And now for something completely different...

Bookface

CDDL! That is cool, showing how much people like live audio and video and with the network, fans can get connected up. It must explain why local radio morning shows push their tweets and FB as much as they do, saying to 'hit us up' on every break.

I like the Part-15 transmitter as an additional broadcast outlet. Is that the carrier current, you had a transmitter and got a coupler recently from another member. How did the project go and get hooked up and how is it used if you can talk about it.

Boomer

Thanks for the info on the station, something I like to hear about at least, and that should help others with their broadcasting tech.

If I understand what you're saying with the PE inspecting the LPB coupler's connection to the power line, it brings up something I hadn't thought about: Are the coupler's power line connections up to today's code?

From my studies of LPB Transmitter Coupling Unit boxes, they've used the same line coupling components since the 1980s, maybe '70s, but it's possible that the electrical code has changed since then. I use a TCU-30 on my station and feel it's adequately safe. It would be nice to know if a new code would feel differently.

Now for something that might help those doing remote shows, an in-depth look at how a public radio station is handling their pledge drive with staff at home, with how things can be done behind the scenes.

www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/tech-tips/pledge-drive-from-home

Read the whole thing and found it interesting, and CDL and others doing multiple host shows might get some ideas.

Boomer

.. Now an aside about the links posted to the site, and how that 'Viglink' system gets attached to them. If you click on a link and it doesn't go through, try refreshing the browser page, and click again. That worked on the Cousin Brucie links that were posted. Another way is to copy the whole address and paste it into the browser and go there directly.

I was first trying to follow LPB's instructions and connect directly to the power line phases the way the coupler is set up to do, connecting at the breaker box. I couldn't get the lines to tune properly or take power. Neutral loading wouldn't work either, since the box's neutral is so close to earth ground, and I couldn't run a separate ground that neutral loading should have.

I came up with a way to couple the RF to the line inductively, using a ferrite loaded transformer clamped to the line coming into the breaker box. Ferrite cores are placed around the line, like you would to filter a power cord or printer cable. For the power line they're larger split cores. I used the cores from computer and TV monitor flybacks with tube screens, but you could buy those from ferrite suppliers.

First, copper sheet is wrapped around the line, in my case it makes a tube 4 inches long, with tabs at each end to solder wires to. The ferrites are clamped over the tube and line at the same time. The bottom wire on the transformer goes to Neut in the coupler, and the top wire goes through a capacitor to one of the line terminals. The cap is a high voltage MKP metal film for low loss, I believe it's 18,000 pf. The cap is a series reactance that stopped ferrite saturation and heating.

With this system, there's no physical connection with copper lines containing AC power at all, so you shouldn't have to worry about not being up to code. The loading is wide band, wider than an antenna system would be, and hum on the signal is very low.

Maybe this idea could help you or someone else out there to use carrier current, we need more stations to look at this under-used technology!

Boomer