Hamilton Electronics AM1000 Satellite Radio User Manual
Contents
1. 193NNO2 43MOd 431 LINSNVSI OL Q Q13HS 318V9 GALSIML AM1000T Power Set Tuning Module Ory e js k 9 LED hg Lt COMP gy Oo E DOOOCOODOUCUOLU IL L A L I RIP E E Cit SEE DRILL LATER FOR IMPORTANT NOTES When transmitter is turned on the computer will start in Power Set mode if there is a shunt in J13 Power is set last When you are tuning you will get better readings with the power all the way down Power Adjust counter clockwise Also it will help if the Cap Tune 10 turn device 15 about in the middle of it s range 5 turns in from either way Please note the tuning function 15 an alternative to using a meter To go to the Coil Tune program first tuning step turn transmitter on with shunt in J13 wait 1 2 seconds remove J13 shunt then replace shunt back into J13 To use the Coil Tune program simply move the shunt on the Coil Tune jumper block and then remove J13 if the voltage 15 higher the LED will be green if lower the LED will be red Then immediately replace J13 shunt At this point you can move the Coil Tune shunt if you wish again and take another reading with J13 If the LED goes blank It is starting Cap Tune program just turn power off on with J13 in then move J13 out in Be sure to have your hands away from antenna and coil areas when you remove J13 to take a reading otherwise you may get confusing2. 24 2 pair shielded cable is used for runs of 50 feet or less 22 for up to 100 feet Use one pair for and 12 volt and the other pair for the 600 ohm balanced audio Connect the shield to ground at just one end Also a ground wire needs to be run from the transmitter to a good ground for lightning protection You can drive a 4 or better 8 foot ground rod into the ground for the lightning protection ground or use an existing ground For best lightning protection the ground wire should have a direct path to dirt ground If you get low range and the tuning peak voltage range is low you may have a bad ground Driving an 8 foot rod into soil should help you have a good ground Don t get the rod to close to a house foundation An electrical or pipe ground may not be reliable RF radio frequency can be tricky stuff If you don t get results from your site try another The height is very important The unit will not work unless it is tuned after is installed in its final position You can t tune it on the ground first it HAS be tuned after everything is done wires tacked into position so that they will not move Avoid putting the antenna near metal especially large massive pieces of metal Small metal pieces may be all right You want to provide a stable environment around the unit Attach any ground wire so that it will not move in the wind The antenna develops hundreds of volts of RF power It won t shock you and can easily be quench
3. IMPORTANT BUT DON T GET THE UNIT SO HIGH THAT YOU CAN T GET TO IT TO TUNE IT PROPERLY IT S IMPORTANT THAT IT BE HIGH BUT IT S CRITICAL THAT IT BE TUNED THE UNIT INSULATOR CAN BE CERAMIC WON T WORK AT ALL IF IT S NOT TUNED PROPERLY OR ANY GOOD STRONG NON 25 30 FEET IS USALLY GOOD FOR HEIGHT MORE WILL GET MORE RANGE BUT THE CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK IS 25 30 FEET PLASTIC WOULD BE OK The 3 meter combined length specified in Section 15 219 b refers to the TO GET GOOD RANGE ng of all radiatin elements Attaching the ground M A an unshielded radiating object or the addition of a ground screen will cause the effective 1 ELEVATED GROUDPLANE engin of radiating elements to exce d 3 meters in violation of Section 2 GET IT HIGH 3 USE AN AUDIO PROCESSOR THE ABOVE IS SOME RECENT FCC POLICY KEEP IN MIND THAT WHILE SOME IDEAS 4 USE ISOLATED GROUND LEAD 5 ELEVATED OR BURIED RADIALS ON THIS PAGE MAY IMPROVE RANGE FCC AGENTS MAY NOT APPROVE GROUND ROD 10 OR 12 GA DETAIL A PY PY WASHINGTON D C 20554 GRANT OF EQUIPMENT AUTHORIZATION Certification Hamilton PCB Design 134 Wind Chime Ct Box 20594 Date of Grant 07 17 1998 Raleigh NC 27619 United States Application Dated 05 08 1998 Attention Keith Hamilton NOT TRANSFERABLE EQUIPMENT AUTHORIZATION is hereby issued to the named GRANTEE and is VALID ONLY for the equipment identified hereon for use unde
4. WIRES THERE IS NO GROUND CONNECTION NEEDED POLARITY DOESN T MATTER UNLESS YOU ARE WIRING MULTIPLE TRANMSITTERS SINCE THE TRANSMITTER LOOKS AT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WIRES FOR THE AUDIO NOISE TENDS TO BE CANCELLED OUT THAT IS WHY BALANCED AUDIO IS USED FOR LONG RUNS OF WIRE THE SHIELD IN THE WIRE SHOULD BE GROUNDED AT ONE END OF THE CABLE ONLY YOU DON T WANT CURRENTS FLOWING IN THE SHIELD THAT MAY INDUCE NOISE INTO THE AUDIO YOU CAN T DIRECTLY DRIVE THE TRANSMITTER WITH ANYTHING BU BALANCED 2 WIRE AUDIO A MIXER OR OTHER EQUIPMENT MAY HAVE AN XLR OR TERMINAL SCREW BALANCED AUDIO OUT IF IT DOES YOU CAN CONNECT DIRECTLY TO THE TRANSMITTER AS SHOWN EQUIPMENT MAY OR MAY NOT 2 HAVE ENOUGH LINE OUT Qj M LEVEL MIXER CONSOLES Sa ws d MN AM YPICALLY WILL HAVE ENOUGH CONNECT TO THE TIP AND RING OF THE XLR LEEVE IS THE GROU ODULATING THE TRANSMIITTER NO CONNECTION EXCEPT FOR SHIELD ONLY CONECT SHIELD AT ONE END OF CABLE mM Qz ete ao lt O co zx USE MIN 224 AWG FOR 50 FT OR LESS a 422 AWG FOR 50 100 FT 55 E N WALL 2 TRAN gt Lit ns gt 59 22 2588 8 E 2825952 amp YE 8 zx _ RED POS I Qc 5 BLACK NEG 4V cn POWER AUDIO cM Or O TERMINAL BLOCK IN TRANSMITTER AUDIO ADAPTER 470 50VOLT No out OO HIGH ME Set Switches 3 amp 4 on to add 8 ohm load Se
5. handy this program will do the job Once you have tuned turn the transmitter off then back on with a shunt in J13 This will put the computer in Power Set mode Simply rotate the Power Adjust to light the LED green for 1 watt legal power level Example tuning Coil Tune shunt is on position 3 Coil Tune program running see earlier instructions Move Coil Tune shunt to position 4 Remove J13 LED is green voltage is going up Replace J13 Move Coil Tune shunt to position 5 Remove J13 LED is green voltage is going up Replace J13 Move Coil Tune shunt to position 6 Remove J13 LED is red voltage is going down Replace J13 Move Coil Tune shunt to position 5 Remove J13 LED is green voltage is going up Replace J13 Move Coil Tune shunt to position 4 Remove J13 LED is red voltage is going down Replace J13 Move Coil Tune shunt to position 5 Remove J13 LED is green voltage is going up Replace J13 Coil Tune position 5 has the highest voltage Leave the shunt in J13 for 15 seconds LED blanks then remove J13 to move to Cap Tune program where you continue peaking the voltage with the Cap Tune control When the voltage goes down the LED will go red when the voltage goes down fast the LED will be solid red when falling slowly the LED will be blinking RED If you are using an Innovonics 222 be sure your output polarity is correct here is how 1 Turn the positive peaks all the way down 2 Turn the output level up unti
6. of the shunt try to increase the voltage further The goal 15 to find a peak voltage You should be able to see the voltage go up then down as you rotate the tool If not if you go all the way to the end of the travel of the 10 turns try another shunt position You need to find the peak voltage in this step or you are not tuned and will not get good range This tuning needs to be done when the transmitter is in it s final position and with the ground wire locked down You can not tune the transmitter first on the ground amp then install it Find the peak voltage amp then leave it there Now be sure to turn to audio level adjust pot back up Setting the power 15 easy with the AMIOOOT green light simply rotate the power control until the LED at the bottom of the transmitter turns green If you don t have the AMIOOOT just refer to the power chart at the back of the manual for the proper readings of VOLTAGE and CURRENT combinations possible VOLTAGE is read the same way as when you were tuning to take the CURRENT reading just place the black lead in the bottom test hole and the red lead in the middle test hole read the voltage on the digital meter Rotate the power control until the readings are in line with the chart It s best to leave the audio adjust in the transmitter at 3 4 level or all the way up and adjust audio level from the ground There 15 also a gain adjust in the AM1000PR audio adapter module Adjust the audio level for g
7. to use the computer Check that TUNE is set 1 2 way between the counter clockwise position Min Capacitance and clockwise position Max Capacitance Use the tuning tool to tune When TUNE is turned fully either way be careful not to apply to much force Permanent damage may result TUNE will turn about 10 turns Make sure that the Power Adjust control is set to about 1 2 of the way from counter clockwise It is a 1 turn control Set AUDIO LEVEL all the way down counter clockwise Important Note TURN IT BACK UP WHEN YOU ARE DONE TUNING This is a commonly missed item Set the POWER SWITCH Cabling note you can use either terminal block for cabling they are both the same and is for power S and S AF and AF is audio Check all of your cabling turn the power on You should be able to see the power light come on See cable diagram in this Manual for cabling examples When using the control cable Ferrite if The hole is to big try to loop the cable through twice The ferrite installs on the audio cable just outside the transmitter box Step 3 There are 3 test hole pads on the unit see diagram Take a standard voltmeter that is set to DC 5 20 volts and plug it into the bottom and top test hole pads The black lead will go to the test hole pad closest to the mounting hole Ground Top Next move the jumper on the COIL TUNE jumper block one at a time to find the one that gives the highest
8. you can t get the audio loud enough so it is as loud as other stations in your area without distortion then there is a problem in the audio chain To get more Range Try to locate the transmitter near something that will reradiate the RF energy such as high tension power lines The signal will tend to follow lakes and rivers Use as high a modulation level as you can Get the unit as high as you can but not so high you can t safely get to it to tune it Troubleshooting Check the voltage at the terminals of the transmitter is there at least 12VDC there Low range is often a bad ground There could be bad soil conductivity in your area or the ground rod could just be in gravel or sand instead of dirt If you can just push the rod in with your hand then it won t be a good ground Bad connections are often the problem Just wrapping wire around a rod will NOT work ALL connections need to be soldered or clamped The copper needs to be bright and shinny before soldering or clamping Be sure your ground wire is isolated and not wrapped around a metal mast or attached to metal siding or downspout The ground wire should be isolated from all massive bigger then a nail metal Use an 8 foot ground rod if at all possible If you are using bigger then 12 wire better you won t be able to insert it into the binding post at the transmitter Use a short 6 piece of 12 as a splice make the connection Twist the 12 wire to the larger wire and twist a wire
9. A BIT Section 15 219 Operation the band 510 1705 kHz a The total input power to the final radio frequency stage exclusive of filament or heater power shall not exceed 100 milliwatts b The total length of the transmission line antenna and ground lead if used shall not exceed 3 meters c All emissions below 510 kHz or above 1705 kHz shall be attenuated at least 20 dB below the level of the unmodulated carrier Determination of compliance with the 20 dB attenuation specification may be based on measurements at the intentional radiator s antenna output terminal unless the intentional radiator uses a permanently attached antenna in which case compliance shall be demonstrated by measuring the radiated emissions ISOLATED GROND LEAD SUGGESTION Always cooperate with the FCC and follow FCC law Note The FCC may not pass some of the grounds on this page ex elevated ground ANOTHER TRICK IS TO KEEP IN MIND THAT ANY CONDUCTOR IN THE AIR THAT ISN T GROUNDED WILL CARRY YOUR SIGNAL HIGH TENSION POWER LINES CAN CARRY YOUR SIGNAL FAR IF YOU CAN INDUCE YOUR SIGNAL INTO THEM EVEN YOUR BACKYARD CLOTHESLINE CAN ACT AS A RADIATOR IF IT IS METAL WIRE AND HAPPENS TO BE INSULATED AT THE ENDS YOUR SIGNAL CAN BE BE PICKED UP AND RE RADIATED KEEP THIS IN MIND amp LOOK FOR CONDUCTORS LIKE THIS WHEN LOOKING FOR A SITE FOR YOUR LOW POWER TRANSMITTER ANOTHER HINT IS WATER YOUR SIGNAL WILL CARRY WELL OVER OPEN WATER HEIGHT IS VERY
10. HAMILTON RANGEMASIER AM1000 AM 1000 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS OUTSIDE TRANSMITTER AM 1000 213 CARAWAY LN Cary NC 27519 With your AM1000 you should find e Some spare junper shunts IN Crystal Ire nuts 1620 unless you ordered the AM1000A Wall transformer 12 volt r power supply m Ferrite Tuning tool qmm EE 0 Bolts and nuts Transmitter These items may or may not be included depending on what you discussed at the time of your order Frequency agile module will be installed on board for 1000 600 ohm balanced to RCA jack audio adapter Audio attenuator Transmitt Mount bracket kit 1 5 530 Ground Rod Get Started Pick three locations 1 a z9z place for the transmitter 58 a 2 place for your studio or inside connection can just be under a desk and 3 a ground Once you have planned these loca tions so they will all work together you are ready First put your transmitter mount in you can use stan dard 1 1 4 antenna mast mount from Radio Shack or TV store Be safe Stay away from electrical wires and do not climb anything unsafe Remember the an tenna needs to be in the free In Studio VENT PIPE MOUNT 8 GROUND ROD N air not up against anything Next do your cabling if you have a balanced aud
11. ed by even putting your hand close to it Once you ve found a site sturdily mount the unit to the structure Cable the ground wire to a good ground Use 12 or 10 wire or larger not aluminum and run the wire directly down to your ground rod The ground wire connects to the binding post on the bottom of the unit If 2 your wire is large to fit into the binding post use a short section of wire and a wire nut to complete the connection Weatherproof the wire nut connection It is important to keep the ground wire away from metal on the way to ground rod get good range and provide the best lightning protection Keep the ground wire away from other metal if at all possible See hints page A couple inches away is fine Cable the unit to the inside to provide power and audio for the transmitter See included diagram The unit requires a 102 whip antenna that can be purchased at Radio Shack Stock 21 903 It can be steel or fiberglass The striped wire is plus on included wall power supply Begin the Tuning You will need the following Meter Tuning tool supplied Small flathead screwdriver Medium Phillips screwdriver The VOM or volt ohm meter can be bought at a Radio Shack if you don t have one Be sure the crystal is installed if you are not using the agile module The crystal will not lock into the board just seat it info the socket pins it won t fall out The following are instructions to tune with a meter see 1000 page
12. if the unit is working correctly If it is to bright out you may not see the spark Please note that changes or modifications not expressly approved by RangeMaster for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment Installing the AMIOOO0 transmitter esosssososocsssoscosssososscssossssessocssososscosososssososcsososesseosesosososessoosossssossessesscssososscssoscocssososscososeosscosesossooseosssososossossessesosssososscosososssososssssososssososocsoososssosossssessesscsosssososocssososssososocscoseosscososccsoosososososcoseossessosocscosoco This unit is meant to be installed by someone who has some radio background If you don t feel qualified to install this unit yourself contact a local radio TV shop They may be able to help Also if you have a friend who is a Ham radio operator they may be able to help you The goal of a successful installation is to achieve mile range if the unit is near ground level Within this mile the signal should be clear and easy to hear There may be some static mixed in but the message being played should be clear Up to a mile range and further may be possible if you have a good site and have the unit higher A good height is 30 feet Look around the structure and find a suitable place to mount the transmitter If should be mounted as high as possible Keep in mind the cabling needs a cable needs run to the power and audio source See included diagram for cabling example Typically
13. io source you can connect the audio ii pair directly to the transmitter if you have an unbalanced like a RCA jack audio POWER WHITE JACK 11 Olly JN A2 IB 30d GREEN A uu corrode from weathering JUST OUTSIDE QF TRANSMITTER BOX INSTALL FERRITE ON CABLE USE MIN 424 AWG FOR 50 FT OR LESS Now run the ground wire it can be 12 or 10 from the hardware store The wire needs to take a direct path from the transmitter to a good ground for best lighting protection It is best to keep the wire away from metal on the way down see picture on the right The ground wire 15 stood off from the mount using stand offs see picture The control cable audio power just be wrapped around the mount The ground wire needs to be secure so it won t move before you tune All connections need to be tight so they won t later source then use the AM1000PR adapter as shown Plug in your audio to the 1 8 jack on the adapter Secure the control cable to the building or pole Note transmitter is not installed yet Ground the control wire shield at one end only WHITE GREEN BLACK TERMINAL BLOCK IN TRANSMITTER EITHER ONE 422 AWG FOR 50 100 FT Now mount the transmitter to the mast using the bracket see bracket instructions If you are not using a bracket install transmitter to wall or acceptable configuration Install 102 Antenna Radio Shack 21 903 to the
14. l you get distortion then back off a little hair for good sound 3 Then turn the positive peaks all the way up if you get distortion then the output terminals and are probably reversed The polarity of the input terminals doesn t matter If you are having trouble matching your input impedance to the Innovonics see the website for instructions How to hints then audio button Your station should sound as loud as others on the dial if it doesn t there is a problem It may be an audio impedance mismatch or the level may need to be turned up If the audio level isn t high enough you won t get good range audio is a gate on the power keep your audio turned up as high as you can We have found the most common cause of low range is the audio setup even more common then grounding problems Not enough audio power volume and or an impedance mismatch If you are using an 8 ohm low impedance output which would be a headphone or speaker output that needs to be connected to the low impedance input on the audio adapter Then the 2 screw terminal block needs to be wired via 2 wire twisted pair to the transmitter If you plug the low impedance port of the adapter to a high impedance source like a line out jack you will have problems An impedance mismatch will lower the audio level and reduce the fidelity and may cause distortion If you have a line out type source it needs to go to the high impedance jack on your audio adapter In either case if
15. mental agency answerable only to congress we cannot guarantee and or we cannot be held responsible for what the FCC may do or decide in any particular situation POWER ADJUST B npe 59 9 o0 2 o Q Oz DUE OF 5 o0 2 CRYSTAL TEST HOLES onl ieee 5 99090005 uu o oj 5006 o o Bd E lolo GE ob 05 gy 799 0906900 so RENE up EAT Lo a sorozas a 5330 am Ye S Tees T Ej OCX aR oR M EZ ZEN SEE DRILL LATER FOR IMPOR AMILTON POR DESICH RAL L1 COMP Audio Level qq 9 NIV9 LSAPAV SSVdAg 049 NI Olanv JHL OL A1103MIQ GNNOYD QNVOS 3Hl S193NNO2 MO HOLIMS M3H1l3 9NISO1O NOILISOd NO 3HL 01 ONY SSHOLIMS 35019 LNO M34V3dS JNOHddV3H V SV HONS 395105 V 33V dl rigs 01 Q3XIN re JAILISOd 31N32 81 383H NI 5 TIVM 03119905 JHL 9119 T Ta m gt Z e Up 84 SSVdA8 01 YO 3501 S193NNOO NI 3NI1 Olanv 343HM SI NNG WOVE 8 1 SIHL JN HOWE 1530 89d NOLTINVH dad Q7aIHS OL LN3YYND MOTIV L NOG AINO 318VO 40 AN3 1Y JHS
16. meter reading or highest power amp voltage Be sure that only one jumper is used at a time Leave this jumper on the highest meter reading and proceed If you find 2 areas of the jumper block that give a peak reading one of them may be an harmonic Chose the position closest to the center of the jumper block range If you are not seeing a good meter reading then rotate the PWR control until you do or check your meter Step 4 If things look good so far take the tuning tool and rotate TUNE to obtain a peak reading of the meter When the meter peaks you are tuned Be sure to stay away from the antenna while tuning If you are to close to the antenna your body will affect where it tunes Keep in mind that you need to see a peak The meter should rise and fall as you adjust If you Just turn if clockwise or counter clockwise all the way and the meter goes up until the capacitor can t be turned anymore then it is not tuned You will get the most power with the least capacitance of the tuning cap that you can get to tune counter clockwise You may find that 2 jumper positions will tune If so use the one that tunes with the TUNE in the most counter clockwise or least capacitance position This will give you the best range and circuit performance Step 5 The next step is to adjust the power level You simply involves taking 2 voltage readings and referring to the power chart in this manual adjust the power pot until you are at the legal power le
17. nut on Be sure to weatherproof this with some silicone Then put the other end into the ground binding post of the transmitter and tighten the binding post If you find that you installation degrades after a few weeks you probably have a ground splice or connection that is weathering or corroding somewhere This ground wire must be locked down and stable so it won t move Electrical grounds will not always be acceptable you may need to run a separate ground or find another ground You could use a water pipe that is going to ground for example See the hints page for an example of a good ground system Check quality of ground After tuning unit with the tune voltage at about 2 3 volts rotate PWR rotate the Cap tune from the extreme counter clockwise position to the clockwise position while watching the meter Make note of the voltage swing you see less then 1 5 volt bad or no ground 1 5 2 volts poor to adequate ground 2 3 volts good ground 3 5volts great ground This test will give you an idea where you stand with your ground quality If you are getting poor range be sure you are setting the power properly If you have carrier but no audio be sure the audio pot is turned up Be sure the power is connected to the power terminals and not the sync terminals Be sure the crystal is in and seated unless you have the freq module ls power switch on Are you using the tuning tool provided When the transmitter is working properly it is p
18. ood sound on a test radio Your signal should sound as loud as other stations in the area Get the audio level as high as you can without distortion Try not to have the test radio to close to the transmitter it can get overloaded RangeMaster Transmitters 919 367 0607 If you have trouble feel free to call but check a few common problem first Is your audio level high enough Is it on Audio is a gate on the power if there isn t enough audio the range will suffer Check the voltage at the terminal block with your meter 15 there at least 12 volts there Low range 15 often a bad ground it could be poor soil conductivity in you area a broken ground wire or your ground rod could be in sand or gravel instead of dirt This is common when using an electrical meter rod and or if the rod 15 to close to a building foundation If you can just push your rod in the ground it 15 probably just sand and it won t work Connections can t just be wrapped and taped they need to be clamped Clamps can be found at the hardware store The copper needs to be bright and shiny and the tightly clamped or soldered Use an 8 foot rod if possible Isolate the ground wire from metal on the way down Be sure you set the power properly Be sure the audio pot is turned up Be sure the crystal 15 in Here 15 a way to check transmitter operation temporarily turn power up you can draw a small spark from one of the round red coil leads or the antenna with a lead pencil
19. ossible to see a small spark with a pencil lead placed close to the coil large red round object pins You may need to turn the power up for it to do this Or you may feel a slight RF burn to your finger if you lightly touch the pins of the coil IF YOU AREN T USING TOWER SIMPLY MOUNTING THE TRANSMITTER OVER A CROUNDPLANE OR ELEVATED GROUNDPLANE P WILL HELP THIS CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS ANTENNA CROUND RADIALS INSTALLING THE TRANSMITTER OVER A C AS MANY AS PRACTICAL BUILDING THAT HAS A METAL ROOF CROUNDED TO TOWER DESIGNING AN GROUNDPLANE IS COVERED ELSEWHERE ON THIS SITE THE TRANSMITTER DOES REQUIRE GOOD LENGTH RAD FROM TOWER GROUND TO OPERATE IT CAN BE AS AT LEAST TO ANTENNA HEIGHT SIMPLE AS USING THE EXISTING ELECTRICAL GROUND OR VERY COMPLEX THE GROUND RADIALS PROVIDE AS WHEN USING MULTPLE GROUND RODS AN ELEVATED GROUNDPLANE AND BURIED RADIALS IF YOU TRY TO USE THE EXISTING 158 DETAIL ELECTRICAL GROUND OF BUILDING YOU MAY NEED AN ELECTRICIAN ANY GROUND YOU USE MUST BE TRANSMITTER ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE n GROUND koor CHECK YO BE RADIALS IT S SURFACE ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO GET MORE RANGE TO TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE AM1000 S ABILITY TO BE MODULATED 130 THERE ARE MANY AUDIO PROCESSORS ON THE MARKET THAT WILL DO THIS THE CHEAPEST IS THE INNOVONICS 222 SEE INOVON COM THE OPTIMOD IS ALSO AN EXCELLENT UNIT ANOTHER TIP FOR GETTING GOOD RANGE IS TO OVER MODULATE
20. r the Commission s Rules and Regulations listed below FCC IDENTIFIER NWXAMI1000 Name of Grantee Hamilton PCB Design Equipment Class Part 15 Low Power Communication Device Transmitter Notes Frequency Output Frequency Emission Grant Notes FCC Rule Parts Range MHZ Watts Tolerance Designator 37 15C 1 2 1 71 37 This device has shown compliance with new rules adopted under Docket 87 389 and is not affected by Section 15 37 transition rule Mail To 9805218315166002 We have found the most common cause of low range is the audio setup even more common then grounding problem Not enough audio power volume and or an impedance mismatch If your station is not as loud as other stations in your area without distortion then there is a problem in the audio chain SPEAKER OUT L HOME COMPUTER LINE OUT EHH ADJUST THE GAIN ON THE 1 UP TO ON THE NEW VERSIONS SET SWITCHES 1 amp 2 FULLY MODULATE TO ON IF YOU ARE USING 4 52 OHM IMPEDANCE ADDS LOAD IF NEEDED MAY NOT BE NEEDED HIGH SET EITHER SWITCH 1 OR 2 TO ON IF YOU WANT IMPEDANCE TO SHORT THE GROUND LOOP PROTECT RESISTOR SOURCES LINE OUT TWISTED BALANCED PAIR TO TRANSMITTER SEX THESE ARE ALL LOW IMPEDANCE 8 32 OHM AUDIO SOURCES THE BALANCED PAIR TO THE TRANSMITTER IS SIMILAR TO YOUR TELEPHONE WIRING THERE IS A POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE WIRE THE AUDIO IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
21. readings The goal in tuning 15 to peak the voltage or to arrive at the peak possible voltage using the Coil Tune shunt and tuning tool on the Cap tune To go to the Cap Tune program just leave the shunt in 719 for 15 seconds the LED will turn off Take the shunt off 13 and then replace shunt onto J13 and you are in the Cap Tune program To find the peak voltage using this program you need to get used to working with the program As the voltage 15 steady or going up the LED will remain green it will however tell you when the voltage is going down and how fast Turning the Cap Tune more quickly will give more red blinks as the voltage goes down When the voltage is dropping quickly the LED will be solid red when the voltage 1s dropping slowly the LED will tend to blink red Of course as the voltage 15 going up which 15 what you want the LED will remain green So rotate the Cap Tune left or right which ever way the LED stays green until it starts to go red Then rotate Cap Tune the other way until the LED blinks red again You should find as you rotate both directions that you can turn about one full turn either way or so before the LED starts to blink red leave the Cap Tune in the middle of the green range and you are tuned Just keep in mind the LED blinks goes red as the voltage 15 going down and the goal 15 to keep the voltage going up until you find a peak You may find using a voltmeter quicker but if you don t have a voltmeter
22. st radio with no audio it will sound quiet with maybe a slight hum Turn up your AUDIO LEVEL while listening to the test radio until you get distortion then back the AUDIO LEVEL off just a tad If you are adjusting the audio level from the ground leave the AUDIO LEVEL set about position Your station should sound as loud as others in your area on a test radio if you don t then there is a problem A scope is needed to be sure of 100 modulation When the unit is being 10076 modulated a test sine wave at the antenna will match the original audio waveform Step 8 Now go and check your range Use your car and your odometer to check the range Do the final tune on TUNE Check to be sure the meter voltage is still peaked Adjust AUDIO LEVEL control for best sound on your radio Keeping the antenna as vertical as possible will help your range It is also critical to keep the antenna away trom metal Don t for example mount the antenna so it runs up against or parallel to a metal drain pipe Before you leave make sure that the customer knows that if They have any trouble with the transmitter to simply unplug the wall transformer or power supply Because of the high RF voltage generated the unit can induce a signal into phone lines stereos and other equipment If you find that you are not getting good range check the transmitter ground system if you notice that when tuning the unit that instead of a sharp peak in the voltage the
23. t either switch 1 or 2 on to short ground isolation resistor 8 OHM BALANCED TO 600 OHM BALANCED ADAPTER USE THIS CIRCUIT TO DRIVE ANOTHER SUITABLE 14 18VDC SOURCE MAY BE USED 600 BALANCED WITH 8 OHM SPEAKER OUTPUT RANGFMASTER CABLE DIAGRAM WITHOUT ADAPTER CURRENT MIDDLE AND BOT TEST JACKS 1 00 VOLT EQUALS 100 MILLI AMPS ACTUAL CURRENT READINGS NEEDED THAT PRODUCE 100 MILLIWAT TS
24. transmitter it screws into the top Connect the audio power wire as shown on first page diagram the ground wire connects to the post at bottom of transmitter Go ahead and connect power audio and turn on Be sure the power switch in the transmitter 15 ON If your unit 15 crystal controlled be sure the crystal 1s installed socket to the middle right If you are using the agile module using the supplied chart check your frequency Digital Volt Meter It is possible to tune using the computer circuit see the manual Using a meter available from RangeMaster place the red lead in the bottom of the three test holes the black lead in the top test hole the middle hole is unused The power control bottom left of board should be up about 1 3 1 2 turn The control near the middle of the board is the audio gain turn it all the way down now for tun ing Set the meter to a low DC voltage 10VDC 20VDC is fine This is the meter setup to take the VOLTAGE There is a 12 position header to the right of the large round red coil Keeping your hands away from the antenna and coil best you can move the shunt up and down the header try to find the position that gives the highest reading on the meter This position should be near the middle of the range of the header If there are two places where the voltage goes up select the one near the middle Then using the provided tuning tool turn the 10 turn device capacitor screw just to the right
25. vel Turn the audio pot all the way down Take your voltage reading take this reading with the meter leads in the same position as when you were tuning Now place your Black negative test lead in the bottom test hole pad amp your Red Positive test lead in the middle test hole pad This will measure your Current Your power should not exceed 100 milliwatts or 1 Watt to comply with FCC rules Part 15 This would be acceptable See the conversion table supplied for different combinations of Voltage and Current that equal 100 milliwatts The Power Adjust works just like a volume control Clockwise is more power and counter clockwise is less With the AMIOOO0T Green light simply adjust Power level control until the LED is green Step 6 Next connect your audio source It is a good idea to leave the aud audio adjust all the way up clockwise and adjust the audio level from the ground The Terminal block input is designed to work with a 600 ohm telephone cable like impedance When you order the AM1000 you get an adapter that will convert 8 ohm low imp 3 5mm speaker type output or high imp like from a CD player to the required 600 ohm balanced audio The new audio adapter has a gain control Step 7 Using a test radio tune to the transmitter frequency The frequency used for this unit is offen 1610 Khz If the frequency is different it will be marked inside the unit Look on the crystal Once you pick up the signal on your te
26. voltage barely moves while you are tuning you probably have a bad ground Electrical grounds will not always be acceptable you may need run a separate ground or find another ground You could use a water pipe that is going to ground for example Also if you are getting poor range make sure you have set the power properly If you are having troubles recheck all wiring and connections If you have carrier but no audio be sure the audio pot is turned up Be sure the power is connected to the power terminals and not the sync terminals Be sure the crystal is in and seated unless you have the freq module See the trouble page Section 15 219 Operation in the band 510 1705 kHz a The total input power to the final radio frequency stage exclusive of filament or heater power shall not exceed 100 milliwatts b The total length of the transmission line antenna and ground lead 1f used shall not exceed 3 meters c All emissions below 510 kHz or above 1705 kHz shall be attenuated at least 20 dB below the level of the unmodulated carrier Determination of compliance with the 20 dB attenuation specification may be based on measurements at the intentional radiator s antenna output terminal unless the intentional radiator uses a permanently attached antenna in which case compliance shall be demonstrated by measuring the radiated emissions We recommend fully cooperating with the FCC and following all FCC rules The FCC is an independent govern
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