carrier curent am

I don't think licenses exist for carrier current, so you wouldn't need one.

The way to set it up is, turn on your transmitter and tune it for max signal into the line. Hit the streets with a good quality portable radio tuned to your station. Walk away from the power line you're feeding at a right angle, somewhere in the open like across a field for about 100 meters, and your signal should be very weak or gone, then you're probably within the rules at that point. Following the power line with the radio, you might get the signal many times that distance.

Carrier Current operation requires a coupler/tuner to connect the transmitter signal to the AC power lines.  Please don't simply plug your transmitter antenna output directly into the AC line.

The coupler/tuner both matches the transmitter output to the AC line while blocking the AC power from backfeeding the transmitter which could be damaging.

At the very least coupling to the AC line would require high voltage capacitors with a capacitance just large enough to pass the RF signal while blocking the low frequency AC power.  Typically something on the order of .01 uf / 1000 volt.

The AC line typically is a very low impedance to the RF signal which is why a tuning network is required to match the transmitter impedance to the AC line impedance.

The traditional way to connect to the AC line is to put the RF signal between the HOT and NEUTRAL wires.  Many report much better success putting the RF signal between the NEUTRAL and an isolated ground which is typically a ground rod not connected directly to the AC distribution system.

Loads on the AC line (lamps, appliances, etc.) will cause the tuning to change somewhat as they are connected/disconnected.  Large changes would require retuning the coupler/tuner.

Search this site for threads about Carrier Current.  There have been many discussions here.

Join the ALPB for real time voice discussions about this and other issues.

mram 1500 oh ok i understand what i want to know if its legal to use and how manny watss the fcc allows??

Which Transmitters are built for carrier current where I don't have to wire up anything?  I looked at the AM Transmitter in the link but I don't know if its pre wired for carrier current.  If so it could be a cheap reliable way to transmit 1/4 mile to a mile away with little hassle.  Depending where the main power transformer is in your neighboorhood you could do quite nicely.  Too bad FM can't use it.

I was trying to keep my answer simple, but yes you'd need a coupler. The coupler's a means to block the AC power from backing up into the transmitter, and tuning the line so that the RF signal goes out through it to your listeners efficiently.

The Legacy, I have seen designs for carrier current transmitters you just plug in, but they were all old tubed transmitters. It seems like they were used for local broadcasting, like for a schoolroom project, around a house or for a baby monitor.

It seems like they just connect the RF signal to the power line right inside of the radio itself, so there's no separate tuner or coupler box. It would be like a broad band tuning system, and probably not as powerful as a real coupler would be, but it gets the job done for local use, maybe a few milliwatts into the line. With that kind of radio, you would plug it into different outlets in your house until you found the one that gave the best range.

That's all 1970s and before, and the problem is, I don't know who makes a new carrier righ like this with IC's and transistors.

oh ok my question is how much watss could i use legaly? so useing the coupler icant build it,,it has to be someone who knows things about electricy?

Dear jrmarketinginc:

The answer to "how many watts can I use" is in the FCC link I provided earlier.

The way it works is... you can use as many watts as it takes to have a field strength measurement at the prescribed distance from the power line as indicated in the rule.

Simple?

No. It's not simple. To get it right you may need to hire a professional radio engineer to help set the legal wattage. ($$$$$$$$$$)

The SIMPLE approach, which I use, is to use an AMT5000 transmitter kit from sstran.com with an antenna system in your yard, and get WAY out for thousands of feet and sometimes a mile or more.

By the way, where did you get the idea of using CARRIER CURRENT?

the reason igot the idea is cause its beter and it covers more then a chez procaster 🙂

and it also fun to broadcast on.

my gaol is to cover my city thats why i want carrier curent

ok last question ?? with radio system antena that comes with the 10 watt am transmiter will it cover my city?>

Contact Radio Systems on the phone. They will describe for you what their equipment can do.

Carrier current sounds harder than I thought.  I was in Florida once near Orlando.  I remember a sign next to a parade of houses cuz my Dad was looking for a house in Florida and when I was living with him before I finally got back on my feet he saw a sign with an AM frequency to tune in to. It had a message about the houses and the signal got out all around that street and I thought the realiter won't set up an outside antenna and I figured it was Carrier Current transmition.  It did have a little him and the audio was weak probably cuz they were using a cassett tape.  I thought Hmmm a cassett tape adaptor to my computer would work because the Talking House or Talking Sign player would think its playing a tape but in reality its playing my cassett adapter.  But if it is not carrier current how did the realiter get out that far?  Were they using the wire inside the house that came with the transmitter and then just wrap the insolated wire around a lamp cord and when he or she done that the RF sort of followed the power line like a capacitor because it does not actually touch the inside wire since both the cord and the wire are insolated?  Don't know just guessing.  I know the SWR had to be Hideous.  Sounds like Carrier current won't be something the avarage consummer can do.  And the requirement of an outside antenna won't be a good thing where I live.  You'd need at least a 10 foot rod to even think about going anywhere.

I guess the question is - how big is your city.

You're not going to be able to cover a large city with Part 15 broadcasting - just a fact of life.  If you have a decent over-the-air AM installation, you can cover a mile or more (with a very good receiver at the other end).  With over-the-air FM, perhaps up to 800 feet to a good receiver (i.e., car radio) or, as the FCC would put it, no more than 200 feet to an ordinary radio.

I've never done carrier current, but know that there would also be issues there covering a large city (RF can get stopped at transformers).

Now, if you have a small town, or neighbourhood, then Part 15 is indeed a viable option.

Otherwise, you might be better off looking at other alternatives, such as Internet Radio (but there's nothing to stop you from doing both an Internet stream AND Part 15 over-the-air).

Small towns have a good result with carrier current according to several stations.

K-ROCKS in Wyoming says his CC covers most of his town.

MRAM 1500 in Ohio said his test CC station covered most of his town.

Tim in Bovey covers his town with a transmitter/antenna, but I don't think he's had a CC system.

My CC station closely matched the results I got with an AMT3000 and antenna, the signal was strong in about ten houses served by the same electrical transformer up on the pole, but faded out steeply on electric lines from other transformers, with me in a densely populated metropolitan area.

The most experienced people I've talked to said that it is impossible to predict what will happen with CC because electric power lines are so different in various places.