I've finally admitted to myself that I'm not likely ever to need another AM transmitter, so I'm selling my last Talking Sign. This was purchased as a backup about 10 years ago, and never used. It still works great, as I've tested it out over the past few days. It's cosmetic condition is near new, as it's just sat in a box since I purchased it.
The Talking Sign is the precursor to the ProCaster, and similar to the Talking House. But compared to the Talking House, the Talking Sign is much better constructed and more rugged as well, with a metal case. It also sounds better, although probably not as good as the audio enhanced Talking Houses (which I've never used). Unlike the Talking House, tuning is manual, which eliminates one major failing point. The Talking Sign also has an external jack for a 50 ohm antenna. It is both FCC Part 15 and Industry Canada RSS210 certified.
Under ideal conditions, I've managed to achieve approximately 1 mile range to a good car radio with these transmitters (I originally purchased 3) - that was with one mounted on the ceiling in my house, and running the wire antenna outside and over the roofline in a relatively rural setting. It's almost impossible to use AM now where I live, as noise levels are too high, and I can't put antennas outside (or anywhere showing).
I'm asking US$80 shipped anywhere in Canada or the U.S. (that includes the transmitter, power supply and wire antenna). I prefer Paypal (I pay the fees). Contact me through this Forum if interested.
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so so you honestly think that these talking sign AM transmitters transmit further than the talking house? Even though they use practically the same type of wire? I can understand the audio being better than the talking house because my talking house audio is very crappy. Even though it's a talking house 5 it doesn't excite me at all. But maybe if the talking sounded so much better and if I could only do carrier current which being legally blind is almost impossible for me to do. I am very disappointed with AM.
Part 15 Engineer - Haven't seen it yet.
Thelegacy - I suspect that with all conditions being equal, they're about the same. But I was very creative in that installation of the Talking Sign, which is why I got the range. And I've found that the Talking House (non-IAM and non-enhanced) was very spotty in terms of performance. Some that I had couldn't get out of my house (or barely); others actually performed reasonably well. The Talking Sign is much better constructed and, from what I saw, consistent in performance.
Really, with AM, if you want any sort of range, you need to have an outside installation, and be out in the open, well away from noise and obstructions. I'm not surprised that you're not getting much range with an indoor install.
In terms of audio quality, it's better than the non-enhanced Talking House. It's not nearly as good as the ProCaster or Rangemaster. That, of course, is a qualitative judgment on my part, having owned and used all four at various times.
There are no shortcuts in Part 15 broadcasting. FM (at least in the U.S.) doesn't give you any sort of range, at least if you're legal. AM gives you much more potential, but even there you need to spend some money to get the best performance and sound. The Talking Signs were the best of the bunch (in my opinion) of the lower-priced transmitters (although the price back when I bought them was around $500), good for those on a budget who can't afford anything else, or those who are just starting out and want to learn by doing.
[And lest I've offended the SSTran fans out there, I consider kit transmitters to be in a class of their own, and not directly comparable to the pre-built, certified ones. For those who know what they're doing, they can end up with a great sounding transmitter that can rival the most expensive ones out there at a much cheaper price. For people like me, who are all thumbs and spatially challenged, I wouldn't trust the results.]
Sent you an email with a few queations also...
Mark
I'm not getting anything from those who said they contacted me.
Try: artisanradio AT gmail DOT com
Classichits1630am at gmail dot com
The Talking Sign is gone. Thanks for the interest.