth the new issue of radio-guide.com features on the cover a new line of BE transmitters that start at $7k. Power levels from 1k-5kw and they're, of course solid state. Some on here may grumble...but I, for one, have witnessed really good track records with the BE lower power solid state boxes...AM and FM.
 
I would rather try the be or maybe the new ptek that came out recently if I were in the low price range. Btw. Friends don't let friends buy Nicom exciters/transmitters. Just a little side word of advise.
 
Hmmm... I've used several Nicom exciters and solid-state amplifiers with no problems. Nicom, Bext, Armstrong/RVR, all Italian, right? Who makes the Nicom and the Bext?
 
The Bext exciter I have is obviously an RVR. Except for the front panel, innards are almost identical to the Energy-Onix exciters.

Saw a Nexxus, which is apparently a re-branded Nicom. Didn't see the inside, but it is not an RVR make.
DB Electronica perhaps?
 
VeteranPD said:
I believe that WHTG in Eatontown, New Jersey is running an Armstrong. I don't kow of any others in the New York City area.
Click to expand...

WHTG-FM runs a Harris Platinum Z 5kw transmitter as the main. The back-up is an Armstrong HC2 combiner/splitter & controller with a pair of 1KW RF modules; good for nearly 2kw. We use a bunch of Armstrongs as back-up transmitters for various sites. On each 1KW module, I've had to install a relay to create a standby state that keeps the fans from running wide open all day when the RF is off. Those fans are noisy as hell too. Connecting these transmitters to your remote control system is not straight forward. You may be adding latching relays and such to get what you need out of them. Don't try to squeeze the last couple of watts out of them either. These tend to overload near the 1KW output level.
 
We have Armstrongs at several sites. Repeating from some of the last posts, If you try to run them wide open, they tend to blow fuses and PA modules once in a while. I have a 1kw amp that we run at 600 watts. It's been on 10 years now and never given us a problem, and a 5kw (5 1kw units combined), with no problems for over 5 years. However I have a 3kw (3 1k units into combiner) that runs 2.9kw, and we've had several issues with that.

Not easy to work on either if you have to (make sure you have your electric screw driver), but again, as long as you give yourself some headroom, they work fine.
 
Have an Armstrong Freq Agile STL system as a backup. Found out the hard way not to change the RX frequency while feeding an on-air transmitter as the composite output goes to the power supply "rails" before the synth locks! A BE with a neutralizing problem went BANG / Offfffff... The transmitter didn't have a "Radiate" switch on it, but a BNC (!?) connector on the back you had to short to mute the RF.

Other than that they're solid.
 
I have installed two of the 3kw FMs for small market mom and pop stations and have had very little trouble with them. One thing about their plate blocker...it is very snug so when you order a rebuilt 3CX3000A7, make sure you tell the rebuilder that it is going in an Armstrong....they will make sure the dimensions of the anode are in spec....just a couple of 32nds of an inch can make the difference between the tube fitting into the blocker or not.
 
Thanks for the update eng.Mike. I actually remember when WHTG was running a Wilkinson FM transmitter and an old RCA on the AM with a Raytheon backup! Obviously dating back to when theye were in the Gade house on Hope Road,
 
VeteranPD said:
Thanks for the update eng.Mike. I actually remember when WHTG was running a Wilkinson FM transmitter and an old RCA on the AM with a Raytheon backup! Obviously dating back to when theye were in the Gade house on Hope Road,
Click to expand...

That must have been a long time ago since there are no signs of any of those transmitters. The last FM transmitter at the old Gade house site was an Armstrong solid state 5KW. That was the source of all of my
FM-1000SC 1 kW amplifier modules that I use for back-ups. If anybody needs an Armstrong 5KW transmitter rack WITHOUT the amplifiers we might be able to make a deal. It divides the exciter power 5 ways and then combines 5 one KW amps for final output. It really is very simple. Has output metering and control interface. The new Armstrong amps are supposed to be much better now (and smaller). This would be a way to save money on a new 5KW solid state transmitter.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom