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Testing the antenna inside of a trailer is an experience! I have found little tricks that really make the signal smoke. But inside a metal trailer, there is little signal outside of it.

Testing the antenna inside of a trailer is an experience! I have found little tricks that really make the signal smoke. But inside a metal trailer, there is little signal outside of it.

The solution seems to be an installation inside a wooden shed which sits on a 7″ slab of concrete. This new shed is 100 feet from the back of
the house; 125 feet from the studio.

I don’t see digging out concrete this winter so if I can figure a way to situate the antenna on the concrete slab and still get a wonderful
ground (the ground wires are just outside the shed, still intact in the ground), we may get WCRV on the air again for the winter, and forever.

The audio and electrical lines will have to go back about 150 feet; I’ve done this before so it should not be an issue.

What will make this successful is that I have the antenna/coil totally tuned perfectly, so if I only have to physically move it, perhaps place
it like you may place a xmas tree, we will be successful.

Anyway, you see I am not giving up.

Charles produced two formats; one is a more modern rock version, the other is a standards-based format. I’ve been wanting to lean to a standard format, since the audience is
here and the format is not heard locally.
And that is what I plan to do.
The format is killer; it is not all Sinatra; the music is listenable
to most anyone our age (40+)..overall, this will be the format when the
rockformats/talkshows will not be on.

Of course, the eclectic format shows will still air on WCRV, but the
overall format will be Charle’s Hits Post War.

When and if this happens this year, I’ll let you know. This is only
the
umpteenth time I’ve moved and reset the antenna.

I want this to work so badddddly; this past summer, WCRV had a signal
that was killer; miles up the road and to either side; I can not
guarantee that housing the antenna inside a wooden house will give us
the same results.
After this, I am out of ideas!!
I’ll keep you posted.

Carl

A recent visitor writes: Thanks for publishing your website! A how-to page for beginners would be helpful (I could use it!). I would like to see:

A recent visitor writes: Thanks for publishing your website! A how-to page for beginners would be helpful (I could use it!). I would like to see:

1) Software available for scheduling

2) Helpful Winamp plug-ins and skins

3) Software for reading text files

4) Software for mixing the audio in segues and PSAs

5) Sample scripts for segues, IDs, and PSAs

6) How to broadcast over the internet

7) What soundcards have the best sound for the best price

——————————–

My current system is;

HARDWARE
PC w/ SB Live! audio card (will upgrade to better card)
Ramsey MX10 Mixer
Alesis NanoCompressor
Ramsey STC-1 Stereo Companion
(equalizer/limiter/15kHz LP filter)
DC Kits PLL-SFM Stereo FM transmitter
(may upgrade to Ramsey FM30)
w/
custom
power supply
Vertical omni antenna

SOFTWARE
WinAmp 2.95
Sound Solution multiband processor
Radio Scheduler
Winamp skin Blizzard
Peercast (freeware) http://www.peercast.org/
StreamerP2P (freeware)
http://www.streamerp2p.com/

What do the rest of you think? Let us know with a Feedback message!

We might have a dog in our schematic collection. Visitor Rick writes “Your 5/8 wave antenna schematic is probably incorrect…”

We might have a dog in our schematic collection. Visitor Rick writes “Your 5/8 wave antenna schematic is probably incorrect…”

The drawing calls for 12 gauge wire on a .25″ form. 12 is huge! I don’t think you could get 6 turns on a .25″ form. I can’t even get 16 through a prototype board. Looking at the picture I’m guessing its 21 instead? I’m building a coil with 18 (the largest that fits through a proto board) and will let you know what happens on my antenna analyzer.

UPDATE: Looking at it again, I’m beginning to think that it may have been a poor scan and should be an 8 instead of a 2 or rather 18 gauge. I used an adjustable 6 meter fiberglass antenna for the vertical and set it to 80 inches for resonance on 87.9 MHz. If that’s the correct length, I’m going to switch it to a stainless steel CB whip cut to size. I will paint the whip dark gray and use it for a stealth antenna as I’m not supposed to have outside antennas. I doubt if anyone will notice something that slim or complain.

UPDATE:I finished the cap/coil assembly and will mount it in PVC today. I have an MFJ antenna analyzer for verifying the design. I give up! I tried everything and couldn’t get it to tune. I noticed that the text talks about a series circuit but the picture shows a parallel circuit so I even tried rewiring it in series. In the search for more information I found out that the 5/8 wave may not be a very good antenna for FM BCB. LB Cebik says that (at HF anyway), a 1/4 ground plane will have the same angle of radiation, as long as they are both mounted high enough. I’m not sure this will hold true at FM BCB, but if I can’t get a 5/8 to match with an antenna analyzer, there is not much hope for the average hobbyist.

I’ve also read forums where many people were not thrilled with the results of a 5/8 wave. Being as the 1/4 ground plane is much easier to match, I’m giving up on the 5/8 and will build a 1/4 wave.

While you probably won’t set any distance records, this handy tuned short wire antenna might be just the thing for applications where a visible antenna just isn’t possible. Read more in our Review Section

Thanks for visiting!

While you probably won’t set any distance records, this handy tuned short wire antenna might be just the thing for applications where a visible antenna just isn’t possible. Read more in our Review Section

Thanks for visiting!

Thanks to a visitor’s suggestion, we’ve added listen links to our station listings!
When you see Listen d-.-b followed by an MP3 or a WinMedia or a REAL link, you can click the link and listen live to stations that offer an on-line audio feed.

Thanks to a visitor’s suggestion, we’ve added listen links to our station listings!
When you see Listen d-.-b followed by an MP3 or a WinMedia or a REAL link, you can click the link and listen live to stations that offer an on-line audio feed.

WCRV is BACK… on the air! On a very limited basis now.

Basically, I’ve moved the antenna indoors once again. Some of you may remember I did this before with limited success.

WCRV is BACK… on the air! On a very limited basis now.

Basically, I’ve moved the antenna indoors once again. Some of you may remember I did this before with limited success.

It was an occasion where I was testing the antenna indoors, and received the station about a mile away with great audio.

For the interested, this particular time, the antenna was basically horizontal in the studio, which made the results even more interesting.

This time, the antenna is installed correctly, but without the ground system it requires. It has two ground points, but I’ve found a radial system to be a major plus with this particular antenna. Remember, I live in a mobile home, surrounded by alluminum, and the goal of 1 mile is not a dream; it is possible.

A lot less than the 3.6 mile contour I got, but then, again, I’m at a disadvantage. For some reason, it is tuning best at 1410am (which as you know is very
strange). Joyce drove the signal home from work Tuesday night and indicated it was a “choppy signal”, best close to home (naturally). 1410 is noisy here, and I was probably overmodulated.

It is yet again another start, but without the antenna outside visible, if I can make it as efficeint as possible, there may be some hope for WCRV yet.

The other thing is that the station was tested at close to sunset (critical hours). In the fall, as you know, this is a problem especially for low power
AM. I will continue to work on the new configuration of WCRV, and let you know of my progress.

And thank you for your interest in WCRV! Carl

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