New Legal Part 15 AM Transmitter Evaluation To Begin

[XRQKFM]

Technical & weather related difficulties have caused delays in our review of the Procaster AM transmitter; we also acquired a brand new Rangemaster to make a fair comparison between the two. As mentioned in another post, we will be putting both transmitters on the air carrying the same program. April 5 is our target date for our new stations; exactly 25 years from the date we signed on our first Panaxis powered AM station. With the Panaxis unique ability to modulate at 300% made it one of the loudest transmitters I ever had, perhaps we could find a way to recreate it along with its 5 watt amp.

Steve
Radio Brandy

 

[Carmine5]

On another board, Steve at Radio Brandy described how he hung the new Procaster TX horizontally in the rafters of an attic and got very good performance, about a solid 1/2 mile.

Steve states that the three section antenna of the Procaster is easier to take up into an attic although he doesn't explain how he grounded the TX or if he used radials (maybe he'll enlighten us here).

But if you can live with 1/2 mile, this might be a good option for those living in HOA-type housing.

C5

 

[XRQKFM]

Mounting the Procaster in the attic was too easy! I suspended the antenna & transmitter using hooks screwed into the beam, grounding was easy using the conduit and J-box in the attic. The house ground terminates into a 10 foot copper stake by the power box. The builder of the house provided an electrical outlet & light in the attic, this is a single story house. I know range would be improved if I had a two-story house; my ½ mile coverage was rock solid with zero static and fading on a Jensen aftermarket radio, and a portable radio inside the van.
In this situation the Procaster has the advantage in that it's easier to tune up with a simple screwdriver adjustment, and the fact the antenna collapses makes it a breeze to bring it up through a tight crawl space. This is the third house I have had where the attic door is in a place that is hard to get up into, I know I could not have brought a 102” whip though the opening without sharply bending and damaging it.

Steve
www.radiobrandy.com/Part15AM1620.html

P.S. I just got the 1958 Allied Radio catalog, lets just say prices have gone up a bit since then!

 

[RadioMan203]

Steve,

Good deal on the attic mounting of the Procaster. That would be an excellent solution where the condo associations have a fit with external antennas (I know where I use to live made a big deal about my neighbor with a sat. dish, even though legally he is allowed to).

I'm going to be working on the Procaster review for HobbyBroadcaster in the next two weeks since I'll have some time off from the regular 9-to-5 as well as having a fellow broadcast engineer available for performing field measurements, etc.

Bill

 

[Tom Wells]

I wish I could get half a mile in my dense urban neighborhood.. What is the nature of your terrain and neighborhood?
I must try to radiate THROUGH brick 1,2, and 3 story buildings which often come to within 6 feet of each other.
It's all over for my signal within a block or 3. On the other hand, this means a few thousand potential listeners.

I often wonder how my home-brew would work in a free-and-clear environment.

If any manufacturers want to offer to audition their product in this challenging envronment, I will donate the time.
I am not likely to be swayed by any favoritism as I built my own with very high standards.
I don't really have the time, but I guess I'd make some.