ItsMeBobO Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 This year I am noticing a lot of people leave in under a minute.My wife and I both think they do not notice any of the FM radio signs or they would stay for at least one song. Without the music I would wonder why those lights are blinking that way and leave too!I have a 3x28 BetaBrite in the window of the house. And also 17x11 signs posted on four trees at the street. How can they miss all of them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 That does seem to defy the laws of probability... I can easily understand people missing the sign in the window as I probably would also - especially if you've done a good job with the sequencing. But it would seem that somewhere they should be seeing at least one of the signs. Without knowing anything about your display I'd suspect the signs aren't obvious or visible enough. Are the signs lighted? Do all your lights except for the signs turn off between sequences thereby calling attention to the only thing lighted at the time - namely the signs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Starting this year, I programmed flashes for the tune to sign at the beginning of the sequence. For about 10 seconds, the sign flashes on/off at 0.05 second intervals. It is an attention getter. I also keep a couple of seconds of dead air at the beginning of the song to really draw attention to the sign.Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 Bigger problem ! It appears my transmitter is not functioning . Both my wife and I heard it from our cars earlier around 5:30. But now neither of us can. People are leaving because they can't hear the music.Ramsey100B kit which I soldered and used 2 prior seasons. The VU leds on transmitter show it is getting signal. I can also hear the sound on the pc speakers so its playing. Its not transmitting at all since I hear static on 90.1 instead of dead air like I would if there was just no signal. Already had the cover off and turned up R36 which made no difference.QUICK! Where can I get a transmitter which is tunable. The easily available whole house have never worked for me since they are drowned out by area stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Zounds! That is a serious issue! I'm a EDM guy myself, but a lot of people have reported good results with the Black Box jobber and it sounds like it's pretty readily available. Good luck!Can you at least get a pair of speakers outside in the interim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomskillman Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Bob, Sorry to hear about your issues. If I had a spare transmitter, I'd loan it to you...As for the sign - I kinda feel the same. I've got a betabrite in the window and a 18 x 24 by the street. There's also a second 18 x 24 sign with the phone number to call for requesting songs. On top of all that, there is a sign at the end of the street with some solar LEDs flashing on it. I do think I might have new signs made next year though, with less text.Also, please PM me your address - I'd like to come by....regardless of the audio, but I would definitely like to hear the audio! Have you thought about a tunecast II with the longer wire mod for the antenna? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 tomskillman wrote:Bob,Sorry to hear about your issues. If I had a spare transmitter, I'd loan it to you...As for the sign - I kinda feel the same. I've got a betabrite in the window and a 18 x 24 by the street. There's also a second 18 x 24 sign with the phone number to call for requesting songs. On top of all that, there is a sign at the end of the street with some solar LEDs flashing on it. I do think I might have new signs made next year though, with less text.Also, please PM me your address - I'd like to come by....regardless of the audio, but I would definitely like to hear the audio! Have you thought about a tunecast II with the longer wire mod for the antenna?Thanks Tom! Come on over. But wait till till I get a replacement transmitter. I will send address via pm.Tunecast II Operating Range says 10 ft to 30 ft and its battery powered. Seems too small since I have tried several. Didnt see anything about your mod.Before the Ramsey100 I had a different house one which went about 10 inches with static, then a Ramsey10 which would reach the street but was hard to tune and drifted, then the 100 and I was in Eden. Well for two seasons.I guess it could be fixed, but not by me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-klb- Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 I believe the 100 uses the same GAL5 chip for the RF output stage as the FM30B. Unfortunately it is a surface mount chip. I know a few people who have replaced them, but it isn't easy, or fun on the 30B. Not sure on the 100.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomskillman Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 ItsMeBobO wrote: tomskillman wrote:Bob,Sorry to hear about your issues. If I had a spare transmitter, I'd loan it to you...As for the sign - I kinda feel the same. I've got a betabrite in the window and a 18 x 24 by the street. There's also a second 18 x 24 sign with the phone number to call for requesting songs. On top of all that, there is a sign at the end of the street with some solar LEDs flashing on it. I do think I might have new signs made next year though, with less text.Also, please PM me your address - I'd like to come by....regardless of the audio, but I would definitely like to hear the audio! Have you thought about a tunecast II with the longer wire mod for the antenna?Thanks Tom! Come on over. But wait till till I get a replacement transmitter. I will send address via pm.Tunecast II Operating Range says 10 ft to 30 ft and its battery powered. Seems too small since I have tried several. Didnt see anything about your mod.Before the Ramsey100 I had a different house one which went about 10 inches with static, then a Ramsey10 which would reach the street but was hard to tune and drifted, then the 100 and I was in Eden. Well for two seasons.I guess it could be fixed, but not by me.Bob, I'm not sure about the tunecast mod and haven't tried it myself. I just recall seeing it...perhaps someone can shed some light on it, but I'm sure if you google it, something will come up to lead you to it if you want to try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I made mine 4 feet by 3 feet. with a bright light on it so no one can miss it. As far as the radio going out I am sorry that happened. I hope it don't happen to me. I am thinking of buying another edm next year as a back up. I do have a radio in the kitchen that I turn on about every hour or so just to make sure its transmitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 These are a few pages that helped me mod my Belkin a few years ago. Probably got 75 yds with decent quality, but my antenna/transmitter was at ground level, so if elevated it it would have probably been farther. Used it with a Lights and Sounds/Mr. Christmas controller unit. Wanted a little more range and crystal clear sound so upgraded to EDM this year (1st year with LOR). Very easy mod. Below are some basic instruction I wrote up too.http://www.instructables.com/id/Belkin-Tunecast-II-FM-Transmitter-Mod/http://vimeo.com/2320043Modified the Tunecast II with a longer antenna so it would transmit farther. The existing antenna is a blue wire inside the cord of the Tunecast. I snipped off the blue antenna wire and soldered a new one to a different place on the Tunecast circuit board (see step 4 on the instructables.com site above.) In their picture though it looks like they disconnected the inductor (has yellow box around it in picture) and rotated it out of the way. On mine, I just soldered to the end of it. Try holding the antenna wire to this area first before soldering to make sure it lengthens your transmission distance. I stink at soldering, so my guess better soldering improves signal strength. For my antenna I just cut a wire from an old dead set of christmas lights--worked fine. Maybe true antenna wire from Radio shack would be better though. Read online about length of the antenna based on the radio frequency (FM station) you use. 3/4 wavelength antenna is what you want--from what I have read. Mine is roughly 94" long. Try different frequencies though, since I found much different clarity with different frequencies. I use 91.9. Check here for what is open near you http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/fmq.html I used a large tupperware container to put the FM transmitter inside to keep it safe from snow/water, with holes drilled in the container for the wires/antenna to come out--again sealed with silicone. The Tunecast can run on batteries, but goes through them fast. Tunecast has a 12V DC/AC car power adapter with it, so I bought a cheap AC adapter at Radioshack that matched the input specs--again put all this inside the tupperware container. I read that using an insulator at the end of the antenna helps. Read that a plastic spoon works well--drilled 2 holes in it, one at each end--one for the antenna to tie to and one for a wire to hang the antenna up on my house. Not sure why this helps, but I played along since I was clueless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 friskybri wrote: I made mine 4 feet by 3 feet. with a bright light on it so no one can miss it. As far as the radio going out I am sorry that happened. I hope it don't happen to me. I am thinking of buying another edm next year as a back up. I do have a radio in the kitchen that I turn on about every hour or so just to make sure its transmitting. Sounds like our "Tune to" sign...http://www.mainelights.org/ChristmasLightsDaytime/ourtunetosign.htmlAnd as far as the transmitter... make sure of all the easy stuff. Check your wires and antenna. And since you soldered the kit, check for cold solder joints on the antenna and ground shield leads. Most times I think the worst, it's something simple that I overlook in my crazy, Christmas light driven haste. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friskybri Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Jeffrey wrote: Sounds like our "Tune to" sign...http://www.mainelights.org/ChristmasLightsDaytime/ourtunetosign.htmlHay Jeff, Change your station to 99.1FM and don't worry if you see me walking away with your sign. I LOVE IT. I suck at drawing. I am going to have my brother inlaw draw one like that for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I have an additional problem (I think). My sign has the station (101.9FM) plus the hours of the show at the bottom (6-8).My lights come on at 4:30pm (just some animation) along with my ZARA Radio.So I don't know if when they come BEFORE 6:00 and they tune to the radio that they think "what's the big deal", because all they are seeing is some mini trees fading from one color to another and random Christmas songs playing.So do they leave because it is boring, or do they really see that the shows start at 6:00pm??My sign is lit, but not that big (18 x 24), so sometimes I think because of all the other lights, they just don't see the radio sign, even though it is right in the middle of everything.Was thinking of building a snowman holding a sign...at least that would draw their attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LENNY RUEL Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Bob:Another thing it seems it doesn't matter what size the sign is, some people just don't read them. I have 2x3 foot signs for both the tune to and the curtious to the neighbor rules. Both are lit and within 5 feet of the curb. One of the rules , that also is mentioned in the voiceovers is "please do not block or turn around in the neighbors drive way" another is "headlights only please if you are going to stay awhile and watch" You can go out anytime and at least 50% of the cars are sitting along the curb with lights on. We came home from bowling the other night and a lady had her mini van backed up in the neighbor across the streets drive watching.The one neighbor who disdains my lights infinately of course. Luckily it must have been on a night that he was warm and snug in bed already after his post work 12 pack of Miller got inhalled. Good luck with your Transmitter problem. It's a planned upgrade for me next year. Just using the whole house this year.Lenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwilliams Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I know that Mobile Black Box has transmitters in stock and ready to ship. They're complete - no assembly. I've been using the V6000 ($99) for the past 3 years and get reception halfway down the street.http://www.mobileblackbox.comThe V6000 only broadcasts mono, though. For $40 more, the Eclipse 4000 transmits stereo and has better range. I'll probably upgrade to that going forward.They do offer express shipping, so you could have it by Friday, and it's pretty much plug-n-play. You don't have to solder anything.As for my sign, its back-lit plexiglass right out on the curb. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iresq Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Just last night, I had someone parked almost directly in front of my sign. They had their windows down presumably to hear the music I pipe out front. They may have had the radio on but I did not hear it. I was thinking about using a small red rotator light on top of my sign! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwilliams Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Does that have anything to do with what I presume is your profession?Not that it's not a great idea, of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimswinder Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I have some kids stop by almost every night and park right in front of my sign...radio blaring...unfortunately it's not tuned to MY station!!! LOLI guess they want to watch the lights to their music...Reminds me of the 60's...turn on, tune in, drop out... :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 mwilliams wrote: I know that Mobile Black Box has transmitters in stock and ready to ship. They're complete - no assembly. I've been using the V6000 ($99) for the past 3 years and get reception halfway down the street.http://www.mobileblackbox.comThe V6000 only broadcasts mono, though. For $40 more, the Eclipse 4000 transmits stereo and has better range. I'll probably upgrade to that going forward.They do offer express shipping, so you could have it by Friday, and it's pretty much plug-n-play. You don't have to solder anything.As for my sign, its back-lit plexiglass right out on the curb.OK its ordered! Spent too much time already trying to fix the Ramsey.Thanks to all for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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