Hello everyone!
Hello everyone! My name is Paul and I just wanted to say thanks to all of you so much for the great information on this site. I've been interested in Part 15 broadcasting since I was a kid (I'm 53 now). I kind of stumbled on to this site and just kept coming back to it every day - I just could'nt get enough of it! I now have a studio and transmitter and I'm just about ready to go on the air (I live in Wisconsin so I have to wait until the spring thaw to move the transmiter to it's permanent location). I'm just enjoying all of this SO much!! Thanks again for providing the information and the inspiration I needed to get on the air!
Paul
Hi Paul and welcome to the forum! I am also 53ish and have been playing with radios since I was 7! I have a small studio with part 15 transmitters on AM,FM and SW. I use Zara automation 24/7 unless I feel the urge to go live. I play rock and oldies,news and a few quality talk shows. I am also a ham radio operator and a FCC licensed tech. I work in the two way industry and love all to do with radio.
You will find a great bunch of fellow hobbyists on this forum who are willing to help if you need it. Enjoy!
Regards,Lee
http://www.freewebs.com/wilcomlabs/index.htm
Hi Paul and welcome to the forum! I am also 53ish and have been playing with radios since I was 7! I have a small studio with part 15 transmitters on AM,FM and SW. I use Zara automation 24/7 unless I feel the urge to go live. I play rock and oldies,news and a few quality talk shows. I am also a ham radio operator and a FCC licensed tech. I work in the two way industry and love all to do with radio.
You will find a great bunch of fellow hobbyists on this forum who are willing to help if you need it. Enjoy!
Regards,Lee
http://www.freewebs.com/wilcomlabs/index.htm
Thanks for the warm welcome Lee! I selected 1700kHz in my neck of the woods after careful listening and checking with Radio Locator. During the day this frequency was perfect for me but at night other licensed stations could be heard from Iowa and Texas. Would I be in violation of FCC rules if I tried to transmit on this frequency at night and potentially interfering with these other stations? Thanks.
Paul
Thanks for the warm welcome Lee! I selected 1700kHz in my neck of the woods after careful listening and checking with Radio Locator. During the day this frequency was perfect for me but at night other licensed stations could be heard from Iowa and Texas. Would I be in violation of FCC rules if I tried to transmit on this frequency at night and potentially interfering with these other stations? Thanks.
Paul
Everybody gets clobbered at night, so as long as your station is Part 15 compliant the only problem will be that no one can hear you. The other stations will also impact your operation differently at different times of the year, depending on atmospheric conditions. The stations that impact you might also be different, again, depending on conditions.
Runnig at the top of the band is nice if you can squeeze in, but sometimes you need to shimmy down a bit to get away from the noise.
I am running at 1270 KHz right now because when the streetlights come on at night my old freq of 1500 gets obliterated by ballast spatter.
That's one of my favorite things about the transmitter I'm using now, the Talking House. Besides being type accepted, I can change the freq with the touch of a button and the auto-tuner retunes the antenna automatically. I REALLY like that 🙂
Experimental broadcasting for a better tomorrow!
Everybody gets clobbered at night, so as long as your station is Part 15 compliant the only problem will be that no one can hear you. The other stations will also impact your operation differently at different times of the year, depending on atmospheric conditions. The stations that impact you might also be different, again, depending on conditions.
Runnig at the top of the band is nice if you can squeeze in, but sometimes you need to shimmy down a bit to get away from the noise.
I am running at 1270 KHz right now because when the streetlights come on at night my old freq of 1500 gets obliterated by ballast spatter.
That's one of my favorite things about the transmitter I'm using now, the Talking House. Besides being type accepted, I can change the freq with the touch of a button and the auto-tuner retunes the antenna automatically. I REALLY like that 🙂
Experimental broadcasting for a better tomorrow!
Ok, thanks scwis for the information on my concern about interference with licensed stations.
I can see the advantage of the tuning capabilities of your Talking House tx. Sounds like a nice unit and I have read several favorable reviews on it as well. I just bought a Procaster from ChezRadio so I probably won't be in the market for a new transmitter. I went with this system because I have a lot of physical disabilities so winding coils, soldering, tuning antennas, etc. is difficult or impossible for me (as much as I would love to do those things again!!). The Procaster should be a snap for me to install, but it sounds like the Talking House would have been a good choice too (does that come with an external antenna?) When I get the Procaster up and running, I'll post here with a review(so difficult to find time for this great hobby right now!) Thanks again!
Ok, thanks scwis for the information on my concern about interference with licensed stations.
I can see the advantage of the tuning capabilities of your Talking House tx. Sounds like a nice unit and I have read several favorable reviews on it as well. I just bought a Procaster from ChezRadio so I probably won't be in the market for a new transmitter. I went with this system because I have a lot of physical disabilities so winding coils, soldering, tuning antennas, etc. is difficult or impossible for me (as much as I would love to do those things again!!). The Procaster should be a snap for me to install, but it sounds like the Talking House would have been a good choice too (does that come with an external antenna?) When I get the Procaster up and running, I'll post here with a review(so difficult to find time for this great hobby right now!) Thanks again!
I think you're really gonna like the Procaster, and I'm sure you'll get great range - the Talking House is great to fool around with and is pretty inexpensive on ebay, but if I had a place where I could do the set up (I'm in an apartment now, so the Talking House is great, set it on a windowsill and GO) I'd grab a Procaster in a heartbeat!
Experimental broadcasting for a better tomorrow!
I think you're really gonna like the Procaster, and I'm sure you'll get great range - the Talking House is great to fool around with and is pretty inexpensive on ebay, but if I had a place where I could do the set up (I'm in an apartment now, so the Talking House is great, set it on a windowsill and GO) I'd grab a Procaster in a heartbeat!
Experimental broadcasting for a better tomorrow!