Thanks for your responses regarding the Talking House.
mram1500, I became fascinated with radio at a young age, but it wasn't until I was around 12 that I really started learning more about it. A couple of field trips to local stations..and I knew beyond a doubt that radio was what I wanted to do. I was on the air in Tallahassee from 1979 to 2004 on a couple of different stations.
I've had some prior success selling airtime on a Part 15, back in 2004 and 2005. I was selling a couple hundred dollars worth of airtime every month, and broadcast as the only AM signal left on the air during Hurricane Frances. Ironically, a stray Florida t-storm zapped the station the following spring. My AM was off the air for a couple of years after that as I just didn't have enough funds to rebuild for a while.
The sponsors list you saw is real. A few are PIs, but the country format I'm running now is locally appealing, and more local businesses, and a church or two, are planning to come on board within the next month or so.
While I'm doing the studio re-location I've been thinking I'd like to put an AM signal back on the local 1160 frequency, which worked very well during the 2003-2005 era when run as a daytimer. Some neighbors jeep telling me they wished I'd put it back on. I'm thinking I might do that, with the TH unit.
I've become friends with the local engineers and they know all about me and my station. I don't worry about them anymore, since a couple of them were kind enough to donate some old gear to the station. That's why it has a couple of working Spotmaster cart machine..I seldom use them, but have a few old songs that are only on cart!
Thanks for your responses regarding the Talking House.
mram1500, I became fascinated with radio at a young age, but it wasn't until I was around 12 that I really started learning more about it. A couple of field trips to local stations..and I knew beyond a doubt that radio was what I wanted to do. I was on the air in Tallahassee from 1979 to 2004 on a couple of different stations.
I've had some prior success selling airtime on a Part 15, back in 2004 and 2005. I was selling a couple hundred dollars worth of airtime every month, and broadcast as the only AM signal left on the air during Hurricane Frances. Ironically, a stray Florida t-storm zapped the station the following spring. My AM was off the air for a couple of years after that as I just didn't have enough funds to rebuild for a while.
The sponsors list you saw is real. A few are PIs, but the country format I'm running now is locally appealing, and more local businesses, and a church or two, are planning to come on board within the next month or so.
While I'm doing the studio re-location I've been thinking I'd like to put an AM signal back on the local 1160 frequency, which worked very well during the 2003-2005 era when run as a daytimer. Some neighbors jeep telling me they wished I'd put it back on. I'm thinking I might do that, with the TH unit.
I've become friends with the local engineers and they know all about me and my station. I don't worry about them anymore, since a couple of them were kind enough to donate some old gear to the station. That's why it has a couple of working Spotmaster cart machine..I seldom use them, but have a few old songs that are only on cart!
I had real good luck running the wire antenna through the roof of our barn keeping the unit dry on the inside. Range has been excellent reaching 2 miles consistently, and on good wet soil conditions 4 miles. Enough to cover my small town and reaching parts of another. I have the tip of the antenna about 30 feet high and I believe this is key to getting the range extended.
I had real good luck running the wire antenna through the roof of our barn keeping the unit dry on the inside. Range has been excellent reaching 2 miles consistently, and on good wet soil conditions 4 miles. Enough to cover my small town and reaching parts of another. I have the tip of the antenna about 30 feet high and I believe this is key to getting the range extended.
Hello LynyrdSky
Your achievement makes city people a less fortunate because we are hemmed in by buildings which block the signal.
How are you making your antenna stand up in the air?
Hello LynyrdSky
Your achievement makes city people a less fortunate because we are hemmed in by buildings which block the signal.
How are you making your antenna stand up in the air?
Originally I used 3/4" wood pole which snapped off in a bad summer storm and since have built one out of PVC of various sizes simple wire ties and black tape to keep the wire steady and straight. The top 2 ft is 1" with the base 1 1/2". Agree buildings are an issue. Our small town is also on a high point which also adds to coverage. I wish I had an old windmill and I could get 50 - 60 feet of height, but not sure my wife would like me doing that. Key is the rich farm soil in the area, we went through a bad dry spell from sept through oct and distance diminished a lot, but back up to the good two mile range now it is wet again. All distances are on a good car radio.
Originally I used 3/4" wood pole which snapped off in a bad summer storm and since have built one out of PVC of various sizes simple wire ties and black tape to keep the wire steady and straight. The top 2 ft is 1" with the base 1 1/2". Agree buildings are an issue. Our small town is also on a high point which also adds to coverage. I wish I had an old windmill and I could get 50 - 60 feet of height, but not sure my wife would like me doing that. Key is the rich farm soil in the area, we went through a bad dry spell from sept through oct and distance diminished a lot, but back up to the good two mile range now it is wet again. All distances are on a good car radio.
So, Lynyrd, did you run a long ground wire from the Talking House to a ground rod or was the ground connection supplied by the AC power supply your ground connection? I'm curious as the "long ground" factor always comes up in these discussions.
I would guess that putting the Talking House up in the rafters would require some type of separate AC outlet run for that purpose or a long extension cord. In either case a fairly vertical run of wire to a grounding point like the power service box.
In a house, the AC ground connection through the power supply would be mostly horizontal runs and probably not more than 30 feet long.
It's interesting to hear of someone else that ran the antenna wire through the roof. I mentioned hearing of someone doing this in another thread here about running an antenna lead in just long enough to go through an outside wall.
So, Lynyrd, did you run a long ground wire from the Talking House to a ground rod or was the ground connection supplied by the AC power supply your ground connection? I'm curious as the "long ground" factor always comes up in these discussions.
I would guess that putting the Talking House up in the rafters would require some type of separate AC outlet run for that purpose or a long extension cord. In either case a fairly vertical run of wire to a grounding point like the power service box.
In a house, the AC ground connection through the power supply would be mostly horizontal runs and probably not more than 30 feet long.
It's interesting to hear of someone else that ran the antenna wire through the roof. I mentioned hearing of someone doing this in another thread here about running an antenna lead in just long enough to go through an outside wall.
I cut the power supply cord and added length to it to reach the rafters. No other ground was used other than the transformer. The cord was nailed to the rafters and runs diagonally to the outlet. I did not want to run a separate ground and have that legality to deal with. Total length is about 20 feet from the supply to the unit.
I cut the power supply cord and added length to it to reach the rafters. No other ground was used other than the transformer. The cord was nailed to the rafters and runs diagonally to the outlet. I did not want to run a separate ground and have that legality to deal with. Total length is about 20 feet from the supply to the unit.
I have a visual disability myself. I have ROP and glaucoma. I have a cheap fm transmitter that gets good range and is fcc part 15 compliant.
Hey DarkThirty.. Kind of curious about you and why you revived this post..
By the way, - I know you know.. We all know ...there is no such thing as good range with a part15 compliant FM tranmitter.. But I like your logo.
Rich: Did I miss something? Your comment was: "By the way, - I know you know.. We all know ...there is no such thing as good range with a part15 compliant FM tranmitter.. But I like your logo."
I didn't see anything in Dark Thirty's post about his transmitter being FM. In fact, his logo says A.M. Don't know if this means A.M. as in Morning, or A.M. as in radio band.