I recently became the proud owner of a Talking House transmitter - I've heard conflicting reports about how good or otherwise they may be - for me the sound quality is OK on my old radios, although it does seem to have good days and bad days. But my main issue is that the range is severely limited. I reckon its no more than about 20 feet.

I am just using the regular internal antenna, stretched out horizontally , and I have not experimented much with the location, but even so I was expecting a bit more than that ! The unit is about 4 feet above floor level.

When it arrived, there was no power supply so I used a 12V power supply I had handy. the manual says that this should be 18V - is this likely to be a significant factor in my lack of range ? What else could I try, other than mounting it higher up, as suggested in the manual ?

Any ideas gratefully received

Yes, use the correct power supply voltage and be sure it can supply the current too. The RF ground path must be short as well.

Chas

do you have the schematic for this? In particular, is it all solid-state? In general, the difference between 12 volts and 18 volts could be VERY significant. I'd get the right voltage before trying any other fixes.

Info on the Talking House is here:

http://www.talkinghouse.com/realestateradio.php

It IS possible that the reference is to an earlier model.

From what has been discussed about the T-H on ARF, there have been no poor reports with possible exception for defective units and a mod. for modulation???

Chas

Thanks for the ideas - I see a suitable 18V power supply for not much money on e-bay so I'll get this resolved first. I do not have a schematic but it looks exactly like the picture on the Talking House link. Within a 20 foot radius it does everything I need it to do - but I'd hoped to be able to use it all over the house. Once again I appreciate the input

Chris

Two thirds of the required supply voltage would significantly decrease the performance of the unit.

Mine uses the supplied wire for the antenna, travelling vertically for a few feet, up to a closet rod, where it's mounted horizontal for about 4-5 feet or so.

I have found the range to be influenced by the location of the receiver in relationship to the TH antenna. When I take a radio outside, and have it parallel, the range is quite poor. Taking it to a slight angle increases reception dramatically.

Also, walking away there are poor areas, followed by good reception areas. My best range outside is about 150 feet. I get it clearly in my garage, about 90 feet away and through several walls. Practically any place in the house is NP.

What CAN cut the range is the construction of the home, steel studs, concrete, brick, tile, stone or stucco interior.

Do NOT use the electrical system ground circuits from an outlet box as the ground for the R.F. Even though the instructions say one can...

Try to find a way to earth via a grounding rod into basement, (if not a slab house) or direct to copper water system if water service is copper. Ground path must be as short as possible.

Lengthen or shorten the antenna so that a peak adjustment is within the range of the tuning control on the "ATU"... Try to keep most of the antenna vertical, take advantage of a stair well if possible or a vertical raceway space between floors. Keep antenna away from any metallic objects like drain or water pipes, heating duct work.

Chas