[BC] Transmitter metering

[Dana Puopolo]

Yep.

I once bridged a tower for a 1 kW Non D AM. They had installed an STL
antenna/line/isocoupler on the tower and removed a dipole type RPU antenna and
its 24 foot support pole atop the tower-and they wondered why their coverage
decreased (they forgot to re-adjust the ATU). This was a station on 940 with a
170 foot tower-with the pole they ran almost 9 amps to get 1 kW with the pole,
so removing 24 feet of the tower made a BIG difference. Anyway, I re-bridged
the tower, installed a new ammeter (because to make 1 kW now required almost
11 amps) and set up the ATU. Then we measured the field downtown (with a dead
carrier)-got in excess of 65 Millivolts.

They guy refused to pay me because he claimed I had 'screwed up' his radio
station. When I asked how that could be he said it 'didn't get out any more'.
I reminded him that he had reduced the height of the antenna by 14% and it was
short to begin with-then I reminded him that we still got over 65 mv/m
downtown after I was finished-and his reply was 'that was from CBU in Canada'
Right!-skywave from a station 300 miles away can read 65 mv. 

Later on he caught a cold and died-he was too cheap to go to the doctor.

-D

From: Tom Dimeo <am at pa321.net>

>Methinks many broadcasters simply listen on their car radios 
>nowadays, ignoring metering entirely.
>
>Cheers,
>Richard B. Johnson