Here's our coverage map now that we hoisted the radio up to about 30' up in the air and away from objects and ground clutter etc the coverage is now in the range of the entire town and a little more. So from 12 feet to 30 ft increased signal levels using no grounding whatsoever. to another 700-1000ft more to really allow full town coverage of about 2500 people.
Joe The Radio Dood
www.radiokoiw.com
There is a reason that your ungrounded Rangemaster has greater range and it's not because of obstructions. 🙂
Want to know, what is the reason?
Mark
when I finish my 60ft red white tower God willing, we shall see how range is then at double the height. 🙂
Were you able to tune the RM up at 30 ft or did you tune it on the ground then elevate it? I know what the directions say but wonder about the practicality of it. I'd like to elevate my AMT-5000 above its current height of 20 ft but don't know how I'd re-tune it. I wondered how this guy did it but after looking more closely I can see the climbing bars on the pole:
.
It would be nice if any of these transmitters had a remote control head much like my GMRS and Amateur mobile radios do, but I suppose that woulod introduce all sorts of other problems.
Is the reason for the good coverage with NO ground because the metal tower is acting as a ground?
Mark
Something is definitely acting as a long ground lead, probably the audio or power cables. Height alone shouldn't make that much of a difference.
...unless you are using opto-isolators and isolation transformers?
I assume that your tower mounted antenna is base-loaded? If yes, then it is essentially the top segment of a 1/4 wave vertical antenna. If you mount your antenna at a height equivalent to where the top segment of a full-size 1/4 wave vertical would be above ground, then the antenna would couple most effectively to the ground wave electrical field. That may give you the biggest increase in signal strength.
The shield of your audio cable is conencted at the Rangemaster end if you use shielded cable. If not, RF is coupled onto the audio/power feed anyway. You now have an off-center fed antenna that does a nice job of radiating. The Part 15 rules were written when tubes ruled, hence the reference to filaments.
You guys are all terrible guessers.
No loaded this or coiled that no ground at all no audio shield blah blah man height makes might wake up..
Joe The radio dood
We haven't even tuned it yet waiting for the last tower install so we
can rent a cherry picker lift so we don't do this 20 times at $100.00 an hr
we turned it inside the house which was just a gen tune to get on freq.
Joe
As it's already been mentioned.. for the sake of test, power that transmitter with a battery, audio feed it with a mp3 player (or whatever), with both the battery and the player raised at the same elivation and location as the transmitter and connected with short feeds.
OR DON'T.. because it's clear you don't want to prove yourself wrong. But it's totally iresponsible to be suggesting that what you have is somehow a legal part 15 installation -- You know it's not, You know one or both of the feeds are radiating. You know your magic install is not somehow defying the very laws of physics.. or maybe you don't know. But 100mw input combined with a 3 meter antenna system is not capable of producing such extreme range.. there's no question whatsoever that your system is drastically beyond the 3meter rule.
It's basically the KENC fiasco.
http://www.am1000rangemaster.com/main2.htm
http://www.progressive-concepts.com/transmission-equipment/Rangemaster-AM1000-Part-15-AM-Transmitter_PT616.html
http://www.toddjenkins.com/radio17/
SO all of these guys on 25/30/40 ft poles, like myself who use towers etc are in your grounded opinion liars and the average range which according to you is mere blocks because you sit yours on the ground and claim it's not an efficient radiator to cross into 1-2 miles. I believe your backward thinking and limitations on your own account of how you try to play radio when others are actually doing it and getting out without cheating/tricks/or lying is why you're still grounded in how not to do it. NOWHERE does it say you have to use a ground or keep it at a certain height, it's your own restrictions and false interpretations which limit your range of success?
I think somebody has tower envy
;P
http://www.am1000rangemaster.com/main2.htm
http://www.progressive-concepts.com/transmission-equipment/Rangemaster-AM1000-Part-15-AM-Transmitter_PT616.html
http://www.toddjenkins.com/radio17/
SO all of these guys on 25/30/40 ft poles, like myself who use towers etc are in your grounded opinion liars and the average range which according to you is mere blocks because you sit yours on the ground and claim it's not an efficient radiator to cross into 1-2 miles. I believe your backward thinking and limitations on your own account of how you try to play radio when others are actually doing it and getting out without cheating/tricks/or lying is why you're still grounded in how not to do it. NOWHERE does it say you have to use a ground or keep it at a certain height, it's your own restrictions and false interpretations which limit your range of success?
I think somebody has tower envy
;P