dan24438 Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 In my orginal thread i was told to avoid the whole house fm transmitter and go with the EDM LCD. Heres the problem i don't know anything about broadcasting and i'm really looking for an option i can just plug into my laptop and get a decent range. Is there such a thing?If not i guess i'll stop being lazy and learn but thought i would ask if there is a simpler solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 This is the one that I have http://www.dagcoelectronics.com/store/500-mw-rangestar-wireless-music-long-range-fm-transmitter-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan24438 Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 yeah i saw a couple of reviews on that one. How much of a pita was it to setup? what kind of range are you seeing with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
columbus27 Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 I need to get longer than normal distance. I am getting about .5 to a mile with a separate antenna in my attic. But when I broadcast my Halloween show. I broadcast out my basement with the little 6' dipole antenna and I can get about 1/4 a mile. All of the examples are at the low .10 watt setting.There are some places online where you can get this unit cheaper. But from this place you get great customer service and a warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamS Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 This is the one that I have http://www.dagcoelec...m-transmitter-2I have this exact one. Im only getting about 150 foot range with it in my car. My fathers truck about 500 feet. I have mine set to low power as we have a lot of stations in the Tampa market and theres no telling who you will make mad by overpowering some Jazz station.Ive used it 2 years. You have to be careful with the gains as you can set them too high and get a lot of distortion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Don Gillespie Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 I was exactly like you when it came to transmitters, when I made the switch the EDM it was the best move ever, I am not a solderer but I completed the two solder points with no problem, and I have never looked back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan24438 Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 I was exactly like you when it came to transmitters, when I made the switch the EDM it was the best move ever, I am not a solderer but I completed the two solder points with no problem, and I have never looked back.With the EDM LCD, you only have to solder the two points, run the antenna, plug it in, set the station and i'm good to go? I've read something about people cutting antenna's to their frequency, what is that? how do you tell what length your antenna should be for the station your on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtomason Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 I have this exact one. Im only getting about 150 foot range with it in my car. My fathers truck about 500 feet. I have mine set to low power as we have a lot of stations in the Tampa market and theres no telling who you will make mad by overpowering some Jazz station.Ive used it 2 years. You have to be careful with the gains as you can set them too high and get a lot of distortion.I'm expecting this one in the mail today and will let you know how it goes. I will also be shoehorning it into the crowded Tampa airwaves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viennaxmas Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 With the EDM LCD, you only have to solder the two points, run the antenna, plug it in, set the station and i'm good to go? I've read something about people cutting antenna's to their frequency, what is that? how do you tell what length your antenna should be for the station your on.Check this link for length calculations I different antenna types:http://monsterfm.com/tech/antcalc.htmA wrong length can drastically reduce the radiated transmit power and worst case also damage the transmitter - however that mainly affects higher power transmitters... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan24438 Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 Check this link for length calculations I different antenna types:http://monsterfm.com/tech/antcalc.htmA wrong length can drastically reduce the radiated transmit power and worst case also damage the transmitter - however that mainly affects higher power transmitters...Thanks that makes it pretty easy. From that site it says each side should be x. so does that mean it doesn't really matter what the length is getting to the split? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viennaxmas Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) Correct - the length to the split does not matter - I am running a good 70 ft of coax to the antenna.. One thing to keep in mind is that you will get some signal loss if the run is long... I had to add a few mw power when switching from the 5 ft test setup to the permanent.. Edited December 19, 2012 by viennaxmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) For a lot less cost than the EDM (but it's first choice) search eBay for the CZH-05B.. comes from China most times, takes 10days to two weeks, abt $45 shipped. You can find the same one on Amazon, usually in the US for abt $75.. so if you cant pop the cash for the EDM, or the extra $30-ish for the CZH-05B from Amazon, order one early in the year (or now) from eBay. It is ridiculously easy to set up and use. After you find a clear frequency after listening for a couple days both daytime and evenings in your area, find a freq that has at least three (if possible) clear channels between stations, ie: 99.1, station.. 99.3 clear, 99.5, clear, 99.7, clear, 99.9, station.. use the 99.5 if you can.. you will prob have to spend several days searching for a clear freq. Attach the antenna (FIRST!), push/hold the power button as you plug in the wallwart, set the power to L(ow), run the audio line from the audio jack on the computer, set the volume on Media Player to 50%-75% (no higher), set the input level on the transmitter to no higher than 50%-60%, anything higher can cause distortion, Thats it, no soldering, the power is set at 100milliwatts (.10 watt) so it should keep you from getting visited by guys in dark suits, wearing sunglasses, having no sense of humor, driving dark panel vans with Gov't plates..I've been using the CZH-5B for three + years, no problems.. Edited December 19, 2012 by TJ Hvasta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Batzdorf Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 I just received this transmitter as a backup to my Ramsey. I haven't tried it as my primary yet but some test proves promising for the price.http://www.ebay.com/itm/CZH-05B-Mini-Stereo-Transmitter-100mW-500mW-FM-76-108Mhz-Range-Antenne-Adapter-/180932415112?pt=US_Ham_Radio_Transmitters&hash=item2a20698e88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 TJ, with that CZH-05B can you use a microphone and the audio input at the same time? That's something I'd like to be able to do with an FM Transmitter. The MBB Eclipse 4000 I have I can only use the microphone or the audio in, just not at the same time.So was wondering if the CZH-05B has this capability to use both at the exact same time? Sometimes I may want to announce something, but don't want to have to stop the audio to the show by unplugging the audio in from the transmitter, then plug in a microphone to make the announcement disrupting the show audio, then plugging the show audio cable back in.Any FM Transmitters out there that allow you to use both at the same time if needed or wanted?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdowns Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I would expect all FM transmitters to only have a single audio input. What you need is an inexpensive mixer. That way you can plug your PC audio output in to the mixer and a microphone in to the mixer. The mixer output will go to the FM transmitter. There's a huge range of mixers online. You'd probably benefit by going to a local music store (as in musical instruments) to see what you want. Guitar Center would have a bunch of affordable options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viennaxmas Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 If I recall correctly my hlly backup TX has RCA and Mic input. I will check over the weekend and let you know..Mixer might still be a good idea - allows you to lower the music level while talking. Also: depending on your soundcard you may be able to mix the mic in to the line out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Sometimes I may want to announce something, but don't want to have to stop the audio to the show by unplugging the audio in from the transmitter, then plug in a microphone to make the announcement disrupting the show audio, then plugging the show audio cable back in. Maybe if you spoke in your most melodic voice and if your words kept time with the lights no one would notice that you had replaced the show audio until your announcement was over.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 TJ, with that CZH-05B can you use a microphone and the audio input at the same time? That's something I'd like to be able to do with an FM Transmitter. The MBB Eclipse 4000 I have I can only use the microphone or the audio in, just not at the same time.So was wondering if the CZH-05B has this capability to use both at the exact same time? Sometimes I may want to announce something, but don't want to have to stop the audio to the show by unplugging the audio in from the transmitter, then plug in a microphone to make the announcement disrupting the show audio, then plugging the show audio cable back in.Any FM Transmitters out there that allow you to use both at the same time if needed or wanted?.Couldn't you just use one of these for a heck of a lot cheaper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 (edited) I'm not sure what your image was surfing, I just get a red x there.My transmitter has both mic and audio in jacks, but they can not be used at the same time according to MBB's instructions or damage to the transmitter is possible. I use a DC-MP3 Showtime DIrector to run my show and the output from the Director is plugged into the transmitter, if I were using a computer to run the show, then a mixer, which I have, would be possible, but isn't in my setup.I think, but can't say for sure, that the EDM was capable of doing this, but I lost the instruction pdf that was on my desktop when the HD crashed, so couldn't go back and reference that to be sure if it could do this or not.I really don't know why a mic and audio in can't be used at the same time, but I'm not going to take any chances on damaging my transmitter. The mic input is mono only on the MBB Eclipse 4000 and I guess that could have something to do with it not being able to be used at the same time as the audio input side{stereo}. But would have been nice if I could do that.So that's why I'm asking if anyone knows of any transmitters that can use both at the same time. If not, I may just have to invest in a cheapo 2nd transmitter just for announcement use on the same frequency the show is on, if that's possible to transmit from dual transmitters on the same freq at the same time. Would there be any issues doing that? Edited December 21, 2012 by Orville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfing4Dough Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 I'm not sure what your image was surfing, I just get a red x there.Looks fine on my screen.Here is the link:http://m2.sourcingmap.com/smapimg/en/n/09a/35mm-plug-jack-splitter-audio-cable-for-speaker-and-headphones-32469n.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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