eBay FM Transmitter Any Good?

[Orville]

According to this from the url you posted:

Returns: 7 days money back, buyer pays return shipping

You *should* be able to return it and get your money back. But I'll bet the shipping costs back to China may be a fortune though. So it may not be worth it.

If I'd have known more about EDM's kits that didn't require but a power connector be soldered, I would have bought the EDM over the MBB Eclipse 4000 I originally bought.

Hopefully either sometime in the near future this year or maybe next year at tax return time and when the refund comes, I'll buy an EDM unit at that time, but I'll keep and relegate my MBB Eclipse 4000 as a back up unit.

Although from all the postive reviews and comments here on the forum, the MBB E-4000 may never have to pull that duty.

So I may just relegate it to actual mobile use to rebroadcast my in-vehicle RR scanner so I can use a cheap FM radio trackside when out photographing trains. So it'll still get some use elsewhere, even if not for display use.

Edited September 11, 2012 by Orville

[Arteom]

Here is what I don't understand, why is the transmitter actually SO BAD? He has 99.5% Positive Feedback, it cant be possible all his transmitters preform like mine, or people must listen to horrible staticky music, it must be something, I just cant put my finger on it yet. I have contacted the selller, If i recive no responce within 7 days ill dispute the charge.

A quick question, this transmitter seems like trouble waiting to happen, the signal jumps frequencies, A-LOT. I tuned it to 98.8 and I can hear it almost 10 channels up or down, its ridiculous! I can have it tuned to 105.9 and I can hear just a faint sound of music from my transmitter on 103.9 (A very popular station here)

Question? Does EDM deliver all the hype that surrounds it, is it really THAT good? Will I have crystal clear radio quality sound, and will it not hop over and "clog" frequencies? I just want to set my expectations in the right place.

[Joe Polenchar]

Here is what I don't understand, why is the transmitter actually SO BAD? He has 99.5% Positive Feedback, it cant be possible all his transmitters preform like mine, or people must listen to horrible staticky music, it must be something, I just cant put my finger on it yet. I have contacted the selller, If i recive no responce within 7 days ill dispute the charge.

A quick question, this transmitter seems like trouble waiting to happen, the signal jumps frequencies, A-LOT. I tuned it to 98.8 and I can hear it almost 10 channels up or down, its ridiculous! I can have it tuned to 105.9 and I can hear just a faint sound of music from my transmitter on 103.9 (A very popular station here)

Question? Does EDM deliver all the hype that surrounds it, is it really THAT good? Will I have crystal clear radio quality sound, and will it not hop over and "clog" frequencies? I just want to set my expectations in the right place.

Arteom,

I cannot comment on the first part of your post as I am not familiar with that unit. I can comment on the second part of your post as to all of the hype, as you call it about the EDM line of transmitters.

I almost made the same mistake you made last year. The difference is that I listened to the veterans

here on the forum and took that advice and ordered the EDM transmitter. All it takes is three dabs of solder to install the power connector. Set the transmitter up per the instructions and on the low power setting. Hooked it up to my PC and started playing Christmas music. Got in my car and tuned my radio to my station. For me it is 92.3. Drove around for about a three block radius. I could not believe the sound quality I was hearing. Parked right in front of my house and tined the car radio one freq up(92.4) and one freq down (92.2) and no bleed over or spatter. To sum it up, yes the EDM line of transmitters are just that good. Sorry for your not so good purchase. Hope this helps you out.

Edited September 11, 2012 by Joe Polenchar

[JBullard]

Question? Does EDM deliver all the hype that surrounds it, is it really THAT good? Will I have crystal clear radio quality sound, and will it not hop over and "clog" frequencies? I just want to set my expectations in the right place.

The EDM is designed to be used as the "Village Radio Station" in many parts of the world. Very high quality.

It comes with a four (4) year warranty

Repair depots are in almost every country, including the USA

[Shan-Man]

I am betting that if your sound is really hideous that you are overloading the input. The input requires a very low level on mine. I would start with the volume off and increase until you start to hear distortion and then back it down a bit.

[Orville]

If your transmitter is bleeding over like that: SEND IT BACK IMMEDIATELY!

No FM Transmitter should be bleeding over on any frequencies like yours is doing.

Mine will only do that if it is TOO CLOSE to the FM Radio I use to pick up the signal and feed to my outdoor speakers. I don't have an EDM, I have the Mobile Black Box Eclipse 4000 used with a 50-ohm 10db attenutator in-line with the antenna, and I don't get any bleed over like that in my vehicle or any radios in the house, EXCEPT for the one that sits closest to the transmitter, and that I can understand because the transmitter and that radio antenna are almost side by side to each other.

[columbus27]

If your transmitter is bleeding over like that: SEND IT BACK IMMEDIATELY!

No FM Transmitter should be bleeding over on any frequencies like yours is doing.

Mine will only do that if it is TOO CLOSE to the FM Radio I use to pick up the signal and feed to my outdoor speakers. I don't have an EDM, I have the Mobile Black Box Eclipse 4000 used with a 50-ohm 10db attenutator in-line with the antenna, and I don't get any bleed over like that in my vehicle or any radios in the house, EXCEPT for the one that sits closest to the transmitter, and that I can understand because the transmitter and that radio antenna are almost side by side to each other.

How far in distance are you getting with that 10db attenuator?

[Arteom]

If your transmitter is bleeding over like that: SEND IT BACK IMMEDIATELY!

I contacted the seller already, I will try to be patient & rational about this situation. I will contact him again if no response. Again within 7 days I will file a PayPal dispute.

I am betting that if your sound is really hideous that you are overloading the input. The input requires a very low level on mine. I would start with the volume off and increase until you start to hear distortion and then back it down a bit.

I tired that, from very low to full, it its VERY static like and no quality whatsoever, I don't want people to drive by, flip on the radio, and just begin hysterically laughing at the horrible quality. I recall a member here said something like "You spend so much time, effort, and resources on your display, why cheapen it with bad sound?" TRUE THAT!

Question?

What EDM Transmitter do you use and would you recommend for me to order?

[Orville]

How far in distance are you getting with that 10db attenuator?

Depending on weather conditions, if really nice and clear skies, I can get out to close to the office/community mailbox area, which I'd say is about 1/4 mile to slightly over that distance. If not so clear and overcast, I get close to the end of the street that enters my area, which is one way in and one way out, as my road is basically a circle. I'd guess that distance would probably be near to about 800-1000',, but it does start breaking up after around 400' or so. Still quite a bit over the 200' FCC limits, but it does limit it to the area around the circle I live on.

Without that little 50-ohm 10db attenuator, on a clear night I can get close to 3-3/1.2 miles out of the transmitter, and if overcast, cloudy night then it deteriorates down to around 1-1/2-2 miles. During daylight hours it isn't as pronouced, the signal does get a wee bit stronger after the sun sets.

During the day with the attenuator, somwhere around 300-400' and usually starts breaking up around the 300'-350' mark on most days.

Best distance is and has always been in the evening hours with and without the attenuator.

And I've been using the attenuator since 2010 when I first started using the FM Transmitter.

If your transmitter has adjustable power, you could probably decrease this distance even more with the attenutator in place. Unfortunately my transmitter does not have such an option, I wish it did!

Edited September 11, 2012 by Orville

[TJ Hvasta]

Artie.. the Chinese units, for the money, are decent radios. If yours is distorted and causes splatter on the band, then its likely that specific radio. It was dropped, thumped, kicked, poorly assembled or packaged.. it happens.. you get my point.. There are a lot of people on here that use them and have no complaints other than it goes tooo far

Shan-man said "I am betting that if your sound is really hideous that you are overloading the input. The input requires a very low level on mine. I would start with the volume off and increase until you start to hear distortion and then back it down a bit."

I could not agree more!

That link you posted (Artie, not Shan-Man), is that the specific radio you got? The exact same one?? Looking at the unit, where is the input level knob? It appears there is no way to adjust the audio in to that radio.. That is a problem. You said you "I tired that, from very low to full, it its VERY static like and no quality whatsoever" Just how did you do that? Explain exactly what you did. If you just changed the volume of the music player, that is not what you are to do to limit the input signal to the transmitter.

And Orville, how you tried the Hi/Lo power option on your unit? It may have it as an (undocumented) option, push & hold the Power On button, and plug the radio in. if you see Hi, push either the Up/Down freq button until the display says Lo (Low). That should set yours to low power (.1w). My unit (the CZH-05w) didnt specifically state it as an option on the auction page or booklet when I bought it, but it works!

Edited September 11, 2012 by TJ Hvasta

[TJ Hvasta]

Also, you said: "The transmitter gets extremely hot, so it probably wont last long, buttons on it are cheap, antenna cheap, power supply cheap, everything is just cheap, then again its China right? "

That tells me there is problem with the final transistor section. IF the case gets warm/hot, there is a mismatch, and it's very possible the antenna lead has come OFF the bnc connector inside the case, causing it to radiate all over the band," Just contact the seller, explain whats happening. It's a warranty problem, he'll probably just send you a new one and tell you to ditch the bad one. If thats the case, send it to me, I'll look it over, see if I can figure out the problem. If I can fix it, I will and send it back to you to use as a spare.

[Arteom]

I adjusted the FM Transmitter like you said, simply adjusting the volume going into the unit. Surprisingly this did help a-lot, on full blast it sounded so bad you can barley make out anything, at about 3/4 volume it got clear to the point you can actually understand vocals, and vocal free music sounded acceptable.

I really REALLY wanted this unit to work, I didn't expect perfection, but I expected something that I can use without embarrassment. Its not a good unit, It just isn't. I can imagine that some China units might be good, I always buy LEDs cables and such from China eBay sellers and have been pretty happy. Your gonna spend loads of money on your show, without the controller here I can already say that Going the extra mile with $100 extra dollars towards a transmitter might not be a bad idea, I should go for something proven, tested, and recommended.

[TJ Hvasta]

Set the players volume to 1/4 volume MAX.. really, trust me, that is the MAX you should set it to. It will reeally work, you have to do what the radio is designed for. I KNEW the second you wrote its all distorted the input volume was WAAAAAY too high.

Keep it low, 1/4 volume, no more., no less.

The chinese units are good. But you have to use them correctly. If they werent good, they wouldnt sell, and if they dont sell, chinese dont eat.

[Arteom]

Keep it low, 1/4 volume, no more., no less.

First off, will you go back to Jack Sparrow?

Next I tired it at 1/4 volume, any channel I set it to the radio does not recognize it. I set volume to full, it started playing, set volume to 1/4, nothing but static.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong...

[columbus27]

Did you go here first http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/vacant

[rainyoregonchristmas]

Ok, Glad I waited to see how this thread panned out. I too was looking at the transmitter in question. Glad I didn't pull the trigger. So, if this thread warns against the Chinese transmitter, WHICH edm would be the best for a display? Looking for one to do the job, but not overly fancy, expensive, or top of their line. Suggestions?

[TJ Hvasta]

First off, will you go back to Jack Sparrow?

In time..

Next I tired it at 1/4 volume, any channel I set it to the radio does not recognize it. I set volume to full, it started playing, set volume to 1/4, nothing but static.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong...

Tell us, exactly, how you have the radio set up. Take a picture of it. post it here. Without seeing how you have it plugged in, or tell us how you have everything plugged in, we cant tell.

Any channel you set, the radio doesnt recognize it? What does that mean? I dont know what you are trying to explain. You set the transmitter to a specific frequency? Like... 100.7.. You set the reciever to that same frequency? 100.7 Are you using a portable radio? One with a dial or a digital readout? Are you trying that same freq on a car radio? Do that first.

Set the freq on the transmitter. Set the same freq on the car radio. Then, start the volume on the player at minimum. Slowly increase it to the point you start to hear it on the car radio. What percentage volume point is that? 25%, 40%, 50%, 90%??

Is the antenna plugged in? Fully extended? Vertical? Change the audio cable to a different one. Try it again.

Get back to us with the picture, and results of the above steps.

[JBullard]

Any of the EDM models should be fine

Read the descriptions and prices and make your selection

Have never seen or heard anything negative about any of them in the last 5 years

[TJ Hvasta]

Rainy, it isnt a thread against chinese units, mine is and it works perfectly for 3+ years. Its abt a -specific- model not to get. One without a Line Level knob, raising or lowering the line level going to the drive section. Artoems doesnt have one, it's set at 100% drive and he is overdriving the final section by running at "full-blast" volume, a really bad thing.

As for which EDM, depends what you want, do you want RDS (radio texting) ? If you dont need/ewant RDS, then the EDM-LCD, abt $160 is fine, if you want RDS, then EDM-LCD-RDS is the kit to buy..

[Arteom]

I did not run the unit at full volume, I tired all volumes, static is still present. I tired this morning and the radio is even worse. I mean the radio is not recognizing the station to which the transmitter is set to... Something is not right. I can feel it.