[murf]

Hello fella's,
Have a question.
Was told by someone that you can buy an AM transmiter that you can plug your IPOD into and transmit a signal to your old am radio.
Would be better that just putting a jack in the radio with a cord to plug your IPOD or phone into.
I have found that the sound quality is crappy using a cord.
Is there something out there to do this, or a kit where I can build my own?
murf

[LarryFS]

See https://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread.php?tid=18679.  I like my SSTran 3000; but, finding a used one is very difficult.  They do come up for sale on eBay a few times a year; but, if it has a reasonable Buy It Now price of $200 or so, it's quickly sold.  There is an AM transmitter called the Spitfire sold in the UK.  They have a version for the USA.  See https://www.6v6.co.uk/vcomp/pages/spitfire.htm.  I don't know anything about its performance.

[Eliot Ness]

Murf, yes a good transmitter is better than adding a jack because you can use it with all of your radios.  The gold standard used to be the SSTRANS 3000 kit but he quit making them a year or two ago.  Other options are build your own (note, Bill Harme who used to supply parts has passed away):

https://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtop...2&t=193042

Buy a Spitfire transmitter from the UK (search for reviews first):

https://www.6v6.co.uk/vcomp/pages/spitfire.htm

Look for a used SSTRANS 3000 on eBay

My buddy has modified some very early Talking House units to accept a small jack and they work pretty good.  If I didn't have my SSTRAN I would probably just use one of his, and his is much easier to change the frequency on.  He sells them at Kutztown and other meets but they're small enough to easily ship.... I think he gets about $100 for one:

Terry:

layvinrad <at> mymetronet <dot> net

There are at least a dozen other transmitters or kits out there but those are the ones I'd consider today.

[murf]

Hello,
Thanks for the info.
Could you send me contact info so I can purchase one?
I assume you can just plug your IPOD or phone into it and receive on your vintage radio?
murf

[Eliot Ness]

His email address is in my post, just replace <at> with @ and <dot> with a .

He doesn't have a website, but he'll answer any questions and take an order via email.

And yes, you can plug your phone or iPod directly into it and adjust the volume of your device so it doesn't  overdrive (distort).

[mikethedruid]

Here is the link to the SSTRAN website where you can buy the kit to make one:
http://www.sstran.com/

[Eliot Ness]

Here is the link to the SSTRAN website where you can buy the kit to make one:

http://www.sstran.com/

Note the big red box on their home page that states:

   

[mikethedruid]

Yeah, I didn't notice the big red box for some reason. Here is another link to a ready made 3 tube transmitter that this guy sells on eBay. He has been selling them for years. I think it is the same circuit that the old Knight Kit used to use.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AM-BROADCAST-TR...Swf~9Za1YP

It looks like this:
[Image: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/LEcAAOSwf...-l1600.jpg]

[Eliot Ness]

I don't know anyone who has that 3 tube transmitter, so I'd like to see someone review it.  The only two I have first hand experience with are the SSTRAN and the one Terry sells and they both work well.  

The SSTRAN gets the nod because of signal processing (compression, etc.) but Terry's is much easier to change frequencies with a digital freq display.  Unfortunately the SSTRAN is unavailable unless you can find a used one on eBay or somewhere.

[mikethedruid]

I don't know about that particular transmitter, but if, as I suspect, it is a re-do of the old Knight kit 3 tube transmitter, it is a decent little performer. I just bought a new Talking House transmitter on eBay. I looked around the net, downloaded the manual for it. This model has line input, so it can be used with an mp3 player, which is how I am going to use it. I'll let folks know how it works out for me.

[Eliot Ness]

Here's a picture of the transmitter that Terry sells:

   

It has a digital frequency display and a speaker you can turn on to hear the source material that you're feeding into it.  That comes in handy just to verify your source actually has audio.  This version also plugs in directly to the outlet without the hassle (or noise) of a wall wart.

Terry Layman:

layvinrad <at> mymetronet <dot> net

[rfeenstra]

Mike, I have one of the Talking House transmitters.  the company that now owns them is just a few miles from here.  My problem is that I get a lot of hum in the audio no matter what I try to do.  Somehow the house power is modulating the AM signal even if I run the transmitter off from a battery rather than the wall wart.  Someday I'll figure it out!

[Eliot Ness]

There have been some threads on ARF about mods to reduce the noise in a Talking House, and some have reported success and some others have not.  At one point the latest version TH guys were recommending was version 5, but since I don't have one I've never really kept up with the mods or newer versions (if there are any).

Antenna placement and environmental issues (hash) can cause noise in any of the AM transmitters, but some seem more prone than others.  The units my friend Terry modified are actually one of the first versions of the TH made and don't seem as susceptible to noise as some have reported in the later units.

Here is one of many threads where guys are trying to eliminate noise in some TH units:

https://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtop...?p=1243757

Mike might not have any issues at all since he's on a farm away from all the big city contraptions and noise generators.

[Phlogiston]

The Talking House seems to set the transmit mod level upon power-up. If ther is no input, the audio level is cranked way up. Try turning on your source device and adjusting it's level  to loud. Then power up the TH.

I have one of these but don't use it much but this has worked for me in reducing the "hum".

[tbone]

The Talking House version 5 works ok, but the RF problem is an issue. To eliminate most of it, I switched it to external antenna. Then I ran the 75 ohm coax to a iso-tap Tee I made. The transmitter is terminated into a 75 ohm load. The iso-Tee tap is my signal source which I connect enough wire to provide enough signal for in my house. I also cut the ground pin off the power cube.

There is RF on the power leads. I verified this when I inserted an X10 remote controlled appliance switch in line with the power cube. The remote would turn it on, but the RF would not let you turn it off.

I also use a parametric Equalizer between the source and the transmitter input which helps adjust the audio the way I like it.

It will never be an SSTRAN. If I was to come across a nice tube transmitter to build, I’d give it a try.