check out my part 15 low power am now streaming

[Steve Eberhart]

I am using the Rangemaster 1000 with terrific results.

stream it with realplayer at
www.1650oldiesradio.com


enjoy and let me know what you think!

 

[rickradio]

Well, good for you, Steve! As an AM and FM part 15er myself, I would think this must be a very exciting time for you! I would be!

I'm considering getting a Rangemaster myself from Keith. I have a few questions about your Rangemaster's performance:

How far do you get a "solid" city-grade signal before initial fading or "shishing" starts?

How are you grounding your Rangemaster?

How high up is it? (e. g., 30 feet?)

What kind of processing are you using? An Inovonics 222 that they suggest or something else?

What kind of automation software do you have?

In what area(s) are the terrific results you're getting?

In appreciation,
Rick

 

[cee]

How far do you get a "solid" city-grade signal before initial fading or "shishing" starts?

How are you grounding your Rangemaster?

How high up is it? (e. g., 30 feet?)

What kind of processing are you using? An Inovonics 222 that they suggest or something else?

What kind of automation software do you have?

Having purchased(but not yet installed) a Rangemaster, the above questions have been on mind, as well.

I'm in the middle of a metro area around 650,000. Your website says you're in North Dallas. As Rangemasters don't get the same range in urban areas as they do in more rural areas, I'm interested in knowing how much range you get in North Dallas and how you're achieving this.

 

[rickityone]

Note to Steve

Hi Steve - this is a little off topic - sorry folks - this is a note from Rickityone - I responded to your e-mail via radioinfo but my message to you.

You can reach me at: [email protected]


rickity

 

[Steve Eberhart]

I am getting terrific results from the Rangemaster 1000!
My audio goes into an Orban 424 compressor/limiter into and Orban 111B reverb then into the Inovonics 235 multi band processor straight into the Rangemaster. It is up about 35 ft in the air, grounding is a single solid core wire straight to an 8 ft copper stick into the earth. I use 11 software's JockeyPro (pro version) automation. I will say this, the Inovonics 222 will do a great job if you run some compression/limiting before it. As a stand alone unit, it will only do a decent job...with a little punch ahead of it, it will sound great. Of course if you can afford the 235 multiband like I have you will get unbelievable audio! I have wondered what an Optimod AM would sound like on a Rangemaster but I haven't made THAT financial committment (yet)!
I am getting a daytime listenable signal in the car at least 3 miles out from the crowded airwaves of North Dallas. There are a couple areas where it actually goes a little farther.
I'd love to see what one of these would do in a small town environment without all the tall buildings and extra noise in the air.

 

[rickradio]

Orban 424 compressor/limiter

Orban 111B reverb

Inovonics 235 multi band processor

Holey Donut... No wonder you're getting terrific results...

But it sounds like your pockets are a helluva lot deeper than mine, or you got a deal to beat the band...that's a dream audio chain, all right! I'm sure you still want that Optimod (who wouldn't!)...although you already have enough Orbanery to rival any licensed AM around!! Gonna be a while 'fore I can afford that kind of serious gear. But it remains a goal!

 

[al_atl]

Here's my processing setup:
DBX 160X
Texar Prism
Orban 111B dual spring reverb
Orban Optimod 9100A.

It's clean, loud and proud!

;D

Orban 424 compressor/limiter


Quote
Orban 111B reverb


Quote
Inovonics 235 multi band processor

Holey Donut... No wonder you're getting terrific results...

But it sounds like your pockets are a helluva lot deeper than mine, or you got a deal to beat the band...that's a dream audio chain, all right! I'm sure you still want that Optimod (who wouldn't!)...although you already have enough Orbanery to rival any licensed AM around!! Gonna be a while 'fore I can afford that kind of serious gear. But it remains a goal!

 

[Neil E.]

I am getting terrific results from the Rangemaster 1000!
..... It is up about 35 ft in the air, grounding is a single solid core wire straight to an 8 ft copper stick into the earth.... am getting a daytime listenable signal in the car at least 3 miles out from the crowded airwaves of North Dallas....

Nice report, but I have questions. If I use a Rangemaster with a shorter ground wire (less than your reported 35 foot solid core wire length) should I expect to get the same range as you do? Does the ground wire length matter? Would stranded wire instead of solid core work as well?

Thanks,

Neil

 

[Steve Eberhart]

Don't mess with stranded wire - just find a way to get solid core and be done with it.
The length of the wire shouldn't make a difference...a good ground is the key...get one of those 8 ft copper sticks at Lowe's or someplace and put it all the way in the ground and wire directly to it and straight up to the transmitter making sure the wire does not come in contact with any other metal structure, pipe, or wire...
no splices, no dices, straight to it...THEN tune!

 

[RadioMan203]

Don't mess with stranded wire - just find a way to get solid core and be done with it.
The length of the wire shouldn't make a difference...a good ground is the key...get one of those 8 ft copper sticks at Lowe's or someplace and put it all the way in the ground and wire directly to it and straight up to the transmitter making sure the wire does not come in contact with any other metal structure, pipe, or wire...
no splices, no dices, straight to it...THEN tune!

Steve,

I don't know if you've ever been inquired on by the FCC but I was wondering how they view a ground lead longer than stated in Part 15? Reason I ask is I think I'm going to get a Rangemaster for the high school campus station I tech advise for and I know in most any location I have the ability to mount the transmitter the ground lead (needed to meet NEC and facility requirements) would be longer than what Part 15 mandates. Obviously I can't let the school be open to any sort of misinterpretation of the rules that could come back and bite them as an infraction.

 

[Steve Eberhart]

That is an issue that has come up before. What I would do is find an existing ground (pipe or somesuch) and use a very short lead of ground wire and connect directly to it. There are those who believe that even the pipe would then be "ground lead" and therefore subject to the rule...but I'd have a hard time believing an FCC agent would worry about it - you HAVE to ground it somewhere...and even the ground from the power supply will give it a decent ground even if you don't do any seperate ground wire.
As is the case with most things - a little common sense prevails. If you are operating a school station on a frequency that is not interfering with a licensed station and are not airing inappropriate material, the odds of attracting any attention from the FCC is almost zero. What I would suggest is to call your local FCC office and speak to an agent and ask them to come out and take a look at it. You will probably realize these guys are not the big scarry people many think they are - most are very helpful and will tell you what you need to do. And sometimes they will tell that THEY are the person who would make any inspection if one were ordered and what to worry about and more important what NOT to worry about. Remember too that most inspections are the result of specific complaints - and if you are not doing anything to warrant a complaint, you often don't have to worry about it. But being a school and such, if it were me, I'd call the local FCC office and ask them to come by.

 

[RadioMan203]

Thanks, Steve.

I know folks at the local FCC field office since I do engineering consulting and they had specifically told me they haven't the time or resources to come out to pre-inspect a PArt 15 station (hell, I had a time trying to get one down to my neck of the wood to turn off a pirate on an adjacent channel interfering with a local licensed station). I think if I can mount the Rangemaster where I want on top of the school I should be able to get a neighboring ground connection by way of the mounting structure. Getting the audio and power lines routed will be a challenge, but I think it can be done none the less.

I had purchased parts for using the now-defunct LPB Inc's Part 15 radiating coax system for an on-campus FM station. Since calls to LPB go unanswered I now have to find a source of the radiating coax that won't break the school's budget. When I confronted my supervisor about this he asked "why not just put up an antenna?" and then the explaination of trying to get a 5 watt transmitter to output "nanowatts" to stay complaint with Part 15, not to mention you'd never hear it in most parts of the metal building structure. The last thing I need to do is open the school up to receiving a NAL.

 

[Chuck]

Thanks, Steve.

I know folks at the local FCC field office since I do engineering consulting and they had specifically told me they haven't the time or resources to come out to pre-inspect a PArt 15 station (hell, I had a time trying to get one down to my neck of the wood to turn off a pirate on an adjacent channel interfering with a local licensed station). I think if I can mount the Rangemaster where I want on top of the school I should be able to get a neighboring ground connection by way of the mounting structure. Getting the audio and power lines routed will be a challenge, but I think it can be done none the less.

I had purchased parts for using the now-defunct LPB Inc's Part 15 radiating coax system for an on-campus FM station. Since calls to LPB go unanswered I now have to find a source of the radiating coax that won't break the school's budget. When I confronted my supervisor about this he asked "why not just put up an antenna?" and then the explaination of trying to get a 5 watt transmitter to output "nanowatts" to stay complaint with Part 15, not to mention you'd never hear it in most parts of the metal building structure. The last thing I need to do is open the school up to receiving a NAL.

A quick and cheap fix for the "leaky coax" is to string a loop of regular coax (RG-58 etc.) around the campus. Find a good size 50-ohm resistor (10-100 watt depending on your transmitter power) and use it to terminate the far end of the run. At the transmitter end, you need to build an adapter cable that connects the shield of your "Leaky Coax" to the hot terminal of the transmitter, and the center connector of the coax to the ground terminal on the transmitter. It works like a charm. By altering transmitter power, you can control radiation so even the FCC Inspector will like it.

Usually, when the station in question is on a school campus, the FCC will start compliance measurements at the perimeter of the campus. That can make for a fairly "robust" signal on the actual campus.

 

[RadioMan203]

A quick and cheap fix for the "leaky coax" is to string a loop of regular coax (RG-58 etc.) around the campus. Find a good size 50-ohm resistor (10-100 watt depending on your transmitter power) and use it to terminate the far end of the run. At the transmitter end, you need to build an adapter cable that connects the shield of your "Leaky Coax" to the hot terminal of the transmitter, and the center connector of the coax to the ground terminal on the transmitter. It works like a charm. By altering transmitter power, you can control radiation so even the FCC Inspector will like it.

Usually, when the station in question is on a school campus, the FCC will start compliance measurements at the perimeter of the campus. That can make for a fairly "robust" signal on the actual campus.

Chuck,

Yes, someone else had mentioned that in another thread regarding my build-out. The only problem with using the regular coax was that length and control don't go hand in hand this way. The total coverage required for the campus involves more than 2600 feet of line and from the tests I've done with the reversed polarity coax the signal and the distant end isn't going to cut it. The LPB engineering specs I was able to track down call for a booster approx every 400-500 feet.

I have found two other vendors of leaky coax, so I hope to implement a modified design of their system. I was also able to locate a suitable replacement for their booster modules and I've substituted a BW TX5 in place of the LPB Sky 1 transmitter.

 

[Chuck]

I think some of the LPB FM transmitters were really from Decade in Canada. LPB also sold some OEM products from Broadcast Warehouse. Decade has some interesting stuff. http://www.decade.ca/ So does BW. Good folks too...

 

[RadioMan203]

I think some of the LPB FM transmitters were really from Decade in Canada. LPB also sold some OEM products from Broadcast Warehouse. Decade has some interesting stuff. http://www.decade.ca/ So does BW. Good folks too...

I had heard that from someone else as well, so you're probably right on the mark. It's too bad that LPB has gone to hell in a handbag - it would have made my job so much easier to just get the remaining items from them. I had a doubt about them which is why I decided to get the transmitter from BW. If I had the funds initially I would have just bought all the cable I needed at the time, but school system budget aren't known for being there when you need something. Of course, it would have made more sense to do this while the building was under construction, but why would anybody consult the person on staff with the most knowledge about things like this while the building was under way? Silly, because it would have made sense.

The kids are excited and hopefully we'll get the remainder of the funding to complete this project. I know the kids will have the streaming component to the station, but I think they will get a kick out of listening to themselves during study halls, lunch and before and after school.