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Vintage Radio (domestic) Domestic vintage radio (wireless) receivers only. |
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2nd Sep 2019, 9:24 pm | #1 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
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Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
Bought one of these from Amazon. Runs on battery or mains and is tiny. With a bit of clever positioning I can tune in to it pretty much anywhere in the house on any radio including my lovely Hacker. Podcasts, spotify etc all on my old radios.
I guess people may think it's daft and I should just get a bluetooth speaker but I want to collect and use these old radios, I love them. And converting one to a bluetooth speaker is not something I can stomach. Plus the radios have fantastic battery life, you're not going to get a year's life from a bluetooth speaker without charge Just wondering if anybody else does similar? |
2nd Sep 2019, 9:40 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,864
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
Link pleas
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2nd Sep 2019, 9:47 pm | #3 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I only didn't include it as I didn't want to be responsible if people buy it and are not happy with it. It works well for me though and there's a few other decent reviews on there too. |
2nd Sep 2019, 9:56 pm | #4 |
Rest in Peace
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Basildon, Essex, UK.
Posts: 4,100
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
I use an FM transmitter to receive music from my PC when working up the shed or having a BBQ up the garden. It is not bluetooth, just plugs into the headphone socket of my PC. Its not new, probably about 10 or more years old now.
The internal 3 volt battery failed so I removed it, the transmitter is now working on the full 5 volts USB supply instead of being limited to 3 volts and the range has improved somewhat. https://www.gadgetspeak.com/gadget/a...er_for_MP.html |
3rd Sep 2019, 1:31 am | #5 |
Octode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Bristol, UK.
Posts: 1,658
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
I also use a cheap Chinese "kit" FM transmitter - works well on batteries, but when fed from a well regulated linear PS I get a hum on the audio that's pretty audible, but not unbearably intrusive. I've tried everything to remedy this - except running from a computer's USB socket. I've come to conclusion that it's probably just mains-borne modulation.
Mike |
3rd Sep 2019, 10:00 am | #6 |
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
A large part of the forum membership will use an FM microtransmitter of some description. Not all are strictly legal, but there shouldn't be any problems if you take care not to cause a nuisance.
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3rd Sep 2019, 11:29 am | #7 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: East Sussex, UK.
Posts: 3,326
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
There used to be loads of Radio Microphones that worked in the FM band on a standard tuner - usually at the 108Mcs end.
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3rd Sep 2019, 11:29 am | #8 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Southport Lancashire, UK.
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
Interesting. I always assumed that they were all very short range such as the ones intended for in car use. I already use an AM transmitter within the house but an FM one do do the same thing would be useful for FM sets.
Edit - The Cygnett one doesn't seem to be available any more. Can anyone recommend one with a headphone socket type input and a similar range to an Sstran am unit?
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Paul Last edited by PaulR; 3rd Sep 2019 at 11:36 am. |
3rd Sep 2019, 11:51 am | #9 |
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
Many people bought the Linex transmitter a few years ago. That has ideal range to cover a typical house without broadcasting to the whole street. Unfortunately they don't seem to be available now, though you may find one secondhand.
The transmitters sold for use in cars can be cracked open and a length of wire soldered to the PCB 'aerial'. This dramatically increases the range. Any FM microtransmitter capable of covering a house is likely to be technically illegal, so the usual warnings about antisocial use apply. |
3rd Sep 2019, 1:26 pm | #10 | |
Heptode
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Durham, County Durham, UK.
Posts: 826
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
Quote:
Thanks for sharing. The Linex (and another FX-120) I have are 3.5mm connectors which was OK until I got my new iPhone so I think I'll get one of these bluetooth ones too. I also have a bluetooth receiver that I can connect into the GRAM sockets ... the future is wireless John |
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3rd Sep 2019, 8:14 pm | #11 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
The bluetooth one linked above meets my needs.
My phone can connect to it in any room in the house and my Hacker can pick it up in any room too. It is really small too. I had wondered about fitting it inside the Hunter body itself and somehow powering it from the PP9 batteries but I'm not sure what that would do to battery life. It would essentially turn the radio into a beautiful bluetooth speaker whilst not butchering it or losing its radio capabilities. |
3rd Sep 2019, 9:48 pm | #12 |
Pentode
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 163
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
Thanks for sharing this jaglufc, I didn't even know that Bluetooth to FM transmitters existed , this looks very handy and I have ordered one myself.
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3rd Sep 2019, 10:04 pm | #13 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Southport Lancashire, UK.
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Re: Anybody else use a home bluetooth FM transmitter?
There is only one transmitter on ebay now as I have bought the other one! Somewhat unexpected as I didn't know that such things were available until I saw this thread.
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