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Best alternative to Rangemaster TX?

R

radioboy

Hey gang, I need some advice or suggestions.

I have a Rangemaster that has been on the air since 2007 and it doesn't miss a beat. Except for our local power outages, it runs through wind, sun, rain..haven't even had trouble during T-storms with this unit.

I've fallen a few times over the past couple of years while working on projects involving height (thankfully, I was not injured in any of them!) My wife and family have pretty much convinced me that I should find a transmitter that I don't have to climb on a ladder to do maintenance on. Quite often there are not other adults around during the day so I have to wait until someone else is around..and by then it's dark and thus difficult for me to see, since I am legally blind to begin with.

I'm kind of leaning toward an iAM with a range extender but wondered if there were any others I should consider before making a final decision.

I am on a 17-acre farm so don't have "neighbor problems" or neighborhood association problems to worry about.

Thanks for your help.
 
mount it 6ft off ground, and put a full 64 x 25ft radials under it. you should do well without it needing to be up high.
 
The SSTran is a great alternative. But the $300 antenna to get it up to par with the rangemaster is kinda hefty. but its ground level and rivals the range of the range master.
All in all its about $400 with the antenna. $600 cheaper than the Rangemaster.
 
If you already have the Rangemaster I would just mount it lower and take any performance hit generated by changing its height. Getting a small mast and mount is certainly less expensive than replacing the entire rig.
 
It's at the top of a pole similar to a telephone pole - just higher than the rooftop.

The responses here all make sense to me and seem logical. It's staying where it is until my family
returns to town anyway.

And the Part 15 is certainly cheaper to operate than the stream - the costs of streaming are eating me alive.
The system as it is now penalizes successful programming, and the station has pretty high numbers.
 
I may be wrong but it seems I read somewhere (the part15.us site?) that when the FCC was testing the Hamilton Rangemaster for certification it was mounted on a 6' pole with a ground lead to earth.

So, at the very least, mounting the Rangemaster to a 6' mast (or maybe 10') should be a safe installation for those who can no longer climb ladders.

c5
 
Carmine5 said:
I may be wrong but it seems I read somewhere (the part15.us site?) that when the FCC was testing the Hamilton Rangemaster for certification it was mounted on a 6' pole with a ground lead to earth.

So, at the very least, mounting the Rangemaster to a 6' mast (or maybe 10') should be a safe installation for those who can no longer climb ladders.

c5
Click to expand...

I read that too, but it remains unconfirmed to date. The test report cannot be located. The manufacturer will not supply a copy and the FCC lab apparently did not retain a copy (I asked). The report was filed prior to the availability of online certification documents. So, this is one of those great mysteries that will probably never be resolved.

My recommendation is to just ground mount it and install a good ground system. You wouldn't see a significant difference putting it 6 feet above ground anyway, but it might get the attention of an FCC inspector.
 
I did find data for the Procaster on the FCC Website. It was tested in the standard method, meaning the transmitter was place on a table 1 meter above the groundplane.
 
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