How High is Your Rangemaster and Other Part 15 Transmitter Antennas?

I've seen that too, and I think that is erroneous advice for AM. Many folks have noted, and I feel the same way, that we are primarily using ground wave so it's difficult to see why elevating would be as beneficial as a good ground.

FM has always been better high and in the clear, but we're trying to toss out a 650' wave, so I'm not too sure how much difference 35 feet would make.

According to those who know more than I do, our standard based loaded antenna puts out a pattern that looks something like this:So, IMHO, raising that up might reduce range and put too much of our signal up in the air and away from our listeners.

For that reason, my antennas have always been at ground level.

Drug Addicts, Vandals, And Thieves. that's why.

With my ground mounted antenna the best range I got was about 100 feet. With a 10' mast mounted on my 20' roof, I can hear the signal a mile away.

I tune standing on a ladder (yes, on the roof) using a field strength meter. It's a hassle, but it pays off in range.

Macrohenry

Maybe the difference is that a 3 meter antenna has many obstructions to a flea-power signal and getting it up a bit simply gets it in the clear?

Or at least the reason why i havent placed my sstran in a box outside with copper underneath it.

Kentucky is bad for copper thieves, construction sites have had wiring ripped out of the walls, heat pumps and a wide variety of places.

My fm station is using a 5 foot flag pole on the porch wich is made of aluminum as the antenna with attenuation of course. But i had to do it that way just to keep the neighborhood junkies out of my hair.

We moved here only because we were in a bind and needed a place fast and because we were told this place was a good community.

I guess that person has another definition of "good" lol
As for my sstran, ive kicked around alot of different ideas to protect it from the rif raf here.

One idea popped in my noggin yesterday, what if i made it mobile? Feed audio from a mp3 player?
Place it in a tool box in the back of my van ?

Anyway i think thats main reason I would raise the antenna in the air, but i dont have that luxury here.

Hmmm, ill elaborate more about a mobile am on my blog.

How does your state compare to others for copper theft. This could be the beginning a a good thread!

It's getting worse.
Ill include links below each example, most of this information was taken from google searches.
You can do further research by trolling the Ky television websites, wkyt-tv, wlex-tv, wave-tv, wtvq-tv.

Kentucky, southern ohio , the virgina's and tennesee, all have been hit hard by copper bandits trying to make a buck or two.
The price of copper hovers around $3.00 per pound and thieves will stop at nothing to get their hands on the precious metals.

Some reports across The Bluegrass State say the thieves have removed copper from road lights on interstate's 64 and 75 leaving some places dark. Road crews are often unable to keep up with repairs.
http://bluegrassbeat.bloginky.com/2008/08/07/copper-thieves-hit-interstate-highway-lighting/

Construction sites including new homes were hit as well, the construction crews have had to install a wireless security system "tattletale" that covers 2000 feet/ usually 16 homes that alerts both police and the owners.
http://www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/28042419.html

Cell phone towers have had the guy wires cut and if the vandals are lucky, the towers fall and they pick them clean of aluminum and copper.

Sometimes things dont go as planned as some thieves are found lying dead after making a wrong move on power lines and electrical service panels.

I hope this information helps but at the same time i hope it doesnt take away from your enjoyment or love of radio and part 15.

Amazing!

were regularly cut up and sold by scrap thieves in the Pacific Northwest. Aluminum was cheap up here in the early 60s when the system was built. Washington actually sent road crews out to stamp identification numbers and other marks on what was left to prevent sale to scrappers.

Sort of makes the "toroid and 108 inch CB whip" solution more palatable.

In the Akron, Canton, Cleveland Ohio area thieves rip copper plumbing and aluminium siding from the houses. Not just vacant houses.

The MO is a "work" looking vehicle pulls up to a house where no one is home. They must case the neighborhood first to get the times down. The guys get out of their vehicle and plant a business sign in the yard like "Joes Remodeling" or the like.

They start working. Who'd figure any different than they were hired. They quickly pull the aluminium off as high as they can reach while someone else breaks in and rips the copper plumbing from the basement. Load up, pull the sign and off they go. No one the wiser.

Only where you have a tight neighborhood do they sometimes get caught. Rough areas with lots of abandoned houses are easy jobs as there are no neighbors.

Bob,
This maybe a bit off the subject...ok actually it is lol but it thought i would throw in that i was born in Cauyahoga Falls in March of '67.

Kind of makes me homesick thinking about Cleveland.
I have family up there and i can tell those of you that have never been to Cleveland that in most places the homes are pretty close together.

Hard to believe these thieves would go to these extremes, my parents had a sweet ride, one of those full sized vans with all the bells and whistles. It was stolen right out of the driveway early in the morning then found a few days later stripped down to its frame. They have two trees on either side of their driveway by the curb, i still dont know how they backed out without smacking the mirrors.

Im not much of a city dweller myself, but city or not these thieves could care less where they or from whom they steal.

I think maybe it makes sense these days to cover your most prized posessions with some sort of security system, even if its just a motion detector flood light and a camera system.

Until next time,
Barry.

I know NW PA has been hit hard by metal maniacs,stealing ground wires off of telephone poles,cables off of railroad poles,siding and plumbing from houses,copper hardline off of radio and tv towers,air conditioning units both ground and roof mounted. They even stole the feedlines off of a local police tower,knocking them off the air! In another part of the state,they cut down whole communications towers and took it all,even the transmitters and power pole transformers!

Scrap prices for gold,copper,palladium pellets(found in catalytic convertors),aluminum has gone sky high and a lot of folks sell it too cheaply not knowing its true worth. A junk car is worth about $400 just in scrap nowadays. I know of one person who made half a million last year buying gold and reselling it.

Security is key,motion lights,alarms,permanent markings,cameras and dogs are the norm if you wanna keep your stuff! WOOF WOOF!