Summer only got started on Tuesday but part15.us is overflowing with breakthrough activity.
Me, I think PhilB's transmitter will be the front-runner in AM Part 15 for many years to come. Phil is not a person to exaggerate and speaks in matter-of-fact science language, telling things very accurately.
Then Radio8Z is operating on multi-track, with a super efficient self-invented Part 15 AM card he's perfecting; has published extensive upgrade ideas for the Ramsey AM25 transmitter, and is playing a key role in developing a 3-transistor Part 15 Shortwave transmitter, the first of its kind.
Everybody is doing something interesting and low power is going somewhere.
bears a striking resemblance to a certain type certified part 15 am transmitter but with a bigger toroid.
when will these be available? when will detailed pics and info be available beyond the spec sheet posted on sstrans website?
i dont believe the other part 15 tx has a 98% final efficiency either so with the bigger toroid and better final efficiency this design will probably whoop the SH#t out of that other certified transmitter
my guess is this project might be dead in the water. more info and pics were to be posted in may on sstran website and here its august and nothing.
Putting forward a negative "guess" that the project is "dead in the water" has no basis in real fact, unless more is known that wasn't stated.
My guess is different. I imagine that bringing a complex technical device to market has many details any one of which could have encountered a delay. A problem, let's say, with getting the manual composed and printed. Or packaging issues, or parts issues, or patent/copyright matters.
I think the project is alive in the water.
well it seemed there were no replies to mine or the previous posters questions but the moment i put a negative comment on it out come the replies very quickly i might add. maybe people in the know should answer questions before these comments come out instead of after. i've seen this before with other posters they dont get replies until a negative comment is made then everyone cdomes out of the wood work just my two cents on the matter.
Dear Rev. Robert P. Chrysafis:
As the only respondent to the negative comment, I am not "in the know," any more than anyone before me. But your observation is an interesting one.
The main thing here is that we are very curious about this fascinating new transmitter that is running behind schedule.
Back to the woodwork!
To go from a working prototype
to mass production of the kits -
plus putting it all on his website -
that's a lot of stuff. (Not to mention
the construction and operating manual.)
Considering how much he's done for
Part 15 AM radio, I'd rather he take his time.
I bet you guys probably feel that way, too.
Before the AMT3000 came out, we were
all using whatever we had then. I had
a Panaxis AM-100 without any
documentation. As a lot of you know,
that unit only operated on 600, 750,
1000, 1200, and 1500 kHz. I ran mine
on 750. It was a wonderful transmitter,
and had fantastic audio. But it never went
any distance And before THAT, it was tube
phono oscillators for me.
Also, there weren't a zillion guys waiting for
the AMT3000 to come out. One day it just
appeared. And the rest is history.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, Dog Radio Studio 2
P.S. About the time I got the Panaxis AM-100,
(1989) I wanted to put something on FM. too.
Radio Shack had a wireless FM (88-108 MHz)
lapel mike. So I got one. I disconnected the
internal mike and patched in line audio
somewhere on the circuit board. That thing sounded
fantastic. But it sure didn't go anywhere. And it
was next to impossible to get it right onto an FM channel,
because it had a VFO and you had to use a tuning tool.
my friend who runs/ran wcbo am1700 / oldies 102.3 philipsburg nj started out with those radio shack wireless mics.
Yes! Isn't it amazing what we all
jury rigged years ago! Using that
Radio Shack FM wireless mike was
next to impossible! I used a Radio
Shack "general coverage" scanner,
to put the transmitter on channel.
The scanner was a PRO-2005, and
it is still working today, more than
20 years later. I did it this way:
I would put the scanner on a channel
on the FM band. (It was 91.9 in those
days.) Then I would put the scanner in
the narrow mode (NBFM.) Very very
carefully (and with much frustration
and pain) I would put the FM wireless
mike onto the channel with the tuning
stick. The scanner was in the NBFM mode,
so you would basically hear weird noise
because the receiver passband was way
too narrow. But then you were on channel.
And it usually stayed there.
That made me think of something else.
When I was about 16, I started doing
Part 15 radio and ham radio at the
same time.
Part 15 radio was always a mystery. I
would never know how it would work.
And most of the time it didn't, which
made me want to experiment with it more.
On the other hand, on the 80 meter (3.5 -4.0 MHz)
ham band things were different. I did enjoy it..
But my Viking Challenger transmitter
ran 120 watts input. Making contacts with that
thing sure came easy! So in some ways, the Part 15
radio was more mysterious.
Then, I realized that I was really (in my heart) a QRP
(low power) ham radio guy. Then that got exciting.
And I'm still doing it today.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, Dog Radio studio 2
Bruce (MICRO1700) nailed the situation pretty accurately.
The two holdups are the instruction manual and the web site.
I completed most of the manual including the parts list and step-by-step instructions. I am currently working on the tuning instructions. Tuning isn't complicated, but there are two procedures, depending on whether you use a frequency above 1400 kHz (toroid tuning only) or a frequency below 1400 kHz, which requires switching in additional inductors and a second trimmer cap. One time-consuming task to be done for the tuning portion of the manual is to develop tables showing the tuning "sub-band" range for each toroid tap and each supplemental inductor.
It's very important to strive for high accuracy in the instruction manual to maintain company image and to prevent a flood of emails asking for clarification. I want the AMT5000 manual to be as good as the AMT3000 manual.
This past week I completed the web site re-write. This was complicated somewhat because the present site is based on just one product: AMT3000. It had to be re-organized to handle two products.
I am completely stocked up for the first 100 orders, so that's not a problem. Still need to determine packaging method and box size.
Meanwhile, orders for the AMT3000 are coming in as strong as ever. Much of my time is consumed filling the orders.
As an engineer for a large computer company for many years, I know how important the schedule is to the success of a project! Selling the AMT3000 and developing the AMT5000 has humbled me a bit. I'm striving for launch by the end of August.
Phil
will schematics be in the manual as they are with the amt3000?
I was hoping that was what it was!
I was also thinking stuff like - well -
is he alright - is his health OK - stuff
like that.
The AMT-3000 manual sure is great.
Phil, eventually you will get a chance
to read this - but we talked on E-mail
several years ago. I'm the guy who
built the AMT-3000 when I had 20/400
vision in half of one eye and that's all.
I was legally blind and it took me a couple
of months to build the AMT-3000. When
I fired it up it worked correctly. My vision
is a little better now but not much.
But if you hadn't had the great instruction
manual and the wonderful organization in
the whole package - I don't think I could
have done it.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, Dog Radio Studio 2
has anyone had email contact with Phil? i emailed him twice. didn't hear back from him. wanted to know if we could pre order amt5k's, the projected cost of the outdoor unit when they become available, and if there will be a schematic included in the manual like with the amt3k?
never got a reply on any of these questions. maybe a few others can email and ask him these questions as well.
I've heard the cost is in the $300 plus ball park but maybe Phil can confirm this and answer the other posted questions as well. i saw another poster ask about pre ordering and that post wasn't really addressed by Phil either.
hopefully he finds the time to stop here and post answers to these questions.
I can understand that the AMT5000 should cost somewhat more than the AMT3000, but over $300 for a Part 15 AM kit sounds a little expensive to me.