Grounding has different results depending on the method of grounding that is employed.
1. To reach a blind spot uphill I buried a ground wire that went right up to the top of the hill and suddenly the signal was up there, loud and clear;
2. Using a dipole ground indoors running on the baseboard at the intersection of walls and flooring, I was able to resonate an antenna with excellent reception indoors but very poor reception outdoors. The antenna was a metal window frame with wire added at the top and bottom, facing indoors and outdoors;
3. Grounding the transmitter described in (2) to an I-beam below the floor which in turn connects to cold water pipe, electric service ground and furnace ducting, the outdoor signal flared to life, but the pattern is very loppy, being strong in the east but very limited in the west.
Hey guys, I'm not sure if this will make it to the board as my last two posts were held back, thanks for your help. I had wanted to post more information regarding my situation and answer some questions, but I don't feel like re-typing it again.
I do appreciate the offers for help. 🙂
Cheers,
Alright, I'll make it short...lol
I ordered an AMT5000 to replace my AMT3000 for full time duty on my station. The 3000 will then become the back-up. Also, I just picked up a 102" whip with a mounting kit to mount it on a wooden post. I used to have one years ago, but it’s been long gone for a while now. I also have a ground rod pounded into the ground near the post the antenna will be mounted to.
The transmitter will need to go into a weatherproof box, so any suggestions would be great. 🙂
So, gentlemen…any suggestions? I would have loved to be able to download a PDF copy of the AMT5000 manual, but the SSTRAN site doesn’t offer that. It seems that they only offer a hard paper copy with your order. Otherwise I would have loved to do some advanced reading.
Anyone here have experience with this TX and offer any suggestions?
Well 1580..not to open up an old can of worms with this..but your question about the AMT5K and an outdoor setup has been discussed dozens of times with mixed conclusions and only one actual field test done on an outdoor setup.
To make the long debates/discussion short here, it was found that the unit performed very well without any ground radial system and only a simple grounding scheme. Robert (kc8gpd) did the field testing with the unit mounted on a tripod about 1 1/2 meter in height and the TX ground was connected to the AC supply's Earth ground at the power socket. There are photos of the test setup including photos of a test setup on a balcony, where it was found that the unit performed better without any ground..simple ground rod or radial system. The balcony is on the 2nd floor level.
I suggest using the search function for more information rather than another thread amongst the dozens already about this.
RFB
Oh, my apologies. Sorry for asking.
I'm pretty sure the setup would be the same as for the 3000. You could switch in the internal loading coils and feed directly to the 102" whip or....
You could construct a loading coil at the base of the whip antenna. As loading coil (as described at the sstran website) is supposed to give you a better range as the internal coils are more lossy.
"Oh, my apologies. Sorry for asking."
No need to apologize for asking. I was merely trying to save you some time by suggesting the search function and find pretty much all the answers to your questions instead of waiting for those answers when they are there in the forum's existing threads.
Use the search function like you would doing a Google search. For example, type in your thread title "AM Antenna" or word for word. Not only will you see this thread come up in the results, but TONS of others with a plethora of ideas and tips to explore.
Didn't mean to make it sound like your asking was something to apologize for because that is not what I was driving at. Merely attempting to help you by pointing out a way that you can help yourself with information that is in abundance via that search. 🙂
RFB