My friend - - the broadcast engineer -- dropped off a discarded
metal box onto my front porch yesterday.
Built like a tank - - thick as a brick - -
this transmitter looked similar to
a Talking House unit. I thought it
was an AM transmitter - but No -
it was an FM transmitter.
FM??? What could that be?
Here's what it says on the
front panel: Drive By Radio
FM Transmission System.
On the rear panel in print
it says:
I'm sure it was not the fault of
Part 15.U.S. or the people who take
care of the site. It was probably some
glitch on my end.
So, continuing... The printing
on the back panel of the transmitter
says it complies with FCC regs. I'm
sure it does not. An external transmitting antenna is included.
There is about 10 feet of coax and
a plastic piece on the far end that
sort of looks like a folded dipole.
The front panel of the transmitter
has many buttons and a large
digital display.
I tried to power up the unit and it
appears to be dead. There is no
sign of life. I am going to try a few
things.
I'll report back even if I
do not get the transmitter
working. There are other things
to mention but it is late here
in Hartford, CT. I'm going to
"power down."
I will return.
Brooce
hit me up. i can paypal you a few dollars for it. i would have to see pics to make sure it is the one i think it is first and it's condition. it should have a tape unit in it and a dipole external antenna and it is part 15 certified. i would modify it to bypass the internal tape unit and feed it a live audio or composite input. don't do anything to it if you want to part with it. i can fix it.
you can contact me through part 15 us or the ALPB forums.
thanks
Part 15 Engineer.
You are correct about everything.
There is a cassette audio player in
the unit. And as you mentioned, there
is an FM BCB dipole.
This transmitter is badly damaged.
By the look of the digital display
and the push buttons on the front
panel, I will venture to guess that
this unit has been under water.
The power cube has the correct
voltage but the unit is dead.
I will look at it for a while and then
hand it off to some local engineering
guys. But this thing is really a mess.
The quality of construction is amazing
though. This transmitter is built like
an iron tank.
I will have more to report.
Brooce
Ebay has at least one of these up for grabs right now.....
Look at the pics.....on one you see a large "Made In China" sticker on the bottom plate.....!
Sorry.....if this thing is HONESTLY "FCC Certified"....I'll eat my hat!!
More than likely way over-powered...and running 50 us pre-emphasis!!
I'm not buying it.....and, IMHO.....neither should anyone else who has ANY desire to stay clean with the FCC!
the one Micro1700 has is not the same DriveBy Broadcasters that are currently on eBay. this is an old certified model from the 80's.
this unit works with tape only and has no live input unless you modify it to add one.
You know what's really weird about
this transmitter...
On the right side of the front panel is
a square section that looks like a
drawer. There is a notch under this
section. It almost looks as if one can
insert a flat head screwdriver into that
notch - pry a little bit - and pull the whole
thing out. Why did they do that?
The writing on the front of this square
section says: FM Transmission System
Model 1000. The picture on E-Bay of
the same unit (or very similar) shows
this square section.
????
Brooce
i could not locate a drive by 1000 on ebay. just the newer driveby that has the digital display and attached single whip antenna.
It seems as if it was under water or
near a lightning strike.
It is really messed up.
I will have more to report.
Brooce
Micro1700 , were you looking for 620 am lpb crystals ?? I have a Few here