A couple of quick questions please!

[scrobbyd]

How many 16 channel controllers can I control on two dedicated 15/20 amp circuits? By dedicated I mean only going to control 16 channel controllers and that's it.

Next question is my wife is already premade signs thatt took her several hours to assemble. She inserted each bulb to read out 87.9 radio station. Problem is now the FM transmitter that we bought from LOR can only tune as low as 88.0. After reading several reviews several people suggested that this was not a better unit. So I had already planned on replacing this unit. Question now is what do I look for to make sure I can tune as low as I need? Basically I want to get the most bang for my buck on an FM transmitter that will tune to 87.9.

Thanks in advance

[Don]

The number of controllers that you can control on a 15 amp circuit would be dictated by the amperage you have connected to the controllers. For example, if you have five controllers with 1 amp each that is only 5 amps. However, if you have 10 controllers with 15 amps each well that would be 150 amps.

[Santas Helper]

Not sure why you would go to the lowest FM channel possible but here might be a reason not to.

 

The FM broadcast band in the Americas ranges from 87.9 to 107.9 MHz, though only two low power stations are licensed for 87.9 MHz; normal full power stations start at 88.1.

 

I might suggest going up a channel or two IMHO.

 

And to keep in mind, do majority of vehicles tune that low? Not sure but something to look at.

 

There is a reason why transmitters (LOR and Mobile Black Box) don't go below 88.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Santas Helper

[Mega Arch]

Agree with S.H. on the why. Also, before having your wife redo the sign, you really should try broadcasting at night on the channel you want to use, when your show will be running. It took me a few tries to find the clearest station.

(Cool that the wife helps.)

Good luck.

[dgrant]

Here is a link to a radio station index that you enter your zip code. Therefore you can easily look for an open frequency.

 

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=72956&sid=&x=0&y=0

[Santas Helper]

You have a lot more open channels than we do.

Here is the link to the Lake Charles area.

 

http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/vacant?select=city&city=Lake%20Charles&state=LA

Edited September 25, 2014 by Santas Helper

[George Simmons]

As always - my cautionary tale:

Beware that the locator site linked above is often wrong and/or incomplete. It was 6 years ago and it still is now.

Make certain for yourself - it's your legal responsibility to insure that your broadcast is within FCC guidelines. Sit in your car, both during the day and during the evening and make sure the frequency you select is open. Ideally, you should select one with open frequencies one step either side of the one you want.

Sorry about your wife's wasted time on the sign. I like her involvement, that's for sure, but you guys just did things kind of in the wrong order.

[Max-Paul]

Don it is not amperage connected to the controller. But the load connected to the controller. Dont put the cart in front of the horse.

[chandalen]

Get in your car,  turn off auto tune, and manually scan the dial for a channel that has STATIC (white noise) before, at, and after the channel you want to use.  ie..  96.5  96.3 and 96.7 should also be clear.

 

The reason is a household FM transmitter is not strong by law. So any interferance will be devistating to a stereo signal.  ALSO its illegal to transmit w/o a license more than 200' so if the neighbor loves that oldies station at 96.3 and your station at 96.5 is bleeding onto it... shes gonna make some phone calls.

 

Someone probably suggested go as low as you can go because those are the less populated freq's.  As mentioned above some car radios can not tune below 88.1

 

The reasoning is... the block 80-88 and below is commonly used for (now outdated) TV broadcast and military FM use.  This includes aircraft, airports, etc.