Transmitting your own signal

[panamag8or]

I built a milli-watt AM transmitter when I was a teenager and had a lot of fun with it. It was a box kit from Radio Shack, that featured perf-board construction. My best friend and I had great fun with that, even going so far as to create our own radio station (with a 100 foot range!).

And Kimberly, I share your enthusiasm for AM radio. I still enjoy tuning in distant stations at night. It was really fun back in the 1970s when most AM stations still featured unique programming rather than the syndicated talk shows of today.

I built one of their little reciever kits when I was a kid. Then I grew up and ended up working in radio.

 

[Hamilton_Honey]

I'm no techie - forget trying to build my own.

I just wanna listen to old time radio on my old radio!

 

[dhermann1]

Then get the AMT3000. I use it almost every day with my Zenith.

 

[Pilgrim]

When I was in my late teens in Washington state, I could pick up XERB from Southern CA (transmitter in Mexico) and would also sometimes listen to the Al "Jazzbo" Collins' Purple Grotto program on KFI in Los Angeles (both of these must have been @1967 according to the info at the links).

Incidentally, the info at the XERB link is much more colorful than anything i've read before - I can't vouch for its acuracy.

Collins would "majeauxberize" (muh-JOOBER-ize) his fans when they called in by altering their last name spelling to a Cajun version. I managed to get a call though one night and he majeauxberized me by changing my last name (Powell) to Peauxwell. Fun show, very unpredictable.

AM was a lot of fun when you picked up something interesting on skip - or because you were at one end of a directional transmission pattern.

 

[52Styleline]

Wish I could find a schematic for the old Allied AM broadcaster. I built one from their kit, in fact that was what got me interested in amateur radio.

At one time, I would have had the parts laying around to build one, but I tossed out all my old parts a couple of moves ago. I used to build all sorts of things from my scrap box which was composed of parts salvaged from old tvs and radios. I really enjoyed building things back in the tube days when you could breadboard your circuits or build it on a cheap cake pan. Solid state and printed circuits have never been as much fun to me.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

Try this one:

http://antiqueradio.org/transmitter.htm

 

[52Styleline]

Try this one:

http://antiqueradio.org/transmitter.htm

Thank you. Looks like I need to do some parts chasing.

 

[uniballer63]

So I was at my local drive in, and they transmit their own signal for the movie sound. So I thought, can I do that at my house so I can use all my old am radios I have with a cd player or my computer playlist? I started searching and Im not really finding what I looking for. Anyone of you guys have done this?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have one of these --

http://www.sstran.com/

and it puts out a very high quality, very clean AM signal that comes in well anywhere in my house (and for about a thousand feet around it in any direction). Connected to my desktop computer, it plays digitized versions of 78s all day, and I can easily switch it over to the cassette deck for OTR.

They come as a kit, but if you don't like getting solder burns, they're also available pre-built from http://www.ontheair3.com/. It's pricey but the performance is first class.

No connection with either site, just a satisfied customer.

 

[Hawkcigar]

You can definitely broadcast a signal to your radios. I do it using the SSTRAN AMT3000. It's a really handy little transmitter that you can hook up to just about any audio source. Mine is connected to my computer but it can be connected to a cd player, stereo, satellite radio, etc. Take a look at it. If you like old time radio you will like the AMT3000.

 

[Hawkcigar]

Looks like Lizzie and I are in the same page with the AMT3000. Like Lizzie Maine, I am not connected with either company. I purchased mine from the site that sells them pre-assembled.

 

[dashiell]

Ooooh, neat! Thanks for asking the question and giving the answer!

 

[dhermann1]

I've been plugging the AM 3000 almost to an obnoxious degree since I got mine last Christmas. I find it a key component for any antique radio collector. You can't get those old shows off the airwaves any more, but you can from internet radio, CD, etc. My big Zenith cost me $150 to buy, and another $250 to have restored. Add to that another $150 or so for the transmitter and you have a very affordable way of enjoying old time radio on original equipment.

 

[Sefton]

My AMt3000 should be arriving in the mail later this week and I can't wait to start listening to some 1920s Hawaiian guitar and 1930s Jazz on my 1935 Grunow tombstone. (I don't work for SSTran either! Really.. ).

 

[uniballer63]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. That AMT3000 looks to be exactly what I want. Glad to hear everyone is pleased with its performance. Sounds well worth the money.

 

[The Reno Kid]

I use the SStran too. In fact, I even have a micropower radio station (KWD AM 1630) that broadcasts to my immediate neighborhood. I have no idea if I have an audience bigger than myself, but it's fun. I mostly broadcast old radio shows, vintage news, band remotes, etc.

 

[ScionPI2005]

I plan to get an AMT3000 one of these days. I think I'd really enjoy using it with my mp3 player and Zenith Cobra. From the other's testimonials here, I definitely think it would be a good investment.

 

[The Reno Kid]

You should be able to pick up a clear signal anywhere in your house using just the supplied "wet noodle" antenna wire. If you want to push out a bit farther, you can use a whip antenna or build a base-loaded antenna from scratch (the option I chose). Any way you go, it's a lot of fun.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

A battery-operated one would be big fun on vintage car cruise nights, so people could tune in with their tube-type AM car radios.

 

[Diamondback]

A battery-operated one would be big fun on vintage car cruise nights, so people could tune in with their tube-type AM car radios.

Just a matter of a little creative wiring, that's all... cigarette-lighter AC-inverter oughtta do for a "quick 'n' dirty" fix.