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John Warren
Member
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I have observed that many LOR users are using FM transmitters to get around those who don't like listening to christmas music. What makes and models have shown to be dependable and within a fair price range?
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hobbes
Member
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I use the Belkin TuneCast II that I modded to give it greater range. It works well for me. There was a post recently about a transmitter from China that is pretty cheap (Around $50 if I remember correctly).
You should read these threads as they contain alot of good information. The last link is to the web store for the China built tranmitter.
FM Transmitter company to stay away from.
My Ramsey FM Transmitter problem
http://stores.ebay.com/FM-TRANSMITTER-SELLER
tom.
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taybrynn
Member
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From what I've observed, there are a variety of transmitters being used.
On the low end of the price spectrum, you have the Belkin transmitters, which can be modified to extend their range to usually work allright.
Probably the most common model being used is the Ramsey FM25b. Its on the lower end of of the Ramsey product line, but its a simple model that more than meets the needs of most who use it.
On the higher end, there is the Ramsey FM30b and FM100 models. Those are about $100 more each.
Keep in mind the the Ramsey transmitters are all kits, so if your handy with electronics you can assemble them yourself. If you not so handy, then you can usually find them for sale on ebay (pre-assembled) ... usually for an additional $50 or so.
Recently, I have discovered another player in the game: EDM ... and they reviews for these are really encouraging. They have an entry level "LED" model for $119 (shipped) or a higher end "LCD" model for $168 (shipped). They are also kits, but only require a couple solder points and the installation of a chip. So assembly is probably 30 min or less and more approachable for those with limited skills.
Both Ramsey and EDM appear t have excellent customer support and products. Ramsey is American made, while EDM is made in S. Africa.
No matter which transmitter you pick, you need to choose an empty frequency to broadcast on and make sure to comply with FCC Sect 15 rules ... so basically, keep the broadcast range down to a minimum and don't broadcast over other stations ... or you could get a visit from the FCC (not good).
There are other makes and models ... but these are the predominant ones being used, esp. the Belkin and the Ramsey.
Personally, I'm buying the EDM LCD ... but this is based on non-LOR user reviews ... not from LOR folks per se. Supposedly, the EDM sound quality is really good ... comperable to the higher end Ramseys ... at about $100-150 less.
Stay away from those units sold on ebay, unless they are Ramseys. They are of poor quality and magnets for the FCC due to their tendency to overrun adjacent frequencies. They are far from legal, but also far from good in quality.
You have to be careful with any of them .... to make sure you don't over modulate ... and thus get into trouble. Usually a 10mW (power) unit is more likely to be FCC compliant than a higher powered unit. The FM25,FM30b,FM100 are all variable power ... so you can turn them down to what is needed ... and often don't need a real antenna for Christmas Display range. The EDM LCD is also variable power, similar to the FM30 and FM100 (1mW to 100mW adjustable).
Last edited on Mon Feb 18th, 2008 09:00 pm by taybrynn |
Jeffrey
Member
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hobbes wrote: You should read these threads as they contain alot of good information. The last link is to the web store for the China built tranmitter.
http://stores.ebay.com/FM-TRANSMITTER-SELLER
I've had great luck with my 1.0w transmitter from eBay. Excellent sound quality and I haven't had any problems with blead over to adjacent freqs.
Here's a another thread about these transmitters...
http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=751
Have fun with whatever one you choose! 
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John Warren
Member
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What mods did you do to the tune Cast to increase its power?
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John Warren
Member
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I've noticed several model are available from the e-bay site. Which transmitter did you get from china? Has it been stable?
John
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taybrynn
Member
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Ok, I'm glad that you are having luck with these inexpensive units off ebay. But remember that even though it may be working, it doesn't mean its not disrupting other FM frequencies at the same time. These cheap units are known to create harmonic spurs and basically ... are magnets for the FCC.
But even when these units are working, they are HIGHLY illegal at 1w power. That is 10 times what the FM100 power is turned all the way up. That it 40 times the power of an FM25 is all the way up. That is 100 times what any 10mW FCC Part 15 approved transmitter would use.
Read the warning about ebay transmitters here (this is not my site) -- the title of of that part of the web page is: BE
http://www.radiobrandy.com/indexRBNET.html
And this is coming from a pirate radio operator.
I just don't advise using them. For $10-20 more, you can good a better quality unit that isn't illegal (or can be operated within FCC guidelines) and still meets your needs.
Ok, I'll get off my soapbox -- but I just wanted to point out that I have heard lots of bad things about these 'made in china' transmitters ... and this is one place where you could buy american (Ramsey). I've read on other boards that a large percentage of these units are DOA (dead on arrival) ... so buyer beware.
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Jeff Millard
LOR II Beta Testers
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Jeffrey wrote: I've had great luck with my 1.0w transmitter from eBay. Excellent sound quality and I haven't had any problems with blead over to adjacent freqs.
Here's a another thread about these transmitters...
http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=751
Have fun with whatever one you choose!
I used this transmitter this year also. A very good unit. It has a range of about a block in a really heavily populated area. There aren't very many open frequencies in my area, but 88.1 worked out good for me. This transmitter was purchased to replace my Ramsey FM30b, which is nothing but junk IMHO. I'm really sorry I spent the money and time on that box of spare parts. I could have had 2 "PC" controllers for the money I wasted on it. The H/K transmitter was a better choice, cost less, had no hum whatsoever, and really sounds great on a car radio. Sure glad I switched!
Jeff
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taybrynn
Member
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Interesting. And the audio quality is good? Does it run over adjacent frequencies or drift ? Can you turn the power down?
I've heard mostly good things about Ramsey, but I have also heard bad things as well. My understanding is that its a fairly complicated kit to put together.
I also think that for a little more money, you can buy a product which actually comes with SUPPORT. I think having a supported product is worth something. Ramsey and EDM are both known for their excellent support.
I'd be sad if anyone here bought one of these and then had it removed by the FCC, or worse yet, faced fines.
Reading that thread, its a mixed bag. You have people who got DOA units, people who had smoke and burned up parts after a certain amount of use ... and people who are very happy like Jeff. To me, buying chinese to save a few bucks just isn't worth the hassle.
My opinion only: Please buy American-made products, or stop complaining about the lack of jobs here. Thats a reality check for all of us.
Last edited on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 04:47 pm by taybrynn |
Jeff Millard
LOR II Beta Testers
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taybrynn wrote: Interesting. And the audio quality is good? Does it run over adjacent frequencies or drift ?
Audio quality was better (by far) than the Ramsey. It doesn't drift at all (nor did the FM30b, one of the few things good about it) There is no crosstalk to speak of, and I used several cheapo crappy FM radios and headsets to make sure. As for the sound quality, I let the neighbors help me with that one... I hooked up the Ramsey and then swapped over to the H/K unit. I was told by everyone, they all had their living room stereos tuned in, to use the H/K transmitter.
It's a great little unit. I also have one of the .2watt transmitters. I put it in the camper in the backyard. It's connected to the line out of the built in radio. I can pick it up just fine down to the end of the block. I got it so I will have a way to transmit my Sirius when the camper is at the campground. I think it's going to work just fine...
Jeff
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Jeff Millard
LOR II Beta Testers
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taybrynn wrote: My understanding is that its a fairly complicated kit to put together.
Just so it doesn't seem that this was an issue with me... I don't feel that it was a very complicated thing to assemble. I have countless years experience in electronics construction and repair. I have had specific courses while in the military in soldering techniques, and PCB assembly. However, when the Ramsey FM amplifier failed, A Master Technician for the aerospace industry made the repairs. He also touched up any questionable work I had done. The repair lasted for a while, but eventually failed again. IMO it was the design, not the construction.
While there has been so much favorable discussion here and elsewhere about the Ramsey's, my experience was a bad one. I am the type of person that gives just one chance. Ramsey loses, and I don't support them. Since I started and commented the heck out of another thread about my issues with them, I usually shy away from the discussion as I am biased against the outrageous prices for the things.
As for the power and legality issues... I don't see any difference between the range and power of a "working" Ramsey FM30b and the H/K 1 watt transmitter. I have read people saying their Ramsey's get them several blocks of range. The thing that separates them in this issue is the Ramsey's ability to turn down the output power. ...and no one is going to convince me that anyone "turns down" the power of a transmitter (You can find the people that would do that easily... they are the same ones driving the speed limit in 80MPH traffic) I really wish I had a way to actually know what the power output was into a 50ohm dummy load. The frequency selective voltmeter at work does not have the range to reach the FM band, or I could tell you specifics about the transmitter (and would be able to do one heck of a job tuning the antenna too)
Jeff
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taybrynn
Member
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Thanks for clarifying those things. Your problems obviously weren't related to how it was assembled.
I will say that after talking to a number of folks in the radio broadcast community, that none of them considered Ramsey very good ... but they also considered the ebay transmitters just as bad., or worse.
To my extreme surprise, several swore up and down that the EDM transmitters are amazing, esp. for the money. These are guys who have the equipment to measure all sorts of things that are mostly technical babble to me ... but at the end of the day, they agree that EDM transmitters are really good. I have one on order, but am not qualified to give an opinion, since I've never used one.
I did own an FCC approved (10mW) Panaxis ACC100s (retails for $299) ... and basically, it had enought range, but sounded crappy and was weak (low volume). Steve over at Radio Brandy said that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make the ACC100 decent. I have another post over at PC, where we talked about the EDM further. Its worth a read, if your seriously shopping around for FM transmitters.
One of the guys I talked to who owned the $90 EDM LED told me he accidently hooked up a 15v power supply and antenna and found himself transmitter for around 10 miles by accident at 100mW. Needless to say, he got the right power supply (12v) and removed the antenna ... and still got 3-4 blocks.
Last edited on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 05:10 pm by taybrynn |
hobbes
Member
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John Warren wrote: What mods did you do to the tune Cast to increase its power?
The mod was to disconnect the internal antenna wire and connect about 5' of wire to use as an external antenna. I could not find the exact page that I used 2 years ago for the instructions but I did find another one. The pictures are blurry but you should get the idea.
http://mypage.iu.edu/~bschank/Tunecast2/tunecast2mod.htm
tom.
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RickMosher
Member
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hobbes wrote: John Warren wrote: What mods did you do to the tune Cast to increase its power?
The mod was to disconnect the internal antenna wire and connect about 5' of wire to use as an external antenna. I could not find the exact page that I used 2 years ago for the instructions but I did find another one. The pictures are blurry but you should get the idea.
http://mypage.iu.edu/~bschank/Tunecast2/tunecast2mod.htm
tom.
Here are a few more:
This one http://www.christmasdisplays.net/fmtransmitter.php from ChristmastDisplays.net is fairly similar to the one Tom posted above.
This one http://www.sonic.net/~n7moe/BelkinMod.htm is a little more in depth and adds an RF amp.
Rick
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taybrynn
Member
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Here are a couple comments from the yahoo EDM group, when I asked them to comment on the chinese recievers mentioned earlier in this thread. Several other users also replied, all basically saying these transmitters are junk for one reason or another -- most already mentioned here. They may work perfectly well, as Jeff mentioned, but what they are also doing (with unintended harmonics and spurs) is the biggest problem and risk.
They have high signal to noise ratios. Looking at the spec sheet of one of these Chinese transmitters, quote the signal to noise ratio (SNR) around 40dB. That is awful! Our LED series makes 60dB or better and the LCD series typically makes more than 75dB and some even up to 85dB. This is the type of figures you would find in a professional commercial exciter. If you take one of these low quality transmitters, kill the audio input and transmit a dead carrier while listening on a good quality FM receiver, with the volume turned up, and close your eyes, you will imagine that you are at the beach with all the "Shss" background noise you will hear. This is a result of the poor VCO designs used with high levels of phase noise on the carrier. There are also reported problems with the 2nd harmonic from these transmitters almost equal in level to the first harmonic which is the intended frequency. This second harmonic will fall in the low VHF TV bands (174MHz and up) and cause massive interference. This will lead to complaints and the get you into serious trouble if the authorities investigate this. Spurs may also leak into the aircraft band above 108MHz and you will also have the aviation authorities down your throat.
Another example from the EDM engineering team:
Our engineering department gave this example of how spurs can end up
in the aviation band.
Examples:
These transmitters typically use a clock frequency of 7.6MHz for the
frequency synthesizer. Because this clock will also have harmonics at
(15.2MHz, 22.8MHz, ...). If special precautions are not taken to keep
this components from coupling into the VCO as a unwanted modulation
spur, some image of your transmit signal will appear at these offsets
on either side of your transmit frequency.
First case: You transmit on 100.4MHz with a high level spur 7.6MHz
away. You will then have a signal interfering on 108MHz in the
aircraft band. If this spur is of significant amplitude and your near
an airport it will be investigated.
Second case: You transmit on 106.3MHz. The 2nd harmonic of this clock
appears at 106.3MHz + 15.2MHz. This will cause a signal at 121.5MHz.
This is the international aircraft band emergency frequency! You can
think what the consequences of this would be! These transmitters with
powers as high as 15W are like an accident waiting to happen.
EDM Team
Last edited on Tue Feb 19th, 2008 10:54 pm by taybrynn |
John Warren
Member
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Thanks for the mod info. I purchased 2 Tune cast II with damaged cases for $2.00 each and they still work.
Their loss my gain.
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taybrynn
Member
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Sounds like a heck of a deal. 
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iresq
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While I certainly appreciate your excitement over EDM, you are quoting people that represent the company. Not exactly an unbiased opinion. The first quote talks about looking at a spec sheet. What spec sheet? The Chinese units do not ship with one. They do not quote actual independant test results let alone their own test results. The second quote is equally as muddy. In the second quote, there is speculation that if given the right circumstances something bad could happen. Again, no evidence, just theory. I would be curious if that pirate radio station is not in some way affiliated. I am very skeptical like that.
In any event, I look forward to your report on your unit when it arrives.
taybrynn wrote: Here are a couple comments from the yahoo EDM group, when I asked them to comment on the chinese recievers mentioned earlier in this thread. Several other users also replied, all basically saying these transmitters are junk for one reason or another -- most already mentioned here. They may work perfectly well, as Jeff mentioned, but what they are also doing (with unintended harmonics and spurs) is the biggest problem and risk.
They have high signal to noise ratios. Looking at the spec sheet of one of these Chinese transmitters, quote the signal to noise ratio (SNR) around 40dB. That is awful! Our LED series makes 60dB or better and the LCD series typically makes more than 75dB and some even up to 85dB. This is the type of figures you would find in a professional commercial exciter. If you take one of these low quality transmitters, kill the audio input and transmit a dead carrier while listening on a good quality FM receiver, with the volume turned up, and close your eyes, you will imagine that you are at the beach with all the "Shss" background noise you will hear. This is a result of the poor VCO designs used with high levels of phase noise on the carrier. There are also reported problems with the 2nd harmonic from these transmitters almost equal in level to the first harmonic which is the intended frequency. This second harmonic will fall in the low VHF TV bands (174MHz and up) and cause massive interference. This will lead to complaints and the get you into serious trouble if the authorities investigate this. Spurs may also leak into the aircraft band above 108MHz and you will also have the aviation authorities down your throat.
Another example from the EDM engineering team:
Our engineering department gave this example of how spurs can end up
in the aviation band.
Examples:
These transmitters typically use a clock frequency of 7.6MHz for the
frequency synthesizer. Because this clock will also have harmonics at
(15.2MHz, 22.8MHz, ...). If special precautions are not taken to keep
this components from coupling into the VCO as a unwanted modulation
spur, some image of your transmit signal will appear at these offsets
on either side of your transmit frequency.
First case: You transmit on 100.4MHz with a high level spur 7.6MHz
away. You will then have a signal interfering on 108MHz in the
aircraft band. If this spur is of significant amplitude and your near
an airport it will be investigated.
Second case: You transmit on 106.3MHz. The 2nd harmonic of this clock
appears at 106.3MHz + 15.2MHz. This will cause a signal at 121.5MHz.
This is the international aircraft band emergency frequency! You can
think what the consequences of this would be! These transmitters with
powers as high as 15W are like an accident waiting to happen.
EDM Team
Last edited on Wed Feb 20th, 2008 09:25 pm by iresq |
taybrynn
Member
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Your right, I probably shouldn't be so trusting after asking a company about their own products -- duh!
But, getting a bunch of emails and eventually a call from a record producer who has also been doing radio for over 30 years ... that was a real confidence builder (in EDM). These guys raved and had no reason to do so financially speaking.
This guy, and Steve over at Radiobrandy don't seem to benefit in any way ... but they were extremely positive about these units ... so I just had to give them a try.
I'll hold off my blabber mouthing as much as possible, till I gets some 'hands on' experience with these units.
Scott
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John Warren
Member
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OK
So EDM seems the way to go. Now where is their web site? I tried EDM, EDM transmitters and a few other combinations through google and got everthing but what I was looking for.
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Dennis Cherry
Member
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I found this website.
http://www.edmdesign.com/
Dennis
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taybrynn
Member
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EDM seems the way to go.
It would be premature to say that ... but its looking very "encouraging" from my research thus far.
Here are the links for EDM --
http://www.edmdesign.com/ -- note: the links below are embedded in the LCD graphic at the top of the screen, kind of confusing till you get used to it.
Links broken out below (eff. 2/20/08) ---
http://mysite.verizon.net/respddox/orders.html
http://mysite.verizon.net/respddox/specs.html
http://mysite.verizon.net/respddox/operation.html
http://mysite.verizon.net/respddox/features.html
A review at Radiobrandy --
http://www.radiobrandy.com/Transmitters.html
The EDM yahoo group -- open to join buy must be moderator approved first.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/edmdesign/
I am asking them about RDS support ... it doesn't have it yet, but might be able to in the future??
Last edited on Wed Feb 20th, 2008 10:53 pm by taybrynn |
Jeff Millard
LOR II Beta Testers
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I have only one last thing to say. I hate my Ramsey. It was nothing but a waste of money. I get catalogs from them regularly, and throw them in the trash. I won't buy another thing from them in his life or any other.
I absolutely love (regardless of the opinions of others) my experience with the 1 watt transmitter and the .2 watt transmitter I bought for H/K. Both work very well. I tuned my aircraft reciever to the mentioned frequencies, while retransmitting my Sirius radio on the mentioned frequencies and there was zero indication that there was a signal be transmitted on these frequencies. When I searched the entire aircraft band, there were no signals being created by my H/K. So, while I have heard of this happening with some radio transmitters, it's not happening with these two transmitters.
Jeff
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taybrynn
Member
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Jeff, thanks for posting your experiences and opinions.
Untill recently, I had only heard good things about the Ramsey transmitters. In the last couple weeks, my impression has changed for the worse ... as your not the only one who has had problems with them.
And you also definately not alone in being perfectly happy with the ebay transmitter that is very affordable.
Maybe its is just like how people used to tell me that my gigantic montgomery ward speakers were crap ... but to me, they sounded awesome ... and thats what mattered.
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Jeff Millard
LOR II Beta Testers
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ding dang duplicate posts... Last edited on Fri Feb 22nd, 2008 01:14 pm by Jeff Millard |
Jeff Millard
LOR II Beta Testers
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taybrynn wrote: Maybe its is just like how people used to tell me that my gigantic montgomery ward speakers were crap ... but to me, they sounded awesome ... and thats what mattered.
Funny you say that. I had a set of Klipsh horns when I was overseas. They made the best sound I ever heard, and all I got from others was "why'd you buy that junk" I have semi bad hearing and they fit me just right. I wish I still had those things. But i I did I'd really be deaf by now.
Jeff
PS I don't know where I read about electronic devices causing a carrier on the emergency air frequencies... but you are very right when you sat they investigate it. The story I was reading had to do with an illegal unit used to crack Sat TV encoding up in the G/W north. The person got busted since the thing was continuously triggering some alert system at a nearby airport. I wish I could find the article again...
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iresq
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Jeff Millard wrote: Funny you say that. I had a set of Klipsh horns when I was overseas.
OFF TOPIC ALERT:
Klipsch has always and continues to make excellent speakers - including the Klipsh horns!
Montgomery Wards on the other hand   
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Jeffrey
Member
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iresq wrote: Jeff Millard wrote: Funny you say that. I had a set of Klipsh horns when I was overseas.
OFF TOPIC ALERT:
Klipsch has always and continues to make excellent speakers - including the Klipsh horns!
Montgomery Wards on the other hand
I love my Klipsch ProMedia 4.1 computer speakers.
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taybrynn
Member
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FYI
There is a group buy going on now for the EDM transmitters, being offered for Planet Christmas members only via. a special ordering page.
Read more about it here:
http://planetchristmas.mywowbb.com/forum57/22413.html
Scott
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SteppedUp
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(edit - they already sent it!!! Wow, now that's customer service!)
Does anyone have the assembly instructions for the EDM LCD unit?
Just got it, but it didn't come with any instructions, and I'm not finding on the web.
I've emailed them, but thought someone might have it here faster.
Cheers!
Last edited on Sun Jun 8th, 2008 11:23 pm by SteppedUp |
cmoore60
Member
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You should have gotten a link for the instructions when you received your confirmation. I have them if you will send your email in a pm.
Chuck
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SteppedUp
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Ok, just got it assembled after getting emailed again the instructions. Think my junkmail filter stopped it the first time.
Anyway, very quick response from EDM - cheers!
Onto the unit....
This is the LCD unit (no direct link, sorry) - attached are the assembly and operating instructions just in case someone else's email gets blocked off.
When you get this unit up and running, make sure to go http://www.radio-locator.com/ to find unused frequencies.
When tweaking the settings, make sure you place the transmitter a fair distance away from your PC.
Besides that, follow the operating instructions - very well written.
The station sounds GREAT!!!!! Awesome in stereo and awesome range. Best unit by far!!!
One very small detail - I'd prefer to have an on-off switch for it (you have to plug/ unplug it) - but don't let that stop you from picking up this unit.
I've tried the following:
Had the PCI Max 2007 card. Hate to say it, but I think it's one of those great concepts that doesn't work well in practice. The drivers were horribly built - I've built probably built from scratch 20 or 30 PC's with installations from Windows 95 to XP (current OS) to Ubuntu Linux - and I could never get it working.
However, they really will work with you to try and get it to work. Great experience with support doesn't put candy in the stocking though, if you know what I mean!
I've also bought the Mobile Black Box 's V6000 - great unit but sent back because it was only in mono and I didn't realize what a difference it made.
Pretty cool solution though if you were to do a Christmas car or bicycle and drive around town broadcasting your X-Mas Cheer while dressed in a Santa Claus suit.
I thought EDM's LCD was hype..but I'm a believer now!
Attachment: EDM-TX-LCD.pdf (Downloaded 49 times) Last edited on Mon Jun 9th, 2008 02:34 am by SteppedUp |
Brian B.
Member
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What about the Whole House Transmitter? Has anyone had any experience with this product?
I really want to add a transmitter this year but I have no interest\time to assemble one from a kit... and I do not want to spend a lot of money. (I want my cake and to eat it too!)
I read this entire post from the beginning and the opinions either way are insightful but still seems to involve some experience\knowledge of the hobby.
What do y'all recommend for someone who wants plug and play for under $100.00 or am I just dreaming?
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Mark h2o
LOR II Beta Testers
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Hi Brian!
Welcome! I am new here also and will be making this my first year animating lights with LOR. All the info I ever needed I've gotten here without even asking any questions, (love that search button) and everyone here is very helpful no matter what the question is when you do ask.
Last year I had a GE Lights & Sounds of Christmas to control my lights. I ended up buying a Whole house transmitter Gold Edition and hooked it up to the unit so people could hear it from the car. Believe it or not it actually worked fairly well and I am planning on using it again until I budget for an upgrade (lights & extension cords are priority now).
The down side is the limited amount of channels. I live where that's not much of a problem so I took that into account when I ordered it. Other people have had issues with that limitation. As far as range I spliced some wire to the existing antenna from the unit then ran it through a basement window and up the front of the house. Line of sight range was about +500' from the house aprox. More than enough for the cars driving through. Also for the way it was set up I thought the sound was quite good. It didn't sound like I was listening through a tin can and string.
The down side was the interference that would come and go from having it hooked to the speaker output of the GE unit. Lots of 115V wires running in the same area as the transmitter wire. You could kinda hear a fuzzy pulsing sound in the background as the lights would turn on and off. Unlike the feedback that I have gotten from other people I didn't get interference from having it plugged into a wall outlet. Most of the time it was crisp and clear. Also, 100' of wire running through the yard and over cords into the basement and back out again didn't help the fore mentioned problem. A few people came to the door to ask about the display and they said it sounded just fine.
For the money I give it a thumbs up but every situation is different. It's not the one I want to end up with down the road but for now it works just fine.
Hope this helps,
Mark
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SteppedUp
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Life is made of trade-offs. If you really don't want to solder (sp?) anything, you have to buy out of the box.
For your price, I think you would be happy with Mobile Black Box 's V6000.
If you were an audiophile like me, you would not be happy with the mono sound (easy to find out if you do or not - just flip any radio from FM to FM Stereo. If the sound is ok, then you'll be ok with the Mobile's sound) - but then you would be willing to shell out a lot more.
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Brian B.
Member
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Thank you for the insightful respone.
I have some decisions to make....
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SteppedUp
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| Joined: | Tue May 6th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 4 |
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To help your decision, I had never soldered before. Didn't get it right the first time, but then used some soldering braid to wick some of the first try off....
But the soldering braid really didn't work too well. Instead, I just continued to melt my massive, globulous solder down....and eventually it filled the entire hole (s).
Once the power plug's 3 sections were filled in completely, it worked like a champ.
Just make sure you get a low wattage soldering iron per their instructions, and you'll be good to go.
EDM really replied very, very quickly, so that's a great sign if you did have any follow-up questions....
As long as your using the recommended soldering iron ( I bought a switchable 15/ 30 watt version from Radio shack), you can solder it up - and then remove the solder, until you get it right.
Just remember to have the antenna attached when you turn it on....not quite sure why, but easy enough to do...
Anyway, either solution is a great one!
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Steven
Member
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SteppedUp wrote: Just remember to have the antenna attached when you turn it on....not quite sure why, but easy enough to do...
Radio Frequency (RF) energy behaves differently than the low-frequency in our electrical sockets.
When the transmitter is generating RF power, it has to go somewhere, preferrably through an antenna into the airwaves.
If the antenna isn't connected, the power ends up back in the output transistor, and will damage it.
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Kenneth D
Member
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I am looking to get a transmitter. Not for this season, but I want to be able to use it in the off season as well. From what I have found most (if not all) are happy with the EDM. I would like a little more info on some of the H/K stuff from ebay. Which unit from HLLY are people using? Most seem to be a wee bit over the legal limit. I also saw a reference, but can't find the post again (I think from one of the Jeffs) about an ebay transmitter that needed a case. I found one from MDfly that might be the unit in question and wondered how it was holding up and what power supply and antenna were used.
Thanx
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taybrynn
Member
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I can only tell you I've sold the EDM LCD to over 160 members who have owned Belkin, Ramsey FM25B, FM30B, FM100B, Vaseltec, HLLY, CCRANE, mobileblackbox, whole house, panaxis and others ... and they are now using the EDM in their display and to listen around the house ... and rave over the difference (improvement) in sound quality.
Probably the best testimonial I have is from a guy with 4 transmitters, one being the 100B and a Vaseltec ... and he's using the EDM now. That said it all to me.
If thats not enough, EDM has a 3 year warranty. Everyone else is 1 year. And the stuff from China is lucky if its not DOA half the time.
Why the EDM such a great deal? Better design. And being made in S. Africa ... your getting so much value ... due to the currency conversion (USD vs. SA RAND) being so lob-sided.
Plus they have documented how to add RDS without any noticable loss in quality. It does invalidate the 3 year warranty, however.
The pirate radio folks should know ... you don't need to waste money buying them all yourself ... get the EDM and don't look back.
Last edited on Wed Dec 10th, 2008 06:03 am by taybrynn |
Jeff Millard
LOR II Beta Testers
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...what Scott said!
I can't yet speak for the EDM, but I will in the spring. Right now my failed Ramsey is my backup. I can't rely on that. The number of DOA boards from Vastelec has me wary of purchasing any more from them, even though mine was perfectly fine.
It seems to me that EDM is a step forward, and most of the rest are two or three in reverse. Get an EDM, do the RDS mod, transmit from your show PC without fear of a failed set with no range. I still wish I could turn back time on my purchases...
Jeff
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Donald Puryear
Member
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You can"t beat EDM. I ordered one from TAYBRYNN. I put it together and it failed to operate. Between TAYBRYNN and EDM I had 20 emails in less then 3 days. I could not fix it, I shipped to EDM rep. in California they fixed it and returned it to me in less then 2 weeks. Found the crystal was damaged. cost to me $0. Customer service was great, just like Light-O-Rama.
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taybrynn
Member
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Thanks for the kind words Jeff. We need to get you an EDM in 2009 hopefully.
Thanks for the updates Donald ... you were very patient considering your bad luck.
I knew EDM would take care of you because I've seen nothing else in my 11 months of dealing with EDM as a company.
They are a first class company ... in a country most people regard as untrustworthy.
Also, they just increased their warranty from 2 years to 3 years (even retroactive).
I agree that LOR and EDM have a lot in common ... their values and treatment of the customer are the same and huge reasons to go with either, IMHO.
Last edited on Thu Dec 11th, 2008 06:00 pm by taybrynn |
friskybri
Member
| Joined: | Thu Nov 6th, 2008 |
| Location: | Peoria, Illinois USA |
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ok so which EDM would I purchase just for the display. There are many options on that page. The EDM-TX-10P or the EDM-TX-100EP.
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