I think I have a 12" vinyl album of "Bozo's Big Top." I can play it and say it's a live broadcast from our Hobby buddies.
Agreed.
As far as the C. Crane goes I've heard that the FM2 model did sound considerably better than the FM1 did and the hum was taken care of by better filtering. C. Crane did pay attention to the interference to aircraft concerns too as from I gather the transmitter's top end is 107.5 Mhz not 107.9. This makes good sense because some of these transmitters do have spurs on the count of the BH1415 chip from Japan which has the PLL synthesizer and the limiter for the audio built in. It really was not meant to be amplified beyond its standard RF which is considerably lower than -48dbm (the amount it takes to be legal into a rubber duck). What seems to be happening with some of the transmitters is that too much voltage is applied to the chip or worse yet a wide band amplifier is put into the circuit which is causing the spurs (11 Mhz) above and below the fundamental intentional frequency. This is an issue with that design as it would make more sense to come up with a better design if you want full 250 uV/m at 3 meters. So when the “do not try this at home crowd” decides to “Hey lets turn up the power!” that poor chip is being overworked and probably generating all sorts of junk due to attempting to make an already overworked chip do what it was not designed for. Thus you have garbage in garbage out. Some of the transmitters that got a bad rap (Sainsonic AX-05B and others) is because the user is unknowingly abusing the circuit. That is why even if it ever did become legal to apply anywhere near 500mW-1W a different design would have to be employed to be sure the TX is clean. It is never good to run any TX at max power 24/7 especially as many good Hams told me you'll ruin the TX really fast if you do this. If it were legal to have a 1 Watt transmitter and dial it down to -48dbm (or legal field strength) you would be better off. This would take into account for VSWR (antenna miss match) and would also not push the transmitter quite so hard. I'd also like to see a transmitter that would go from 0-Legal power for the times when you don't need the extra range which too would save on the transmitter and interference to the spectrum. Yes I posted this on Hobby Broadcaster as well. Lets see the response over their as well. I'm sure Bill can't argue this point.
Actually I got busted to E2 not E1. I was an E4 (3rd Class Petty Officer) but now I am an Airman Apprentice. E1 would have been a Seaman/Airman Recruit.
You must be an E1. Seaman/Airman Recruit. Still in bootcamp.
Okay what happened? Tim replied to that thread over there and the person in third person posts as Adimistrator and states Quote: Posts not related to this topic have been relocated
Does that mean they were moved to the "Principals Office" or the "Member's Only Forum?
Notice the use of the title "Principal's Office"........It's like being a member over there you are thought of as an elementry school aged adolesent snot nosed kid. Plahhhhhhhp!
Bruce.
Maybe if you post something Bill doesn't like your sent to the principal's office and delt with there. I know when I was an elite member of a Commodore 64 computer club back in he day and someone did something the others didn't like we had a tele trial and if your found guilty you'd be punished. Its how this board feels to me as well. You have ranks from lamer who has to be watched and then others who can express themselves a little more. But if you step out of line you'll find yourself not welcome really fast over their site. I know Bill has to keep things tip top with the FCC and his fellow members of Clear Channel as he does mention Clear Channel. Now you can imagine how Clear Channel may feel about FM part 15 operators! So if you piss Bill off over their you'll find yourself in a huge boat load of trouble. Its why I'm gonna watch any behavior I may have that Clear Channel would frown upon. I can tell you this they DON'T like the Sainsonic AX-05B even though I told Bill about the new revised -48dbm (legal) setting and asked him to test it for spewing out harmonics. I do want to know what this thing will do even though at the -48dbm setting it won't even go outside my house unless I'm under a power line. Yes this TX is doing carrier current FM (I don't know how this is happening) but at the low setting as long as I'm on top of the same line I hear my transmitter on a car Radio. Away from the lines at low power I don't hear it outside. How is this? I didn't think carrier current FM would work. I think SainSonic figured how but nowhere does it document carrier current FM. Yet I've seen behavior on the low power setting that shows this happening. I wish I could find someone 2-3 miles away on the same power line to try and see if they can hear my station when they plug their Radio in. I assume carrier current FM is not illegal as long as the field strength is not that high. It truly is an accident as I didn't modify this transmitter to make this happon. And how far would the carrier current FM really go? I'm thinking it was a bug and its feeding into the neutral side. I know around 300-600 Feet you hear it under the power lines (Right Under less than 20 feet). Its noisey but comes in.
TheLegacy, a bit off topic, but my station's weather department believes that tropical storm named Juaquin will make a close encounter with North Carolina, if not a direct landfall somewhere along your coastline. Make sure you're ready to do broadcasts minus public utilities. I'll stop right there before we get off topic.
Bruce.
The strict regimentation over at Hobby does not resemble American democracy, it might be somewhat like North Korean military.
As far as FM carrier current, the FCC only regulates carrier current up to 30 MHz because it is not considered physically possible above that frequency, although if carrier current FM would work it would be legal because it's not illegal. The same old 15.239 rule would apply, measured from... the power line?
Hmm. I found it to more closely resemble Scientology 🙂
The self-declared "engineers" at Hobbyblaster have insulted Tim by announcing that his FM compliance tests are questionable until their own resident engineers run tests to find out "the truth," made all the more "official" by bringing in a Big City engineer from Clear Channel.
What the Hobbyblaster Team fails to realize is that by looking to the Infallibility of the New York Expert, they are placing their own credentials in question.
I'm still somewhat amused that the perception is that a Clear Channel engineer from New York is somehow better than me, HB Leader Bill, or any other working BE (broadcast engineer). I don't even remember where I posted it now, but I turned down an offer from Clear Channel about 15 years ago, and an offer from Cumulus about 10 years ago. I didn't want to give up small town life to move to the city. In addition, I didn't want to take the pay cut. Typical salary for a CC BE is currently around $65,000. It was less 15 years ago. In a city where the cost of living is easily 5 times what it is here if not more. I often get called out for engineering work for other stations and I bill $90 an hour. Plus my morning show and Chief Engineer gig at the stations I work at.
Oddly, CC and Cumulus engineers take the same tests, learn the same theory, the same math, the same equipment, and the same physics apply. I don't think them to be any better or worse than any other qualified working engineer. Apparently my comment over there was interpreted that I thought them to be bad engineers. Nope. I'm sure they're fine. It's not like the SBE or FCC tests are harder or different for Clear Channel employees 🙂
I also noted that they've got the engineer from the "number one Arbitron rated station" in New York. Curious, since Arbitron doesn't exist anymore, bought out by Neilson a couple years ago.
I can predict their test results already. "Just barely under the 250 uV/m limit". Frankly, I wouldn't mind chatting with Bill from HB on the phone about the tests and see if we can actually deterine what we may be doing differently. THAT would be a meeting of the minds that would hopefully bring about useful information. But their system over there wouldn't allow me to send him a private message.
I'll tell you one thing, these little FM transmitters are squirrely little buggers. I'd like him to test the difference he sees when an audio cable is plugged in.. HUGE difference in output on the WH 3.0. And watch the FIM meter when you move the transmitter, cable, antenna, and surrounding objects around. Readings can be tweaked for maximum output by moving a cable or changing positions on a desk.
I set up the R-506 in my office and the WH 3.0 on the other side of the room. Certainly not conditions where you can get an accurate field stength reading, but it was interesting to see how moving the transmitter about on the desk so it was sitting in a different relation to surrounding objects changed received field strength, and how it was also easy to manipulate the directionality of the signal. I just can't imagine trying to use a legal Part 15 transmitter for broadcasting to the public. Squirrely at best.
When I was in the field testing I wasn't concerned about any attenuation of the signal. I was trying to avoid any reflections of signal that would give me false high readings. Anything that could have any chance of reflecting was a long long long way away.
TIB
I just noticed, somewhere in all this testing I took a photo of the Potomac FM set up, and in front of it you can see the WH 3.0 mounted at 7 feet on the test pole. If you look at the meter it's reading 520 uV/m. Times the antenna factor at the test frequency whish is 2.25 you get a reading of 1170 uV/m. I don't recall the exact conditions at the moment I snapped the photo, but they were set up exactly 7 feet above ground and exactly three meters apart. I may or may not have rotated the receiving dipole for maximum signal yet, I really don't remember. But it does show well over legal anyway!
TIB
Well I personally would like to know who and what the hell Ray Burns is.
In a threat email from Bill, be claimed Ray is an Engineer and a Ham radio operator.
I see Ray as being one of the instigators over there, who also attempts to be a mystery while publicly annoucing other people's personal information such as telephone numbers and home addresses.
You can't sue or call out somebody legally who hides behind a forum board and whose to say that's his real name? I have some words for his arrogant and egotistical attitude and it's not Happy Halloween. I'd love to met this clown, however, he's too much of a coward, who sneaks in on your neighborhood and sits outside your house unannounced taking pictures of UHF television antennas and VHF Low scanner antenna ingeniously proclaiming such as "broadcast antennas" of an FM pirate radio station.
You know how many Ray F. Burns there are in the USA alone? That's if that is his real name and not just a handle.
If I could attach a photo of said antennas in this thread, he and you all would see it's the same antenna mess he accused of being broadcast antennas and you'd agree that HE is wrong, those antennas are not tuned for the FM broadcast band. The scanner antenna is useful for VHF low only and was manufactured by Archer (Radio Shack brand) back in 1976. I use it mostly for 33.900 and 39.900 which are our local fire dispatch and police frequencies. It is shoter than a 1/4 wave CB antenna, but longer than any FM broadcast band antenna.
Now that I cleared that up, for someone who claims to be an "ENGINEER" and Ham, he should know the difference in antenna lengths and band usage.
6 inch elements are tuned to UHF high, not VHF band, shouldn't an engineer know the difference?
Don't worry Tim, I believe your tests were done in an honest, qualified manner. Don't sweat the small stuff from the peanut gallery over there at the Romper Room kiddie site.
TO THE LEGACY:
My radio station's weather department http://myradiostream.com/WFPN
is the ONLY one that has been predicting that Joaquin will make landfall in northern NORTH CAROLINA, which IS your area. Make sure your station is able to continue opeartions during a power outage, you're gonna need it! Joaquin is coming to your town, like it or not.
Bruce.
You never know Bruce. I have NO WAY to broadcast if there is a power failure. My FM Transmitter is not battery. It could be modified since it takes 12 Volts DC. It was one reason I wanted to by the Whole House FM Transmitter 3.0 but I'm in danger of losing everything but the clothes on my back as it is so I didn't buy it even thought it was a sweet deal. If I had the cash right then I'd have grabbed it because it is a great transmitter to warn the public with. I don't have anymoe data on my phone either till the 1st when I get paid and I lost TV due to teh issues I have and plan to try and get that back ASAP but could take some time. Its expensive living here in a town that is so close to VA and I tell you things are so high here. I'd get out of here if I could.