I am doing a research for my project which is allowing children to broadcaste inside the building of the children's museum.
My questions are :
1. which is better to use AM or FM for using indoor (inside the building) so we can avoid Multipath problem which cause distortion in the signals, and at which frequancy is better to use accouding to FCC regs. Which one AM or FM is better for technical capabilities inside the building.
I am doing a research for my project which is allowing children to broadcaste inside the building of the children's museum.
My questions are :
1. which is better to use AM or FM for using indoor (inside the building) so we can avoid Multipath problem which cause distortion in the signals, and at which frequancy is better to use accouding to FCC regs. Which one AM or FM is better for technical capabilities inside the building.
Thank very much for your cooperation.
Hi Al,
The only correct answer to this is "it depends". With that in mind, I offer the following to think about.
If it is a large open area to cover, FM should work. You can probably cover an area equivalent to two or three basketball courts. If the receivers are portable, you might hear some multipath effects, but it is not serious in my experience around my home.
AM should also work, but electrical noise may be a problem. For demonstration, I set up a Ramsey AM-25 in a classroom on a college campus. For some reason the signal would not penetrate the walls and the range was only about 30 feet from the 3 meter long antenna and the noise was terrible. Unfortunately I have no experience with the FM units on this campus.
Though it is a different environment, I use both AM and FM to cover my 1/2 acre estate. Both transmitters are in the basement and the AM actually gives better coverage, but my home is probably electrically more quiet than a commercial building would be.
Consider the intended receivers. Pocket FM's are very common if the patrons are to carry in their radios. AM's may be less so (my Walkman is FM only).
Also consider that for an additional $100 you can do both AM and FM and simulcast.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to be certain of the performance until you try it.
Neil