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Re: Home AM radio station - andyjon100 - 02-21-2011

Hello,all!
just wanted to chime in on this... I have a transmitter I built from plans I found online years ago, called the Lil' 7. It uses 1- 117L7tube.. I've used it for years, and I love it! I built it inside an old 40's Stromberg intercom case. I found it again, HERE----> http://antiqueradio.org/transmitter.htm . If you like build- your- own, this is for you.
Andy

Re: Home AM radio station - jepstr67 - 02-22-2011

That station is great! Thanks.

However it still does not answer my antenna question. Who else is using the AMT3000?

Todd

Re: Home AM radio station - Ron Ramirez - 02-22-2011

I have a Talking House transmitter, but I wish I had bought the AMT3000. My Talking House transmitter has a bad hum problem. This seems to be a common problem with these units, unfortunately.

Todd, SSTRAN offers two different plans to build an outdoor antenna. You can find both on their website:

http://www.sstran.com/

I have not heard about anyone building and using one of these, however; from what I have read online in various forums, it appears that folks who buy the AMT3000 use the short antenna wire which comes with the kit, and apparently get good results.

Re: Home AM radio station - jepstr67 - 02-22-2011

Ron,

I am getting pretty good results. I did ground the ground wire to my water pipes which made little difference. However when I "grounded" the antenna to the water pipes I get good reception on most of the radios. Good enough that I can take time to experiment now.

It really is fun to turn on a radio and get my preferred music anywhere in the house.

Thanks. I'll check out those antennas.

Todd

Re: Home AM radio station - rghines1 - 02-23-2011

Regarding hum with my Talking House transmitter. Had to disable the safety ground connection on the wall wart. Used a 3-prong to 2 prong adapter from hardware store.
Richard

Re: Home AM radio station - jepstr67 - 03-01-2011

I was reading antenna theories on the net. It seems that the ground wire is as important as the antenna wire itself. However in the AMT3000 instructions, they keep saying "if used" for the ground. It also seems that having the antenna wire perpendicular to the ground is the best. I can't tell what configuration is best to use the 3 meters of wire I'm allowed. Better to make an L shape 1.5 meter antenna and 1.5 meter ground? Or splice the ground into an X with a 1.5 meter antenna in the middle? I guess I'll have to experiment when I select a final location for my transmitter. Just with it all in a pile near my AV area in the family room, I get about 80 of feet range.


I get minimal 60 cycle hum. New radios are harder to weed out the hum than old radios. Anything with an external antenna is far superior for getting rid of hum.

Todd

Re: Home AM radio station - Steve D - 03-02-2011

I had bad hum when I used a ground wire with my SStran and 10 feet of antenna wire. However when I changed to a much longer antenna wire the ground didn't make a difference. This is with about 75 feet of wire running around the foundation perimeter of my house then connected to an old dead RG59 cable that ran from the basement to the second floor. The SStran is in my basement and the antenna is connected to the shield and center conductor of the RG59 so I am just using it as a wire extension not a coaxial function.

I get great reception everywhere in the house and up to 50 feet outside. On another note when I tried the treble boost function of the SStran most of my radios produced sibilant distortion and sounded a bit harsh. I am feeding it from a Ipod touch with no internal equalization.

Steve D

Re: Home AM radio station - Ron Ramirez - 03-03-2011

I tried the 3 prong to 2 prong ground adapter on my TH, and it had no effect on the hum.

I'm thinking about investing in one of those power supplies from Mouser, as posted on ARF.

http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1243757

Another ARF member did some extensive experimentation with a TH and shared his findings here:

http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=131621

Or maybe I'll just ditch the TH and get an SSTRAN. Icon_confused

Oh, I even hooked my TH up to my ~ 60 foot longwire, and it still hummed.

Re: Home AM radio station - jepstr67 - 03-04-2011

Ron, (and others) do all your radios hum, or just some of them. I know some of mine are hard to get the hum out and others are fine.

Another thought, in cars, often there is that electrical choke in the power input. Basically a coil of wire to dissipate the resonance of the frequency. Could we devise a method of of using those types of coils to eliminate the 60 cycle hum in our home AM stations? Sometimes even tying a knot in the wire will help.

Todd
St.Cloud MN

Re: Home AM radio station - Chicago Jimmy - 06-22-2011

About 3 months ago I ordered and built the AMT3000 and am currently using the supplied wire for the antenna. I just ran it straight up the wall. My reception is pretty good throughout the house, backyard, and my detached garage. I need to eventually hide this wire running up my wall(wifes idea). I was thinking of down through the floor to the basement,then up through my empty hvac vent to my open attic.
I do get a slight hum on a couple of my radio's.
It's great listening to a few of the big band stations found on line...also I downloaded 100's of old detective radio shows & music shows.
Any idea's about the antenna wire...gauge/length?

Re: Home AM radio station - Arran - 06-22-2011

jepstr67 Wrote:OK, I'm going to take Ron's advice and have my Philco rebuilt into tip top condition. Icon_biggrin

However, I finally had time to set up my AMT3000 permanently as a home station to broadcast around my house. I'm looking for tips and tricks to get the best reception. Should I run a wire from basement to the attic as transmitter antenna? Should I make a coil in a big piece of wood like they did in the old days? Not surprisingly, old radios that are AM only pick up the signal WAY WAY better than brand new ones made as an iPod stand. LOL

That XM 40's on 4 sounds so fine as you move from radio to radio throughout the house. Happy. (except for the Philco not working)

I think that it's best to limit the length of the antenna to six feet, the transmitter's range is supposed to be limited to the length of your yard. If you make it run from the basement to the attic someone might be able to pick it up a mile away, not that anyone really cares anymore including the FCC.
Regards
Arran

Re: Home AM radio station - etech - 06-22-2011

I have the Talking House TH 5.0 and the SSTRAN AMT-3000. Of the two, the SSTRAN unit definitely has the better sound quality. The frequency response of the Talking House unit can be improved by changing one of the capacitors in the audio section. I did that to mine and it is better, but still not as good as the SSTRAN.

Now, as far as the hum in the old radios is concerned, both of my transmitters have it. I believe it is 'hum modulation' getting into the old radios via rf being induced onto the power lines in the house. I never did get rid of it totally. I was able to minimize it somewhat on the SSTRAN unit by connecting the transmitter ground to the ground on the electrical plug outlet nearby.

My brother has the SSTRAN unit also. He tried nearly everything to eliminate the hum problem. He did things such as moving the transmitter from one part of the house to another. He moved it to the basement once and also to the attic. No luck! He tried different grounds including the electrical outlet, cold water pipe, heat system duct work, etc. No luck! He still had the 'hum modulation' problem.

Out of desperation, he finally built the outdoor antenna as described on SSTRAN's web page and mounted it on a pole in the backyard. He moved the transmitter out to the pole and installed it in a waterproof box. He also installed a multi-radial ground system below the antenna. Once the antenna was tuned and operating properly, there was no longer any hum problems with any of the old radios he had. And, better yet the range of the transmitter had increased to nearly three miles, while still maintaining full part 15 compliance.

So if you want to know the 'fix' for the hum problem that's it, if you are willing to go through the effort.

Best regards,

Ed