balmo
08-25-2006, 05:02 PM
i have a question about the fm modulator shown here:
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/2005/142/h142FMMOD01-f.jpeg
since it is in-line, does it sound better than an fm transmitter? also, most importantly, do i have to have a working antenna? i dont have an antenna on my old car and have no plans on hooking up one. but since the fm modulator is in-line, does it mean every radio station will not work except for the frequency where the modulator is set at?
Pete_L_P
08-25-2006, 05:46 PM
An In-Line FM Modulator will usually do a much, much better job of avoiding noise from competing stations for a few reasons.
1- The direct connection to the radio's antenna port will work better simply by virtue of being wired rather than wireless.
2- The direct connect, additionally, permits much, much higher FM modulator signal strength, since the FCC's strict limitations for WIRELESS FM transmitters are completely removed from the table. These signals can be as strong as they need to be without violating any FCC rules. Not so with Transmitters.
3- Some modulators may additionally filter out competing signals coming from the car's radio antenna (in the modulator's station range), which it can do since it's designed for that external antenna cable to pass through the the modulator box. An FM transmitter, on the other hand, REQUIRES, that the car antenna pass through anything it it picks up in that range (including FM transmitter signal AND normal radio broadcasts), since the CAR'S radio/antenna system has no way to distinguish the between the two.
If you have no car antenna hooked up (glass embedded or otherwise) you'll probably get very little usable radio other than what's coming from the modulator. On the other hand if can you can hook up an antenna, connecting it directly to the modulator box rather than to the radio, you'll probably get good radio and good modulation.
Pete