I finally became fed up enough with the limited program options on today's AM radio band, that I decided to order myself an AMT3000 "Low Power AM Broadcast Radio Transmitter Kit" from
SSTran.com. Delivery was surprisingly quick, considering that I ordered the kit just this past Wednesday, and it arrived yesterday (Saturday).
I had considered a number of different transmitter designs before deciding on the AMT3000. The kit costs $89.95, including the 18 volt "wall wart" power supply.
This place sells the same transmitter, assembled, for $159.95. This past February, Popular Communications published
a very informative article on the AMT3000.
I am impressed with the quality of the kit, and especially with the assembly/operating instructions -- very well done. It doesn't look to be a very difficult kit to assemble, with somewhere around 150 parts total. All but one of the five IC's are socketed. The SSM2166S IC is soldered directly to the board, but since the pins are spaced .050" apart, they offer the kit with this item pre-installed for an additional three bucks (which I considered a worthwhile investment!)
I hope to get started on this puppy soon, and I will let you all know how (if) it works out!
Paula