Fm Broadcaster (I need one...which one?)

[texasjanedoe]

I have been using one of the little MP3 player FM broadcasters for a car...I modified the inside by adding a very loooooong wire antenna to it....This just is not strong enough for my show...You have to park in my driveway to get a static version you can barely hear...

Now that being said I do not have alot of money to spend on a broadcaster. I have seen plenty of them for around $100...most are in Korea or China or somewhere and would barely make it here before Halloween....

Also I am a complete nerd when it comes to knowing anything about these things....I need a plug and play device...

Any advice on one I can order online around $100 and get it soon for my Halloween show? Do I need an external antenna? I do not need to broadcast for a mile...just one my own street......

And if anyone has upgraded and wants to get rid of their older one...I need it!

:-) Thanks for the help!!
{{{{HUGS}}}}
Sonya

[Westport Lights]

If you can solder, then Ramsey makes a kit for under $50. It's not the best, but is functional until you can get a better one.

http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=FM10C

[PaulXmas]

I bought a Whole House Transmitter that LOR sells and it transmits about 2 city blocks which is more than enough for me.

I heard you can get longer range by using a longer antenna.

[texasjanedoe]

PaulXmas wrote:

I bought a Whole House Transmitter that LOR sells and it transmits about 2 city blocks which is more than enough for me.

I heard you can get longer range by using a longer antenna.

Ok...I just bought it...looks easy enough to use! Hope it is strong enough for people to hear the music without so much static this year :-)

THANKS SO MUCH!!!

[Joey Monsko]

i use the mobile black box and the range is excellent!

[pdowns]

PaulXmas wrote:

I bought a Whole House Transmitter that LOR sells and it transmits about 2 city blocks which is more than enough for me.

I heard you can get longer range by using a longer antenna.

You cannot get longer range by using a longer antenna. The antenna needs to be "the right size" and no other. If you use any other size, the result is that the waves hit the end of the antenna and bounce back in to your transmitter. That has two results, 1) not all of your power is going out in to the air and 2) generally you can hear the reflected energy as hiss when your program volume is low or in between songs when the volume should be zero.

The right size is 1/4 wavelength. Won't bore you with details here. But my advice is to either purchase an antenna intended for the FM band frequency range, or if you are making your own, cut the antenna to the right length.

I see many posts about using more power to get more range. I think focusing attention on a better antenna is more productive and will usually also result in a cleaner signal.

[texasjanedoe]

texasjanedoe wrote:

PaulXmas wrote:

I bought a Whole House Transmitter that LOR sells and it transmits about 2 city blocks which is more than enough for me.

I heard you can get longer range by using a longer antenna.

Ok...I just bought it...looks easy enough to use! Hope it is strong enough for people to hear the music without so much static this year :-)

THANKS SO MUCH!!!

If my sound gets one city block I will be more than happy! The little fm thang I am using now can't barely make it to my driveway....

:-)

[lightzilla]

I too use the Whole House FM transmitter and get a clear signal for 300 feet, but have reach 1 block and a good signal....but limited to the last upper band.

107 to 107.9 I believe it is...don't remember exactly.

EDM so folks say is a good Fm Transmitter

Ramsey's Electronics sells Fm transmitters as was mentioned and folks like it.

Or this: MobileBlackBox.com - Home ......ah I think but not 100% sure that the V6000 is mono, but the other two are stereo.

There is this place too:
http://www.canakit.com

PLL Stereo FM Transmitter (Export Only) is the one you want to buy if you buy one from this place.

[toddmoon]

I bounced back and forth about how much to spend and what kind of transmitter to buy. I finally went with the

EDM unit LED (Classic) MODEL SERIES. http://www.edmdesign.com/orders.html

I debated on some less expensive models and finally decided that I wanted a unit that was rock solid and easy to use. I have not had any issues with noise from the unit and if you need to change the channel it is a simple as pressing the up and down buttons. Distance this unit has two settings. Low power it travels 1 block no problem. On high power I could pick up the radio over a mile away. How are them apples! My teenage sons love using the unit. They hook up their ipods to the radio and listen to it around town on there car radios and have there own custom radio with no commericals and only listen to music that they want to hear.

Soldering was so simple. Solder the 1 red and 1 black wire to the power inputs that are marked red and black and the three chips are plug in and you are ready to go. It took less than five minutes to have my EDM radio up and running.

[texasjanedoe]

Like Recommended by PaulXmas I got the Whole House Transmitter Gold Edition.....I have it on 107.5 and it sounds great in the driveway. You can hear it a ways down the street.....however...no one can see my lightshow way down the street anyways....so it does its job and I am happy. It was easy for my...no soldering..I just had to plug it into my computer and hit play!


:-0 Found it onlin and got mine here whole house transmitter http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=57945&u=333983&m=10014&urllink=&afftrack=|Get the best FM Transmitter on the Market!|Text|||

[lleibeck]

I purchased an EDM and am not having the same results as others.

There is a lot of static, comes over louder than the music.

I am using the wire antenna that came with the kit.

Any suggestions?

[pdowns]

I purchased an EDM and had hiss. I spent a LOT of time chasing it down, even returning the first unit. I'm not content with my final results, either. When there is no sound input to the transmitter I can still hear hiss, hum, whatever you want to call it.

But here are two suggestions that will help A BUNCH. First, turn down the volume of your sound source. For LOR users, that's probably the PC sound card. So, use your Windows volume control and set the volume around 30% - 40% of maximum. This will make a huge difference.

Secondly, get a different antenna. When a wave (electrical, mechanical, ocean, whatever) hits the end of something (like the end of your antenna - this is called an "impedance change") it bounces back. In this case, it bounces back in to the EDM transmitter. Part of the hiss you hear is that reflection. And the simple, 1/4 wave wire antenna provided with the EDM transmitter is not the best antenna. (It wasn't meant to be.)

I purchased a folded dipole antenna kit from Ramsey Electronics. Kit TM100 The design includes a choke and a balun which help cut reflected noise. There are lots of antennae on the market, this is just one choice. I am happy with it.

-------

And the result of these two steps is tolerable. Last year I used a Ramsey FM30B. I could hear hiss with that unit also.

Alas, last year the transmitter cost about $150. This year about $235. But it has RDS and that's cool. I'm afraid that a good solution costs $745 plus an attenuator to drop the power, and a separate RDS encoder. $1,200 should do it.

I am now coveting:

http://www.broadcastwarehouse.com/bw-broadcast/tx1-stereo-fm-transmitter/22/product

The expense may seem out of line, but the sound is an important part of this show and I have lots more invested in all the rest of this stuff.

Next year!

[toddmoon]

I am using just the provided antenna with the edm unit. Location and the source of your sound and the audio level input all do effect the clarity. I hooked up my EDM unit to my old tv antenna and wow did I get distance with my unit. On the 100 Mw level I picked up the radio signal over a mile away.

I am very happy with my unit. As it is all of this technology there is a learning curve and each situation has its own variables. I live in the styxs so I can use many different frequencies and so I could have gone with some of the less expensive mono ones that have a limited number of channels to work with and been fine.

I went with the EDM and there were a few things that I had to work out to get crystal clear broadcast. Proximity to electrical lines with the provided antenna will effect signal quality as well.

I am very happy with my EDM unit. I am not a sales guy or trying to get a buying group together. I am just one individual user sharing my opinion. I have seen a few posts on varying units where individuals have been selling units. Take the time to check things out. Talk to others that have used whatever unit you want to buy and see if they are happy with what you want to buy. I have had good luck with this group of users and they have provided a lot of good information on a variety of subjects and I keep learning things all the time.

[pdowns]

Todd,
I have read lots of positive feedback about EDM and that was what got me to buy one. I have a specific question for you that I couldn't tell from your post.

When you turn off your sound source and have your transmitter on (such as in the quiet between songs). What do you hear on a decent FM receiver?

Nothing? Absolutely nothing? If you've never tried this I'd love to hear your results. I'm very curious. If there's something I can do to improve my setup I'd try harder. When I'm transmitting a song the sound quality is fine. But that low volume background noise is lost in the signal. It's still in there.

You hear NOTHING at ALL? Really?

[JBullard]

I'm not Todd, but am a EDM user.

I hear NOTHING when the sound source is off, just tested with my truck in front of my house, before the Halloween display started at 5:30, and again between songs. It was crystal clear.

[pdowns]

Thanks. I'm actually encouraged. I'll try harder. I'm not sure what that means but there must be something I'm doing wrong.

[JBullard]

A couple of things to try.

Use a high quality shielded cable from the PC to the EDM

Move the EDM as far away from the computer as you can.

[toddmoon]

If I have my EDM unit turned off then the channel I have it set to I hear the normal static you would hear on a empty channel. When I turn on my EDM unit the channel become absolutely quite using the antenna that came with the EDM unit.

I am plugged into my computer sound output and I am using a 6 foot cable to the EDM unit. I have the EDM unit located away from any power lines or electrical equipment and I have the antenna taped to the side of my vinyl window with the EDM unit resting in the window seal.

[toddmoon]

Another thing you might try with your EDM unit. If you have a MP3 player try plugging it to the EDM unit and listen to what kind of sound quality you get with wear you are trying to use it.

[lleibeck]

I have tried moving the unit away from the PC turning volume down low. Even tried no sound source, still receive static/hiss. Will need to try the antenna next.

I also have a Ramsey FM100B and it works great. Picked up the other to serve as a spare. May have to look into another Ramsey it the Antenna does not solve the issue.



Thanks,



Lee