New Part-15 AM TX

[dbdigital]

Some of you may have seen this already, but I think it would be good to post a link here anyway.

A new FCC certified part-15 AM transmitter from Canada is soon to hit the market. Sounds very interesting. No pix, no price. But the distributor does publish quite a few specs on it.

http://www.chezradio.com/index.html

db

 

[Dr_Johnnie_Fever]

heres a link to a zip file of this transmitters certification data from the FCC website.

http://www.mediafire.com/?9n7j1mgcztf

download and extract. there are photos of the unit and test results, etc.

files are pdf and mht.

 

[RadioMan203]

Looks promising. I like the idea of the internal test meter.

 

[Hamilton]

Looks like a RangeMaster copy in many aspects, I’ll bet they spent a lot of time on our site and/or had a unit. It is probably made in China. From what I can tell it won’t come close to RangeMaster range, maybe about like the talking house.

I have considered making the RangeMaster in China to get the price down, but holding US level quality with a product like this is next to impossible.

 

[Dr_Johnnie_Fever]

the test report is an interesting read. it will be very apparent to those familliar with FCC actions lately just what i'm talking about.

hint: involves ground lead issue.

this is the kind of test report we need on the hamilton and proves some interesting facts about the ground lead issue.

 

[Neil E.]

Thanks for the information. I would urge us to hold off on the speculative comments (country of manufacture, etc.) as posted previously here until more is known about this unit.

Neil

 

[Hamilton]

Sure,
It may be a while if they are just getting into manufacture. I see they seem to be targeting the non-technical user.

 

[RadioMan203]

Well, I did a factory inquiry and unless you're planning on buying at least three or becoming a dealer you're not going to get a price break off the list price of the Procaster.

Personally I would love to get an evaluation unit to do a side by side "real world" test between that and the Rangemaster but I don't have the budget (or any other means) to justify the purchase of another AM transmitter for the school project currently under way. At the moment the Rangemaster will be an integral part of the article I'm writing about Part 15 student radio as far as the AM side is concerned. The leaky coax campus limited FM may not make the article due to the fact that funding for the radiating cable is still months down the road as the local parents group is trying to assist in funding the project in addition to the donations of gear from local broadcasters.

It would be interesting to see the comparison between the two, but there are too many users saying positive things for me not to go with the AM1000 at this point. While it may be old news, the only thing I wish one of these had was AM Stereo transmission (CQUAM) since it will also be used as part of a Tech Ed teaching environment. I know it will be a snowy day in hell when someone can build an HD-AM box geared at the hobbyist budget. The only AM Stereo box I've seen is a CQUAM unit made in Greece but I know the group had no American reps to even begin the Part 15 certification process.

 

[Dr_Johnnie_Fever]

get some LMR 400, Belden 9913 or something similar, put your hot on the sheild your ground on the center conductor. put a 50 ohm dummy load on the other end.

you now have leaky coax a little trick i learned from Rev. J.R. Cunningham.

 

[RadioMan203]

get some LMR 400, Belden 9913 or something similar, put your hot on the sheild your ground on the center conductor. put a 50 ohm dummy load on the other end.

you now have leaky coax a little trick i learned from Rev. J.R. Cunningham.

Someone else suggested that to me in a past thread but it will lead to too much uncontrolled radiation in my case. The run I need is about 1/2 mile to cover the campus building itself. I can't have the shield allow that much radiation off the wire and the last thing I need is for the school to be cited by the FCC.

I'm using plans loosely based on info I got from LPB before they did their crash and burn. I have a good game plan for them, it's just the funding is lagging behind for the project. I may just put the transmitter in the middle of the campus building and see how far it will work with the 100 feet of Radiax that I have. While not the perfect solution it will put them "on the air."

 

[Dr_Johnnie_Fever]

LPB is MIA. Think they are on their way to being belly up.

 

[XRQKFM]

LPB is MIA. Think they are on their way to being belly up.

Funny thing I was just thinking that last night. If LPB does not get with the program soon, there is not going to be program to get to. I checked out their website yesterday, nothing is priced, like I have time to waste making phone calls to get prices.
When it comes to transmitters; I will always buy USA first. besides I would rather buy a Rangemaster with a track record than a newbie that may not be here next year.


Steve
RadioBrandy
www.radiobrandy.com/RBpart15am.html

 

[PhilB]

get some LMR 400, Belden 9913 or something similar, put your hot on the shield your ground on the center conductor. put a 50 ohm dummy load on the other end.

you now have leaky coax a little trick i learned from Rev. J.R. Cunningham.

Yeah, major leak!!! ;D

On a related subject, does anyone know a source for real leaky coax that will work in the AM band? I have searched the web some and find a number of vendors, but it all seems to be geared toward enabling cell phone service in tunnels or high rise buildings. The leaky coax is used for both transmitting and receiving at cell phone frequencies.

 

[Dr_Johnnie_Fever]

if you go to part15.us there are pdf's of cunninghams books there. they are an interesting read. you guys should check them out. I may not be explaining the leaky coax deal properly. but there are a lot of different tricks explained in there for radio on a budget.

 

[RadioMan203]

get some LMR 400, Belden 9913 or something similar, put your hot on the shield your ground on the center conductor. put a 50 ohm dummy load on the other end.

you now have leaky coax a little trick i learned from Rev. J.R. Cunningham.

Yeah, major leak!!! ;D

On a related subject, does anyone know a source for real leaky coax that will work in the AM band? I have searched the web some and find a number of vendors, but it all seems to be geared toward enabling cell phone service in tunnels or high rise buildings. The leaky coax is used for both transmitting and receiving at cell phone frequencies.

I would think if you pose your question directly to the wire manufacturer they should be able to give you an answer. I think LPB actually use to sell their leaxy coax for both AM and FM operation. I have 100 feet of it and it's private label (imprinted LPB instead of the source of where they got it from). I would think the coax itself would have less loss at lower frequencies, but that's better addressed by the manufacturer.

I think I spec'ed out Times Wire and Andrew for leaky coax for my upcoming project - their engineering folks should be able to answer your query.

 

[Hamilton]

If anyone needs repair on LBP stuff or wonder what is happening with them e-mail me directly.

 

[Nate Wesley]

Looks like a RangeMaster copy in many aspects, I’ll bet they spent a lot of time on our site and/or had a unit. It is probably made in China. From what I can tell it won’t come close to RangeMaster range, maybe about like the talking house.

Says on the tx itself that it's made in Canada.

 

[dave388]

the thing i allways wanted to test is what if a part15 am is mounted on the roof of a very high apt building. (13story+ building) i allways wonderd what kind of range it would get.

 

[Tom Wells]

the thing i allways wanted to test is what if a part15 am is mounted on the roof of a very high apt building. (13story+ building) i allways wonderd what kind of range it would get.

This sounds pretty specific.. You will let us know when you try, right?

As ever, the grounding and current in ( and to ) the ground makes all the difference.

 

[dave388]

yes indeed lol, well i have wonderd on how it would do. we do have a large apt building here in this city (im est. 230ft at roof) im estimating it would post a readable signal apx 7 to 10 miles ( on clear channel) with a good ground.