Have some extra found money...a few 1000$$$ as I got a big tax refund equal to what I paid in April so paid virtually no tax for 2022!
So now I can buy some stuff for broadcasting. Saw a seller on ebay selling open box like new CM-10s so got the 2 of them. Certified BETS is "priceless" so these are worth their weight in gold. Will see how they work and should be good as Timinbovey's transmitter testing with FIM included the Decade CM-10 and he showed at 3 meters a reading of 3375 uV/M which is a little above what field strength is needed at 3 meters to get 100uV/M at 30 meters away which is Canada's BETS. So should work nicely. Had one of these before in the past but blew the output with a shock from my finger on the antenna. Now I know to install the 2.2 uH coil to protect the output.
Carl couldn't sleep because I have a Procaster sitting idle and said I should simulcast on AM and FM and I was thinking of that. But here's the thing. I would need another Schlockwood processor as you can't run two transmitters off one processor. Settings would need to be different. I would need another little 7" laptop unless I could get a headphone amp and splitter for the two schlockwoods and if I was on both AM and FM which one do you think I and my listeners would listen to?....You are right the FM. So I can't think of what the point would be....any ideas?
Also I have the transmitter and the Schlockwood on a UPS for back up so when the power goes out I stay on the air. I replaced the SLA(lead acid) battery with a higher capacity and way longer lasting LIFE PO4 lithium ion phosphate battery so the UPS 900VA now is much more in effect and can run the Decade transmitter and the schlockwood for hours in a power out. The computer has it's own back up battery so that doesn't need the battery supported outlets of the UPS. BUT, if I add another Schlockwood, another transmitter, Now the power out run time would be much less as double the power needed. So I'm leaning toward not doing this.
Here's the tests on the CM-10 Decade.
My first question is: How do I know that I actually received a Decade CM-10
for the USA market? I bought it right from them, they shipped it to me in the
USA, so I assume they sent me the right unit. However, today's tests do not
lead me to that conclusion. Is there a way I can actually tell?
I set up exactly as I did in the Whole House 3.0 test. Same field, same
equipment, etc. So read that write up if you're concerned about the setup. I
used the Potomac FIM-71 meter and corroborated my readings with the Z-
Technology R-506. Not nearly as many tests as with the WH 3.0, as fewer
options to experiment with (Have to have a power cable, and no power level
switching).
Note that the power supply with the CM-10 is required for use, no adapters,
batteries, etc are provided. The WH 3.0 I tested with batteries. So any
effect caused by having a power cord attached is a requirement with the CM-
10. Adding any cord to the WH 3.0 greatly increased it's output, whether
audio or power cord, even when not connected to an audio source or power.
All tests taken with the receiving antennas in horizontal polarization.
At three meters the CM-10 gave me 3375 uV/m with the transmit antenna in
a vertical position. With the transmit antenna in a horizontal position the
field strength at three meters was 6300 uV/m. Clearly both are well over
the legal limit of 250 uV/m at three meters.
The power cable for the CM-10 does have a ferrite choke on it an inch or so
from the plug that goes into the transmitter. Also the power supply itself is
not a wall wart as such, but a lightweight switching supply that has about 3
feet of cord on either side, one to the outlet, on side to the transmitter.
There is no continuity from the plug for the transmitter to the power outlet
plug. So any counterpoise effect would be with the three feet of cable I
imagine.
I did notice that the output varied quite a bit depending on the location of
the power cable. By moving it out diagonally from the transmitter the field
strength would vary. The readings above are taken with the power cable
hanging straight down from the transmitter. Remember, transmitter and
receiving antennas are at 7 feet above ground as specified in the meter
manuals.
The 2 Decade CM-10s are a good use of your tax refund! And I now better understand the various problems with activating the Procaster AM Transmitter. The Procaster does have some on-board audio processing but I don't know how capable it is since I use StereoTool for audio shaping, but I guess the Schlockwood offers top-notch audio processing. I'm cutting corners by using one stand-alone StereoTool to feed AM, FM and Stream audio. I know that's not the right way to do things.
The Procaster has the studio indoor part but no EQ or 3 band compression/limting which like commercial stations, the Schlockwood keeps tonal balance equal as it varies from song to song.
I should look into stereo tool. I assume this is a computer download and the processing is all done on the computer? User settable? Free version or pay?
A lot use this so I will check it out.
/
StereoTool does have a free sample version, but I think there's a voice that comes on at certain intervals to say that "This is not a registered version". It is not very expensive, and a lot of pricey add-ons that are available can be done without and are intended for high-end audio work. There are a number of versions, all available under the same price, a standalone version, Winamp plugin version, VST version, etc. The author Hans Van Zutphen was a guest on This Week in Radio Tech and talked about how a lot of his code is used in the big name processor hardwares. In fact the StereoTool website now offers a hardware audio processor called the 'Thimeo'. And yes, StereoTool turns a computer into a professional audio processor.
I used the CM-10 for a while. It worked nicely down at the bottom end of the band. Not so great at the top end. I contacted Decade and they did confirm that the bottom end of the band is the better choice. Since you use 89.9, you'll get as much range as you can get from a BETS certified transmitter.
Re simulcasting.
First, the major reason for doing it. If you can install the AM transmitter outside, away from the house and anything else that can absorb or interfere with the signal, and the ground conductivity in your area is good, you can get much greater range during daytime hours. When I was using AM, I was able to easily listen to the station over a mile away in some directions, and could hear a weak signal up to 2 miles (both with excellent car radios).
If you have a receiver with a wide passband, AM can sound as nice as FM mono.
Some of the downsides include what you mention, as well as reduced night time coverage. Plus, you need all those factors I mention, along with a solid installation, to get decent range. I've only managed to achieve that once in several attempts at different locations.
I've taken a look at the CRTC broadcasting exemptions for Low Power Announce Systems (which is what these are), and the requirement not to broadcast the same messages (or content) on multiple transmitters only applies to commercial undertakings. So you'd be OK there.
It's worth considering.
OK, even if you don't get the Procaster out of the cupboard and do AM, there is another very amazing thing you could do since you are now overstocked with Decade C-10s. You have an FM frequency you use for your present station, now go to work doing a frequency search for one or two additional FM channels and hook up your extra C-10s to transmit on those channels, giving you a presence at several places on the dial! This is something licensed stations cannot do. All you'd need on the audio chain would be some splitter cables, using one and the same Schlockwood Audio Processor. Once you have it all going come back here and thank me for the brilliant idea!
Yes I like that being in multiple places on the dial. A headphone amp/splitter with a few outputs could get the signal to a few transmitters from the schlockwood. I remember seeing the CRTC says you can't have more doing the same thing on the same frequency but the simulcasting on different spots? I'll' have to check the CRTC on low power announce again. But to do that if allowed there would have to be appropriate space and the transmitters operating clean harmonics wise. You'd never want to do that with a Wholehouse 3 as one is bad enough! Waiting for the CM-10s. Really was thinking just to have extras and they are more convenient that the Decade. Plus the BETS certification. But then the issue of having back up power out time with the UPS.
The CRTC exemption order says that you can't simulcast if you are running a commercial concern, such as advertising real estate, stores, etc. You should be OK with that.
@artisan-radio, Unfortunately I don't have the access to do the outdoor set up. Need your own house and property, away from areas of potential theft, vandalism, a way to get the power and audio out to the transmitter and it is a sitting duck for lightning. The procaster has lightning protection to stop it from coming in the house along the audio and power but not through the antenna to ground through the transmitter. I am in a house now but not my back yard to dig up to install this and get the power and audio back into my place. Also that range you got was outside but getting penetration into houses etc is different and at night even most commercial stations range is only 1/3rd the coverage when the sky wave kicks in unless they have clear channel. Our signal can't take advantage of the skywave. We are knocked down from a mile to a few hundred feet. 770 WABC New York is an exception. 740 from Toronto is another. Those stations can cover half the continent at night. When I was using the Procaster I had devised an artificial ground inside the cabinet and posted it here with pictures of what I did but it's back somewhere and this gave me significantly more signal coming off the antenna and using the wire taped it in different shapes on the wall and found different shapes yielded different results and I covered the neighbourhood nice from inside. I should post it again or try to find the post. But two reasons I went back to FM....skywave killer at night and from fall to spring night most of the time, better penetration of signal into homes, I like to have other listeners, if received outside it's the same inside. And remember the Procaster user that got cited for "broadcasting"? Done from inside you can get around this, well maybe.