Whole House FM Transmitter

[Mclaptop]

I am very unhappy with the "Whole House" FM Transmitter which I purchased from the Light-o-rama website. I paid $85 and my assumption, which I have proven to be incorrect is that this transmitter would transmit 150 ft to the cars outside. I live in a cul de sac and this would be plenty of transmitting distance.

I have since, placed the transmitter at the highest room of my house and at the window in the front and still can not get quality sound and without tremendous static. I am limited to frequencies between 106.7 and 107.9, where only 107.5 can be used due to FM traffic in my area. I am trying to run my show off of my laptop and connecting the transmitter to the headset jack to transmit.

Please help. Am I doing something wrong? Lights are up, shows created and now I have this problem. Do I have to go to a costly transmitter? Can I make this transmitter work? I assume it must work or LOR would not sell it on their website. Anyone have the same problems?

I was hoping to begin my shows on Thanksgiving.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Warren

[Texan78]

Is it like white noise static or more like distortion static? If it is distortion static then check the volume on your laptop and make sure it is not to high.

If you can try to use another channel. Use the site below to find unused stations in your area....

http://www.radio-locator.com/

[Mclaptop]

Thanks Texan,

I have found some additional replies on other posts regarding the same issues. I guess I should have done my homework and research a bit better. It seems that the station range may not be enough for me here outside of Chicago.

It does appear as if I have 2 possibilities and will give these a try, but the radio locator website you provided does not match when I compare them to the radio as I tune to them.

I appreciate your reply and hopefully can fix the problem during my first demonstration year. I just had high hope and may not have the "perfect" sound I was looking for.

Thanks again for the help.

[Texan78]

Is the radio locator returning stations that are not empty? If the station is faint you can still use that station. Depending on that station it could be that it is so many miles away that if you use the same frequency the transmitter will over power it. Like the station I use is a country station somewhere in Oklahoma but I am in the Dallas area. So that station doesn't come in just real clear, but it is far away enough that I can use that freqency.

[iresq]

If you have some spare cash, give Taybrynn a PM. Has has a few quality built EDM transmitters for sale.

[Brad]

I have the whole house transmitter and have not had any problems with it. My transmitter is mounted under the front eve of my house and the antenna runs horizontally under the eve. The sound is nice and clear for the cars in front and at the corner of my cul-de-sac, and I can get he signal about 1000 feet away when I pull into my subdivisions.

[Mclaptop]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I'm still struggling on getting a quality signal from the "Whole House" transmitter. I have positioned it everywhere in and out of the house. I tried running from a laptop, but it seems the signal is the weakest. Wondering about the need for a amplifier, but it just seems as if I am throwing good money after bad.

I tried PM for the EDM, but guess was a bit late.

Thinking about getting EDM next year and just want to make it through this year as the first (before the wife notices how much money I'm spending).

Brad, is your transmitter connected to your computer or through an Amp? I see you are in California (nice and warm) where I am in Chicago. Not sure if the cold or snow will impact an outside mounting. How far does your audio cable run?

Thanks again for the support and assistance. I have learned alot as a newbie and will be better prepared for year 2!!!

Warren

[SBontempo]

Hi Warren,

Have you contacted LOR to see if there's anything that they can do about the unit since it is "guaranteed" to broadcast 150 ft in all directions? The whole house people offer a moneyback guarantee.

Here is their site if you need it. http://www.wholehousefmtransmitter.com

And here is their support information, maybe they can help you out. Maybe giving them a call will bring about something you missed.

Technical Support Page for a basic step-by-step guide to fix most of the issues you may run into.

Good Luck,

Steve

[Brad]

Warren, my WHT is plugged directly into the computer with a 20' audio cable, no amp. The computer is in the garage and the cable runs out to the eve.

How do you power your WHT? I ask because I use the 120V AC plug that came with the unit. I can't imagine there being an output difference between the other three methods, but you may want to try changing.

Here is an old thread from Planet Chriswtmas that talk s about getting more range from your WHT. Basically it call for adding a an extra length of wire to the antenna. The thread mentions in post #35 the antenna length to be 53" and calls for doubling that lenght to increase the range.

http://talk.planetchristmas.com/showthread.php?t=11913

[Harbs]

I am running the Whole House transmitter for the second year. This year I had to change stations because of a new stronger station in the area was causing some interference. I am using the original antenna. I moved the system to the top level of my home. I put it in the window. I am getting great signals and clarity for nearly a half block in all directions. Moving it higher helped greatly. I can hear the music for atleast a block but the clarity is not so good.

I live in a small rural town thus not much going on in the radio waves.

Harbs

[anthonyrusso3]

I to am running the whole house transmitter and I have a little bit of noise like static, but ill tell you instead of using the ac from your house why don't you try the usb power connector ? I had to changed over to that this year and about 3/4 of the noise disappeared.