AM homebrew transmitter plans

[wa2as]

I'm relatively new to this group and haven't been here for a while, so I'm not sure how to access all the information here.
I was wondering if there are plans available for fairly simple homebrew AM transmitters. I'm particularly interested in lower power (not more than 200 watts), plate modulation, and maybe just 80 and 40 meters.
Thanks for any info on this.

Al

[WD8BIL]

Got just what ya need, Al !  Right to order.

http://www.amwindow.org/tech/htm/813/813.htm


Sorry, it doesn't come in kit form.

[N3DRB The Derb]

ya know.....I got a sudden urge to build a single bander for top band using that. The other gear will cover everything else. I'd like to get on 160. I'm going to collect parts all year. I want it to be FUNKY.

Use some of those 1920's fan shaped surface mount Weston meters like you see in the silent movies. Touch the adjustment screw
and you DIE, GI!

[WD8BIL]

Got the urge to swang a funky monkey , eh Derb ??
Well get on with yo bad self !!

And AL, If ya don't wanna a full legal limit maul you can just drop one of the 813s in the final and you're at the 150-200 watt level your looking for.

[N3DRB The Derb]

for those who dont know, this is a fan shaped Weston meter. You have to mount them on a Bakelite metering panel. They were common at hamfests years ago for nothing , a buck or 2 each. You got a rig using these, you got a mojo hand.

The munky is bigger with these. More to swing.

[wa2as]

Thanks for the info, guys. That's good to know about dropping one of the 813's. I don't want real high power because of RFI. It was all I could do to get rid of the RFI from my 100 watts out of my old Heathkit SSB gear.

I'm going to look at a Ranger tonight that a local guy is selling. If I don't buy that, I'll probably try building something.

[WD8BIL]

Go ahead and buy it if possible. It'll make a great driver for the "big rig" !!
It's all setup for that kinda service right out the back panel accessory socket.

[WBear2GCR]

Unless you're in a very densely populated area - like apartment houses - RFI is very much less likely to be a problem than it was "back in the day."

That's because TV sets are mostly off cable now, or dish, they're using different circuits, and they're about to all go UHF and loose those pesky channels 2-6 anyhow.

Phones may still be succeptable, but often are not.

Things are different than they were.

And, these days we don't baseline the modulation so there's way less of a chance of creating harmonics that will get into anything!!

I'd say get the Ranger, get a DX-100, Apache, Viking, Valiant I or II, B&W, whatever, and have at it!! 

or build up an 813 rig...

                    _-_-WBear2GCR

[Jim, W5JO]

ya know.....I got a sudden urge to build a single bander for top band using that. The other gear will cover everything else. I'd like to get on 160. I'm going to collect parts all year. I want it to be FUNKY.

I do hope you put some time and work into the antenna.  I hear heterodynes on 1.885 but can't hear any audio.  It would be nice to talk to you guys on 160.

[N3DRB The Derb]

Well, I been putting serious time and effort into the ground system, and thats the first step.

Instruction manual to Strap on 160.


#1. DC safety ground rod system 6 or more 8 ft copper clad rods tied with #6 silver soldered copperwire joined with splitnutz ---> equalize all grounds  in house service entrance with radio system --->build for easy addition of radial wires using 500 ft spool of #14 THHN to start making it a rf ground as well ----> copper plate bulkhead 1/4" thick all coax goes through tied in -----> go to bazillion hamfests and buy the parts no one else else wants. Start building.

#2. finish TX. Test for smoke ---> swanking munky into dummy load. Check for weird science in yer rig. Kill all unwanted weird science. -----> get something that will run vertical for about 65 feet with a top hat and design a homebrew tuner using massive overkill components ----> Connect shield of coax to massive ground system, and coax center to 65 ft vertical thingie. Tune for max blowsmoke with a hot wire ammeter. Put on suit and tie and 1920's top hat.

the end.
 

[K9ACT]

If you need some moral support for your project you might want to browse my Radio page.  I started thinking like you are now thinking about a year ago and it's now on the air.  Actually, THEY are on the air.  I ended up making two different rigs, neither of which look anything like my original idea but I had so much stuff left over from changing my mind so often that I made two of them.

I switched from an 813 for the finals to an 8000 because I had the tube and triodes are easy.  The 811 rig is leftover stuff and lots of fun.

As you can see from the pics, it aint rocket science and if you are not a nut on aesthetics, can be built on a shoestring with a hammer.

Jack  http://schmidling.com/radio.htm