Transmittors

[fandango]

You know those little things that make it possible to listen to your MP3s in your car by transmitting the output of the device as a radio signal? Do they work at home? and which is the best? I want to listen to the music I have on my itunes in other rooms, and preferrable with different speakers to those on my computer. I'm wondering about the range of these things, though. Anyone done this?

[Dave B]

The range is very limited, but will probably be alright in an average house. You'll need to provide a decent 13.8v power supply, don't forget. I'd be more concerned about the sound quality, tbh, and although I appreciate that running cables may not be the most fun job the end result will probably sound better.

[schmenke]

I use one of those transmittors in my car on long road trips. It works o.k. in a car, especially if it's not a high-end stereo, although I find in city centres there tends to be interference from other signals.

I don't use it in the house though. I find a simple docking station with a line-out output to dual RCA jacks works better :) .

[Daniel]

The range is extremely limited as Dave says. I tried mine and the range is a matter of metres and don't dream of trying to go through anything more than a paperthin wall without a lot of signal loss!

You're best off with some kind of wireless music system sender.

[Mark]

Don't get a car one. As Daniel says there are devices specifically designed for home use that will work better.

[SOD]

you can have great fun with an ipod FM transmitter. Just walk around a shopping centre, and identify the radio station that a shop is playing, tune your trnasmitter to that fewquency and theradio will pick up your transmission because the power is larger than the radio station's signal. :D

[schmenke]

Ah, sorry fandango, I misunderstood your question. You want to play, wirelessly, audio tracks from your pc, not your iPod...?

Then, yes, there are wireless devices that you can hook up to your stereo that will stream tracks off of your pc. They tend to be a bit pricey though, and of course you'll need a wireless ethernet card in your pc. Also, some of them don't support ACC files :down:

I thought of trying this setup when I first got my iPod, but thought it was too expensive, so I but a simple docking station instead and hooked it up to the stereo using the output jack.

[Daniel]

If it's more of a home one then this could possibly help?

http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-WMB54G-Wireless-G-Music-Bridge/dp/B000E5E6KG

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1137451822026&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=2202640536B12

[tinchote]

One option - not sure about prices - is X10. This is a system that uses electricity cables to send data. Since any speakers will be connected to an amplifier, and the amplifier will be plugged in, this solution certainly works.

[fandango]

you can have great fun with an ipod FM transmitter. Just walk around a shopping centre, and identify the radio station that a shop is playing, tune your trnasmitter to that fewquency and theradio will pick up your transmission because the power is larger than the radio station's signal. :D


Sounds like it'd be fun at a press conference. Like that song Ambush by TransAm, where they edit GWBush's words...

Thanks for the ideas. The Linksys stuff looks good, although I may just have a go with a transmittor, considering they're cheap, and I could still use it in the car anyway.