Hi Guys..
I was cruising about Youtube and I ran into this video.
Now I'm just wondering is his setup in compliance with part 15. I'm putting my own station on the air sometime in the near future. I would like to use the the same setup as this guy. If it's legal that is. So what are your thoughts on this..is this guy in compliance with part 15?
Willy
Most likely this installation would be found non-compliant due to the long ground wire.
A strict interpretation of Part 15.219 specifies a total length of 3 meters (10 feet) to include the antenna radiator and ground wire. That being the case, most believe the transmitter would have to be mounted at ground level.
The reason for the fantastic range this station achieves would be due to the long ground wire which becomes part of the antenna system.
Now, on the other hand, if the field strength was found to be within the limits of Part 15.209 it would be fine. Of course the range would probably not be 5 or 6 miles in that case.
The guy in the video is claiming he gets 4-6 miles range because he has a good ground.
I guess that's true, in an oblique way. The 50+ foot ground wire he's using is acting as part of the antenna and radiating, and as stated previously, is definitely not legal.
Besides, a single 8 foot ground rod is really not a good ground, even if you had a much shorter ground wire (probably about 18 inches is the maximum with a ProCaster, as I recall - I've owned several). A much better ground would be multiple ground stakes, plus a number of 10 to 20 foot radials at the base of the antenna (the radials don't radiate if they're perpendicular to the antenna, they just increase antenna efficiency).