Cheap shots at Canada and at anyone who disagrees with you. Is this what the Part 15 Forum is coming to?
Yes RFB, you have the right to your own opinion. But it is indeed only your own.
I have a somewhat different opinion. Tough, live with it. I'm not sure where your rigid stand is coming from, as you're also the one who has posted here in the past that your FM transmitter setup gets far more range than is possible with a legal Part 15 setup, and that's OK. Haven't heard much about that recently.
I stand by my statement that since the Talking House and ATU are certified in the U.S., however that was done (and to find out, petition the FCC, they're the ones who are responsible for disseminating the information), they are legal to use (as long as you don't add a ground wire to the ATU to make the antenna and that ground wire's length greater than 3 meters). As I've stated before, you must have either not read my posts or forgotten, the Talking House and ATU are NOT legal to use in Canada, they do not have an Industry Canada certification number. I've experimented with them, but quickly backed off when that was confirmed (again, if you recall, I asked that question specifically much earlier).
This kind of argument is somewhat akin to my use of the ChezRadio Talking Sign transmitter, which IS certified north of the border. I've reported on this before. I've been somewhat creative in stringing the wire antenna inside a PVC pipe and mounting it outside my studio on my eve of the house - the radio itself sits on a shelf high on a wall to get the antenna as high as possible. The ground is supplied by the AC adapter, and it trails down the wall to the power outlet. And I get good results.
Is the field strength much more than if I just let the wire antenna dangle (like using a Talking House with an elevated ATU generates a stronger field strength than a non-elevated one)? And have the Talking Sign at the level of the power outlet to minimize the radiating of the signal from that lead? Of course. But that's the point - I'm using a certified transmitter, not violating any other rules. Until either Industry Canada or the FCC comes along and says that that installation is NOT legal or certified (and therefore, effectively adding to the rules on the fly, much like they've done with grounding to an elevated mast in the U.S.), I will continue to use it as it is.
And it doesn't matter whether you or anyone else feels that any particular transmitter or arrangement shouldn't have been certified. If you want to pursue why, go ahead. And if you secretly (or not so secretly) want to void the certification, that's fine too. I'm sure (well, I know, based on the tenor of some posts) that there are certainly others (at least one) who also want that. But right now, if it has that certification number, it is legal.
And that's my final word as well.
Thanks much, Carl-
With that encouragement, I'll hope to run some tests over the weekend.
Thankfully, the site is flat and most of the intended recipients, whether in the 'barracks' or in tents, will be within a couple hundred yards.
"And that's my final word as well."
And someone claimed I was reopening old wounds.
:/
Oh yes, the process is well underway. And there is more than just an issue of missing photos now. Thanks to the BS responses from volunteers and a company, that triggered the curiosity and low and behold found an even bigger potential of violation that even the OET or FCC did not know about. Oh boy!!!
Yeah, it's my right to choose, not yours. So stay out of it ok?
Let's hope it really is the final word..this time.
RFB
this ATU crap drops. end of it. i'm sorry but with all due respect nothing can come from beating this horse.
everyone has enough facts around this issue to make their own decision now and deal with consequences.
it's in the hands of the FCC/OET now for investigation and i am sure RFB will update us on ANY NEW INFO but in the meantime it's time to quit beating the subject to death.
lets see what happens with the FCC/OET investigation and go from there.
i recommend watching the EB feed for am violations and checking the OET regularly to see if the THII certification gets pulled.
for now that is all that can be done.
i regret letting this horse out of the barn as i was under the impression that if getting that oet data confirmed that the coax is not part of the radiator or ground and ATU was considered the final RF stage and could be mounted high sans ground wire that i could use the THII/ATU in a second floor apartment setting.
Just start using the THII with ATU, time will go by, there is a 99% chance tomorrow will be the same as today, but if...
If sniffers arrive to question the operation, smilingly hand them a print out of ALL THESE THREADS and tell them, this is your documentation.
Life will be smooth all the way out.
have have too much on my plate right now to do any radio crap. it probably wont all smooth out till after christmas or new year.
then after all this gets off my plate barring no more disasters
i will investigate tinkering again.
right now i just don't have the patience to explain to an FCC agent about my radio stuff so i am not messing with it right now beyond maybe temporary (few hours at a time) setups, take measurements see what it does with the particular arrangement and put it away.
I totally understand brief experimentation.
On today I tried a change with one of my antennas. It was disappointing.
By tomorrow I will try a different idea.
The notes I keep will eventually be a guide book to what works and what doesn't.
The testing and the trial and error and the experimentation are perhaps as much fun as sitting there sending out great programming.
Part 15 is deep. Deeply shallow, we know that, but shallows can be very wide in scope.
...right now i just don't have the patience to explain to an FCC agent about my radio stuff...
Just wondering how "Part 15" operators should expect/believe that their explanations about the radio stuff they operate will override any measurements/observations of the FCC showing non-compliance of such unlicensed systems...?
This was on hold, but a good friend of mine is
installing one of these at a local community
college. He showed me the transmitter and
the tuning unit today. Nice gear!
This community college has a streaming
radio station. The student population is
all commuters, and they just want the Part
15 AM so people can listen in their cars
on the campus. Maybe a few people will
listen on portable AM radios - I don't know.
We'll see how well it works.
Bruce, 90.9, 88.3
Keep in mind the TH ATU uses 75ohm TV cable, not 50ohm transmission line. High quality TV cable goes long distances, has close weave and foil RF shielding, cancels signal escaping from the core.
In most tx' it would make tuning difficult, but the TH external ATU's metered tuning circuit combined with TH's patented tuner makes it easy.
Interesting that the OET data supplied by Radio Systems states the ATU was tested with 50 ohm coax.
If my SWR/Power meter worked at these levels I'd try to determine which works best.
I turned on my th5 by mistake with the antenna disconnected for about 10 minutes. The out put transistors TR306 printed on the circuit board is a NPN C547B and TR305 is a PNP C557B. They are complimentary or matched output transistors running push pull. I had no output and ordered them from Mouser Electronics. They where cheap at about 2.09 for 10 of them and about 4.99 for shipping LOL. There is a patent schematic of the Th 5 but hardly readable as they really dont want people to know much about it. I want to design a output lowpass filter for it like the one on the ramsey am25 transmitter and take a better look at the final output and make a lc network tank circuit to match a 1/2 wave antenna to it better with out that expensive whip tuner they sell. Also this transmitter needs an adjustable input level control badly like on the ramsey am25. Anyway we now have full output again judge by the recieving range i am getting while driving around and listening. With a 1/2 wave inverted vee at 67 feet was able to cover a 3 plus mile range beaming in 2 directions giving a S4 signal at the fringe. Not bad for a untuned output. The auto antenna tune looks like one is for the high end of the band and the other for the low end. Could have some fun with that and replace it with a manual tapped tank circuit and tuning capacitor. Just some ideas.
At five weeks out from the aforementioned reenactment, I'm still undecided as to antenna configuration and placement. The actual site is some 200 miles away so the opportunity for on-site experimentation is virtually nil (however, I will make a site visit in conjunction with another event three weeks from now, but I see that as more of a proof-of-concept-to-minimize-nasty-surprises opportunity).
My first idea is to put everything inside of my VW Vanagon Westfalia camper 
with the TH near roof level and the supplied wire antenna supported by a length of PVC secured to the fiberglass roof. The vehicle has a grounded 110V circuit supplied by an extension cord and the ground is bonded to the vehicle's body/chassis. I'm not sure how much of a useful ground plane the vehicle provides as the center of the steel roof is open to allow access to the upper berth when the top is popped.
The second idea is to install the TH in a weather resistant container, mount it on, and bond it to a pole driven into the ground and situate an antenna above it (either a CB whip or the same supplied wire antenna suspended by PVC). The audio would, in this case, be fed remotely via a suitably long audio cable. I might be able, time and space permitting, to install a set of ground radials.
In either case, obstructions consist of mostly single storey buildings and large trees http://marchonrome.org/MoR%20III%20Gallery/Photos%20by%20Blaine%20Bachman/target31.html.
How would you rank these three ideas:
1. VW as 'Radio Van'
2. 'TH-on-a-stick' with ground radials
3. 'TH-on-a-stick' minus ground radials
??
Thanks!
-bb
First of all, apologies if I've already reported - the forum search tools (or my comprehension thereof) leave much to be desired.
The Talking-House-as-AFRS-station exceeded all expectations. I set it up pretty much as described in previous posts and the coverage was outstanding. Antenna wire supported by PVC in a patio umbrella stand setting in the VW Westfalia's luggage rack area. Coverage reached beyond 1/4 mile in some directions. I think having the car as a somewhat massive, albeit irregular, ground plane didn't hurt, either.
As 'pre-production', I figured out all of the program times and created a paper playlist for each hour (including time hacks, 'station ID', and appropriate announcements) then set about organizing the tracks into one hour long MP3 files using Audacity. I created a playlist for each day (in Windows Media Player) and plugged the hour long MP3 files in, in order.
The station went on the air every morning at 0600 to the sound of reveille and signed of at 2200 with the US National Anthem. The only glitch was that on the second day, the 4:00 PM MP3 didn't launch; fortunately I was near by.
It was more than gratifying to wander the 'barracks' and hear the vintage broadcast playing from AM radios in the various rooms. Tons of thank-yous and other positive comments from staff and participants!!
After two successful years hosting a Forties-style AFRS radio station from my Vanagon camper during a WWII reenactment, I now have to do something different as the Vanagon is going away. I hope I don't find out that the vehicle itself was a fabulous ground plane! (The110V camper wire system ground is bonded to the vehicle chassis and body.)
I noticed that the TH people have discontinued their remote transmitter in favor of installing the TH in a water resistant cabinet with an attached whip antenna. The setup also includes a 100-foot cable to provide both power and input signal to the TH.
I'm guessing that to avoid UL-type issues, this cable is low voltage and goes between the wall wart and the TH. Having seen a lot of posting here about humming and other interference with the basic TH, I wonder if the supplied cabling has been selected to minimize if not totally eliminate such interference. Does anyone have any experience with this newer product?
I've purchased a similar water resistant box and a stainless whip antenna - just need to determine what to use for the audio input and power cords.
Thanks in advance!