OK, here's the ten cent tour of Iron Range Country. Everyone always wants installation details, so here they are, boring as it may be! I was going to make a really nice video, until I discovered the battery in the camera I wanted to use was dead. Then the camera I did use had the wrong kind of memory card in it, that wouldn't allow fast enough writing, so it would stop every 50 seconds or so. But I pieced this together. Then realized I left out a lof of stuff. Like the sound absorbing foam stuff behind the mixer, the details on the weather radio alarm interface, blah blah. Anyway, here's a look, including the overlook from the palatial transmitter window overlook.
Tim in Bovey
Hi Tim: Nice little set up thanks you for the video tour.
I see your transmitter set up was done the proper way!
How big is the town ?
What is the range of your transmitter ?
You could use your transmitter set up video to show other people the proper installation for higer setup.
Thanks Jeff
That is the best tour I've ever had for 10-cents, Tim, thanks for taking me out the window!
The camera is one clear vivid picture-taker! It wasn't the camera you intended to use, but it shoots nice video.
I saw an album I have... the Frankie Yankovic Christmas album.
For a long time I doubted that raising an AM antenna high in the air would improve over a ground mounted system, but you seem to have demonstrated that up high is good.
One thing I like about height is there's less liklihood the hoods in the neighborhood will run away with the transmitter.
If I do a video tour someday I think I'll rent a major station studio and pretend it's mine. If I showed my actual station no one would believe it was real, now that they've seen Iron Range Country.
That's a pretty neat setup, Tim. What kind of range are you getting?
In my "fringe" area I get about 7100 feet or so. So maybe a mile and a half on a nice day. But my primary coverage area is my town, which is literally 1/4 mile long and 5-6 blocks wide, so I cover my town easily.
I have considered experimenting with some "elevated radials" from the ground terminal on the Procaster straight out, two or three anyway, so see if that makes any difference, but really I cover what I need OK. And I haven't REALLY seen any information that horizontal elevated radials would actually be legal. I know people SAY they are non-radiating, but would an FCC man consider them so, or call them long ground leads?
I don't experiment a lot as I actually have a lot of listeners in town and don't want to mess with their enjoyment.
Tim in Bovey
Hi Tim: When your installing wire underneath the transmitter you should make a loop in the the wire it's done for lighting protection.
1) Drop wire down 5 inches from bottom of transmitter.
2) Now make a 4 1/2 inch loop and zip tie down at connection point.
3) NOTE: Make sure you loop starts at bottom and finished at top side.
NOTE: This should be done on Various service as well on cable, Satellite, internet. should have a loop at the incoming line.
Hope this helps Jeff
That was a great little presentation Tim, and impressive. The video quality was superb too! I'm curious what your proximity to powerlines and transformers are.. I didn't really see any except for some feed to houses below.
A quick question to Jeff..
When your installing wire underneath the transmitter you should make a loop in the the wire it's done for lighting protection.
I don't recall ever hearing anything like that.. What does that do to enable for lightning protection?
Hi Rich: When I worked in the communication field installing satellite, cable. etc. It's standard pratice to do the loop.
Let see if i can explane it right.
1) lighting will follow a straight path, But won't follow a Loop.
2) So where the straight line starts from bottom of transmitter to the start of the loop, Thats is where lighting will exit out.
3) This has been a practice for several years now.
I hope this helps Jeff
Cool, thanks.
If I put a loop in my antenna will it protect my transmitter from being fried?
Kidding...
Carl: How about a tour of the Internet Building?
Nice.
An actual tour of the Internet Building would take about 20-seconds, but as I said up above, if I do a video, I'll arrange to use the largest facility within 10-miles and "claim" that it's the Home of Worldround Radio.
As far as video is concerned, we spent ten years producing professional video programs at the tail end of the NTSC analog TV era, using HI8 cameras, S-VHS master tapes and VHS releases.
The last two years we had Avio non-Linear editing, the budget version of the Casablanca, which was a spinoff from the Amiga days and the original Video Toaster, all of which we had toward the end (it's still sitting behind me, unused for 10-years).
The ALPB is presently conducting Skype tests as an alternative to TeamSpeak with the added benefit of live video conferencing, and per Radio8Z's suggestion... I'm looking at a particular camera brand, also to be used as a surveillance cam from atop the new 3-meter tower out back, with pan-tilt-zoom.
Wait... what was the question?
Maybe I should post the Internet Building where I work?
I don't understand how you could post the Internet Building where you work when the actual building is way north of you by several states.
If the building were moved I would need to get a driver's license in the new location.
I have no choice but to decline.
I am sorry to report that based on your design my employer has stolen your secrets and created an Internet Building right here in West Central Florida. Think of it as a back-up to yours. You will feel much better.