I have received my AMT5000 kit in perfect condition. It is well packaged! I can’t wait to get started on construction, and will report on my results here. If all goes well, I hope to have it built by the end of this week.
Reader Interactions
Comments
RFBsays
Fantastic! Sounds great! Look forward to hearing how well it goes and performs. Are you operating an outdoor 3 meter antenna system or..??
RFB
ABMedia1says
Awesome! Awesome! What is the serial number?
Carl Blaresays
Talking To Busy People Of course since you are busy building the AMT5000 you may not have time to notice all the excitement coming from “the gang,” but I also am thrilled that you got your new transmitter and I’ll bet that you love it when you get a feel for what it does.
WEAK-AMsays
Construction Update Today, I installed the first batch of fixed resistors. All of the parts were well packaged, and nothing was missing. Phil did a beautiful job on the manual. In my opinion, it is even better than the Heathkit manuals were. A nice thing about the part reference numbers that are silk-screened on the PCB: they flow in order from one end of the board to the other. That makes it easier to local “R27” for example, when you’re building the kit or perhaps doing some troubleshooting in the future.
Another nice thing: the solid state components that have very small leads are pre-soldered, which is helpful for those who might not have appropriate soldering tools. I’m using a pair of $1,000 Metcals here at work, but I would suppose that most people would not have anything like that available to them. Also (and this is a really big deal!) the toroidal output coil is pre-wound. This coil is a critical component as far as efficiency is concerned, and it’s not that easy to wind toroids neatly…
So, for those who are interested in how it’s going, I’ll post updates as I make further progress. I’m trying to be patient, but I can hardly wait to get this transmitter on the air! I do intend to test it with a variety of indoor and outdoor antennas, and also to perform range tests. I expect a considerable improvement over the AMT-3000. I own one of those also, so I’ll be able to compare the two with both of them on the air at the same time (on different frequencies, of course)!
WEAK-AMsays
Construction Update Today, I installed most of the remaining fixed resistors and all of the fixed capacitors. Incidentally, most of the resistors are 5% but there are a few 1% parts as well. For those who are optically challenged, it would be a good idea to have a magnifying lens handy when assembling the kit, especially for reading the numbers on the ceramic capacitors. They are very, very small. Another thing I would suggest is to avoid using too much heat on those parts in particular. I believe they are actually chip caps with wire leads soldered to them. In the past, I have had problems with the leads becoming unsoldered on that type of component when they were hand soldered. I didn’t notice any problem with these parts, but I was very careful.
When installing the transistors, be sure to pay attention to the part numbers, because all of the small signal devices look similar. Also, be sure to install them in the correct orientation. The instructions and the silk screening on the board are very clear; just pay attention!
I had some difficulty slicing the headers to create the two-pin jumpers. The manual says that you need a sharp knife, and that is quite true. I had to get a brand new blade for my X-Acto knife before I was able to do it. The rest of today’s work involved installing the IC sockets and the surge suppressor. The IC sockets were a breeze; however the surge suppressor leads were a tight fit and I was glad I had followed the instructions and worked them through the board holes before bending them.
At this point I would estimate that I am more than 1/2 way through the construction. It is very likely that I will be able to finish tomorrow and do the initial tests. I am very excited because I’ve wanted this ever since I knew it was coming. My AMT3000 has given me a lot of enjoyment, but this will be even better!
RankineCyclesays
Good So Far I’ve had my AMT5000 for about a week, but have yet to get it mounted in a weatherproof box and precisely tuned with my 16 in. diameter/9 ft. tall vertical cage antenna. It certainly appears to be one of the most well-engineered pieces of electronic equipment I have seen.
WEAK-AMsays
Construction Finished! I actually finished building the transmitter on Thursday. Altogether, it took about 3 hours from start to finish. Of course, I had some familiarity with SSTRAN products since I had previously built the AMT3000. When I fired it up, it worked perfectly the first time! Before I talk about performance, I’d like to offer a few final comments on building the kit. When you install the terminal blocks (e.g., for the antenna and ground), be careful to make sure you have them facing the right way. The wires enter from one side. Note that C9, C20, and S21 are “no stuffs” (no part installed). I ended up with about 9 extra resistors and a spare transient suppressor. I’m not sure if this was intended or not.
Tuning up the transmitter is straightforward if you follow the instructions. I think it is helpful to have some sort of output indicator handy to better see what is going on. I used a Tektronix 475 high frequency oscilloscope to look at the output. With no antenna connected, I observed more than 800V p-p at the output, with only the 10x passive scope probe connected. Wow! That’s much higher than anything else I’ve tested! Don’t worry, you won’t get zapped if you touch it; the current available is very low and you detune the output as soon as you put your finger on it. Due to the higher efficiency output section, tuning is fairly sharp and is more affected by antenna position. If you’re going to use the supplied wire antenna, you’ll want to fasten it down to prevent changes from affecting the output tuning.
I brought the transmitter home from the lab and set it up on the same location in my living room as my AMT3000. Yes, it goes a LOT farther! Whereas before, the signal was relatively good down to the end of my block with a few fades here and there, now it is absolutely solid. And when I turn onto the next street, I can still hear it– for a distance of about half a mile. This is with an indoor antenna! By comparison, the signal from the AMT3000 would die out instantly when I turned onto the next street.
A couple of other quick notes: the audio sounds great! It is a little smoother than the AMT3000 on classical music, because the AMT5000 uses a different audio processor chip that doesn’t have the low level downward expansion characteristic. I don’t know that I’ve found the the best settings yet; I’m still experimenting. I do miss having an on/off switch, and I guess I’ll have to break down and get a wall switch or a power strip with a switch. One feature I liked that is missing on the AMT5000 vs. the AMT3000 is the availability of an antenna connector. It was really handy for quickly disconnecting the transmitter when I moving it between locations. Now that I have two transmitters, one will stay at each site.
So there you have it! This transmitter is a remarkable contribution to the state-of-the-art of Part 15 low power broadcasting, and a fantastic accomplishment by SSTRAN! I intend to do more objective measurements, and will probably take the transmitter back to the lab for bench tests next week. I’ll report on those here.
RFB says
Fantastic!
Sounds great! Look forward to hearing how well it goes and performs. Are you operating an outdoor 3 meter antenna system or..??
RFB
ABMedia1 says
Awesome!
Awesome! What is the serial number?
Carl Blare says
Talking To Busy People
Of course since you are busy building the AMT5000 you may not have time to notice all the excitement coming from “the gang,” but I also am thrilled that you got your new transmitter and I’ll bet that you love it when you get a feel for what it does.
WEAK-AM says
Construction Update
Today, I installed the first batch of fixed resistors. All of the parts were well packaged, and nothing was missing. Phil did a beautiful job on the manual. In my opinion, it is even better than the Heathkit manuals were. A nice thing about the part reference numbers that are silk-screened on the PCB: they flow in order from one end of the board to the other. That makes it easier to local “R27” for example, when you’re building the kit or perhaps doing some troubleshooting in the future.
Another nice thing: the solid state components that have very small leads are pre-soldered, which is helpful for those who might not have appropriate soldering tools. I’m using a pair of $1,000 Metcals here at work, but I would suppose that most people would not have anything like that available to them. Also (and this is a really big deal!) the toroidal output coil is pre-wound. This coil is a critical component as far as efficiency is concerned, and it’s not that easy to wind toroids neatly…
So, for those who are interested in how it’s going, I’ll post updates as I make further progress. I’m trying to be patient, but I can hardly wait to get this transmitter on the air! I do intend to test it with a variety of indoor and outdoor antennas, and also to perform range tests. I expect a considerable improvement over the AMT-3000. I own one of those also, so I’ll be able to compare the two with both of them on the air at the same time (on different frequencies, of course)!
WEAK-AM says
Construction Update
Today, I installed most of the remaining fixed resistors and all of the fixed capacitors. Incidentally, most of the resistors are 5% but there are a few 1% parts as well. For those who are optically challenged, it would be a good idea to have a magnifying lens handy when assembling the kit, especially for reading the numbers on the ceramic capacitors. They are very, very small. Another thing I would suggest is to avoid using too much heat on those parts in particular. I believe they are actually chip caps with wire leads soldered to them. In the past, I have had problems with the leads becoming unsoldered on that type of component when they were hand soldered. I didn’t notice any problem with these parts, but I was very careful.
When installing the transistors, be sure to pay attention to the part numbers, because all of the small signal devices look similar. Also, be sure to install them in the correct orientation. The instructions and the silk screening on the board are very clear; just pay attention!
I had some difficulty slicing the headers to create the two-pin jumpers. The manual says that you need a sharp knife, and that is quite true. I had to get a brand new blade for my X-Acto knife before I was able to do it. The rest of today’s work involved installing the IC sockets and the surge suppressor. The IC sockets were a breeze; however the surge suppressor leads were a tight fit and I was glad I had followed the instructions and worked them through the board holes before bending them.
At this point I would estimate that I am more than 1/2 way through the construction. It is very likely that I will be able to finish tomorrow and do the initial tests. I am very excited because I’ve wanted this ever since I knew it was coming. My AMT3000 has given me a lot of enjoyment, but this will be even better!
RankineCycle says
Good So Far
I’ve had my AMT5000 for about a week, but have yet to get it mounted in a weatherproof box and precisely tuned with my 16 in. diameter/9 ft. tall vertical cage antenna. It certainly appears to be one of the most well-engineered pieces of electronic equipment I have seen.
WEAK-AM says
Construction Finished!
I actually finished building the transmitter on Thursday. Altogether, it took about 3 hours from start to finish. Of course, I had some familiarity with SSTRAN products since I had previously built the AMT3000. When I fired it up, it worked perfectly the first time! Before I talk about performance, I’d like to offer a few final comments on building the kit. When you install the terminal blocks (e.g., for the antenna and ground), be careful to make sure you have them facing the right way. The wires enter from one side. Note that C9, C20, and S21 are “no stuffs” (no part installed). I ended up with about 9 extra resistors and a spare transient suppressor. I’m not sure if this was intended or not.
Tuning up the transmitter is straightforward if you follow the instructions. I think it is helpful to have some sort of output indicator handy to better see what is going on. I used a Tektronix 475 high frequency oscilloscope to look at the output. With no antenna connected, I observed more than 800V p-p at the output, with only the 10x passive scope probe connected. Wow! That’s much higher than anything else I’ve tested! Don’t worry, you won’t get zapped if you touch it; the current available is very low and you detune the output as soon as you put your finger on it. Due to the higher efficiency output section, tuning is fairly sharp and is more affected by antenna position. If you’re going to use the supplied wire antenna, you’ll want to fasten it down to prevent changes from affecting the output tuning.
I brought the transmitter home from the lab and set it up on the same location in my living room as my AMT3000. Yes, it goes a LOT farther! Whereas before, the signal was relatively good down to the end of my block with a few fades here and there, now it is absolutely solid. And when I turn onto the next street, I can still hear it– for a distance of about half a mile. This is with an indoor antenna! By comparison, the signal from the AMT3000 would die out instantly when I turned onto the next street.
A couple of other quick notes: the audio sounds great! It is a little smoother than the AMT3000 on classical music, because the AMT5000 uses a different audio processor chip that doesn’t have the low level downward expansion characteristic. I don’t know that I’ve found the the best settings yet; I’m still experimenting. I do miss having an on/off switch, and I guess I’ll have to break down and get a wall switch or a power strip with a switch. One feature I liked that is missing on the AMT5000 vs. the AMT3000 is the availability of an antenna connector. It was really handy for quickly disconnecting the transmitter when I moving it between locations. Now that I have two transmitters, one will stay at each site.
So there you have it! This transmitter is a remarkable contribution to the state-of-the-art of Part 15 low power broadcasting, and a fantastic accomplishment by SSTRAN! I intend to do more objective measurements, and will probably take the transmitter back to the lab for bench tests next week. I’ll report on those here.