Long range FM transmitter for $25

[alins]

This is my first post at ilounge.com.

Last week I purchased the Chinese made Linex FM transmitter off ebay (just search for linex fm; I bought it from peakcloudy and am happy, but there are other sellers too). I figured for $18.95 + $6.00 shipping it was worth a try. I had previously tried the Belkin Tunebase FM, and a car FM transmitter by Cables to Go. Both were quite weak with lots of static in my 2000 Honda Accord (rear window antenna). The Cables to Go one died after just a week. I returned the Tunebase FM to store.

The Linex transmitter has been quite amazing - if it lasts for even a year I would have got my money's worth. This is a small unit, powered by 3 AA batteries (I use rechargeables), with an external wire antenna. Its range is enough to cover a medium sized 2 story house (haven't tested it outside the house). In my car, its range is enough to cover my wife's car driving at a safe distance in front of me on the highway. There is no static. The signal is quite strong. You have a choice of 7 transmit frequencies. Its claimed range is 150 feet but I haven't tested it for that far.

There is a more sophisticated version of this unit, called the V5000 fm transmitter (also on ebay, but make sure you search title AND descriptions since V5000 does not appear in the listing's title). This one is nice in the sense that it can be powered off your USB port, or via batteries, or via your car cigarette lighter adapter. But it's quite a bit more expensive. See the site mobileblackbox.com for details of this unit, and a comparison of the Linex transmitter (aka V2000) with the V5000.

Overall I highly recommend this unit for in-car or in-house broadcast. There are two negatives to the Linex unit. First, it's battery powered but if you use NiMH rechargeables, they should last a good amount of time before you need to recharge them. Second, you have to make sure to remember to turn it off when you are done listening, otherwise it will just continue transmitting and eating batteries. On the positive side, you can use this with any mp3/audio player, not just the ipod (it uses the 3.5mm audio output jack, not the dock connector).

BTW I am not in any way affiliated with any of the sellers or makers of these devices.

[jrCobra]

I odered one off eBay yesterday. I have a couple friends at work that use them. I was very impressed with it. I work at Cessna and we have to use specific radio headsets (Peltor) and nothing else. So many people try to use mp3 players with fm transmitters. My friend told me to tune in on the station he had his set at and told me to walk across the hanger to the far wall. I walked a good 100+ feet until it was overridden by a popular local station at 107.3 MHz. So for just over 100 feet it had actually overridden the local radio station.

The only problem is that there are only 7 preset stations you can set it to broadcast over, and if you have a lot of people trying to use their own, it could be a potential problem. A lot of people at work heard about this particular model and have been ordering them. So if more than 7 people get them there may be problems. I wish there was a digital version of this.