Very cool little station. I used to use the ultramizer on my different community stations. It's great. Very cool to see your station. Very rare to get an inside look. Rock on !
Very cool. Think I have a Ramsey in the closet still! Mod them up with some simple cap filters, and no harmonics anyway. Great set up. Makes me miss some of the stuff I did in San Diego many yrs ago. Keep up the good work, and long live free radio.
I use to broadcast on the FM since the early 80's .I don't know how much power I was putting out with my homemade transmitters .I had a range of up to 3-5 miles . Last year I decided to give up on FM and get a legal AM transmitter , which has a good range a few miles . I never was busted and decided to go back to where I started , AM radio back in the late 1970's. I bought two Talking House transmitters and was surprised of the range they have using a 3 meter antenna .
HA! I used a 25 watt mono exciter on 88.9 back in the late 70's. The exciter was homebrew and I used a DBX comp/limiter, Yamaha 12 band EQ and Peavey mixer. The output was fed into a homebrew half wave vertical at 20 feet. VSWR was 1:1.1 and the exciter was rated commercial continuos duty. Not only did I play music I had guests in the studio an operated 24/7. I operated by the book, no vulgarity but we did have a weekend discussion on weed. And that was the callsign WEED.
Even with a Ramsey, if it’s located on the top story of a tall bldg in a large city, your ratings potential would be truly astounding with good promotion and programming. Don’t forget the quality antenna; a directional yagi antenna designed for TV reception, aimed at the densest population would bump up your ratings still further.
Just one more thing...I’m not kidding about using a TV RECEIVING antenna being pressed into service as an FM transmitter...because the entire FM band is located between TV channels 6 and 7 (analog).
Since I last spoke with you I recently purchased a "DBX 266xs dual compressor/gate" I'm trying to find proper cables to plug it to my Sainsonic AX-7C transmitter input which has a 1/8 or 3.5mm stereo input jack. My DBX has both TRS & XLR inputs/outputs which is the best cables to experiment with first? Thanks for your reply.
@bamaslamma1003 You can get them on Ebay. You can buy them with 1 watt built in, or buy a 25mw and a 1 watt upgrade kit. Under good conditions, 1 watt can go 1-2 miles. Depends on height, antenna, swr, etc.
Great studio setup and output from your road trip test by the way. I was wondering about the cables on your transmitter/antenna to the SWR.. Are they TNC connections or do you have RG58U type coaxial cable connections. I'm trying to find a TNC to RG58U connector/adaptor or cable.for my transmitter antenna output ot SWR meter.. Thanks.
@radioman1075 I need something that handles the overshoots, but doesn't clip. I'm gonna replace my dbx compressor. It does an ok job, but not perfect. I'm wondering how a behringer mdx2600 could handle being a peak limiter. My transmitter has built in pre-emphasis, but its modded so the built in limiter was to be disabled (it sounded low and distorted at even 100% modulation). With the limiter disabled, the sound dramatically improved. The dynamics and bass sound loud and sharp.
Nice setup you've got a great place for broadcasting! and nice sound processing but i think the db meter is a bit to much in the red? ;) try to compare it with other stations to prevent interuption,and what kind of antenna do you use? u know how higher the antenna how further you will reach! In the netherlands we have many piratestations a few even have more than 20KW of power! :O I have a transmitter to whith 30 watts and an amplifier wich kan do 800-900 watts. Srry for my bad english:P ~Danny
when i want to listen to my HF radio wirelessly, i use a transmitter about the size of an egg that i got for twenty dollars at radio shack, it's made more for use on mp3 players yes, but it does produce pretty good range for a little thing like that lol.
@radioman1075 Yeah, i realize that overdriving wasn't good for a ramsey to handle. It may sound great on the monitors, but it sounds too saturated through the transmitter. I found that less is better. I keep the exciter driver (for presence) low, and the tube emulation (for the overall warm sound) to a minimum. Less is better. The ultradyne doesn't have a stereo enhancer, but the ultramizer (first thing on my chain does), still its kept to a minimum.
do you have too have a audio processor to make the sound better if so what kind should I get? cause mine hisses when when a song usese the letter s when you say sensitive. it'll hiss when the word sensitive is said
Hey dude, I hope you are still responding to post. I am setting up a station, which, I have wanted to do for years. I have behringer mix 4600, Deq2496, dsp1400p. I saw your video a few days ago and looked into the ultra dyne for final processor, but the only one I found was in the UK with 120 for shipping. I'm not telling the transmitter, but I have a low pass filter for spikes and harmonics. I've set up Stereo DJ for auto music play. I like it to be able to add in weather and news cast and other things at same time each day. I am a total noob setting everything up, so it is taking what feels like forever. Can you do a window showing more detail of the setup from PC out to last processor? Down to cabling setup. Pls Tia
Good Job!! :) it look like you are using the FM100B - Super Pro FM Stereo Radio Station Kit. Is it the Standard kit or High power Kit ?? And with Amp are you using ?
@radioman1075 The Ultradyne really is a great product! I don't rely on its limiter function, as it reacts slowly compared to an external device! Too bad they have discontinued it and other multiband processors (i haven't found others by behringer) Yes, it has 6 bands, which each of the 6 bands can be adjusted to any frequency range you want! One day, when hell freezes over, i'll get an optimod!
The db meter starts off showing red when the audio reaches -12db. As long as i don't go above +3db (the meter only reads up to 0 db), i should be fine without distortion. I try not to go above 0 db. I have since gotten a limiter that replaced my DBX and it handles the overshoots much better! As far as Antenna, i use a 5/8 wave comet. Decent antenna for the price!
Yes, it's possible and I have done it before. The fellow that owned the Ramsey wanted to pass multiplex from other stations and have it operate like a translator.
Nice setup...I love your station friend & I'm a big fan of Free Radio!! Wavemach Transmitters from wavemach.com are far cleaner than the Ramsey, and can go from 200mw's to 20watts for the same money. (I only say this because many Pirates start at a Watt or less Ramsey...but then increase the power (watts) with a RF Amp & that's when the trouble starts with causing interference & so on). I hate seeing stations shut down! Thanks for showing us your great setup!!
100 watts - 30 km. 30 watts - 20 km. 1 watt - your house shortwave/am: 10 watts - 1/2 of USA. 50 watts- USA(coast to coast). 250watts - USA Canada and Mexico.
@@letitrotfuckit 1 watt - your house, then the conditions must really suck.. I get over 2km with 300mW of output with a tuned antenna 20 meters up in the air.. 100 watts will easily get you 50km if used correctly.
@@nitrosake The noise level is VERY high were I live because all the 100,000 watt FM and TV stations cannot control themselves and are causing a lot of noise. 150 watts from KWFUCC is already DX after 7 miles.
Wavemach.com has been building & selling LPFM Broadcast Transmitters & RF Amps for 15 years and is the best out there. Dave at Wavemach is a great guy & gives full tech backup & support. Being in Canada they ship worldwide fully assembled units...great service. Check them out friend! Love your setup!!
I was actually gonna do that! I was gonna record a broadcast while recording the audio thru my PC so it has a higher quality than my camera mic! Stay turned! I wanna check your setup out once you upload your vids! Thanks!
I got nervous when I saw your FM transmitter-- Looks like it's just barely balanced and about ready to fall off the speaker top! Shouldn't that thing be mounted somewhere securely?
Thats crazy on what goes on in The Netherlands! If you broadcasted at 20KW of power as a pirate here in the US, the FCC will find you in mere minutes, I'm sure!
great job, can you give me advice how to make my radio system more powerful? I have a 15 W fm transmitter plus a half wave dipole antenna. do I need a swr meter? what else should I have? thanks
Yes, an SWR meter is your best friend! Get some thick high grade cable.....nothing less than RG 6 for minimum loss. Get the antenna as high as possible; because high is more important than power! Invest in an Amp that is more than 15Watts for penetration! Play around!
jonnymarinara ok my FM transmitter came with 15 meter 50 ohm cable. I've installed it on top of the 4th floor's roof. about the Amp, I don't know which type I should use. can you please give me a link? thanks
They are pricey but Invest in a Bird watt / swr meter and the correct slug or VHF-Mid band (60 - 108 MHz) you can't go wrong. RG-6 is 75 ohm TV cable, DO NOT USE 75 ohm cable for transmitting! unless your transmitter says its ok otherwise your swr will shoot up out of the stratosphere and you will cook your transmitters final transistors. I know the 1 watt Ramsey units use 75 ohm and F connector because its a hobby transmitter and not a real pro grade version. Keep this in mind: If your Transmitter uses a 50 ohm cable and an "N" type connector then chances are it is of pro grade spec. Look on ebay for antennas. As for cable look up Andrews Heliax. for 15 watts the 1/4" heliax will work fine and make sure you get the right connectors for the ends and the tool to put them on properly unless you have experience with heliax cable and know what you are doing. Also if your wanting to increase RF power MAKE SURE you DO NOT DRIVE 15 watts INTO the AMPLIFIER. Always cut your exciter back to 1/2 a watt and slowly work it up from there. If you drive more power into an amplifier that what its rated at at its input you will DESTROY IT. With the properly tuned antenna you do not need a whole lot of power to get a signal out. A properly tuned antenna will propagate properly and if there is any db gain in the design then 1 watt can look like 10 to a nearby receiver. Look into ground plane type antennas since they are vertically polarized and have a nice "take-off" pattern
Hi Thanks so much for your explanation. OK this the link I purchased the transmitter package from: www.ebay.com/itm/221145500438?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 Well I've studied electronics but have no experience about FM radio systems. For now I learnt that first I need a swr meter to tune my dipole antenna, And yes my connectors are N type. On the device its mentioned 50 ohm antenna, and thats the one I'm using And do I use the Amplifier or not? If yes with how much power do you suggest? Any more advice is highly appreciated Thanks
ok like I mentioned before: turn the transmitter power all the way down then connect the amplifier. Connect the watt / swr meter between the amplifier and antenna and set it for forward reading to read power. Now slowly turn up the power on your transmitter unit and make note on the minimum power level the amplifier livens up at. Now adjust the transmitter power up until you just reach the max power that the amplifier is said to output. This is read from the watt meter always so you know how much power is leaving your setup. Once you have the RF output power level set you should mark the setting someplace on the transmitter both the minimum and maximum levels. YOU DO NOT want to exceed the maximum level from your transmitter into the amplifier unless you know for certain the amplifier can handle it. For an SWR reading you simply switch the watt meter into reverse mode. Your SWR should be less than 1:5 where 1:1 is zero tuned or flat. If the swr is above 1:5 or in the red you should not operate the transmitter until you can get the swr down below 1:5 or at very least out of the red. To be on the safe side you should tune and check swr in Low Power mode (under 1 watt) meaning remove the amplifier and connect the transmitter directly and turn it down to 1 watt and go from there. As for power suggestions, I cannot determine how much power you should run. That will all depend on the area your in vs the area your wanting to cover vs. your laws on radio transmitters and such. I assume you do not want to get into trouble with this equipment so I woulds suggest you tune it to a low frequency away from all the commercial stations somplace around 87.9 to 91.1 or something but MAKE SURE those frequencies are not being used first. Also start without the amplifier and set the transmitter at 1 watt and do your test runs there. set up a playlist and the station antenna and transmitter and then drive out and get some range info. You want to try to maximize yoru range at 1 watt so when you do turn up the power you should not have to adjust your hardware on the roof and you will know your covering well
depends on how high your antenna is, terrain, etc. I got my station about 11 miles from my source, but my antenna wasn't as high as i wanted it. (35ft)
The first time, nothing. Once the FCC field agent finds you by using direction-finding techniques and taking field strength measurements of your signal, will ask to see your facility and take pictures of your transmitter for documentation and ask you to shut it down. If you shut it down and keep it off, you'll get a NOUO in the mail (NOtice of Unauthorized Operation) for your records basically telling you that they know about your operation and that it's illegal (citing Part 73 legalese), but as long as you don't go back on the air, all is forgiven. You're given 30 days to respond by US mail to the NOUO if you choose to. But if you keep going back on the air illegally, you face a number of consequences, including fines of $10k or more, confiscation of your equipment, and jail time.
too much audio processing. I just use breakaway broadcast and it sounds cleaner with a amd dual core 2.5 and 2 gigs of ram. I sit at 102% all the time! Czh fm-5c on the 1 watt setting with a dipole. (stay at 1 watt or less to avoid jamming commercial broadcasting)
well as a broadcast station on the air at one watt, or 8.2 milliwatts e.r.p. with same ramsey tx. i have been great without all the comppression stuff. its over kill. but i have to say i love my studio, even if no one hears by tx im online and im in a fully modern studio with all the big stuff a classic fm may have had in 1999 still with a computer for automation as its nice to break for sleep. come take a glance wsvr901fm on facebook.com. say howdy
I've been using it for 3 years!! Still works! Built tough!!!
Very cool little station. I used to use the ultramizer on my different community stations. It's great. Very cool to see your station. Very rare to get an inside look. Rock on !
reminds me of Radio Caroline a pirate station from a ship in the North sea
Very cool. Think I have a Ramsey in the closet still! Mod them up with some simple cap filters, and no harmonics anyway. Great set up. Makes me miss some of the stuff I did in San Diego many yrs ago. Keep up the good work, and long live free radio.
Anyone who tunes in within range can receive my station. I have a friend 8 miles away pickup my station at his house. that gives you an idea
love that big country opening and tour of the studio. : ))
I have a 9024 in my FM processor chain too... love it!
I use to broadcast on the FM since the early 80's .I don't know how much power I was putting out with my homemade transmitters .I had a range of up to 3-5 miles . Last year I decided to give up on FM and get a legal AM transmitter , which has a good range a few miles . I never was busted and decided to go back to where I started , AM radio back in the late 1970's. I bought two Talking House transmitters and was surprised of the range they have using a 3 meter antenna .
Great Studio. The Ramsey transmitter is really cool.
My favorite 80s song ever. Cool. Oh, and Winamp!!!! Awesome.
HA! I used a 25 watt mono exciter on 88.9 back in the late 70's. The exciter was homebrew and I used a DBX comp/limiter, Yamaha 12 band EQ and Peavey mixer. The output was fed into a homebrew half wave vertical at 20 feet. VSWR was 1:1.1 and the exciter was rated commercial continuos duty. Not only did I play music I had guests in the studio an operated 24/7. I operated by the book, no vulgarity but we did have a weekend discussion on weed. And that was the callsign WEED.
all depends on height, power, and antenna gain. My current setup, i get about 6 miles. I have received it about 15 miles away on a good day!
Even with a Ramsey, if it’s located on the top story of a tall bldg in a large city, your ratings potential would be truly astounding with good promotion and programming. Don’t forget the quality antenna; a directional yagi antenna designed for TV reception, aimed at the densest population would bump up your ratings still further.
@KC8YOQ Yes, they are records, and yes i play 'em and still go around buying them! My record collection is much larger than my CD collection!
Thanks for watchin! I will also be checking that site out!
@sweetgyy Yup, that DBX is an oldie, but i have since sold it and have gotten a Behringer Composer in its place! It actually sounds much better now!!
Do you have to have all the equipment to run a radio station or can you get by with just the Basic like a mixer, fm transmitter, PC(music).
You can use whatever you want. I started off very small, and slowly acquired other equipment.
Just one more thing...I’m not kidding about using a TV RECEIVING antenna being pressed into service as an FM transmitter...because the entire FM band is located between TV channels 6 and 7 (analog).
Since I last spoke with you I recently purchased a "DBX 266xs dual compressor/gate" I'm trying to find proper cables to plug it to my Sainsonic AX-7C transmitter input which has a 1/8 or 3.5mm stereo input jack. My DBX has both TRS & XLR inputs/outputs which is the best cables to experiment with first? Thanks for your reply.
I like the transmitter design
@bamaslamma1003 You can get them on Ebay. You can buy them with 1 watt built in, or buy a 25mw and a 1 watt upgrade kit. Under good conditions, 1 watt can go 1-2 miles. Depends on height, antenna, swr, etc.
@googers100 Good Shit!!! I have to post an update video soon!!!
It is the high powered kit! Also, i am using a Technolab Amp. They are discontinued!
@tv192 Thanks! Hopefully, i will upload more videos soon on my audio and FM equipment!!!
Great studio setup and output from your road trip test by the way. I was wondering about the cables on your transmitter/antenna to the SWR.. Are they TNC connections or do you have RG58U type coaxial cable connections. I'm trying to find a TNC to RG58U connector/adaptor or cable.for my transmitter antenna output ot SWR meter.. Thanks.
I have "N" connectors and RG 8 cable. Very thick low loss cable. I went above and beyond finding that!
@radioman1075
I need something that handles the overshoots, but doesn't clip. I'm gonna replace my dbx compressor. It does an ok job, but not perfect. I'm wondering how a behringer mdx2600 could handle being a peak limiter. My transmitter has built in pre-emphasis, but its modded so the built in limiter was to be disabled (it sounded low and distorted at even 100% modulation). With the limiter disabled, the sound dramatically improved. The dynamics and bass sound loud and sharp.
Nice setup you've got a great place for broadcasting! and nice sound processing but i think the db meter is a bit to much in the red? ;) try to compare it with other stations to prevent interuption,and what kind of antenna do you use? u know how higher the antenna how further you will reach! In the netherlands we have many piratestations a few even have more than 20KW of power! :O I have a transmitter to whith 30 watts and an amplifier wich kan do 800-900 watts. Srry for my bad english:P ~Danny
@pjf222 I've got sub woofers in the car! The camera microphone makes it sound cruddy!
when i want to listen to my HF radio wirelessly, i use a transmitter about the size of an egg that i got for twenty dollars at radio shack, it's made more for use on mp3 players yes, but it does produce pretty good range for a little thing like that lol.
About how much did the equipment cost (transmitter & rack...etc)?
Got everything on the cheaper side....prob around $2500 for everything all added together
@radioman1075 Yeah, i realize that overdriving wasn't good for a ramsey to handle. It may sound great on the monitors, but it sounds too saturated through the transmitter. I found that less is better. I keep the exciter driver (for presence) low, and the tube emulation (for the overall warm sound) to a minimum. Less is better. The ultradyne doesn't have a stereo enhancer, but the ultramizer (first thing on my chain does), still its kept to a minimum.
do you have too have a audio processor to make the sound better if so what kind should I get? cause mine hisses when when a song usese the letter s when you say sensitive. it'll hiss when the word sensitive is said
That is called siblance, audio limiting should fix that. You can use stereo tool which has a free version available to download.
Thanks man I whent on eBay an ordered one I'm glad I know what what I need have the 100 band graphic equalizer that'll Go perfectly with that
Hey dude, I hope you are still responding to post. I am setting up a station, which, I have wanted to do for years. I have behringer mix 4600, Deq2496, dsp1400p. I saw your video a few days ago and looked into the ultra dyne for final processor, but the only one I found was in the UK with 120 for shipping. I'm not telling the transmitter, but I have a low pass filter for spikes and harmonics.
I've set up Stereo DJ for auto music play. I like it to be able to add in weather and news cast and other things at same time each day.
I am a total noob setting everything up, so it is taking what feels like forever. Can you do a window showing more detail of the setup from PC out to last processor? Down to cabling setup. Pls
Tia
Good thinking with the pass filter...so many low power setups ignore harmonic filtering.
Hope its not too late! I will prob demonstrate another video soon!
Good Job!! :) it look like you are using the FM100B - Super Pro FM Stereo Radio Station Kit. Is it the Standard kit or High power Kit ?? And with Amp are you using ?
@KC8YOQ I was using 103.7, but i may switch to 96.5! Gotta get my 5/8 wave up and do some tests!
@radioman1075
The Ultradyne really is a great product! I don't rely on its limiter function, as it reacts slowly compared to an external device! Too bad they have discontinued it and other multiband processors (i haven't found others by behringer) Yes, it has 6 bands, which each of the 6 bands can be adjusted to any frequency range you want! One day, when hell freezes over, i'll get an optimod!
Yea, the digital delay is annoying! i use headphones for listening to my voice directly from the board, and not from the chain!
The song sounds like "Big Country".
it sounded better before the processing
lol I was going to just reply that but I see I've posted it ... SEVEN YEARS AGO hahahahhahahaahhahaahhaahahahahahahahahaa (okay I feel better)
hey what is the wattage draw from that ramsey? i know the output is 1w but I can't seem to find any info about the wattage.
The db meter starts off showing red when the audio reaches -12db. As long as i don't go above +3db (the meter only reads up to 0 db), i should be fine without distortion. I try not to go above 0 db. I have since gotten a limiter that replaced my DBX and it handles the overshoots much better! As far as Antenna, i use a 5/8 wave comet. Decent antenna for the price!
couldn't you replace most of that h/w with ableton + macbook pro?
@edgarleonayala
I don't use the mic input. But i have my Mic Board, which then goes to the mixer, then through the chain, to the transmitter.
that equaliser is a TEAC AG10D in the uk
@zzack39 Yup, luv it! I gotta post an updated video. I have gotten more stuff in the meantime!
with that transmitter, is it possible to bypass the built in stereo generator and use my own MPX source? i really want the ability to transmit RDS
Yes, if you know where on the board to bypass the stereo generator.
Yes, it's possible and I have done it before. The fellow that owned the Ramsey wanted to pass multiplex from other stations and have it operate like a translator.
Hi Jonny are you using an FCC license because I have a ramsey transmitter like yours. How far are you broadcasting within miles?
Where did you find your transmitter and which swr meter do you use?
Nice setup...I love your station friend & I'm a big fan of Free Radio!! Wavemach Transmitters from wavemach.com are far cleaner than the Ramsey, and can go from 200mw's to 20watts for the same money. (I only say this because many Pirates start at a Watt or less Ramsey...but then increase the power (watts) with a RF Amp & that's when the trouble starts with causing interference & so on). I hate seeing stations shut down! Thanks for showing us your great setup!!
yes, they sell 1 watt upgrade kits on ebay!
Thanks Superdeejay!
That is cool bro! Nice to see other "amateur broadcasters" out there!!!
@radianfm you are correct! I just like my station to sound overall good. But i do make that sacrifice if i get caught!
Hey Jonny where is a good place to purchase the Amp
How'd you get the 1w version? I thought you could only get the 25mW version. How far does the signal carry?
@BlGDOG18 Depends on what Ramsey model you get. This one is one of their better ones! I also have a 25 watt amp for full power boost!
how far can i broadcast to get to 100 watts of power like how many miles plus Ramsey antenna 5/8 wave 200 watts
I have the same set up with 100 watts...it can go 10 miles
100 watts - 30 km. 30 watts - 20 km. 1 watt - your house
shortwave/am:
10 watts - 1/2 of USA. 50 watts- USA(coast to coast). 250watts - USA Canada and Mexico.
@@letitrotfuckit 1 watt - your house, then the conditions must really suck.. I get over 2km with 300mW of output with a tuned antenna 20 meters up in the air.. 100 watts will easily get you 50km if used correctly.
@@nitrosake The noise level is VERY high were I live because all the 100,000 watt FM and TV stations cannot control themselves and are causing a lot of noise. 150 watts from KWFUCC is already DX after 7 miles.
@@nitrosake Good news is that FM is garbage and I migrated succesfully to 100 watts 26.550 MHz Upper Side Band. Now my station goes over 100 miles.
@HurricaneSondra You'd be surprised at what you find. Sometimes you can get something cheap that will get you good DSP and range!!
Wavemach.com has been building & selling LPFM Broadcast Transmitters & RF Amps for 15 years and is the best out there. Dave at Wavemach is a great guy & gives full tech backup & support. Being in Canada they ship worldwide fully assembled units...great service. Check them out friend! Love your setup!!
I was actually gonna do that! I was gonna record a broadcast while recording the audio thru my PC so it has a higher quality than my camera mic! Stay turned! I wanna check your setup out once you upload your vids! Thanks!
What happened to the Mixlr station?
Thanks Jack!
I got nervous when I saw your FM transmitter-- Looks like it's just barely balanced and about ready to fall off the speaker top! Shouldn't that thing be mounted somewhere securely?
Hahahaha don't worry! it had rubber feet and it is hard to knock it off......any surface!
sounds like you want a visit from the fcc. 10 milliwatt on the fm and 100 milliwatt on am 3ft. antenna 200 ft .distant
cool I want this setup please share from where I can buy online and all devices model number thanks - cool review.
wow i heard bad things about ramsey but this one looks good! i used to see a 7 watt booster for ramsey, that would give you much better range!
Thats crazy on what goes on in The Netherlands! If you broadcasted at 20KW of power as a pirate here in the US, the FCC will find you in mere minutes, I'm sure!
How long have you used that Ramsey?
Nice sound Nice Kit Ramsey is oke Greetings from TV 192 - Holland
I have never been caught before! I broadcast once in a while (like once every 2 weeks).
have you ever been caught before if so how often did you broadcast
great job,
can you give me advice how to make my radio system more powerful?
I have a 15 W fm transmitter plus a half wave dipole antenna.
do I need a swr meter?
what else should I have?
thanks
Yes, an SWR meter is your best friend! Get some thick high grade cable.....nothing less than RG 6 for minimum loss. Get the antenna as high as possible; because high is more important than power! Invest in an Amp that is more than 15Watts for penetration! Play around!
jonnymarinara
ok my FM transmitter came with 15 meter 50 ohm cable.
I've installed it on top of the 4th floor's roof.
about the Amp, I don't know which type I should use. can you please give me a link?
thanks
They are pricey but Invest in a Bird watt / swr meter and the correct slug or VHF-Mid band (60 - 108 MHz) you can't go wrong.
RG-6 is 75 ohm TV cable, DO NOT USE 75 ohm cable for transmitting! unless your transmitter says its ok otherwise your swr will shoot up out of the stratosphere and you will cook your transmitters final transistors. I know the 1 watt Ramsey units use 75 ohm and F connector because its a hobby transmitter and not a real pro grade version. Keep this in mind: If your Transmitter uses a 50 ohm cable and an "N" type connector then chances are it is of pro grade spec.
Look on ebay for antennas. As for cable look up Andrews Heliax. for 15 watts the 1/4" heliax will work fine and make sure you get the right connectors for the ends and the tool to put them on properly unless you have experience with heliax cable and know what you are doing.
Also if your wanting to increase RF power MAKE SURE you DO NOT DRIVE 15 watts INTO the AMPLIFIER. Always cut your exciter back to 1/2 a watt and slowly work it up from there. If you drive more power into an amplifier that what its rated at at its input you will DESTROY IT.
With the properly tuned antenna you do not need a whole lot of power to get a signal out. A properly tuned antenna will propagate properly and if there is any db gain in the design then 1 watt can look like 10 to a nearby receiver.
Look into ground plane type antennas since they are vertically polarized and have a nice "take-off" pattern
Hi
Thanks so much for your explanation.
OK this the link I purchased the transmitter package from:
www.ebay.com/itm/221145500438?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Well I've studied electronics but have no experience about FM radio systems.
For now I learnt that first I need a swr meter to tune my dipole antenna,
And yes my connectors are N type.
On the device its mentioned 50 ohm antenna, and thats the one I'm using
And do I use the Amplifier or not?
If yes with how much power do you suggest?
Any more advice is highly appreciated
Thanks
ok like I mentioned before: turn the transmitter power all the way down then connect the amplifier. Connect the watt / swr meter between the amplifier and antenna and set it for forward reading to read power.
Now slowly turn up the power on your transmitter unit and make note on the minimum power level the amplifier livens up at. Now adjust the transmitter power up until you just reach the max power that the amplifier is said to output. This is read from the watt meter always so you know how much power is leaving your setup. Once you have the RF output power level set you should mark the setting someplace on the transmitter both the minimum and maximum levels. YOU DO NOT want to exceed the maximum level from your transmitter into the amplifier unless you know for certain the amplifier can handle it.
For an SWR reading you simply switch the watt meter into reverse mode. Your SWR should be less than 1:5 where 1:1 is zero tuned or flat. If the swr is above 1:5 or in the red you should not operate the transmitter until you can get the swr down below 1:5 or at very least out of the red. To be on the safe side you should tune and check swr in Low Power mode (under 1 watt) meaning remove the amplifier and connect the transmitter directly and turn it down to 1 watt and go from there.
As for power suggestions, I cannot determine how much power you should run. That will all depend on the area your in vs the area your wanting to cover vs. your laws on radio transmitters and such. I assume you do not want to get into trouble with this equipment so I woulds suggest you tune it to a low frequency away from all the commercial stations somplace around 87.9 to 91.1 or something but MAKE SURE those frequencies are not being used first. Also start without the amplifier and set the transmitter at 1 watt and do your test runs there. set up a playlist and the station antenna and transmitter and then drive out and get some range info. You want to try to maximize yoru range at 1 watt so when you do turn up the power you should not have to adjust your hardware on the roof and you will know your covering well
neat set up!
dbx limiter. I have a few of those and they are not by far cheap.
I use an ART processor and dbx limiter to feed into the STL
Two words: "Dynamic Range".
Two more words: "Get some".
Sheesh
What is the brand/model of your SWR meter ?
Thanks Eon!
You call yourself a pirate, mate? ;)
And LOL @ your window being in the same place as it was in your parents house!
How far can i transmit with a 30 watt transmitter?
depends on how high your antenna is, terrain, etc. I got my station about 11 miles from my source, but my antenna wasn't as high as i wanted it. (35ft)
Eleven is good.
How many watts do you have?
Lange Man I can transmit about 15 miles.....line of sight!
***** I never went beyond my range to test out tropo. I'm sure if you are strong enough (signal wise) you prob start to E-skip and tropo.
+Lange Man i use 7watt at 50meters up in loft ans getting 30 miles range
What do you get out of that for range?
Radio Caroline is now a legal station
@kingluigi7
LOL its just like the ol' basement, but its on the 2nd floor!!!
also very GOOD DSP processing too, better then the station's i've heard in beloit lol
And you might probably never will. 1 Watt isn't going to scare any other commercial station unless you interfere with it.
"Big Country" by Big Country :)
How much will it cost?
where do you buy this all.
Ebay mostly. Found some stuff at local DJ Shops.
its cool I like you radio stations, I want like that.
i want to buy, if you have link pls send me.
I am unsure. But it doesn't draw that much power anyway.
Sounds like you've got the lows far too high
What can happen if you found with this
The first time, nothing. Once the FCC field agent finds you by using direction-finding techniques and taking field strength measurements of your signal, will ask to see your facility and take pictures of your transmitter for documentation and ask you to shut it down. If you shut it down and keep it off, you'll get a NOUO in the mail (NOtice of Unauthorized Operation) for your records basically telling you that they know about your operation and that it's illegal (citing Part 73 legalese), but as long as you don't go back on the air, all is forgiven. You're given 30 days to respond by US mail to the NOUO if you choose to. But if you keep going back on the air illegally, you face a number of consequences, including fines of $10k or more, confiscation of your equipment, and jail time.
Yea it looks like one!
Ebay is good at finding stuff!
Big Country. FUCK YEAH :-)
too much audio processing. I just use breakaway broadcast and it sounds cleaner with a amd dual core 2.5 and 2 gigs of ram. I sit at 102% all the time! Czh fm-5c on the 1 watt setting with a dipole. (stay at 1 watt or less to avoid jamming commercial broadcasting)
well as a broadcast station on the air at one watt, or 8.2 milliwatts e.r.p. with same ramsey tx. i have been great without all the comppression stuff. its over kill. but i have to say i love my studio, even if no one hears by tx im online and im in a fully modern studio with all the big stuff a classic fm may have had in 1999 still with a computer for automation as its nice to break for sleep. come take a glance wsvr901fm on facebook.com. say howdy
Neat Bro! I Like your Board! Watcha got?
very cool dude!
Badass.
Thanks Boomer! Rock on!!!
Nice :-)
RDS ENCODER????'