Thanks, marosborne, I understand what you are saying.
I would prefer to turn off the stereo generator entirely in the C.Crane FM1, but they do not offer that option.
The Wholehouse 2.0 does have a mono option and it works great.
And yes, I can mix the audio to mono right in my Winamp Player.
The Decade CM-10 has been modified to only go to 107.5 and not go below 88 as per Industry Canada rules and the Hi power feature has been defeated...only one operating power. Tried. Looking at circuit board of mine and comparing to the CZH O5B circuit board picture one of the 3 output transistors has been removed and bypassed...the only mod that is visable. Decade's Micheal Carrier told me when I got this that these have been made especially to Decade's specs and there are two batches...part 15 for units going to the US and BETS for units shipped to Canada.
But on the Sainsonic if you said you can just get across a room on the certified low setting then it's quite under powered.
Also the Decade CM-10 has been modified to a fixed antenna and the BNC connector removed.
If using a computer style power supply(brick style) these work best with no humming. The original one that came from Decade works good.
Mark
Mine has a small brick power supply. It is interesting how the transistors were removed. Thanks for your report.
Fow several days I have been extremely satisfied with the FM coverage inside our building since installing the Mid-Fed L Antenna.
The two problems experienced steadily with a plain vertical antenna, chronic multipath and ocassional dead-spots, are a thing of the past.
Coverage now is filled in and stable everywhere around the building no matter where I walk and on all four radio positions.
Yet, the signal level is about the same on the spectrum analyzer as the certified state of the C.Crane and Wholehouse 2.0.
The S-meter on the Grundig 750, way back in a rear-room sits right on 4 (scale of 0 - 5).
Yesterday I wrote down dBu/dB readings at key spots indoors using the TECSUN PL-310, and after I do the same readings outdoors I'll post them here.
Riding east in the car I get a stable signal for 1-block, with weaker signal for another half-block.
This morning I drove north and got solid signal for 3/4 of the block.
The size of the Mid-Fed L is not cut to an exact fraction of a wave-length because the available wall space is not enough, but the random lengths in use seem to be doing the right job.
Antenna experiments for FM can take a rest.
How many inches does the top and botton parts of the L have?
The feed wire from the C.Crane to the Mid-Point of the L is 8-inches;
The horizontal part of the L is 22-inches, which is the amount of wall space reaching right into a corner;
The vertical part of the L = 30-inches.
Special Memo to Rich: the reading on the spectrum analyzer is essentially the same as two other FM transmitters from the same distance in their certified state.
Therefore no FCC rule is being broken, so stop that sniffing sound.
A very handy little piece of paper came with the Wholehouse 2.0 showing a simple formula for determining full wavelength of a frequency in inches.
On a calculator divide 11811 by the FM frequency (MHz) that you want to transmit on.
Example: For station 93.9 MHz divide 11811 by 93.9 = 125.78 inches.
My added comment, 1/2 of the number is half-wave and 1/4 of the number is quarter wave.
Thanks for the formula. Its interesting to note those 10 foot AM antennas you know thw whip? Well that is actually wull wave FM.
Thanks for the formula. Its interesting to note those 10 foot AM antennas you know thw whip? Well that is actually wull wave FM.
Putting FM antennas indoors is very different from putting one outdoors in an open space.
Many times antennas get put right on a wall, to keep it out of valuable room space.
I would have thought that putting an FM antenna on a wall would reduce its output but not according to my spectrum analyzer.
Today I put the C.Crane FM2 in the center of the room on a 2-foot stack of books, then moved it right up against a wall, and got exactly the same reading.
The Mid-Fed L FM Antenna that was the solution to multipath woes is not so perfect as first thought.
Tonight I entered the Upper Management Lounge, third room away from the L Antenna, and BUZZ!!! WOOOSH!!! ZZZZZ!!!! Sizzle!!! Big Time Multipathing!
So I started shouting as the first step toward grasping what was taking place.
WHAT THE DEVIL IS GOING ON HERE! IT WAS PERFECT! NOW IT'S ALL MESSED UP AND I'LL NEED TO TELL THEM AT PART15(DOT)COM!
Pause.
Reflection.
Well, there are the three large cartons opened up in the middle of the adjoining room. I was looking for parts for another project.
I moved the cartons back to storage and tranquility is restored. No more multipath.
Lesson Learned: If something works, never change anything else.
Carl,
Your escapades remind me of an old country song which says "Life gets tedious sometimes, don't it?)
Neil
Neil, I kept putting quarters in the juke box to hear "Life Gets Tedious Sometimes, Don't It?" per your suggestion.
After about 2-and-a-half hours all the patrons demanded that I leave.
Got to get my own copy.
Oh, hey! I found it at Archive(dot)org!
https://archive.org/details/WalterBrennan_686
This Radio Mag article about AM & FM antennas contains a lot of useful information about questions we've been having:
http://www.radiomagonline.com/rf-engineering/0030/antenna-basics/26148
I understand from your description of the antenna you are using with the CCrane it's a dipole you just have attached to it?
From the range test you did this seems to improve it.
Mark