What a surprise. I actually received a signal report from a listener. It seems two individuals were visiting in the Cleveland, Ohio area. They are Part 15 radio junkies and have stations in the Pittsburg area.
They checked online for Part 15 stations in the area, found my station listed and drove down to give a listen.
The report was very much appreciated. They found the coverage to be exceptional and the quality of the audio acceptable given the radio they were using. My Talking House transmitter with remote antenna was heard about 1.5 miles out.
I will be sending them my station QSL card (1st one ever sent) to start their BCB collection.
Fantabulous
mram
I LOVE your report! That is so neat. Imagine what that tells us. We should VISIT the coverage areas of fellow part 15-ers and send them reports so they will be uplifted.
Wonder if anyone out front is tuned in now. Let me go out there with portable radio in hand and try to see.
Cool
Awesome!
Great
I was just talking to a friend on Facebook about radio, reception reports.
It would be cool to get one here, I guess i need to start advertising the station a bit more.
Good Job Mram!
Reception Dreams
Wouldn’t it be neat to have a part 15 buddy who lived a block away? You could negotiate frequency use and send each other reception reports. You could relay each others programs. If you’re married, as many (of the mostly male members) are, the part 15 buddy had better be a guy, otherwise it would turn into a bad dream.
Nobody has ever reported having a part 15 neighbor living nearby.
Excerp from the Reception Report
We tuned in coming up to your exit, I’m not sure exactly where, but it was about 5 minutes away from the mall. This was in the afternoon, and some kind of an independent talk show was on, male and female hosts having a chat.
We went and saw the classic mall, JC Penney and all. The original flooring is old time, with the cracks and all. When we got back to the car, the station was running some harder edge music as we headed for Starbucks. Coming out we heard a talk and then a news break.
The signal was all over the mall and shopping centers with almost no fading, we were really impressed with the signal coverage. When we left, it was strong for a while on the highway, fading out gradually until it was gone at the exit for Stow.
The car radio is a new one, and it has sound that’s no better than a telephone, seriously, it’s hard to listen to. I couldn’t hear the fidelity you might have had, but the sound was clean and consistent as far as I could hear.
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To see the area coverage map, check out the Coverage Map on my Station Webpage.
The Highway is shown on the coverage map with the city of Stow to the north. The Mall area runs the length of Howe Road east of the Highway to Brittain Road.
This is great stuff!
Not only is it cool that you received a
reception report from those two Part 15
guys (!) – it is also great that you have such
reliable blanket coverage of that area.
Your center loaded antenna design obviously
works very very well.
Best Wishes!
Bruce, MICRO1690/1700
Talking House System Antenna
Actually, I’m using the Talking House ATU remote antenna. Since it is supposed to be Part 15 certified as a system with the Talking House transmitter I figured it would be less problematic should I get a visit.
The center loaded antenna was ground mounted with the Metzo transmitter at the base. It works fairly well but I don’t like having the transmitter outside.
Outside Transmitter
Yeah, I suppose if we were all sitting around
a big table eating a pizza together, we could
discuss the weird logistics of having a Part 15
AM transmitter outside. I imagine it could be
a pretty humorous discussion.
I had the program line, the voltage line (actually
they were combined,) and then there was the
wire that sent the command for my transmitter
to go from 1690 to 1700 at sunset and then back
the other way at sunrise. Then there were the
16 ground radials and their connections to the
transmitter. I’m getting too old to go outside
and drag wires around now.
But I have to say, when it’s running right, it sure
is fun!
Best Wishes,
Bruce, MICRO1690/1700
Am I Too Old?
BRUCE MICRO1700 you’ve got me worried.
I have yet to go out there and mess with an outdoor installation, and although I know it will probably be my last big dig, maybe I’m already too old!
Don’t tell me your age and me neither, but in an abstract sense, what age is too old?
Too Old To Drag Wires Around
Actually Carl, I was joking when I said
I was too old to drag wires around.
Aside from my bad eye situation, my health
seems to be OK.
What is really going around here is too much of
what Neil has referred too as “life situations.”
Or something like that.
As far as the outside installation goes, I just did
it a little at a time. It was really thrilling seeing the
AM coverage area get larger and larger as I
improved the installation. When one of my close
friends, who lives a mile away told me he could drive
around the down town area (which starts about a
half a mile from here) and listen all over the place to
my station on his car radio, I knew things were getting
good. (He does have a really really good car radio, though.)
My outside AM installation was never really finished. And as
connections to the ground system started to oxidize,
and water started to seep into the transmitter enclosure,
I knew everything would have to be done over.
So far, I just haven’t been able to do it.
Anyway Carl, if you decide to take your AM transmitter
outside, just do a little at a time. You certainly have
contributed a lot to this board. After all, you are the
guy who got the shortwave part 15 design running,
and exploring all of that was a lot of fun!
Best Wishes
Bruce, MICRO1690/1700
Inspired Again
Bruce MICRO1700 you are a good motivational speaker, as are several other members.
Please comment on this imaginary picture of what I’d like to do as outdoor project number one:
I do want to run wiring out to the eventual 10-foot sky-scraping tower, and would like to have an inspectable and openable “channel” or “trough” so that the wiring can be opened and serviced anywhere along the run. Like an oil pipe-line for electricity.
I don’t like the idea of buried conduits or cables which must be dug up to inspect.
But there doesn’t seem to be anything at the hardware store like I’ve described.
Outdoor Cable Runs
Hi Carl and all,
I have done outdoor low voltage and signal runs using PVC pipe. It is buried but stay tuned for another idea. With PVC I have made water tight runs which protect the cable from water. As you would expect this involves cementing the pipes together with couplers just as one would do for plumbing. As you may not expect there are some tricks for wiring. At each end of the pipe run construct a vertical riser using a 90 degree elbow up about 1 foot above ground, another horizontal for about three inches and another down a few inches forming an upside down J. This keeps the water from entering with rain. Also, seal the ends where the wires exit with duct sealing wax to keep out water and bugs. This wax is easily removed and replaced if needed.
The wire and a pull cord are installed as the pipe is fitted together so it is easy to get it in place. Always include a pull rope with the wire so you can add new wires or replace the old as needed. To make additions or repairs easier on the Js assemble the to[ joints without glue and dab the glue over the outside of the joint. This seals out water and you can separate the joints to make pulling easier.
I use a gardening spade to bury the line. I make V cuts about 6 inches deep. It is easy to do in the spring or fall when the ground is moist and is deep enough that freeze/thaw doesn’t bring the pipe to the surface here in Ohio.
If you want easy access above ground check out Panduit’s product line of cable trays. Maybe one of these would work above ground and gaining access is easy with their snap on lids. I don’t know about being water tight though.
Link: http://www.panduit.com/Products/ProductOverviews/OverheadUnderfloorCableRouting/index.htm
Neil