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I have been running a hobby internet radio station for about three years but can no longer afford the nagging monthly fees. With a small audience I don’t really find it worth the money anyways.
I have been running a hobby internet radio station for about three years but can no longer afford the nagging monthly fees. With a small audience I don’t really find it worth the money anyways.
Part 15 broadcasting seems like the cheaper and funner alternative to hobby broadcasting, and you are on REAL radio!
I reside in a woodsy suburban area in Massachusetts, but I want to reach a good amount of people while staying legal (My wife would be pissed if the FCC came knocking on the door!). I want to know what transmitter has the best range/coverage, and also some tower reccomendations would be nice.
Thanks!
-Justin DowdyTryin to get the ball rollin’ on this station for a New Years 2010 launch! 😀
Total posts : 45366Anything legal on FM has about a 200 foot range so FM is not really the choice if you want to get past your own yard.
Also what is your budget?
Total posts : 45366A legal Part 15 FM transmitter, using mono, up in the air with no obstructions between the transmitter antenna and your receiving antenna should give you approximately 250 meters range into a good, modern car radio (generally has under 2uv signal sensitivity with reasonable quieting). Unfortunately, that 200 feet or so range IS accurate for an inexpensive home or portable radio, particularly if you’re using stereo (requires much more power). This is from several years of first hand experience in Canada, extrapolated to the field strength levels legal in the U.S. (we’re allowed 4 times the field strength in Canada – Artisan Radio got 1km under ideal conditions to that good car radio). One advantage of FM is that the signal tends to either be there (and sounding reasonably good) or it’s not.
AM is probably the best way to go in the U.S., where you can use the 100mw input power section of Part 15 – that can translate to a much, much higher field strength than FM, particularly with a good ground. One thing you need to watch out for in looking at other people’s (or the manufacturer’s) comments (“I got 2 miles range out of my Rangemaster 1000”) is the quality of the received signal – would you want to listen to that signal for any length of time? AM signals tend to degrade linearly from the transmitter, and noise can get introduced into a Part 15 signal rather close to the antenna. I haven’t been able to duplicate that 2 mile claim with a listenable signal at the other end (using either the Rangemaster or the ProCaster) – generally it’s 1/2 mile or so. I can hear the signal a lot further than that, but listen to it – I’m not that much of a masochist.
Now, I’m still experimenting with grounds, radials and signal processing on AM, but still don’t believe that for a legal AM setup (i.e., a non-radiating ground wire), you’ll get the distances the manufacturers and others claim. But still, a much better choice than FM, again in the U.S., if you’re looking for the maximum range possible. Unfortunately, in Canada we can experiment on AM using the 100 mw rule, but because of the CRTC, BROADCASTING is restricted to a signal strength of 250uv/m at 30 meters (2.5 times that allowed on FM, but not really useable due to the lower sensitivity of AM radios). Many people ignore this and use 100 mw, but if complaints are made, you WILL be shut down.
Artisan Radio uses a Decade MS-100, which, in my opinion, is the best legal FM transmitter out there (depending on where it’s shipped, it’s tuned for either Canada or the U.S.). Many cheaper transmitters sound almost as good, but you also need to look at reliability – we’ve had the Decade outdoors in a weatherproof box for several years running 24/7 and never had a problem (rain, sunshine, snow, ice, etc.). You might want to look at the Panaxis ACC-100 as a cheaper alternative (no longer sold, but still available on e-bay occasionally). However, like anything else, you get what you pay for.
Total posts : 45366Thanks Guys! If 200 feet is all I can get on FM, then AM sounds much better!
Also, my budget isn’t huge, but it isn’t small either. If I’m gonna build a terrestrial station I’m gonna obviously be expecting to spend some money on it.
Total posts : 45366Check out the Chez Procaster, looks like some good features. Or go with a kit and the SSTran
Total posts : 45366Of course try the RangeMaster, I make them so I tend to prefer them. Do your research and talk to people that use the brand you are thinking of getting.
Total posts : 45366Hi everybody:
As people have mentioned above, there are AM transmitter and antenna setups that are legal for part 15 radio station use. Even within 1/4 to 1/2 mile, it is possible to have listeners if the houses in the neighborhood are close together. The legal FM doesn’t go far at all.
But, I wish some company made a mono FM transmitter that was certified and inexpensive. (I have heard of one or two over the years, but I have never been able to get my hands on any of them.)
Say for instance, you had a interested potential listener next door 50 or 100 feet from your transmitter. And that person had a decent sound system in the living room with a stereo FM receiver and a dipole antenna tacked to the wall. We will also make the assumption that the stereo FM receiver is not switchable to mono, or that if it is, the owner isn’t aware of how to do that.
A legal part 15 mono FM transmitter might get the signal into that receiver and sound pretty good. A stereo transmitter might sound very noisy.
This is just speculation on my part for whatever it’s worth.
Thanks a lot everybody.
Bruce (Micro 1700.)
Total posts : 45366Kind of an older approach from a guy who could put out good transmitters, the original Ernie Wilson design, sold for about what he used to sell it for. Some folks don’t like it at all, do the research.
Total posts : 45366Thank you SCWIS! I’m somewhat familiar with
the ACC-100. I knew somebody who had one
about ten or fifteen years ago. Because of
medical issues (which isn’t as bad as it sounds
but nevertheless is limiting cash flow somewhat)
I can’t get one of those transmitters right now.
I have done a lot of research on it and it would
be fine for my set-up here. Maybe I’ll get one
somewhere down the road.
By the way, I have been reading Part 15.us for
years and have really enjoyed your comments.
I have also found your website to be really fun
and interesting.
Best wishes
Bruce, MICRO1700
Total posts : 45366AM Radio is the only legal way to go if you’re looking for range. I operate 2 stations at 2 different locations. I use the Rangemaster in both locations.
Total posts : 45366Is good is 5 watt cover 2mile
For fcc is ilegal
Total posts : 45366Yes, a 5 watt FM transmitter with a decent antenna system would cover 2 miles.
An FM transmitter operated under FCC Part 15 rules would not have a 2 mile coverage.
The signal from a legal Part 15 FM transmitter typically goes about 300 feet, maybe.
Your 5 watt FM transmitter with 2 mile coverage would not be FCC legal.
Total posts : 45366The panaxis ACC-100 now made by Progressive Concepts is mono and certified…no surface mounts, all regular through hole components and made in US, not China.
There are provisions with out voiding warranty for boosting power in small amounts to operate at Canadian allowed field strength.
Also Decade has a similar type mono one.
Mark
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