LINKS : Please assist me to make this the most complete, focussed and quality starting point for people interested in FM Transmitter technology. Contact me for other links you feel should be here. Thank you.

Kit Manufacturers and Resellers :
Broadcast Warehouse : FM PLL Transmitter Kits, Stereo Coders, Prebuilt systems
UK based manufacturer of quality FM Transmitter kits and complete Transmitters. INNOVATIVE and RESPONSIVE !! Seem to have the best published specs on the net for the 1W PLL LCD NO-TUNE Exciters. In 1999, they started guaranteeing their kits, following Veronica's lead. They had started publishing Spectral Output of the transmitter at their site and then stopped suddenly ???. Now all we need to see is Circuit Diagrams on the net before you buy !!!
Veronica Kits : FM PLL / VCO Transmitter Kits, Stereo Coders, Prebuilt systems
UK based manufacturer of quality FM Transmitter kits and complete Transmitters. They were the first to guarantee their kits. The 1W PLL kit has a huge circuit board but most reviewers agree on its good quality. Their kits come with Circuit Diagrams :) Now where's the Spectral Analyser plots ?
NRG Kitz : FM PLL / VCO Transmitter Kits, Stereo Coders, Prebuilt systems
UK based manufacturer of quality FM Transmitter kits and complete Transmitters. The 1W PLL kit has a huge circuit board but most reviewers agree on its good quality. Their kits come with Circuit Diagrams :) Now where's the Spectral Analyser plots ?
L.D. Brewer : Resells kits made by most major UK / US manufacturers
US based reseller of various brands of FM Transmitter kits, RF Amplifiers, Antenna and complete Transmitters. Much admired on the net.
Free Radio Berkeley : Make a PLL kit and some Amplifier kits. Circuit Dias on the Net.
US based activist for free radio. Also sell various kits. Circuit diagrams are at the site. As they are mainly concerned about the right of free use of the air waves, it appears that they often do not have much time to design better kits or ship orders.
Panaxis : American manufacturer of FM Exciters
DSchmidt says their PLL Exciter has a very clean Spectral Output. FCC approved !!
North Country Radio : FM and AM PLL Transmitter kits for educational use
Circuit boards with lot of test points to see waveforms at various stages
Progressive Concepts : Not much on the Web, but has a great catalog and good gear !!
Answer their on-line quiz and they post you their catalog. They stock Panaxis and Wavemach transmitters, excellent inline LPF, STL transmitter/receiver and antenna, various readymade RF Amps, signal processors, power supplies. Interesting wideband 110W RF Amp kit based on BGY133 module and a tunable 110W RF Amp kit based on Motorola's MRF317 transistor.
Wavemach Communications : Transmitters, Amplifiers, Filters and more.
Wide range of kits, RF Power amps, readymade Transmitters from 1-300W, Antenna, Power supplies
Smart Kit : From Greece. They have 1,4,15 and 25 W VCO Transmitters. Circuit Dias on the Net.
They have posted their circuit dias on the net, for which they do deserve accolades. Various other kits besides transmitters. Their RF kits are quite simple, but make great starting points to learn electronics. New Stereo Coder released in July '98. New PLL Transmitter and some RF Amps released mid '99.
Simplex Kit : They re-sell Smart Kit's Voltage Controlled Oscillator based FM Transmitters.
Alternate source to buy Smart Kit
CPEQ : FCC Compliant LPFM Stereo Transmitter for below 60$ !!
Cheap simple transmitter to get you started. Quite similar to Ramsey stuff.
Ramsey : Complemented for his range of Radio kits, quality of documentation and marketing skills.
Wide range of transmitters, some based on the low performing BA1404 Stereo Chip. His earlier kits started a rash of FAQs.
Mighty's Pirate Radio : aka PCS Electronics. Unique 4W PLL TX with LCD, built-in tuning circuitry.
Interesting gear with innovative features and at a decent price. Spectral Output at web site in Feb 99. Also available via US distributors.
Radio Communication Laboratory ( RCL) : Cost effective kits from India, Pre-built FM and CB Transmitters
Ready-built FM Transceiver, FM Transmitters, CB Transceivers, FM Radio kits. No PLLs yet. Very cost effective !!
DC Electronics : 10mW FM PLL Transmitter for US$ 50 !!!! Also BA1404 based stuff.
Simple low power PLL kit with a good write-up on how it works. Also cost-effective BA1404 stuff
Rola of Aus-triee-leeeea : Resells Panaxis' kits, OEM eqpt with Panaxis incorporated, 300W RF Amp kits
DIY Electronics (Kits-r-us) : Range of 2-3 transistor transmitters, useful for beginners. Lots of other kits.
Cana Kits : Beginner's 2 transistor designs + BA1404 TX. Easy way to get hooked on the habit !!!
CIC Electronics : One and two transistor designs
Microkits : UK based manufacturer of spy surveillance transmitter kits

Readymade Exciter manufacturers + Ham kit manufacturers :
ABC Transmitters : Good Modular readymade system based on 200mW PLL + your choice of RF Amp
JT Communications : They make a PLL FM Exciter and a Stereo Generator
Infinity Communications : UK based manufacturer of FM Transmitters from 1W to 40W
TEN-TEC : Great place for 2mtr Transceiver kits. See Review
Hamtronics : Nice Commercial Quality Transceiver kits
Hands Electronics : Ham Transceivers

Kit Reviews :

( How about giving me your reviews on kits you built, like Alt'f , Mike and Eric did ???. I can publish your review at my site.)
Mark Wyman's Web site : with Spectral Analyses of Ramsey and Veronica kits
Articles posted on alt.radio.pirate re: the Ramsey Vs Veronica debate

My review of the Broadcast Warehouse 1W PLL Exciter with LCD 08 Aug 1998
My review of the WaveMach FMS2 PLL Exciter 20 Dec 1998
Alt'F reviews the Veronica 1W PPL Version 2
Alt'F reviews the Broadcast Warehouse DIGILOG Stereo Multiplexer Kit 08 April 1999
Alt'F reviews the Broadcast Warehouse DIGILOG Stereo Multiplexer Kit
My review of the Broadcast Warehouse DIGILOG Stereo Multiplexer Kit 13 Oct 1999
Alt'F reviews the Veronica Stereo Coder
My review of the Mighty MAX-1 FM Exciter 02 May 1999
Mike Timmer's comments on the Broadcast Warehouse High Quality Limiter Kit 20 May 1999
Eric T White's informal review of the MAX-1 FM Exciter 20 June 1999
Cana Kit's 2 transistor beginner's kit CK111 09 July 1999
DIY Electronic' 3 transistor beginner's Kit 32 09 July 1999
Cana Kit's BA1404 based Kit CK222 19 July 1999
Comments on the ROHM BH1416 Stereo Transmitter chip 26 Aug 2000
Alt 'F Radio : Ce site traite de la théorie et de la pratique de la micro-diffusion, en Anglais
Just who's behind the reviews anyway ?

Spare Parts Suppliers :
Unique Electronics : Source of electronic spare parts, Philips and Motorola transistors ....
RF Parts Company : 30 year old supplier of RF Parts for Amateur and commercial use
Donberg's Warehouse : Source of RF Components in Ireland, good source for basic Transistor specs
Circuit Specialists, Inc: RF Parts, some Kits, their "Transistors" page has basic specs and prices
NTE Electronics : Searchable database that has data sheets
Great American Electronics : Specialise in RF Transistors
RS Electronics : Large Distributors of Electronic Parts
Maplin in UK : Large Distributors of Electronic Parts
Farnell : Large Distributors of Electronic Parts

Schematics of Transmitters, Oscillators, RF Amplifiers :

Voyager Radio : Somebody just copied Pulsar's site without any credits. Useful if Pulsar's Server goes down.
Hans : Another great place for schematics, similar to Pulsar site. Hans is a helpful guy who answers e-mails.
HANS PROMISES HE WILL BE BACK AFTER A BREAK OF ABOUT THREE YEARS, 'bout time !!
Crystal HF : Yet another nice place for schematics. Looks like Dutch Pirates are the most technical lot !!
Schematics of Commercial Kits like Veronica, Panaxis, Ramsey, B'Warehouse...
Twilight's Schema's : Copies of SPI Kit's PLL, Stereo Coder, Limiter
Harry's Homebrew : Many circuits, incl. Bugs and small transmitters, useful info especially on winding coils
Mycal 1 & 2: Seems to know his technical stuff. It appears he corrects design flaws in Ramsey's transmitters
Technology page at Free Radio Berkeley : Some things never change, this page is one of them !
Transmitter Schematics at FRN : Good collection of other people's designs
Radioelektronicke Obvody : I knew there are some Checz Maniacs around !!
Low Power FM Broadcasting : By Dillon. FM Transmitters, J Pole design
Smart Electronics 15 W FM Transmitter PDF
Justin's Transmitter Schematics : 3-18W transmitters, Antenna, RF Amplifiers
Lar's Transmitters for the 3mtr band : Similar to Justin's site, 0.5W-25W Transmitter schematics
FM-Pirat : Similar to Justin's and Lar's site. 15W BLY88 based FM Transmitter with PCB and building instructions
YAFWT : Yet Another Fifteen Watt Transmitter based on BLY88. Easy to understand write-up, PCB designs.
Japanese Transmitter : Can transmit in English too !! Should be good for about 4-7 watts ?
Indonesian Transmitter : Can transmit in English too !! 7 and 15 W RF Amps
AMN : See how this "professional station" does it. They claim "Broadcast Quality" circuits and Antenna
Fantasy Radio : See the Schematics of the equipment used by this Dutch FM Pirate Radio Station
WARNING : Any free running VFO transmitter with less than 4 Transistors for 50-100mW output or 5 transistors at 2-5W output (ie no buffer stages, no voltage regulator for VFO) is probably highly unstable and it's frequency of operation will keep on changing with time, temperature, battery levels, antenna type, proximity of other objects to transmitter. Please build the following transmitter circuits with this warning in mind. See my review of FM Bugs for more info.
200mW 2 Km Transmitter circuit and Manual : From RCL in India
Four Transistor Transmitter
The Electronics page : Some simple FM Transmitters
Dan Evans builds the Velleman 3 Transistor FM Oscillator Kit
3 transistor FM Bug : By Harry Lythall sm0vpo
Andy's circuits : Wide Band 3 Transi and Narrow Band Xtal controlled Transmitters
2 Transistor FM Bug : PDF format file with circuit dia and good write up on operation
2 Transistor Colpitts Oscillator
Mini Oscillator and 2W Oscillator : By Kemo Kits of Germany
NoiseMantra : Based on the MicroCircuits VCO module. Better use the POS150 !!!
broadcastfm : New site started 04th April 99. Promises lots of schematics and technical stuff
One transistor FM Bug : How simple can it get ? You gotta make atleast this one work !!

Forrest Cook & Daniel Sill's Improved Stereo Modulator
SPI's Stereo Coder

Schematics of commercial CB Kits

Marconi's views on RF Schematics available on the Web : At Radio Frequencies, the PCB Design is part of the overall circuit design !!. If you find a schematic of anything over 5W at 108 MHz (or 10mW at 400 MHz) with no PCB details, just forget it !!!

Antenna, Antennae, Aerials, Rubber Duckies, J-Poles, Dipoles :
Basics of Antenna : By Linx Technologies (PDF), quick way to understand the raw basics.
The Antenna Elmer : Everything you wanted to know about Antenna. GOOD SITE
The PacketRadio Op's Antenna Handbook : Tools to design J Pole, Dipole, Quads
How to be an Antenna Guru
Antenna Practical Design : from the University of Murray, Down Under
J-Pole Antenna Design : by Mycal
J-Pole Antenna for 89 MHz : By G. Forrest Cook
Ribbon J Pole from 300 Ohm TV Cable : By Gavin Reibelt VK4ZZ
Construction of a JPole for 2m : By W. Kinsner, VE4WK
Copper Cactus Antenna : Multiple J Poles for different frequencies using the same mast
From a J to a Zepp : Excellent technical discussion on the J Pole Antenna.
Slim Jim for 3 mtr : From the FM10 Archives
Albert's 3 mtr Slim Jim
Slim Jim for 3 mtr : By Marconi, good diagrams
Slim Jim for 2 mtr : By Nadisha
Slim Jim for 2 mtr : Excellent diagram with construction details
Double Slim Jim colinear with 3dB gain over dipole : By Fred JUDD G2BCX, the inventor of the Slim Jim
6dB Colinear VHF Antenna : by Harry sm0vpo

Technical Knowledge and FAQ on RF, Pirate Radio :
How to be a Radio Pirate : A Good Technical Introduction for Newbies based on "Radio is my Bomb"
Ramsey FM10 FAQ and FM25 FAQ : By Mycal himself
Technical Guide to Radio : Another FM10 FAQ
Ramsey FM10 FAQ : Courtesy FIL
Ramsey FM10 FAQ Part II : A page from the FIL o' FAQs
Pirate Radio and TV Broadcasting Techniques : Info on Ramsey FMs, Antenna, Filters ...
(Caveat : Just because a kit is often spoken about does not mean that it is technically any good. Please read kit reviews before any purchase decisions. Use above FAQs to glean basic info on Transmitter technology only)
Beginners Guide to LPFM : FAQ of the alt.radio.pirate newsgroup
Low Power Broadcasting FAQ : From alt.radio.pirate newsgroup
Microbroadcasting - A technical Primer : By Stephen Dunifer himself. Actually not so technical, but interesting.
FM Radio communication principles : From the University of Newcastle, Down Under
Designing a 2 Transistor FM Transmitter : Francis Mc Swiggan's dissertation for his BEng course
Beginners Guide to Low Power Broadcasting : By Rick Harrison
Theory of AM, FM and FM Stereo : Basic technology explained by Steve J. Quest
Basics of Frequency Modulation : As explained by the United States Naval Academy !!!
Introduction to FM MPX : Basics of multiplexing FM Stereo signals
Structure of an FM MPX Signal : By Aztec Radio
Scott's guide to Stereo FM
Stereo for Dummies : My own look at Stereo, liberally SPICEd with waveform screen dumps. 24 Sept 1999
Scott's Guide to Broadcasting
Introduction to Telecommunications : Technical discourse on differrent modulation methods
Radio Data System ( RDS) : University of Newcastle, Australia
ARRL : Needs no introduction, I suppose
Effects of VSWR on radiated power : Might as well transmit what you are producing
Wenzel discusses SWR, Return loss and Reflection Coefficients
How far will my signal go ? : more info here and here
Technical Papers on FM Broadcasting : From Broadcast Electronics
Radio Papers Repository : Broadcast.net's large store of technical papers on Radio
How to optimise the Air Chain : From Orban
Technical Papers : From "Modulation Index", re Modulation and Loudness
Articles from RF Design Online
Application Notes : Mini-circuits explain VCOs, PLLs, Phase Noise, Test equipment and methods
Noise reduction in FM Transmitters :
FM Composite Signal Processing for FM Transmitters : By MicroCon Systems Inc.
Use your computer to feed Audio to the transmitter : Yaesutom explains the newer software available
UK Frequency Allocation tables : By the Radiocommunications Agency , London
ETSI : The European Telecommunications Standards Institute

Ham Info :
There is no denying that the Ham and Amateur community has done a lot in discovering / spreading technical information about broadcasting. The free atmosphere they had to play around in certain frequency bands fostered experimentation in VFO, Transmitters, Antenna. It also created a culture of sharing of knowledge, with many Elmers ready to assist the novices. Unfortunately , regulatory control in the 88-108 MHz band has dampened the spirit of innovation and also commercialised it. Much less free technical information is available on the Net about issues affecting the 88-108 MHz band, like propogation conditions, Antenna designs, Circuit designs, Stereo broadcasting. I am forever dipping into Ham files to see how they did things, and trying to scale it into the 3mtr band. Here then are my favourite Ham links that I would like to share with you. They reflect my current interest in Oscillators, Antenna and Xtal controlled bugs for the FM Band.

QRP Homebuider VFO Page : FET based Hartley and Clapp Oscillators
JF1FCJ's Super VXO Oscillator and experiments : Use two crystals to get larger deviations. Peter's version
Wide Range VXO : From SPRAT
Japanese Homebrew Guru JF1OZL : Wow, is this guy a diehard experimenter or what !!

Transistor Specifications :
Surface Mount Transistor FAQ : Good source re Transistor equivalents
Siemens RF Transistors : Detailed specs of Transistors, visit "search" button. GOOD SITE !!!
Transistor Spec Sheets
Low Noise Transistors : Transistor specifications
Transistor Cross Reference Database : Helps you find transistor equivalents from database of 40,000 Transistors
Pacific Semiconductor Inc. Search Page : Find out prices and very basic specs of Transistors
Military Preferred Products List : Transistor Specifications
NTE's database : Type in a generic number, get a NTE number, plug that in datasheet page to get the specs.
Transistor Specs in PDF : From the Fairchild site
Motorola data library : Lots of transistor specs in PDF
Mitsubishi RF Transistor specs : Home of the 2SC1971. Prices at RF Parts
Defpom's cross-reference and RF Transi cross-ref chart
Farnell's Database : 9500 PDFs !!

Electronics 101 :
Introduction to Electronics : The basics. Read first if you are a completely lost newbie
First Active Electronics : The very basics. Say something on the News Group only after reading this !!
Circuit Exchange : Nice site with basic Theory of Transmitters
Electronics Analysis and Design Labs : By Neil Goldsman, University of Maryland
Electric Circuits Laboratory : Duke University
Electrical Physics and Electronics : Course 9E103 at the University of Queensland, Australia
How to Bias a Bipolar Junction Transistor
Biasing RF Power Amp stages
High Frequency performance of a BJT Common-Emitter stage
Basic equations for BJTs : By Francis
How to design a FET stage
More on FETs : By Francis
What is a Varactor ? : Zetex PDF explains Variable Capacitance Diodes ( Varicaps)
How to calculate vaules of Air Coils : By Harry sm0vpo
Air Coils for VHF and UHF
Air Core Coils Calculator
Design Software for Helical Air Coils : By Saratoga Software
Calculator for basic RF Calculations : By sm0vpo
Confused about dB, dBi and dBd ?
More about the dB
Impedance Matching Network Designer
Tuned Circuit Formulae
Designing T Attenuation Pads : By Linx Technologies (PDF)
Know of a good page on Electronic Circuit Analysis and Design techniques ? Please inform me !

Electronics 501 :
Analysis of a Colpitts Oscillator
SPICE Analysis of a Colpitts Oscillator
SPICE Analyis of a 2N2222 based Colpitts Oscillator : By Dennis Erwin Thurlow
Using SPICE for RF Oscillator and Class C RF Amps : INTUSOFT suggests Sub-circuits are better than Models at RF
Micro-cap's Demo/Evaluation copy of SPICE : I didn't sleep the night I downloaded this !!!
How do I SPICE up my life for free ?
Hamcalc, RFtoolbx, Stub Tuning and other RF Software
Richard the Lion Heart designs a PLL
Japanese Hobbyist designs a Phase Rocked Roop : Lecommended leading !!
FREE DESIGN SOFTWARE AT RF GLOBALNET : Wow, Excellent design tools !!
PHILIPS RF APPLICATION NOTES : Lots of good stuff, Incl. a 250W and a 300W FM RF Amp
MOTOROLA RF APPLICATION NOTES : Lots of good stuff here by Application

Links to links :
Free Radio Network : You have gotta visit this site, many links to other great places !
Bry's Pirate Radio Links : A huge selection of links
Links to pages with Electronic Schematics
ePanorama's links to pages with Schematics
Radio links : Lottsa links, so little time
Kenneke's Links : More radio related links. Hit a page down to see them.
FIL's Links
Links to Data Sheets of Electronic Parts Manufacturers, also here
Berry's links : If you follow enough links, chances are you will land back on my page
Dealer Links : Where can I buy a thingamabob ??????
Parts, Kits and Stuff : Bunch of links for Ham kits, but could be useful for parts for FM band as well
Links page of Amazon Electronics : Links to Manufacturers, Hobbyists, Technology, FAQs
Leroy was here !!! : Excellent site with links to Electronic reference books, Parts distributors, Manufacturers ...
OCARC Ham Radio Supplier List
Pirate Radio at The Mining Company
AC6V's Links to Homebrew Antenna sites : Mostly Ham Antenna, but lots to learn !!
Ham Radio and Electronic Kits : Also by AC6V
Free Radio Stations : By Chris Smolinski
Broadcast Related Links : From the Society of Broadcast Engineers
Lara's Theme : I dont want to be associated with any link list that would want to be associated with me !!
Thailand Electronics Links : Tom Yum Chip ?
Electronics FAQ links
Infoseek > Entertainment > Radio > Technical Issues
Yahoo > News and Media > Radio > Pirate Radio
The Official Pirate Radio Kit Bulletin Board : Lots of links + a Bulletin Board to discuss TX Kits + a Technical list
FCC on microbroadcasting : Everythink I like in life can either put me in prison, make me fat or give me AIDS
Transmitters on ebay : Find loads of second-hand Transmitters, Transceivers...
alt.radio.pirate : The newsgroup to be seen at, via the Deja News service
New Hobby : Bored of FM Broadcasting, discover new vistas. Visit often as you will get a new link each time.
Guitar Amplifier Modelling : A site with technical information on Guitar Amplifier Models for use in MFX units.

Red : Rumours on the Net. Swallow with care

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DISCLOSURE POLICY : I dont own stock in any of the companies mentioned. I am an independent RF hobbyist. I call a spade a spade in a way that it does not mind it.