Another SSTRAN question...

Well, it depends what you mean by 'connected this copper wire to the SSTRAN'?

The eBay site shown is in the UK. Is that where you are? Otherwise, talkin' 'bout more shipping than necessary.

In the U.S. your transmission line and antenna together cannot be more than 3 m (about 10'), so just connecting it would be illegal.

OTOH, if you mean to wind a loading coil, the FCC has, AFAIK, no problem with that. Check the SSTRAN website for more information on constructing your antenna system using a homebrew loading coil. You will also want to use ground radials as part of your antenna system construction.

If you still have questions, c'mon back ... many of us absolutely LOVE talking about low power antenna systems. If you Search here with a keyword, e.g., 'antenna systems', you'll find tons of information, conjecture, experiments, etc.

That is a high price to pay for a 50 meter length of wire.

I have read a warning about stretching copper wire for RF use and since this wire is "pre-stretched" it may apply. The idea is that when copper wire is stretched micro cracks are produced which increases the resistance and hence the loss is increased. I don't have the link for this but it was in reference to stretching the wire to straighten it for coil winding purposes.

If you want to experiment with various antenna configurations you can use almost any copper wire larger than 37 gauge. For mechanical strength larger wire is better.

Here's a link to a calculator which calculates skin depth for RF for copper wire:

http://daycounter.com/Calculators/SkinEffect/Skin-Effect-Calculator.phtml

The criterion used in this calculator is the wire size where the AC resistance equals the DC resistance. Without digging through the equations it is not clear to me what this means, that is if the AC resistance equals the DC resistance do they add or does the AC resistance have no practical effect. Nonetheless, this and other references indicate increasing wire size above a certain diameter provides no advantage for RF.

Neil

I'm in europe and was wondering if I connected the copper wire directly to the SSTRAN if the range would increase?

I'm not technical and live on a second floor and want the best possible range. What do you suggest?

OK, Europe (which country?) ... you should consult the regulations for unlicensed broadcasting in your country. When you know what those are, it'll define what you can do, and to some degree how to proceed.

Otherwise, just try it. Experimentation is a lot of what low power broadcasting is about. Of course, hooking up a longwire antenna would work, but how will you hook it up outside? I mean, how will you stretch out and mount 150' of wire? Also, it should still be tuned to the frequency, try to get a decent impedance match. There are a number of ways to do those things.

I guess what I'm saying is there may not be a simple single answer ... you need to search topics and threads on Antenna System here.

There appear to be a fair amount of unknowns, as I, for one, have no idea what the limitations and possibilities are there in your situation. Keep in mind, AM broadcasting works on ground wave during daylight hours, so you will need a good ground.

Again, there is a great deal of information on Antenna topics here. Please do a search of those threads.

The best solution for the situation of being on the 2nd floor with probably no means of running a ground connection to real dirt at ground level, an Isotron that can match up to your unit, or modify the unit to match up to the standard 50 ohm impedance of a pre-built MW Isotron.

RFB

The AMT-3000 or the AMT-5000? These are designed for different antenna systems.

Neil

"Which Transmitter?"

The thread OP did not specify which one. The SSTran website has info on modifying the 3k for a 50 ohm load. From last word, another member was attempting to build a matching network for the 5k unit under Phil's guidance some weeks ago.

RFB

Our European member may have limited English because he seems to have ignored the advice given between the two times when he asked if "hooking up that wire would improved the signal."

What we need to do is go back to the beginning and carefully read and think about the advice and questions, and then come back with refined questions.

FWIW, I think Simon is doing great with the language, more's the pity most Americans don't do as well with languages other than English. I think his limited knowledge of radio is much more the issue.

The Isotron could be a solution. My understanding is that it builds up the signal within itself, inductance from the coil and capacitance between the two coupled elements until there is enough that it 'escapes' at resonance. Of course, it all happens at the speed of light, creating the radiating atmospheric field ... so it doesn't need a ground (which essentially does the same thing with ground radials and/or counterpoise effects).

... Still should have a safety ground, though.

I wonder if the 'Part 15 AM' model works as well at the low end of the band as at the high end.

Thank you for the helpful comments.

I am astounded by some of the snobbery though. Oh well, it doesn't really matter.

My question was fairly simple and I'm talking about the AMT3000 which I've now got. I don't have the technical know how to make some of the antennas posted on here and I've spent hours looking through past topics.

I live in a second floor flat and have trouble grounding the TX. I've heard you can wrap it around a mains connection and will try that.

I've seen an antenna on the Kenneke Communications website but not many reviews, does it work?

Again, thank you for the positive contributions to my question but it would be good to see less of the snobby responses. I love AM radio and I'm sure we're all quite similar!

Mr. simonjersey:

You are correct that we are all quite similar.

Your leap to calling some of us snobs jumps over the fact that your initial requests contained no details whatsoever.

We were trying very hard to gather facts from you, and now at last we have some.

Don't be too harsh with us.

We now have enough information to perhaps help. To answer your question, attaching a long wire to your transmitter will increase range providing you can tune it to the long wire. With the AMT-3000 you can experiment with the various switchable internal inductors to find the best settings to use.

It is up to you to determine if this will be legal in your country and what risks you may face with doing this.

Neil

"I live in a second floor flat and have trouble grounding the TX. I've heard you can wrap it around a mains connection and will try that."

Better results can be had by directly connecting the TX ground to a cold water pipe. Without an adequate counterpoise to that 50 foot long copper wire, I doubt that TX will tune up right or even at all.

RFB

The point is, the SSTRAN AMT3000 kit was designed to operate with the wire antenna which came with it, and under U.S. FCC Part 15 regulations. Other antenna solutions can increase range but require modification of the TX.

I suggest contacting Phil B, the designer of the transmitter kit.