Greetings everyone, I operate a micropower part 15 FM station in my apartment complex, but I have a great deal of interest in AM. I have a talking house transmitter that I bought two years ago and have played around with from time to time.
I live on the bottom floor of a Solid Brick Building, that is extremely well insulated, I dont even have to use much heat when its 20 degrees outside, I have a hard time getting my Signal to penetrate the walls, Especially on the FM side.
With AM, If i use the length of wire that the Talking House came with, I dont get very far at all with an Audible Signal, Many power lines and Interference in the Area. I have attatched wth Wire to a Small ground Rod before and my signal then goes out about a mile and a half in each direction around me during the daylight hours, the signal is fairly readable until you get to the fringes where the noise overwhelms the audio.
My question is this, Is it legal to attach the Transmitter wire to a ground source, as long as the total length of the antenna and ground source dont exceed 3 meters.
The other question is this, At night my signal doesnt leave the parking lot in front of my residence, Is there anyway to improve nightime signal without breaking the rules.
Thanks.
First off, welcome, moore5861.
If I understand your first question as meaning you attached the antenna wire to a ground and the length is equal to or less than 3 meters then it appears that you are legal but there is a "gotcha". This is really a gray area but the transmitter is also grounded through the power cord to the power ground in the receptical. This ground path may result in more energy radiated from it than from your antenna lead to ground. Sadly, this sort of operation would be subject to a FCC inspector's opinion if you are visited and it is not possible say with certainty what this opinion would be.
Regarding the night range, is your range being limited by other stations coming in on the same frequency? If so then about all you can do is try to choose a frequency where this is minimum. Usually, frequencies in the band from 1600 to 1700 kHz are quieter than those in the 540 to 1600 band. Some patient listening could help you find a "good" frequency.
Neil
Thanks for the information, ive tried 1590 so that older radios could recieve the transmissions, but next time I hook it up ill try the the 1650-1700 range and see what results I get.
Yes it seems that alot of noise moves in at night around here, and when I say noise, thats all it is, noise.
I get 740 zoomer, 650 WSM, 780 out of Chicago, 720 out of chicago, 1120 KMOX, 630 am in St. Louis, you name it, Of course thats using my GE Super Radio 2. 🙂