Beware of cheap FM transmitters for this purpose: the majority of them are no good.
Ultra cheap FM transmitters use a tuned tank circuit to control frequency (ie - a variable capacitor). These are very difficult to get to the exact center of the frequency you choose, the result will more than likely be poor audio response.
Furthermore, your receiver is probably digitally controlled to an exact FM frequency and the variable cap system will change frequency slightly with temperature and humidity, so that the transmitter will slowly go in and out of channel. The receiver is phase locked to the correct channel, and the result is that the system will gain and lose quality over time. Digitally controlled frequency is a must for this application.
Kit systems are usually poor at doing audio; making a noise-free circuit is somewhat of a black art and it takes a lot of research and tinkering to get it right. For example, Ramsey Electronics makes an FM transmitter kit with digital frequency control and all that. The problem is that the board layout introduces an unacceptablt amount of hiss into the audio signal. No amount of adjustment will fix this, and the average hobbyist is unprepared to even figure out what the problem is.
Finally, Be very careful of high end ($300) transmitters used for gyms. Some of them are mono only (!) but do not specify this on the advert.
Your best bet is to look on the net for reviews of any transmitter you're thinking of buying. When people have good things to say and don't point out the obvious flaws, then the product might be OK.
I purchased several poor FM transmitters before I got one that worked well, and I use it for transmitting FM throughout the house.
That would be the C.Crane FM transmitter. You can get it for about $80, and Froogle lists several vendors.
anyone with any background in radio electronics can tune and adjust it easily.
Sorry sonny but many MANY people have built clean and noiseless transmitters for decades. they are called HAM RADIO operators.
I suggest you learn more about RF and transmitter design, it sounds like you are blindly bungling through the kits withouty any RF background let alone any stereo and audio background.
I'm willing to bet that more people have built FM transmitters and been frustrated by crappy results, than have succeeded perfectly.
I didn't want to get technical in the article, but if you've built the Ramsey kit, then don't be shy: let us know what sort of THD you got and how much hiss is on the channel! Tell us that you are using it to transmit FM in your house, as I am doing right now!
I don't know if you noticed, but at least one other poster agrees with me on this issue (below), so you can't say t
While off topic, I have often thought that when applying this rule to the pronunciation of letters one bases the rule on the spelling of the letter.
That is, F is a consonant, but if one were to spell the letter it as it sounds it would be something like eff which begins with a vowel. Hence, the more natural sounding "An FM transm....."
While off topic, I have often thought that when applying this rule to the pronunciation of letters one bases the rule on the spelling of the letter.
That is, F is a consonant, but if one were to spell the letter it as it sounds it would be something like eff which begins with a vowel. Hence, the more natural sounding "An FM transm....."
Yes, no, maybe?
Yep. If the pronunciation of a word begins with a vowel sound, it should be preceded by "an" rather than "a".
That's precisely how I learned it. You would say "A NASA shuttle" or "an N-A-S-A shuttle" based on those rules.
The one that gets me is the following. I learned that an organization/band/etc... is a single entity. Usage would be "The Houston Symphony Orchestra claims to have...." rather than "The Houston Symphony Orchestra claim to have...." In writetn media, I often see it written as the latter.
The one that gets me is the following. I learned that an organization/band/etc... is a single entity. Usage would be "The Houston Symphony Orchestra claims to have...." rather than "The Houston Symphony Orchestra claim to have...." In writetn media, I often see it written as the latter.
Context is key here. If you're talking about the business, its singular. "The HSO claims to have signed a new 100 year lease for its new janitor's closet." The hard part is that the collective noun for a group of musici
Then I stand (half?) corrected. To call them the Houston Symphony Orchestra I suppose would be a bussiness-like entity, while calling them an orchestra would be collective then?
Does that mean "Cheap Trick says" is correct while "the band say" is also correct?
As a military research civilian, I am frequently faced with this problem. >8)
I was always told to use a/an in writing as if the acronym was spelled out instead of pronounced; however upon doing a quick google search, it would appear that one Doctor Grammar [drgrammar.org] disagrees.
I will second the statement that the C.Crane FM transmitter is good and probably the only sub $100 transmitter out there worth getting. A few things worth noting:
-There is a very easy hack (tweaking a pot on the board) that can increase it's effective range a bit. Probably not enough to make the FCC get knock on your door but enough to make it work more reliably in a big metal box (car).
-Many places have the FM dial filled up. If there isn't a blank or at least very fuzzy spot on the dial, the FM trans
Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:5, Informative)
Ultra cheap FM transmitters use a tuned tank circuit to control frequency (ie - a variable capacitor). These are very difficult to get to the exact center of the frequency you choose, the result will more than likely be poor audio response.
Furthermore, your receiver is probably digitally controlled to an exact FM frequency and the variable cap system will change frequency slightly with temperature and humidity, so that the transmitter will slowly go in and out of channel. The receiver is phase locked to the correct channel, and the result is that the system will gain and lose quality over time. Digitally controlled frequency is a must for this application.
Kit systems are usually poor at doing audio; making a noise-free circuit is somewhat of a black art and it takes a lot of research and tinkering to get it right. For example, Ramsey Electronics makes an FM transmitter kit with digital frequency control and all that. The problem is that the board layout introduces an unacceptablt amount of hiss into the audio signal. No amount of adjustment will fix this, and the average hobbyist is unprepared to even figure out what the problem is.
Finally, Be very careful of high end ($300) transmitters used for gyms. Some of them are mono only (!) but do not specify this on the advert.
Your best bet is to look on the net for reviews of any transmitter you're thinking of buying. When people have good things to say and don't point out the obvious flaws, then the product might be OK.
I purchased several poor FM transmitters before I got one that worked well, and I use it for transmitting FM throughout the house.
That would be the C.Crane FM transmitter. You can get it for about $80, and Froogle lists several vendors.
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:1, Informative)
anyone with any background in radio electronics can tune and adjust it easily.
Sorry sonny but many MANY people have built clean and noiseless transmitters for decades. they are called HAM RADIO operators.
I suggest you learn more about RF and transmitter design, it sounds like you are blindly bungling through the kits withouty any RF background let alone any stereo and audio background.
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:1)
I didn't want to get technical in the article, but if you've built the Ramsey kit, then don't be shy: let us know what sort of THD you got and how much hiss is on the channel! Tell us that you are using it to transmit FM in your house, as I am doing right now!
I don't know if you noticed, but at least one other poster agrees with me on this issue (below), so you can't say t
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:3, Interesting)
That is, F is a consonant, but if one were to spell the letter it as it sounds it would be something like eff which begins with a vowel. Hence, the more natural sounding "An FM transm....."
Yes, no, maybe?
anyone?
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
That is, F is a consonant, but if one were to spell the letter it as it sounds it would be something like eff which begins with a vowel. Hence, the more natural sounding "An FM transm....."
Yes, no, maybe?
Yep. If the pronunciation of a word begins with a vowel sound, it should be preceded by "an" rather than "a".
"An FM transmitter" is correct, as is "a unic
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:1)
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
Many journalism programs teach that. It makes me want to violently throttle the speaker, every time I hear someone say it on TV. *sigh*
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
The one that gets me is the following. I learned that an organization/band/etc... is a single entity. Usage would be "The Houston Symphony Orchestra claims to have...." rather than "The Houston Symphony Orchestra claim to have...." In writetn media, I often see it written as the latter.
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
Context is key here. If you're talking about the business, its singular. "The HSO claims to have signed a new 100 year lease for its new janitor's closet." The hard part is that the collective noun for a group of musici
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
Does that mean "Cheap Trick says" is correct while "the band say" is also correct?
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
Surprisingly enough, I believe that it does. You can sometimes make them clearer by adding in missing words...
"[The band known as ]Cheap Trick says that it will be touring yet again."
Notice also that you use the singular "it" not a plural "they."
"The band say that they all love ice cream, but not when its covered in ants."
And, while that second one is definately awkward, I believe that it is correct.
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
Check to see if what you're reading uses other British-isms like advertise and colour. I suspect it does.
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:1)
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:1)
I was always told to use a/an in writing as if the acronym was spelled out instead of pronounced; however upon doing a quick google search, it would appear that one Doctor Grammar [drgrammar.org] disagrees.
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Beware of cheap FM transmitters (Score:2)
-There is a very easy hack (tweaking a pot on the board) that can increase it's effective range a bit. Probably not enough to make the FCC get knock on your door but enough to make it work more reliably in a big metal box (car).
-Many places have the FM dial filled up. If there isn't a blank or at least very fuzzy spot on the dial, the FM trans