Ok im not sure why my post got posted 3 times so can a admin or mod delete them? Thanks 🙂
If you have a full size broadcast station antenna on a regulation ground, that's gives a proven performance. In the home and with short antennas, it's more uncertain what will give you range, because every setup is different. You have to full-on experiment, take notes, try different things until you get the range you need.
If you can get the antenna in the clear and a good ground, that's a place to start. Even with the antenna inside there are variations, like your power lines picking up the signal and sending it a lot farther than you might expect.
Ok so I have found something that has made my day :D. I have an old cheap $5 Chinese car FM transmitter that broke due to the heat we get in the desert. The transmitter still works but it is stuck on the frequency 106.1 and sometimes the left speakers don’t play. Anyways the discover I made was I got some tin foil and wrapped it around the transmitter then got my TV rabbit ears and wrapped the tinfoil on to the rabbit ears. I then used a cheap my RTL SDR on my computer upstairs and I was able to get a full strong single. I then went in my car and so far I got about a block of range. I was so excited when I found this and going to experiment with it a bit more tomorrow. Tomorrow I will try it with the antenna upstairs and the tinfoil more tightly wrapped and stable on the TV rabbit ears antenna. Now this was done with a FM transmitter but I would like to know if this will also work with the Talking House AM transmitter? If I wrap the tin foil from the AM transmitter antenna to the rabbit ears one would I be able to improve the range or does this only work is FM?
Thanks =)
Wow getting a block is amazing from a cheap car Transmitter. I'd say your field strength was raised. How far was your block about 800 Ft? I'd go for a C. Crane or a Schoche with the LED readout and the 1/8th inch jack if nothing else. The Scoche is cheap and does seem to do well according to some who have it if your in a pinch for money. The C. Crane is certified and can be picked up for around $40 and has potential. The Whole House FM 3.0 was tested over the limit but was certified. In a desert you may be safer than if you try and run it in CT, NY, NJ, FL or Washington, DC. I'm just trying to be realistic here and doing so at the same time as to not give ideas to the wrong hands. There still is that remote possibility the FCC could just so happen to be riding a camel past your house lol. I also like the looks of the Broadcast Vision and the Ramsey as well. My SainSonic does have behavior issues I'm concerned about. So I'll try and recommend Transmitters I know are harmonic FREE. From what I hafe heard the Scoche was nice to a spectrum analyzer ad so was the C. Crane. The Whole House 2.0 was said to really misbehave to a spectrum analyzer.
The Talking House likely won't be able to tune that TV antenna. Its always worth a shot however. Although this would be well outside the 3 meter antenna rule.
If you had a modified ATU maybe. I do inow the Talking House is really picky about what it would tune to. But on the 75 Ohm output and an ATU where you make the loading coil and the right cap you may be able to dune to a TV antenna. But what range you'd get may or may not be worth all the effort. Now if you were to use a Fire Stick CB antenna or a CB ground plane and somehow make an ATU to be able to tune to it that may be something else that may work really well. Especially if the FCC takes the antenna length rules away. CB antennas can be obtained really easy and could be a great solution if you could tune to them. You might better use a 160 or 40 meter Ham antenna as at least it would be a closer match to the AM frequencies. This I have always wanted to know just for experimental purposes just because I like to see what would happon.
"From what I hafe heard the Scoche was nice to a spectrum analyzer ad so was the C. Crane. The Whole House 2.0 was said to really misbehave to a spectrum analyzer."
Is this documented somewhere? The reason I ask is that this implies some named transmitters are good and some are bad. This may be the case but it can be misleading and unfair to the manufacturers and users to make judgements based on hearsay.
Neil
Maybe I read wrong but didn't Carl post somewhere I think it was in the FM Transmitter thread. He mentioned this transmitter because he owns one. That is the reason I brought it up. Maybe I got mixed up, but I thought it was on this web site.
Ok so today I tested it again and I would day I got around 500 meters of range around my house in some directions. I would say this test is not 100% accurate because 106.1 is not so clean as it has some stations way south of me. These stations are hard to understand but I do hear my car picking them up. Since I am unable to change the frequency on my transmitter and it is party broken I am going to get the same one new off eBay. Once I get it my next test will be is to do it on a clean frequency and see what I can get from it 🙂
For those of you saying the talking house might not work I don’t think you understand on how I’m going to make it work :P. I’m not going to plug the TV antenna into the transmitter I am going to put tinfoil around the TH antenna and make the TH antenna wrap around the TV antenna. This is an image of the setup I have with this cheap Chinese FM one off eBay.
This is the FM transmitter I have been testing with:
This is it with the antenna and the iPod with the music:
What is the brand of this transmitter? 1640 feet is about the same as my SainSonic so if something happens to it I can get a cheap transmitter that sounds good. OK I'll let you know that if you add more audio cable you'd get the same results. So you can get an extender and I bet the same effect would happen. If you do deside to do an experiment like that let me know if the same range is reached. Is it a Stereo FM Transmitter? I just can't believe you figured how to get the same range as my 500 mW 50 watt transmitter. How was the bleed over? was it clean or did it have images of the same station all over the spectrum? I'd like to know that too. I may simply Email you on this one. You sparked my interest here. Can you go down to 87.9 Mhz on it?
TheLegacy remembers correctly.
Around the same time Tim in Bovey started his FM transmitter field testing, I ran some simpler observations of my four certified transmitters, the results are posted in extensive detail.
The Wholehouse 2.0 produces a lot of spurs all around the lower FM band when the fundamental is set in the same low band.
Possibly my unit performs differently than others of the same model.
I am not sure the brand but you can just look on ebay Car FM transmitter and you will find it ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/281696730695?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT). From what I see it does have the Stereo feature on it. Due to all the traffic noise on 106.1 it would go in and out on my way to the 500 meter mark. When I did it 500 meters you can hear the music but you can also hear the static from the other station far far away. This transmitter can go to 87.5 - 108MHz however as I started before this is my old broken one so it is stuck on 106.1. Now since it is broken the results I got from this experiment may be false. I did order a new one off eBay so when I get it I will try the test again and see the results from it.
I am also shocked was I able to get that range with the frequency not being so clean :P. If you are wondering how I came up with the idea, I was watching the transmitter YouTube videos and someone said they just put some tin foil on their transmitter and wrapped it around the TV antenna. When I read it I thought he was a troll because getting the range he claimed he got seems unrealistic but I tested it and BAM my mind was blown. I may do a YouTube vid to help others out there.
Now I do still have questions if anyone can answer them 😛
Would I be able to do the same with the TH? I bet with AM I can get way more range than the FM if this is possible.
Is this still Part 15 (Legal)? So far what I see is all I am doing is focusing the waves and giving them a boost.
Thanks =
TheLegacy remembers correctly.
Around the same time Tim in Bovey started his FM transmitter field testing, I ran some simpler observations of my four certified transmitters, the results are posted in extensive detail.
The Wholehouse 2.0 produces a lot of spurs all around the lower FM band when the fundamental is set in the same low band.
Possibly my unit performs differently than others of the same model.
Those Rabbit ears will not work very well at all, I thought you meant a rooftop antenna.
You'd be far better off just using the wire antenna vertically on the wall.
So im guessing this method only works with FM?