ChezRadio Procaster - A review from the non-tech February 20, 2008 - from MLR posted at www.part15.us First, thanks to ChezRadio for allowing me the opportunity to review this new entry into the FCC Certified Part15 AM Transmitter market (whew.. mouthful). I am really hoping that what I got was typical of the TX package. Out of the box it included mounting hardware, enough Cat3 to get me going, and oh yeah - a surprisingly sturdy and easy to tune antenna. In all seriousness, it took me a whopping hour to go from opening the box to listening to some tunes over the air. The installation was very basic: The tx was nailed to my lanai in the back yard, the ground lug was fastened to a metal plate that holds the joists together, which was, in turn, grounded to a 8' ground rod. Nothing special. I picked 1700 because it was temporarily open (daytime in San Jose - at night, forget it..), I stuck a little Sansa MP3 player on the mod box, and made it loop for testing. For music, I used some classic Tommy Dorsey, a shot of Led Zeppelin, some DJ Magic Mike, a Little Dead Kennedys, a spoken word concery bit from Henry Rollins, and a bit of Zeromancer. I figured that should cover most of the spectrum. 1/4 mile from the house, I was hearing everything like it was a commercial station. At .5 mile, it was still strong. It sort of dipped out a little at .75 miles because of the fact that I live on a hill, and I think it skipped a touch (no idea.. just seemed like a logical answer to me). At 1 mile, everything was still strong and listenable, but it would phase out to a little hiss every now and again. at 1 and 1/8 mile, it just quit. I'm thinking if I really tuned this thing, it would probably push 1.5 miles pretty good in my area. All in all, I give this little tx pretty high marks. On a 1-5 scale: Ease of Installation: 4 (it would have been 5 if it leaped from the box and installed itself:) ) Sound Quality: 4/5 - the bass was a little muddy in places - could have been my install. Communication with Vendor: 5 (This guys is mega nice.. answers all questions) Pics would be here, but seriously - all the stuff you need is at his site: www.chezradio.com Procaster review on radio-info.com April 13, 2008 - from XRQFM posted at www.radio-info.com Mounting the Procaster in the attic was too easy! I suspended the antenna & transmitter using hooks screwed into the beam, grounding was easy using the conduit and J-box in the attic. The house ground terminates into a 10 foot copper stake by the power box. The builder of the house provided an electrical outlet & light in the attic, this is a single story house. I know range would be improved if I had a two-story house; my ½ mile coverage was rock solid with zero static and fading on a Jensen aftermarket radio, and a portable radio inside the van. In this situation the Procaster has the advantage in that it's easier to tune up with a simple screwdriver adjustment, and the fact the antenna collapses makes it a breeze to bring it up through a tight crawl space. This is the third house I have had where the attic door is in a place that is hard to get up into, I know I could not have brought a 102” whip though the opening without sharply bending and damaging it. Steve www.radiobrandy.com/Part15AM1620.html The Procaster's performance is great! October 19, 2008 As I wrote in the title line, I'm very impressed with the Procaster's performance. I got it installed on Friday afternoon and chose the lower, pole-mounted option. The installation was easy, even for a novice like myself, and although it's only installed 15 inches off the ground and attached to a single 8 foot ground rod, the signal is great. It reaches all over our five acres (which is what I was essentially seeking) and then some. Driving around, it's also putting out a clear signal at a quarter of a mile and is still recognizable (with some static) at a half mile! I'm transmitting at 1470 right now because my antique radios don't tune as high as modern receivers, but I'm sure that a higher frequency and elevated installation would be even better. I am considering the ground radial system in the future, but for right now I'm very satisfied! Mark, VA Procaster review on HobbyBroadcaster.net May 23, 2008 - posted at hobbybroadcaster.net ChezRadio is no stranger to the low power AM transmitter market. Their TS100 Talking Sign transmitter with built-in messaging is widely used in realtor and other talking billboard applications. Their latest product, the Procaster, marks the company's official entry into the high-end Part 15 broadcast grade transmitter market. Read more here... AM1610 Proctor Community Radio November 18, 2009 After receiving the transmitter about a year ago, the overall set up was easy. After tweeking the sound quality and adjusting our sound mixer in the studio, it came in fine. We did try different car radios to pick up our signal and a few worked and a few didn't. I also tried various portable radios and they worked fine. Overall, our signal reaches out over 2 miles. I'm happy as it covers our entire town. I would recommend the Procaster Transmitter to anyone wanting good quality audio for their AM Radio applications. Peter W. Luke Proctor, MN Truegospelradio March 17, 2010 The transmitter is working wonderful and I'm getting great range out of it. I did what you told me and your advice really work. I'm getting about 2 1/2 good solid miles and I can cover the community, I can even hear the station with some static at about 3 1/2 miles away. Thank you for the Procaster transmitter the best on the market - GREAT JOB. Reggie   © 2012 ChezRadio AM 1700 KTGR True Gospel Radio August 9, 2010 A while back I emailed you guys saying that I was going to put my transmitter up higher than where it was at 25ft. Well, I did it and YES it worked. I Have the transitter at 55ft.I was getting 2 1/2 miles of good solid range and now it has jump up to 4 1/2 good solid range. You can pick up the station at with static out at about 6 miles, YES 6 miles. The key is to get the procaster as high as you can above power lines and trees and YES a real good ground. Thank you Chezradio - This IS the best am low power transmitter on the market. Reggie AM 1700 Albany Oregon July 11, 2010 Hey, I cannot thank you enough for everything, an update, I had to move some antennas around, so around 10 Pm the other night (because it was cool) outside, it has been in the triple digits here, we moved the AM Transmitter,   So I mounted it to a 10 foot pole next to our steps ans grounded it to a Metal Shed, wow the signal somehow has got more range, and I went around the town and drive around, well I move it to 1700 Khz.   Anyway, it does still a great job. Albany is about 49,000 in all parts of town I can get it.   I am sending you the latest pattern, it is the best reception pattern but outside of it I can get it, though a bit low, but still all through the town, Gerry WOW....and thank you..I run your spots a TON what else can I do to spread the word more!!!   You have the best product and I changed the spot as you asked..thanks Gerry!!   Your transmitter is a god-send, My wife was a big help in the set up, she had to make the adjustments, my vision is not getting better, her and I got it done...we had fun...it was worth the move. We had to do it, but it worked out great...thanks for all Gerry you are great..   Jerry Gaule and thanks for your help, Install Coverage Thanks for the testimonial Jerry - all the best! AM 1700 KTGR Low Power Transmitter  At "Radio Red Caboose" 1610 kHz  Franklin, NC November 9, 2011 We are running a small tourist info service that is based out of a multi-merchant antique mall with about 300 booths and 30 shops restaurants crafters and antique dealers...I own two larger recording facilities and we do voice work for various national agencies and client radio and TV stations.  In the area of the mall we have a small satellite recording studio in a vintage caboose.  We installed the Procaster today with the unit bolted to the very top of the curved ladder that was used to access the metal grate "catwalk" on the roof of the train car.  I was able to use only about 5 feet of wire to utilize the "ground" that is the entire metal grating..bolted to the metal roof of the caboose.  The height is at about 25 feet, and at 1610 the signal is solid for way more than I would have expected.  I tuned the meter to the "spike" and seem to be getting a good bang for the buck. We got about 1.7 miles south listenable, and around 1 mile north towards town.  Haven't checked east and west yet.  But hey..that's 2.7 miles of listenable signal.  We based that on an actual LISTENABLE consumer grade signal..versus a radio geek's version with a lot of noise..so I am being honest with myself here..and at the same time really impressed! Jeffrey Gill Franklin, NC Vintage Burlington northern caboose Modest setup for now using ZaraRadio automation software.  Onboard AGC keeps levels hot.  With the Chezradio Procaster it is truly high fidelity AM. Procaster mounted on caboose access ladder