How about placing the TH on a beer keg?
I mean the TH internally takes a stereo mix and makes it mono. How well it does that it questionable but I seem to remember it doing that.
Beer Keg is a great idea, or even grounding the chassis to a wall outlet or ground rod.
Mighty Said: "I mean the TH internally takes a stereo mix and makes it mono. How well it does that it questionable but I seem to remember it doing that."
Mister Ding Dong said: "They use a resistor summing network similar to this:
"http://techtalk.parts-express.com/forum/tech-talk-forum/60443-stereo-to-mono-summing-circuit
I was running stereo input into my TH, I didn't notice a lot of problems with the l/r combo, but the overall sound quality was really poor compared to my AMT3000. And, at this point, running the same antenna, same location, my Th5 covered much less distance from the transmitter. I maintain the TH's are good starter unit because of their ease of setup and operation
My transmitter has only one rca jack for audio input so I don't understand how it combines stereo into mono internally since it only accepts a mono input
Your model is different than the later models, one of the "advances" I suppose. I would get it on the air. That way you can figure out what setup works best for coverage, then work on the best way to feed it. I.e., feed it anyway you can right now.
All the phasing/crossphasing problems are real problems, but can be dealt with as you move forward to "clean" up your transmitted audio.
My .02 worth!
Radio engineer Paul Thurst on his EngineeringRadio blogsite came up with an idea for housing an ATU (Antenna Tuning Unit) inside a truck toolbox.
If we are lucky this link will show it.
Of course a transmitter could be placed inside one of those.
After I experimented with various things to learn how the TH worked, I moved my setup to the warehouse roof with a truck toolbox. I had predrilled a hole in the top of the toolbox and fitted a 3/8-24 antenna mount. After securing the box to the roof, I screwed the whip onto connector I mounted on the box and connected it to the wire side of the TH 5 with a short piece of wire. The ATU was still able to tune this setup.
I am using the AMT3000 in the same toolbox with the loading coil on top. There is plenty of room for "things".
I am going to try the same thing on the ground with a future experiment. An old metal ammo box would also work. I will use that for future setups especially with smaller transmitters such as the SSTRAN products.
That is exactly how Radio Systems does their outdoor setup for the iAM transmitters, smart thinking on that!
How well does that setup work?
It worked better than I expected. I think a ammo box that the TH and some misc gear would fit in would be ok also (and less expensive). I didn't have one to repurpose, so I used a spare tool box.
I would recommend it. I had even considered using a Pelican plastic box and reinforcing the area where the antenna mounts with a bit of aluminum.
I guess my next phase of testing my THII is something to support The stock wire verticle antenna.
I see some folks recommend pvc pipe 10ft length. Do I attach the wire antenna to the outside of the pvc pipe or run it up the inside of the pipe?
Next question, there are lots of types of pvc at my local Lowe's does it matter what kind?
Most people recommend white for the reason that some of the grey or darker pipe may have products in it that might be metallic in nature. If that is the case, it would couple with your wire antenna and probably not work as well.
I would tape it to the outside for initial tests... then go from there. This is going to probably be trial and error!
Good luck.
I would attempt to get the PVC pipe up as high as possible. Consider doing what I did with a Talking Sign - I mounted it on the ceiling, ran the power cord down to an outlet, and ran the wire outside and up a PVC pipe so that the end was above the roofline. I was able to achieve a mile range to a sensitive car radio in some directions - your mileage may vary, of course, depending on a huge number of factors including obstructions.
That's a great idea. I have an attic with a decorative yet functional louver vent up there. I could put the transmitter in the attic in front of the vent with 10ft pvc pipe mounted (somehow) on the other side of the louvre vent to hold the verticle wire antenna up. Probably wont fly with the home owners association as the vent is facing the street, but who knows.
What about a counter-poise, ground screen in an attic? Is that possible?
The TH is grounded thru the power cord, so u don't need to worry about it.