Timing Difference

[Wynell Lewis]

Last year I used an EDM transmitter for my radio station.  I also used an FM radio and speakers for people to listen to as they walked around the display. (We have a sleigh ride through our property, so most people get out of their automobile)  If you were sitting in your auto listening to the radio and had your window down where you could also hear the speakers it was an echo effect - the timing was off by  a second or so.  Any ideas how to correct this?

 

Thanks.

[WilliamS]

was it a full second or a fraction of a second?   You would hear an echo effect from speakers that are a distance away vs the ones that a few feet away.  That's the speed of sound coming into play from the different sources.  I assume the cars audio if you are in the car is a fraction ahead because the radio waves travel faster than sound so the cars stereo is playing first then your hearing the sound from the speakers in your house.   The way to fix this either have your audio outside near the viewing are to help keep things the same distance, or turn down the outside speakers.

Edited April 12, 2013 by WilliamS

[iresq]

A full second is a long time.

[Steven]

Some newer cars, including new GM vehicles with the radio integrated with the navigation, have a "pause live radio" feature that can delay the audio from the radio as much as several minutes.

[Wynell Lewis]

You are correct William.  The car audio was ahead - and it was probably just a fraction ahead - but seemed like forever.  Next time I will turn the speakers down.  Thanks for the advice.

[WilliamS]

Your welcome.  Sometimes its the things we don't think about that really trips us up sometimes.  Glad to help bring light to it for you.

[LORisAwesome]

I have a FM receiver tuned to my frequency that is amplied and connected to the outside speakers.

 

There doesn't seem to be any lag with this setup.

 

Jerry 

[Orville]

I have a FM receiver tuned to my frequency that is amplied and connected to the outside speakers.

 

There doesn't seem to be any lag with this setup.

 

Jerry 

I have to agree completely with Jerry.  I do the same as he does, FM Transmitter transmits to a radio with external speakers set  to my transmitter freq.  I have never gotten or heard any lag times using this setup either.

[Steven]

There doesn't seem to be any lag with this setup.

 

It doesn't matter how you get the audio to the speakers, as long as it is analog circuits, which include FM transmitters, mixers, amplifiers, wireless extenders, patch cable, plugs, it will be simultaneous. The only possible way that the circuitry could be introducing a delay is if is digital, for example VoIP, or one of those fancy radios I mentioned earlier that has the audio equivalent of a DVR.

 

The way most people experience echo is by the speed of sound, typically when bouncing off a wall. The speed of sound is a little over 1000 feet/second, so if your speaker is 200 feet away, this will delay the audio by almost 200ms. (Is that noticeable?)

[k6ccc]

The way most people experience echo is by the speed of sound, typically when bouncing off a wall. The speed of sound is a little over 1000 feet/second, so if your speaker is 200 feet away, this will delay the audio by almost 200ms. (Is that noticeable?)

 

200mSec would be hugely noticeable!  50mSec is enough to be noticeable, although most people might not realize why it sounds wrong. 

[Orville]

I have a digital radio in my vehicle and my outdoor speakers are mounted to the stairs on my back step railing facing the front toward the road.  I have yet to hear any lag in this setup.  

 

My neighbor also has a very high end {expensive} digital system in his truck, we've never heard any lag times from the speakers to his radio either.   

 

The speakers are probably just a little over 200-250 feet from the road.   So maybe the cheaper digital radios are the ones that end up having this lag time?    Just speculation as I have no idea, since those of us that have them in my neighborhood didn't buy one that was less than $150-200+ price range.   

 

And I've seen some digital radios going for $50-$90, and these don't even pick up stations that well inside the store.  And this is where they are set up to demo, but the more expensive units seem to do much better.     

 

So, again, I can only speculate those may be the ones that have a lag time...I just don't really know.

 

Just know my neighbors, nor my digital system in my vehicle doesn't lag from my transmitter setup and where I have my outdoor speakers located. 

Edited April 21, 2013 by Orville

[nmonkman]

Some newer cars, including new Government Motors vehicles with the radio integrated with the navigation as part of the stimulus plan so one can rest assured that the Government is right there to tell you when to turn left.....

 

Sorry, just could not resist.