Do any of you have experience with ActRadio Transmitters? (AKA Talking Houses) Here is a URL http://www.actradio.com/schools/pricesheet.htm If this is what it advertises it might seem to be a good option for some situations. On the site, the specifications for the transmitter are vague. I assume that a suitable loaded antenna can be used instead of the one supplied. Although they mainly market this for use with a loop tape, with a flip of a switch, they can be used as a regular broadcast station. I have heard some of these stations used by realtors at a range of 0.5 miles with a readable signal.
Do any of you have experience with ActRadio Transmitters? (AKA Talking Houses) Here is a URL http://www.actradio.com/schools/pricesheet.htm If this is what it advertises it might seem to be a good option for some situations. On the site, the specifications for the transmitter are vague. I assume that a suitable loaded antenna can be used instead of the one supplied. Although they mainly market this for use with a loop tape, with a flip of a switch, they can be used as a regular broadcast station. I have heard some of these stations used by realtors at a range of 0.5 miles with a readable signal.
Any Comments?
Bill Harms
Elkridge, Maryland
Old Time Radio 650 khz
This IS a pretty sexy looking package. But, when I got to the price of the transmitter, the bells and whistles went off. There are lots of "Talking House" transmitters in service all over the country. However, for the Part 15 broadcaster some of the equipment (if you are NOTa school) is not acceptable under some sections of Part 15. If you use the built-in antenna you are probably OK. If you use the ATU and feedline included in the complete package, you will be in excess of the 3 meters allowed under the regulations. They can offer the external antenna/ATU and feedline to schools because they fall under a different section of Part 15 than other Part 15 broadcasters.
For the money, (unless you can find a used unit) there are other transmitters that will provide just as good or better audio for the same or less money. The SSTran or the Rangemaster transmitters will certainly do a better job of broadcasting with out the unneeded internal stuff in the ActRadio unit.
Bottom line: never used one, probably never will due to the company's reluctance to tell you the real technical parameters on their web site. And even though this is a great LOOKING unit, mounting next to the antenna outdoors could be a real challenge.
Marshall Johnson, Sr.
Rhema Radio - The Word In Worship
http://www.rhemaradio.org
What amazes me is the range of these units without all the fuss of loading an antenna. It makes me wonder what is their secret. Very intriguing. Any ideas?
PhilcoBill
Old Time Radio
650 KHz
Elkridge, Maryland
I may be picking one up myself. We'll be putting it into a weatherproof box and sticking it on the roof.
I would be curious to hear what others say about this thing though - over on Ramsey's forum, people rave over it's sound quality.
Hello, everyone! This is my first post!
I have one of these (new advanced model, with 5 min recording time), and I LOVE it! I run it in "live" mode, and cover a couple of blocks with the supplied wire antenna, just taped to the living room wall at the front of the house. I've set it at 1300 am, and call it "Lucky 13!" Beautiful sound!
To answer your question, the external ATU becomes the transmitter when used with this particular unit, and is legal under part 15 rules, according to people "in the know". The coax cable is not part of the "antenna", so to speak. It feeds the signal to the "box". One uses a 102" inch Whip with this, and covers a half-mile or more when mounted on a mast.
I am assured the ATU is legal under part 15, and plan on buying one. One word of warning, if you did not buy this from www.talkinghouse.com, DO NOT TELL THEM!!! If you say you bought it second-hand, they WILL NOT sell you anything! I find this poor business practice.
If I bought a Dodge from a used-car lot, I would NEVER expect refusal of service from Chrysler, should I need it later on. Why would this company (Talking House) refuse to sell external microphones, ATU's, house signs and other accessories for their product??
-Doug
On the left column of this page under Good Neighbors is the ramseyelectronics forum. There is a recent thread there on the Talking House/ActOne with over 40 entries. There are a number of models and the current one which "looks like VCR" is the one to be sought after. One fellow there, Joe, obtained 2 of them that looked the same from the front, yet had some minor differences on the back, with different model numbers, and one had excellent range while the other one didn't, so it's something to look out for. Joe gives the two model numbers in the thread. There's also a discussion of an internal servo driven antenna tuner that adjusts when frequency is changed, and a warning not to change antenna length as it is designed to match the antenna tuner setting for peak resonance. The units show up on E Bay frequently for a lot less money than a new one but it's important to get the right model. Some of the E Bay descriptions list "antenna" yet this is generally the piece of wire supplied with the basic unit and not the out door antenna advertised with the ActOne. Jim B
If you look at the FCC Part 15 or Industry Canada RSS-210, the rules state that the length of the ground wire + radiator (feedline and antenna) must be less than 3 meters. I don't see how an external ATU can be considered a transmitter under any stretch of the imagination - it does not generate any radio waves, but tunes the antenna for a better impedance match (so the waves don't get reflected back to the transmitter). In other words, the feedline to the ATU, plus the ATU, must be considered to be within the 3 meter limitation. That's why manufacturers such as Hamilton include a tuner as part of the transmitting unit, and place this unit at the base of a whip antenna. I'd like to know who these 'people in the know' are that you refer to...I'd take their advice with a very large grain of salt.
Geets, When you take a look at the actradio outdoor antenna there's a box at its base and I think what actradio is saying is that the actual rf transmitting apparatus is in that box making the whip and box the actual 3 meter portion that part 15 requires. At the back of the main unit there are separate antenna connections for the outside antenna and inside wire antenna. Now this becomes very interesting since evidently the tuning still takes place in the main unit for the outside antenna which makes me wonder if some low power, say 10mw, is sent through the shielded cable and a 100mw amp is in the antenna box. I don't own one, so am just guessing. Any other observations? One of the fellows here mentions that actradio will not sell you anything if haven't bought the unit directly from them. On the ramsey forum this includes the outside antenna should you want to go that route, so a suggestion, if you should buy used such as E Bay try to get the original receipt or at least the name of the original owner who you can pose as. Jim B
Geets and fellows, quick addition. Forgive my lack of proper nomenclature, should my idea above be true, then the main unit would be called an Exciter with the amp at the antenna. MLR if this is true then you won't have to mount the main unit at the antenna. Jim B
by MRAM 1500 kHz
I read an article about carrier current and free radiate transmitter systems and in the article they show an item that does just what you are talking about.
Your main transmitter (exciter) by itself is Part 15 compliant. Then to increase area coverage, coax is run around the area (city blocks) and at strategic locations you place "repeaters" which are basically 100 mw amplifiers each with an appropriate output matching/harmonic suppresion network. Each "repeater" has its own antenna.
DC power and program audio are fed over the coax to the repeaters. In this way, each "repeater" is a transmitter meeting Part 15.219 by virture of legal input power and antenna. The main transmitter (exciter) simply supplies low level modulated RF to all of the repeaters.
Cool! Now to just get the local utility to let you on their poles...
Then that would be an external amplifier, which is not allowed in Part 15 or RSS-210. As far as I know (and I've been in contact with Industry Canada officials only), the only way to run an outside antenna within the strict legal limits of Part 15 and RSS-210 is to put the transmitter in a weatherproof box at the base of the antenna (and use a short ground wire to keep feedline, antenna and ground wire under 3 meters). One sure way to tell if the ATU is legal - the transmitter itself is certified with a particular antenna and only with that and similar antennas of that class. Ask the manufacturer if they have Part 15/RSS-210 certification with their ATU box (and get the certification ID #). Remember, they can tell you it's legal, but they're trying to sell equipment - if it doesn't have that certification number, the onus is on you in the U.S. to ensure that it's legal (and in Canada, I've been told that you HAVE to use RSS-210 certified equipment or you will be deemed to be not compliant with the rules).
by MRAM 1500 kHz
"Section 15.204 External radio frequency power amplifiers and antenna modifications.
(b) A transmission system consisting of an intentional radiator, an external radio frequency power amplifier, and an antenna, may be authorized, marketed and used under this part. Except as described otherwise in this section, when a transmission system is authorized as a system, it must always be marketed as a complete system and must be used in the configuration in which it was authorized."
This from the latest Part 15 update states clearly that as a "system", an external amplifier may be authorized and used under this part. As with a lot of these rules and regs, they seem to contradict themselves within the same part depending upon how they are read.
Part 15.204 (a) clearly states that no one shall use any external amplifier with a Part 15 intentional radiator except as noted in Part 15.204 (b) and (d) of this section. As shown above, Part 15.204 (b) authorizes the use when it is designed as a system.
Since I am permitted under Part 15 rules to design and use home built equipment, I would incorporate the amplifier into my system design. As long as the final stage input power does not exceed 100 mw and the antenna system is compliant, Parts 15.204 (b) and 15.219 should be satisfied.
Any lawyers specializing in FCC rules in the group have an opinion on this?
Auburn Community Radio is doing something similar to this. They have five transmitters located around the city and have pretty good coverage over most of the city. I'm not sure how they're feeding audio to their transmitters, but they have been trying to get the cable company to carry their audio so they can feed additional transmitters.
Frank
www.easthillradio.com