50,000 Watt Transmitter Site

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  • Опубликовано: 10 дек 2024

Комментарии • 133

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад +2

    Oh, big time!! I have told many RUclipsrs that troubleshooting a 50K watts transmitter is easy. If a part goes bad it does not burn out, it explodes.

  • @polemicvs
    @polemicvs 14 лет назад

    Very enjoyable video, and quite educational too. I built an electrical service for a transmitter station before, but never had the opportunity to see it up and running. Not to mention the nice peaceful scenery around it! thanks for posting!

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад +1

    Theres no problem. It is safe to work around the outside of the wooden fences.

  • @trailboyus66
    @trailboyus66 9 лет назад

    My first radio station experience was touring KTTR 1490 AM Rolla, Missouri when my third grade class took a field trip from Newburg Missouri in 1967. The now late Luther Martin who built KTTR in 1947 made sure we were given a complete tour of KTTR including a tour of the fall out shelter under the station. Mr. Martin loved connecting with the public.

  • @ckinard2
    @ckinard2 10 лет назад

    Thank you very much for this tour it's awesome! My very first time hearing the terminology "Hot Tower". I'm very much so interested in getting into amateur radio this year.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Yes I have worked on and repaired this transmitter, of courses no time for picture taking then. So this was a great opportunity to do so, and I did. I only visit this station when the chief engineer calls. Thanks.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Thanks. No, we can not run the transmitter at full power without proper cooling. There is a heat alarm and we can call up the transmitter site and check room temperature. The air conditioners are very important.

  • @SuperWatson63
    @SuperWatson63 11 лет назад

    As a kid in the early 70s, i would hike up to the WSM radio transmitter in nashville,tenn. I was fascinated by it.

  • @saturn5tony
    @saturn5tony 12 лет назад

    Thanks for the Tour Rick. 50,000 WATTS!! Wow, I felt the electricity on the other side of my monitor just watching this!

  • @nakayle
    @nakayle 9 лет назад

    Some change from when a 50-KW transmitter took up an entire building with transformers, rectifiers, oil capacitors, blowers, tank coils, etc. But they were exciting to see with their big glowing tubes and flickering mercury rectifiers. Now transmitters look like a row of filing cabinates.

  • @maplewoodsp
    @maplewoodsp 14 лет назад

    @AllAmericanFiveRadio OK, I had thought that older AM transmitters required audio modulation equal to 1/2 the transmitter output power.

  • @MTTT-bl2uo
    @MTTT-bl2uo 10 лет назад +3

    Nice Nautel Ampfet transmitter there! That thing should keep going for many decades to come with few problems.
    In case you didn't already know, Nautel started out as a manufacturer of aeronautical radionavigation beacon transmitters (NDB), first generation of transmitters produced in the early 1970s.
    Although horridly inefficient (30-35% is fairly typical), many of these early transmitters are still going strong (I maintain many of them, as well as some newer versions too such as the Vector series NDB transmitters which are almost identical in circuitry and operation to broadcast transmitters such as the J1000).

  • @GroverCricketDaisy
    @GroverCricketDaisy 6 месяцев назад

    Great I have always wondered what and how these transmitters were set up and how it worked. Really appreciate the explanation even if it was a cursory one.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    @OXLEYCRUSHER
    Yes it is directional to protect other stations, and it is day time only.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    This is an AM station and at the top of the towers part of the guidewire is part of the antenna system. That is why no tower lights. Thanks.

  • @dougankrum3328
    @dougankrum3328 9 лет назад +2

    ..Interesting...there is a radio station near me here in Sacramento....3 towers like these...200+feet tall...I don't know much about transmitters...but it was obvious to me the whole tower was the antenna element, co-ax running from the RF transmitter cabinet a couple feet away, connected directly to base of tower.......sitting on a ceramic sphere about 12" diameter...grounded 'lightning' rod about an inch or so from the base of each tower.....3 towers maybe 100 feet apart...underground wiring and RF from a large 'base-station'.....large (5-6 foot) Satellite dish on base station...base station sitting on 12-14 foot legs..... Several years ago...a bad fire in the brush and grass toppled 2 of the towers....lower part was looking like spaghetti....brush fires were pretty hot......Towers were later rebuilt....

  • @wb5oxq
    @wb5oxq 12 лет назад

    Solid state transmitters sure save a lot of energy consumption. A friend has 2 Harris DX10 AM transmitters. He says his electric bill in less than a fourth than when he had the old gates 10kw AM rigs.

  • @letseeitplease
    @letseeitplease 14 лет назад

    @AllAmericanFiveRadio ok thanks for answering my post, i have another question, the triangulater thing, it has a post it sign on it saying touch it and die, is that because it will shock someone and kill them? or did that mean it will cause trouble with the equipment if someone touchs that, i know you said you set it once and dont touch it again,

  • @ryan9570
    @ryan9570 9 лет назад +1

    curious as to whether or not this station has a low-power pre-sunrise authority. I would think it has to sign off at local sunset to protect WBZ. there is a 50kw licensed to Indian Head, MD about 35 miles southeast of DC that can't sign on until sunrise because of WBZ.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  13 лет назад

    @NoWattz
    It is a Nautel, not sure of the model. I was just back out there a few days ago. But as usual I don't have time to look around. Get it back up, and get out.

  • @BadChizzle
    @BadChizzle 14 лет назад

    So Cool!
    I've though about these many times but I've never seen one. You get to do all the repairs for in it, and keep things working smoothly?
    I've got to say, you're awesome!

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  11 лет назад

    I don't think there's too many tube type transmitters in daily use today. May be a small market. The station does have a tube type transmitter for you says a backup.

  • @KJ4HYD
    @KJ4HYD 12 лет назад

    Nautel Transmitters ROCK. We put an XR-6 in WLTQ a couple of years ago.

  • @wb5oxq
    @wb5oxq 11 лет назад

    I have seen a Harris DX series personally at KBBW 1010 in Waco and it works much the same. 3 phased towers 10kw day and 6 phased towers 2kw night at a second site. These use much less electricity than tube transmitters and generate less heat also.

  • @ianbutler1983
    @ianbutler1983 9 лет назад

    Thanks for the video. I always assumed there was one gigantic transmitting tube in there.

    • @kingbee1500
      @kingbee1500 8 лет назад

      Up until about 30 yrs. ago, you'd be right! Then, the first wave of moderate-power (

  • @planeguy3223
    @planeguy3223 12 лет назад

    So is the actual structure of the tower hot, or is it just the cables? Either way.... dang. What's the electric bill like?

  • @maplewoodsp
    @maplewoodsp 14 лет назад

    Thanks for making this video!! I would guess this is a fairly modern design transmitter that does'nt require 50% modulation.

  • @Hilldrum
    @Hilldrum 12 лет назад

    Greetings from Vance Co., I enjoy your videos. At 5:30, does the static-like noise and the peak meters correspond with the actual audio being transmitted?

  • @tonymartin9118
    @tonymartin9118 4 года назад

    What frequency do you broadcast on and does it reach to Indiana? I found the video very interesting. Not somewhere to be on a hot day!

    • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
      @AllAmericanFiveRadio  4 года назад

      1030 kHz day time only.
      Thanks

    • @-p5251
      @-p5251 4 года назад

      @@AllAmericanFiveRadio is it still functioning right now?

  • @radioripster
    @radioripster 14 лет назад

    Hi Rick, thanks for sharing and for the time and effort to make it. Nice transmitter site. So, it's 50K from the transmitter? I'm a little confused. The towers are "hot" for an FM station? I know FM stations get their advertised power rating from the ERP provided by gain attained from the antennas arrays mounted on the towers and fed by coax , but AM broadcast stations count on just brute power from from the amplifiers and phased 1/4 wave arrays for the most part?

  • @jayjordan5555
    @jayjordan5555 7 лет назад

    I always wanted to see the inside of a transmitter building!

  • @scottbailey1560
    @scottbailey1560 11 лет назад

    I have been to the WSM-AM 650 Transmitter Site and I live about 45 minutes away from their site. Nice place with much history! I have been trying to find out where WSM-AM first site was in 1925. I live here and nobody seems to know.

    • @ApartmentKing66
      @ApartmentKing66 6 лет назад

      My guess would be on the roof of the building that housed the station. A lot of stations did this in the '20s. In San Francisco, KPO (now KNBR) first signed on in 1922 on the top floor of the Hale Bros. dept. store with the towers on the roof. KFRC, KFWB, KGO, KGGC (now KEST) and KTAB (now KSFO) all had their antennae on top of the station building or next to the building. Putting the site outside of town didn't really start in earnest until the 30s.

  • @Maxxarcade
    @Maxxarcade 14 лет назад

    That's really neat!
    Are there any ill effects of being around the RF energy for extended periods?

  • @radioripster
    @radioripster 14 лет назад

    I thought it was an AM station, because of the "hot" towers and all that power. I was confused about WRDU.. I hadn't heard of WRDU AM. Must be a shared property.
    I was still a little groggy from sleepy when I wrote my initial post. heh. Thanks again for the post..all things radio fascinate me.

  • @letseeitplease
    @letseeitplease 14 лет назад

    thanks for posting your video, i liked it,, you had mentioned you were waiting on the new air conditioner at this site, what i want to know is, when the air conditioner gos out, can you still run the transmitter at full power without heating up and cooking the equipment?

  • @DoubleHaulCharters
    @DoubleHaulCharters 14 лет назад

    I enjoyed this as I've not seen the inner working of a station. How does the signal get to the site - internet?

  • @planeguy3223
    @planeguy3223 12 лет назад

    Hey that's pretty neat. I would love to have a station like this (maybe for ham radio). All of this stuff really interests me. Love it. Thanks for posting the video.

  • @gaylonrose6713
    @gaylonrose6713 7 лет назад +1

    I didn't read all the responses below but the pipe is called wave guide, correct..??

    • @ryantoomey611
      @ryantoomey611 6 лет назад

      It is hard-line coax, it is similar to wave-guide but not exactly as wave-guide is only used on the higher microwave frequencies. Pipe has to be used as coax due to the extremely high power output. Ordinary cable would melt at that power level.

    • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
      @AllAmericanFiveRadio  8 месяцев назад

      Wave guids do not have a center conductor.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад +1

    @force311999
    My concern is how long will AM survive.

  • @ApartmentKing66
    @ApartmentKing66 13 лет назад

    This is the transmitter site for AM 1030 WDRU, serving Raleigh, NC and environs.

  • @Lancedsanders
    @Lancedsanders 7 лет назад

    Nice tour & explanation how everything works. Don't touch that dial - or the phasors!

  • @jeromewhelan6723
    @jeromewhelan6723 10 лет назад

    Thanks for the station tour - could you speak about the contents of the boxes at the bases of the towers?

    • @cossa6296
      @cossa6296 9 лет назад

      jerome whelan
      These are called Antenna Tuning Units and contain circuits (capacitors & coils) to fine tune the antenna to match the impedance of the antenna to the transmission line. At some stations these boxes will be in the form of a small shed.

  • @ELSTARBREAKER
    @ELSTARBREAKER 13 лет назад

    Great Video !! Nautel and Orban Opimod Sounds great on the am dial i'm sure

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Oh it is hot with RF HIGH VOLTAGE 50,000 Watts. I am glad I had time to take pictures this time. Most of the time there's a problem and I don't have time to even thing about picture. Thanks.

  • @DavidBerquist334
    @DavidBerquist334 11 лет назад

    what station is it i thought one tower sends signal all derections unless blocked by a mountain our towers for radio tv are on hill tops to get greatist distance how far does fifty thousand go what kind of music do you broadcast fhankyou

  • @capndavey1
    @capndavey1 11 лет назад

    Ah a solid state transmitter lots and lots of transistors

  • @madskyltd
    @madskyltd 11 лет назад

    very interesting. i know with AM radio, the entire mast serves as the antenna. how do stations (like WHO since you mentioned 50,000 watts) do maintenance on a tower without taking the station off the air - so they don't get fried climbing the tower? how does this differ from an FM antenna? can they be on the same mast?

    • @ApartmentKing66
      @ApartmentKing66 6 лет назад

      Stations do maintenance with the station on-air by greatly reducing the power. When I was at KFIA in Sacramento, if someone needed to climb a tower to change a strobe during the day, we'd take the power down to 500 or 1,000 watts non-directional from its usual 25,000-watt daytime directional. This differs from an FM or TV antenna in that the tower itself does no radiating. The tower simply holds the antenna, which is mounted at the top of the tower. FM antennae can be mounted to the top of AM towers (KYA-FM in San Francisco was an example), but certain equipment is required to keep RF from "bleeding" from one to another. A broadcast engineer can explain it a lot better, but there it is from a layman's perspective.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Oh, we still modulate as cols to 100% as possible.

  • @FelixTheHouseFreak
    @FelixTheHouseFreak 14 лет назад

    Very very interesting, i always like seeing transmitters. What station is this?

  • @OverlandOne
    @OverlandOne 14 лет назад

    Great to see this video. Thank you.
    Bill

  • @birdfeeding
    @birdfeeding 12 лет назад

    Thanks for the tour. Quite interesting!

  • @thomaumatthes
    @thomaumatthes 2 года назад

    Did you find out if Winston the warning note about the Phaser ?!

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  11 лет назад

    It's still fascinating to me too

  • @DavidBerquist334
    @DavidBerquist334 9 лет назад

    i thought tower is grounded and trans miting elaments are near the top if lightning hits tower it will ground out and not go to transmiting equipment

    • @ryantoomey611
      @ryantoomey611 6 лет назад

      For FM and TV stations yes, but not on AM. Due to the long wavelength the tower itself acts as the antenna, or else the antenna would have to be extremely long in order to work efficiently (over 100 feet).

  • @BadChizzle
    @BadChizzle 14 лет назад

    Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, needing new video soon!
    Your friend,
    Chuk

  • @billyboi57
    @billyboi57 10 лет назад

    A "hot tower" means the tower itself is the antenna and it carries LETHAL voltages.

    • @JDtheEE
      @JDtheEE 9 лет назад

      billyboi57 "Its not the Volts that kill you, it's the Amps!" But considering the Amps are directly related to voltage potential, Volts set the current since your body is only so much resistance, But voltage doesn't flow, current does. So Technically the Current is what kills you.

    • @williamjones3871
      @williamjones3871 9 лет назад

      Jon Williams You are correct, of course. I was just generalizing in my comment. The main point being that the entire tower structure is the antenna.

    • @ryantoomey611
      @ryantoomey611 6 лет назад

      It is the RF that basically cooks you from the inside out like a microwave oven, but at 50,000 watts the amps alone are enough to kill you anyway.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    The four towers are all hot. Power is 440 three phase.

    • @christopherhall8788
      @christopherhall8788 5 лет назад

      No such thing as 440 three phase in the United States... it was 460 until the 1960s... just like there is no such thing as 110... all voltages were raised in steps during the 60's and 70's ... It is 480 VAC either delta or wye for over 40 years

  • @hyvahyva
    @hyvahyva 7 лет назад

    That's a very nice site... and biiiig beautiful AMPFET

  • @michaelslee6483
    @michaelslee6483 10 лет назад

    would a lightning strike,fry all that equeptment?

    • @cossa6296
      @cossa6296 9 лет назад

      michael slee
      A lightning strike could very well cause damage to the equipment. A well designed transmitting plant will have taken that into account and will have taken measures to minimize the damage potential from lightning, power surges, etc.

    • @ryantoomey611
      @ryantoomey611 6 лет назад

      They likely have lightning arresters, which shunt the current from the lightning strike to ground.

  • @francescogerotto8496
    @francescogerotto8496 3 года назад

    The name of the radio ??? Frequency ????

  • @stdavross666
    @stdavross666 12 лет назад

    nice duck, what does this transmitter site transmit??, good vid thanks

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  13 лет назад

    @wannawatchu66
    Yes it is.

  • @planeguy3223
    @planeguy3223 12 лет назад

    That's ridiculous haha. So what do you use this site for?

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Yes the towers have 50k of RF power on them. If you touch the tower you are a Crispy Critter.

  • @DavidBerquist334
    @DavidBerquist334 9 лет назад

    i thought the tower is grounded and hard line carrys 50,000 wats to transmitting element near the top

    • @cossa6296
      @cossa6296 9 лет назад

      David Berquist
      The most popular antenna for AM broadcast is a series fed tower. First is the concrete base upon which sets a porcelain insulator. The tower then sets atop the insulator. Power is fed to the tower just above the insulator. The whole of the tower above the insulator is energized.
      Most commonly semi-flexible (helix, etc.) transmission line is used. Hard line is usually reserved for exceptionally long runs (efficiency) or better high power handling ability due to its high cost.

    • @HeyBill100
      @HeyBill100 5 лет назад

      In AM radio, the tower carries the transmitter's total power.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    The Internet is connected at the studio.

  • @4815162342SW
    @4815162342SW 8 лет назад

    Great video, how does all the data get to these remote sites? is it alot of data?

  • @markcarbonaro6524
    @markcarbonaro6524 7 лет назад

    Do you have a back-up transmitter at this site? What kind?

  • @davidnash41
    @davidnash41 10 лет назад

    Very interesting, many thanks.

  • @seanzappulla71
    @seanzappulla71 10 лет назад

    Is this TV or AM or FM radio.

    • @ApartmentKing66
      @ApartmentKing66 7 лет назад

      AM radio. The entire tower (or towers if it's directional) serve(s) as the antenna. On the other hand, the antennae for FM and TV stations are radiating elements usually mounted to the tops of towers. The towers themselves don't radiate signals, they merely hold the antenna.

  • @bobbj77
    @bobbj77 13 лет назад

    Great video. thanks for posting

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Oh that happens all the time, its WDRU. Truth Broadcasting.

  • @ianharling9569
    @ianharling9569 6 лет назад

    Very good tour around the tx site.73 Ian.G7HFS/PA3IKH.☺

  • @RossCarterOfficial
    @RossCarterOfficial 12 лет назад

    Thanks for the epic (free) tour!

  • @simplertimes1
    @simplertimes1 14 лет назад

    Thanks, very informative. Nice job.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Thanks

  • @agustiana1247
    @agustiana1247 3 года назад

    Good.....mr

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Thanks.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Thanks, WDRU

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    Thanks joaocarlostec

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    Thanks feboburger

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Thanks djjoelnorth

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    Thanks geoffrobert1

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Thanks!

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    WDRU (1030 AM)

  • @OH6LSL
    @OH6LSL 13 лет назад

    Thanks for this wery intresting video.
    Cheers from Finland. Only one AM transmitter alive...
    Janne OH6LSL

  • @hmpeter
    @hmpeter 14 лет назад

    Great video, thank You!

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  13 лет назад

    Thanks bobbj77

  • @michaelslee6483
    @michaelslee6483 10 лет назад

    coax or wave guide

    • @cossa6296
      @cossa6296 9 лет назад +1

      michael slee
      Coaxial transmission lines are normally used for broadcast frequencies. Wave guide transmission lines are used for much higher frequencies such as microwave.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  11 лет назад

    WDRU AM 1030

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    Thanks saturn5tony

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    Thanks iRouRoui

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  13 лет назад

    Thanks Vk1FXJC

  • @Vintage_USA_Tech
    @Vintage_USA_Tech 11 лет назад

    Very cool

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  13 лет назад

    Yes, and thanks! ELSTARBREAKER

  • @SlykeThePhoxenix
    @SlykeThePhoxenix 11 лет назад

    Sweeeet video.

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    lol, Thanks!

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  12 лет назад

    Thanks nysvrwx

  • @OH6LSL
    @OH6LSL 13 лет назад

    Thanks for this wery intresting video.
    Janne OH6LSL

  • @AllAmericanFiveRadio
    @AllAmericanFiveRadio  14 лет назад

    Thanks