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I have three different model numbers of the Talking House transmitter. The latest model number I have is TH 5, I don’t know if that is the very latest version or not, they keep changing the models.
I have three different model numbers of the Talking House transmitter. The latest model number I have is TH 5, I don’t know if that is the very latest version or not, they keep changing the models.
I don’t know if the electronics change or if the changes are small changes like improvements to the antenna connector. I know I have a TH 2 and another in between.
I have seen a lot of audio quality differences in Talking house transmitters even between the same model numbers of transmitters. The TH 5 Model has a nice full body sound, Another lesser model ( not sure of the model number it is right now ) of TH has good mid and high but lacking lows. I have had some models of TH that the audio was just tinny and worthless.
So the question is, is this audio quality difference something to do with the model numbers or is there a lot of varation between even same model numbers as far as audio quality. I can’t find schmatics anywhere so I can go over the electronics difference between models, so about all I can do is see if others out there using the TH transmitters have had similar experiences and compare notes.
All my transmitters I bought on ebay, so I have no clue if they are rejects, repaired ones or prime stock. The sellers always say new in box, but the box usually has a red dot on it on the flap, dont know if that means anything or not, and some times the box is chewed up looks like a hamster got at it so who knows what the real source of the transmitter is.
By the way, can anyone tell me the source of these transmitters which sellers offer on ebay, like is there an outlet for them from Talking house for rejects or what? I know some come from realitors who gave up on the idea but others just seem to come from usual sellers with no contact with the real estate industry.
Thank you,
Radio Joe
Total posts : 45366I’ve had similar experiences, but I found that the difference in audio quality wasn’t caused by the inherent quality or lack thereof, nor caused by a defect or damage. Believe it or not, different units have RADICALLY different audio input requirements on those AUX input jacks.
I’m guessing this is because the unit is primarily marketed as a digital message repeater and not a live content rebroadcaster. Different production runs might use diffferent chips for the AUX inputs, based on price and availability, and the manufacturer might not care if one chip is a 600 ohm, 1 volt peak to peak unit and another is completely different.
Each time I get a new unit it’s a real adventure figuring how to connect to the AUX input jack, or in some cases, which AUX to use.
My TH 4 unit sounds awesome using the 320 ohm output of a MP3 player through the headphone jack connected to the 1/8″ connector, but sounds like crap if I connect the same output to the RCA jack.
My TH 3 can’t take anything without using a 8 Ohm/500 Ohm/1000 Ohm audio transformer, but using the 8 Ohm and 500 Ohm taps it sounds great.
Interesting tip on the red dot, one of mine has the red dot, the other does not. No real difference in performance between the two that I can discern, though, so I feel like I doubt if that’s a “reject” type mark.
Like everything else on ebay, who knows where they come from? The factory dealer ONLY sells in lots of five, so I imagine that drives a lot of availability.
The funny thing is, my friends in the Real Estate industry laugh at these things. The pros say that for-sale signs and classified ads are not really there to sell the house listed, signs and ads are used to generate buyer leads. To quote one broker who has been in the business since 1973, “I don’t want you to find out ANYTHING about ANY house you are interested in without CALLING ME first. After you call me I can get your contact info, qualify you and then start showing you homes – and some little transmitter telling you about a house you are looking at is the LAST thing I want.”
I found that interesting.
Total posts : 45366I use a TH II that I also purchased on E-Bay. I feed a computer soundcard into a professional mixer and then feed it into the TH. I get very good AM quality output except that it will overdrive a radio if it’s too close. The TH manufactures do have a DJ Unit available for purchase for the TH but I think it’s only available if you buy a new unit from them. The TH is capable of transmitting nice clear music. DaveR
Total posts : 45366by MRAM 1500 kHz
My TH II was a steal at $9.95 on Ebay and it was new in the box. I found it under some obscure listing and no one else bid!I reported earlier that the sound quality was pretty good except for a minor “warble” when the received signal is weak. I have since added a trimmer capacitor to “Net” the frequency and haven’t notice the “warble” since. It doesn’t quite make 100% modulation, clipping at about 95%.
I’m using the external antenna system supplied by Talking House. Using a standard 102″ whip antenna, the base has an antenna tuner with a meter for tunning. Unfortunately, lot’s of people bid on that and the cost was about $100 plus the cost of the whip.
My automation of choice is ZaraRadio with a Sound Solution plugin for audio processing. The plugin makes quite a difference. Unfortunately, I can’t overlap audio files when using the plugin. Always a give and take it seems.
My range is solid at 1/4 mile and is usable at 1/2 mile. My signal has been heard in isolated locations up to 3 miles away though the average listener would deem it unusable.
This summer I plan to put a ground radial system under the antenna which I suspect will yeild a significant improvement of range.
The range of comments about Talking House transmitters varies greatly. Some love ’em, some hate ’em. I would suspect that if you have more than one of the same model and they sound quite differently, the problem could be manufacturing QC but more than likely as you mentioned they may be rejects or possibly abused.
Total posts : 45366I also use the talking house external antenna, I am wondering if these are still available new? I cant find them on the Talking house web site, but then I never signed up with them so maybe that information is in their material some place.
I bought my ATU off ebay for $150 with the whip, coax and shipping, hated to spend that much but I have to say the antenna is worth it. Mine came virtually unused, so hate disturb the screws to open it up to see what it is made like inside. Anyway, I have not mounted the antenna yet, but tried temp mounts on an outdoor lawn swing frame, and grounded the antenna ground screw to a nearby water pipe on the house. There was a big jump in signal on the built in meter when connected to a ground attached vrs not attached. I used a heavy grounding strap for a ground cable. I did get about the same range as you when testing so I was impressed for a turn key operation antenna.
My only concern is who weather resistant that plastic box would be in all weather conditions such as -20 to +100 degrees and in all kinds of rain and snow, so after testing I put it all away. I have a few Talking house transmitter models now, the best one is a talking house five, the audio is perfect, but I also found that running an equilizer on the audio input on my lesser model numbers that you can come up with nice sounding audio.
Only complaint on audio I have had is weak bass on some models, but that can be fixed up. Wish I could come up with a schematic, I’m sure audio problems would be an easy fix.
Since I bought the Talking house ATU, I have done a lot of work with loading coils and learned that making a AM part 15 transmitter to work properly is not really rocket science. The talking house ATU does work well though, if they would open up the market on those for hobbyists they could sell a ton of them. Not sure on the legality since they are coax connected by a long lenght of coax, which exceeds the length limits for part 15 AM ( antenna, ground, feedline).
At any rate, I am glad for the surplus market. My transmitters cost about an average of $100 each off ebay, I did get hooked on a couple of real duds, but live and learn, they fit into the trash can with out a problem. Sooner or later the hobby market may be saturated with the Talking house transmitter, price will really drop on ebay, and ill have to make more room for a few extra ones as the price may be too low to pass up!
I was thinking about renting out the transmitters to local realitors, but for the most part those guys are not into this stuff it seems. Ive seen a few around using Talking House though, matter of fact that is what got me fired up on the idea of the AM transmitters, the ones I heard had good range so I jumped on the bandwagon. The automatic tuning for the antenna match really impressed me as well as the push button frequency selection.
I had built several AM transmitters of one type or another in the past, but on all of them, range was horrible, but I didnt know enough about it at the time to use a good loading coil and how to test using field strength meters (if you found one that worked in the BC range). But even with all kinds of technical schools in eletronics”Grandpa Radio Joe”learned more and more, and practice makes perfect !
Total posts : 45366I had two different models of the Talking House Transmitter and there was a dramatic difference in the audio quality. My original unit was model TH II and it sounded downright awful using the bulit in mic and loop chip recorder. The audio on the TH II was much improved if I used the direct live feed jack on the back. My second unit was model TH 5.0 which I believe is the latest version and I found the audio quality on this one is fantastic. Even with the built in mic and loop chip it sounded really good! I found the signal in my rural location was good and reliable for approximately one quarter mile and could even be heard almost a half mile away although much weaker. Eventually I would like to experiment with some type of better antenna to increase the transmit range. Anyone have any suggestions for such an antenna?
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