Need an AM transmitter Recommendation
 

I have volunteered to setup an AM transmitter for our church and need some recommendations for a decent transmitter.

I have little experience with these and need some advice as to brand, product satisfaction and real world use. Needs to cover an area of about 6600 sq. ft and be able to transmit from second floor of a two story building...probably a maximum of 500 feet in any direction. Sound quality is important.

I have been looking at:

http://www.sstran.com/ and

http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/hk/....asp?page=amfm

Just want to be sure I not missing something...thanks for any advice or experience.

My apology if this is in the wrong forum. Moderators--if post needs to be moved to another forum please do so.

Well, one is for AM and the other for FM so you want the first one.

You may not be happy with the coverage you get from 100 mW. It will likely be noisy and not meet your quality needs.

I seem to remember back in the day when you bought a unit that used one tube and probably ran about one Watt and implied that you could get about 75 feet of range. I think they were called broadcasters.

Of course, antenna is everything. You may want to set up several on different channels so the appropriate receiver can be used, depending on signal strength.

Bob,

Thanks for your input--I was looking at Ramsey's AM transmitter on the referenced page; guess I'll do a little more research before making a decision. I'm just trying to get a "real world" feel for their effectiveness.

Maybe there's a better option out there.

I think you would get the most information by trying it. There are too many variables, in my opinion, to be confident in deciding what will work.

Having said that, AM in general is very susceptible to interference and weak signal problems. Getting high quality isn't just a challenge; it's nearly impossible.

The cheapest and most fun approach would be to build something rather than throw money at the challenge. Just make sure you don't exceed FCC limits of power. A crystal oscillator, buffer, and modulator would be a kick to cobble up. But you need more than a smattering of electronics knowledge.

Is it a necessary requirement that you use AM? You stand a better chance of getting decent quality with a FM set up.
just my 2cents,
jr

edit add: Found more discussion on this old thread:
http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=249448
jr