Rangemaster Trademarked?

It's suposed to be FCC certified (see one of the photos), so it may not be typical of over-powered and over-marketed Chinese transmitters.

I went over to the FCC certification database and lo and behold, the transmitter is there.  It's emissions do meet FCC Part 15 requirements (in fact, they're quite a bit below).

More experienced minds than mind can hopefully shed some light on all the test results - the FM emissions didn't seem to be all that much greater than emissions outside the FM band.

Don't forget that the Sainsonic 05B also had an FCC ID, but apparently was withdrawn and is NOT certified.  The newer Sainsonic 05Bs have the reverse thread on the antenna, as does this 'Rangemaster'.  This unit sure looks like all the other 05Bs out there.

On a side note, I see that Amazon no longer carries the Sainsonic products, for what its worth.

I would also like to see more info on this.....also, seems pricey compared with other models that seem to have the same specs.

The certification belongs to a different "brand" and was issued 4 years ago.  It's the same as 99.9% of the Chinese junk readily available. 

It appears another company is simply putting their decals on an imported transmitter.  If it indeed certified than NONE of what they say they did to their unit would be legal. Further they go on and on about the many modifications and improvements they've made to the unit to improve upon it.  If this was so they would need their own certification, as the certification would apply if there were NO CHANGES at all to the unit. Clearly, they've taken a marginal import, changed the packaging and decals and are hyping it with a bunch of BS.

They state: "The FSX-05B is the best of the best FM Transmitter, the game changer, the new benchmark in the FM Transmitter Industry–to the X-treme is no longer just a phrase, it was our purpose in life for the past 4 years. Our goal was simple: make the unit Fail-Safe Compliant, but we wanted X-treme range, X-treme convenience, and X-treme durability, all while still focusing on getting FCC Certified–the X-treme Project."

Yet the certification they're using is not designated to their company or this unit. The certification listed at the FCC does not list this model number. 

I'm SO tempted to order one and test it.  SO tempted. I haven't tested anything in the FM Part 15 world this year yet. I've I've only got a month till winter hits. Oohh..

But my point to the post really was that they're using the Rangemaster name. Which of course we normally associate with a quality AM transmitter.  Kinfof like if I started importing cheap Chinese cars and selling them as the new Rolls Royce XYZ. 

TIB

If you go to F-S Electronics Amazon store (they're the folks with the listing for the transmitter above) you can order a 15 watt transmitter with a free 1/4 wave antenna for $229 with a 10 mile range! nowhere does it mention that this is illegal.  The only review is from a guy who says it always overheats.  LOL.

Or you could go for their 25 watt model. Also readily available.  At least they don't try to claim it's certified.  I've figured out "F-S" stands for "Fail-Safe". 

The previous model they refer to in their listing (FS CZH-05B) is on their Amazon page too, talking about 3 mile range, antenna packages, and high power settings. 

THIS is how people wind up violating rules. They just go to Amazon and buy something with NO clue that's illegal.  And how people who want "more power" just pop over to Amazon or eBay and buy one. No hint there that this might be a bad idea. 

It's weird. Several years ago I tried to list a ten meter ham radio linear amplifier on ebay. My auction was cancelled by ebay because people were buying these for illegal purposes, using them on the CB band so they weren't allowing anyone to list them for sale!  And it was legal!  But violated ebay's policy. Apparently now they don't give a rip what people are selling. 

I realize that illegal transmittgers have been easily avilable on line for a long time. What got me is that they're calling it a Rangemaster. 

Ya know, you can actually claim a trademark without resgietering it. It's sort of like copyright in that you have a trademark as soon as you start using the brand name in commerce. Hamilton Rangemaster could sent these jokers a cease and desist pending "further action".  That would be legal and might shake them up. 

TIB

Recently appeared. The Chinese company maybe doesn't know of the Hamilton Rangmaster but ya, if name is trademark registered then there's a copyright breach there. But people interested will know that the Chinese one is a different item.

Mark

They should probably call it Range Master instead, or Range-Master, that almost sounds more impressive, or at least reads that way. I think it's kind of an obvious, almost generic word, if you were talking about radios, antennas.

I still think it sounds like a product for the stove top, if I didn't have the context of it being for radio, and just saw the name, that's what I'd think 🙂

With transmitters and all kinds of other products too, it's a world market when dealing with sales on line. A disclaimer could be something like, "Most countries have rules and protocol on use of the airwaves, please check your local regulations."

Like with the safety of any product, it really comes down to the responsibility of the end user.

It DOES say that on some  of the Chinese of the Chinese sites that sell transmitter. It is up to the user to check with local laws or their laws and their country.

Look the real reason I brought up these Chinese transmitter was statements being placed that all Chinese transmitters are junk. This is not always the case although there are some bad batches. There are some resellers who have made some of these transmitters cheaper therefore they lack some of the material it takes to make a clean signal.

That would be good, yours is a shorter, easier disclaimer, Thelagacy.

I know what you mean about the Chinese transmitters, and have heard some people talking about versions that are inferior. I have a small one I got in the late 90s that has a 7 pole low pass filter in it! That means there are 7 coils and capacitors involved in the filtering.

Using common sense is better than being regulated, to my mind. This is an exciting time to be into electronics hacking and making, with all of the great equipment, parts and schematics available, I feel like a powerhouse, compared to the dumpster diving, Radio Shack buying pee-on I used to!

You get that free flow regulated, then later things like the Raspberry Pi, RF transistors and components or broadcast equipment could be made scarce, because they could possibly put out radio signals, it's just something to think about.

I've been looking for a new test subject for this season. Methinks I've found it.

Good chance to get the freshly calibrated FIM out for some work.  That's the thing with these machines. You have to HAVE one in the first place. Then it's supposed to be calibrated every 3 years.  I do it every two because I work the cost into my engineering billing for the year. So it's been less than a year since I got it back from the shop at Potomac. I have purchased cars for less than a calibration costs! Only to find out the largest error found last time around was .02% far from the FM broadcast band, up around 200 MHz, so no biggie. But I like having the certification data on file. 

Should have a full workup on this bugger before the end of October.

TIB

That's some good info on the FIM....it's not just having one it's the calibration(thousands of $$$) and then on top of that knowing how to set it up properly.

Wow!!.....I'll let the manufacturers go through the hoops to get certification and trust that. A car is a better investment.

Mark

I think before the Rangemaster 1000 AM transmitter Leica had a 35 mm camera called a Rangemaster

I never realized there was a Hamilton Rangemaster forum, it appears it rather new, only a few post but Keith apparently chimes in there: http://www.rangemaster-forum.com/page4/