I Need A New AM Transmitter

I have a buddy that wants rid of his Talking House Transmitter (AM). He is going strictly FM. He wants $60 for the transmitter/power supply/wire antenna. It works good on 1640 for sure...let me know...

Many here use the Talking House transmitter which is assembled and FCC certified.

If you are willing to build a kit the SSTRAN AMT-3000 is a good choice. SSTRAN also has a model AMT-5000 for a bit more money. Both are reputed to have very good audio.

Ramsey Electronics has a kit, the AM-25, which is also frequency stable and which will drive any 3 meter antenna.

The more expensive assembled units include the Hamilton Rangemaster and the Procaster.

I recommend you avoid any which are not crystal controlled or synthesized for the drift reasons you mentioned.

Neil

Can you set it to 540 kHz?    There is a station on 1630 kHz that is owned by the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and 1640 kHz might  be useful too and 1650 kHz is a talk station WHKT-AM.    I might get an AM to go on 1620 kHz one day.    

Adam E. 

From the SSTRAN and Ramsey websites it appears that the coverage is from 540 to 1700 kHz for these units.

You will need to check on the others mentioned.

Neil

for a kit i recommend the SSTRAN AMT5000 weighing in at about $295.00 followed by the AMT3000 for $95 for certified the first choice would be procaster $695 followed by a talking house Version 5 $95 for FM the Decade MS100 all the way at $500

i personally avoid hamilton (customer service issues) and the iAM Radio transmitter (search the forum archives for the explanation of why not) avoid the TH external atu unless you can acquire it for $50 or less. it's not worth much more than that imho. certainly not worth $295.00 plus the large shipping.

the TH ver5, and both SSTRANS will do 540 khz. the procaster cuts off at 1200 khz

Hello gccradioscience,

This transmitter fits the bill perfectly for what you are after:

http://www.vcomp.co.uk/spitfire/spitfire.htm

It's the same price as the SStran AMT3000, but comes already assembled. This transmitter is often forgotten about on this side of the pond, but it is a very worthy contender. I personally have used one and a good friend of mine runs his station with one of these.

It's inexpensive (under $100 plus $10 shipping), it's FCC Part 15 compliant, it's already assembled, and it sounds great.

IMHO, based on what you wrote, this is probably your best bet. 🙂

a note on ramseys am offerings. the am25 is very difficult to get to operate correctly for the beginner. the am1 is not good for any serious part 15 usage. the am1 is only good for around the house casting at most or for the beginner to learn soldering and electronics. the am25 is a decent transmitter for someone with extensive electronics and RF experience at medium wave as it takes quite a bit to get it to make 100mW input and sound decent. the spitfire is an assembled transmitter and i will have to defer to 1580 on that one as i have no experience with it at all and have not even heard much talk on it beyond it exists.

Yes, the Talking House covers the entire AM band.  

You can find them on Ebay anywhere from $25 and up.  Usually they go for around $60 plus shipping.

My first transmitter was the AMT3000 from sstran.com and I loved it so much I got a second one right away.

Those two transmitters are still favorites of mine, even though I also now have an AMT5000, which has boss power.

Whatever you get, there will always be something better you can upgrade to later on down the line.

Since you are in an apartment complex, you are likely limited to transmitters using the long wire antenna rather than the outdoor set-up. That means the Talking House or Spitfire may be your two best options.

I haven't experimented with it, but since you DON'T want extra range, the $60 Talking House with a wire antenna ay be all you would need. I read that you have almost no money to spend right now. Lots of us are in that situation now.

Good luck,

Alan 

I just talked to my friend that has the TH and he said for you to pay the shipping, and then pay the difference whenever you can...he's a pretty good guy, and tries to help out whenever possible...let me know...

The TH is great for two reasons, it has that auto antenna tuner for the wire antenna and it's aesthetically pleasing to look at. Otherwise, I'd be wary because the majority of TH transmitters out there are the older models that have terrible sound quality. The newer i A.M. transmitters I am told sound much better. So, you will want to verify with any seller if it's the new improved model. But even then, I have heard mixed reports. I bought a supposed 'improved' (not an i A.M.) model on eBay and it's garbage sound by my standards and many sellers either don't know any better or are not willing to provide any details regarding which one it is. I only get stung with junk once.

Personally if it were up to me, $60 for a TH vs. $100 for the Spitfire, the Spitfire wins hands down. Because there will be no question or doubt that the audio quality will be great. This thing boasts a 10Hz to 25kHz audio response.

I use a very high fidelity tuner to monitor my air feeds and the audio from an SStran or Spitfire will give FM like fidelity (a tad brighter in most cases because of the pre-emphasis)

If you're willing to do a couple of evenings worth of soldering then I would strongly recommend the AMT3000.

If you ever decide to get fancy down the road, Procaster all they way. No Ifs Ands or Buts...it's fully certified for whatever side of the border you reside in and it comes with everything you need in the box it ships in. No need to run to the hardware store. Plus it has on board audio processing and an antenna tuner.

Bottom line, ask the seller which version of TH it is. If it's anything but the i A.M. model, don't expect much in terms of sound quality. Just my thoughts.

In your case, the lower band section might be a good choice if just within your house and immediate grounds area, but it will drop off more sharply at, say, 200', than will the upper band section, 1610 and above. IOW, it should work well and strong in the near field with a stick antenna, and also CC operation, but not in the far field. In the upper section of the band, you can get more range with accurate tuning and antenna systems.

I'll put my vote for a Chezradio Procaster if you have $800.  It has great range and comes complete and will set up easily.  I've had one running for 9 months and it never needs any adjustments or tweaking.

For the kits, I have built 2 Sstran amt3000's and these are also top shelf.  Forget the Ramsey stuff.  Good for learning, but not mocu else.