FM Modulators / re-broadcasting

[Pro-95]

OK after taking everything into consideration I have ordered the Ramsey FM30 fm transmitter and the folded dipole antenna from Ramsey.

I elected on the FM30 because of PLL tuning and the abiltiy to regulate the output power so I can tune in my limits of transmission. I also opted for the PVC folded dipole because I like building antennas anyway and it would be a good addition to my mini farm. Plus I can again reduce output level and use antenna height to control my listening environment.

I'll let you know how it works out after I get everything put together.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Pro-95]

Ok I got my transmitter on Thursday and read through all the instructions to the end.

I started on it on Friday night and got to build for about 2-3 hours then back at it again on Saturday morning and finished by lunch. All in all about 8 hours of building time. I applied load, power and source and flipped the switch. I was anticipating smoke and pops but low and behold it worked.

I used the "stock" antenna and the supplied power supply and was able to hear my BC246T on a cheap (really cheap like 5 bucks cheap) Walmart portable radio with no problem. However I did have the transmitter pegged to cover the 1 acre lot.

On Sunday (today) I built the folded dipole ladder line antenna and mounted it by 2pm. This included fixing my rotator on my 865mhz helical ray gun antenna.

After mounting the antenna I was able to reduce output by 2/3rds and have the signal dramatically die off within acceptable limits of my property line.

Additionally I purchase a 12v plug from RS with an "M" plug to fit the transmitter and ran the power off of a regulated 12vdc power supply. This significantly reduced the hum from the transmitter and made the s/n ratio more like listening to a real radio station as the quiet time on the scanner were equally quiet on the fm radio.

Overall I am pleased with my choice and would recommend the Ramsey Kits to anyone. Cause if I can build it, anyone can.

Ramsey Electronics

And a note to my line level input on this unit, it seems as though the sensitivity or critical value of the line level input has much more tolerance than I read in the directions.