C. Crane FMT Digital FM Transmitter with AC Adapter
by C. Crane
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: C. CraneModel: FMT
Product features:
- Wireless transfer of any audio to any FM receiver
- Highest Quality, full stereo on any FM Frequency of your choice
- Listen to streaming audio from your computer on your kitchen radio
- Send your MP3 audio to your home stereo system
- Runs on AC power adapter or 2 AA batteries (not included)
- Energizer L91BP-8 Lithium AA Photo Battery (8-Pack)
- Sanyo Eneloop AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargable Batteries with Charger - 4 Pack
- Sanyo Eneloop AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries - 8 Pack
- Rayovac NM715-8 Rechargeable NiMH AA Batteries, 8-Count Package
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of C. Crane FMT Digital FM Transmitter with AC Adapter
Customer Review: Great.... after mod
Summary: 4 Stars
This review is somewhat of a corroborative of previous reviews and a background of how I aquired the c.crane fm transmitter and how I got it to work for my situation by doing the mod as described elsewhere. Many of the reviews regarding the mod are quite old and I was concerned that possibly c.crane had made changes to their fm transmitter to keep people like me from doing the mod. First a little background. I got a used sirius sportster4 from my son as a gift. I had been considering getting satelite radio to listen to at work. I work in a very noisy confined area and cannot hear the company music service. I have a little Sandisk Sansa mp3 player plus fm that I listen to mostly downloaded music and some npr radio with. I thought it would be nice to have more variety so I was excited to try the satelite radio. After getting raped ($12.95 monthly fee, $15.00 activation fee, $2.00 a month royalty fee, and taxes) on a 6 month subscription I was almost ready to go. I bought a home dock kit from Amazon, took it to work set up the antenna plugged everything in and viola!!.......nothing. Signal strengh was only 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. I plugged my Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones directly into the sirius radio home dock and got a good signal but I could not get any signal to my sansa wirelessly from the home dock unless I actually put my hand on the home dock. Obviously that wasn't going to work. I need abut 10' to 30'of transmission signal for my application. I went home that night and started doing some research. I found out that the fm signal transmisson on satelite radios and devices with fm tranmission capability had been substantially reduced a few years ago by the FCC so that now fm signal transmission was little to none. That explained why the Sirius unit wouldn't work in my truck without an fm modulator directly wired to the radio. That night as I surfed the web I eventually stumbled upon various devices called fm transmitters. Some were inexpensive as is the c.crane unit and some were over $100.00 and up. Most provided minimal results. I was intrigued when I read about the hardware mod to the c.crane unit and it didn't look too difficult so I thought I would give it a try. I recieved the unit in only a few days with Amazon's standard shipping. I unpacked the unit installed a couple of AA batteries and went out to my truck and tried it out. It actually worked. The signal strength however, quickly faded as soon as I got out of the truck. I took the satelite radio and the c.crane transmitter into the house to give it a try there. I set up the home dock, the antenna, etc and I got maybe, 8ft and the signal faded. I thought "how pathetic". This thing is practically worthless (due to the fcc regulations of course.)I was disappointed however that c.crane boasts 30' to 70' out of the box. I'd like to know how they did that. I haven't read about anybody getting that kind of result right out of the box. Ok,long story, sorry. I removed the label on the bottom of the c.crane but scratched it in the process so I thought "well, there's no sending it back now. I looked down in the little hole as shown in the various illustrations and could not tell if it was a phillips or a flathead slot to insert the mini screwdriver. Looking at the customer photo on Amazon I could see it was a phillips head. However I couldn't see that peering down through the little hole, besides that I was concerned that I wouldn't feel the adjustment stop through the little hole so I opted to disassemble the unit. I was aware of people breaking the little thumbwheel volume adjustment. Looking at the back of the c.crane unit if you weren't familiar with how it comes off I can see where you could easily break it off. After removing the 3 screws (1 in the battery compartment and 1ea. under each of the little round rubber feet. (easily pryed off.) I learned from reading various posters around the web that first you "gingerly" start separating the c.crane from the opposite side of the thumbwheel. once you do that you very carefully push the bottom of the c.crane unit in such a way that you push the little slot that the thumbwheel is inserted into past the thumbwheel. Once you do that the unit will come apart and the adjustment of the variable resistor marked VR2 on the circuit board is a very delicate and very easy 1/4 turn CLOCKWISE untill you just feel (and see) it stop. Don't force it as some have done. This whole process sounds more complicated than it is. I plugged everything back together and was anxious to see if my results resembled what others have attained. I turned on my Sandisk Sansa and got a very clean signal. I live in an 80 year old colonial, 3 floors and a basement. I walked about 8ft to the area I had lost the signal the first time and it was still working great. add another 15' to the end of the living room, still getting a great signal. Went upstairs to the bedroom, still working great. I went all the way up into the attic before the signal started fading a little. All this with the antenna on the c.crane retracted! I extended the c.crane antenna and I went out to the truck (about 50')in the back yard turned on the trucks fm radio and tuned to the selected channel and got a perfect signal! Ok, let's walk down the street. I turned on my little sansa and started walking. I probably walked a 100' to 125' or so before the signal started fading. I thought that was pretty impressive considering the pathetic signal distance straight out of the box. All in all this is an easy tweak as others have said, considering you're somewhat adept at working with small parts. If you're a bull in a china shop I would seriously consider getting someone to do the mod for you. It's unfortunate that you have to modify the factory setting to get accecptable results beyond a few feet due to FCC regulations. However I figure c.crane designed their transmitter with the mod in mind. I'ts not their fault if someone "hacks" their transmitter to increase the power of the transmission signal. I hope this review gives you some real life insight into what's involved to get improved reaults with the c.crane fm radio transmitter. One more thing in closing. On the Sirius satelite radio be sure to turn "off" the fm signal transmission of the satelite radio located in the menu.
Description of C. Crane FMT Digital FM Transmitter with AC Adapter
The FM Transmitter is a way to listen to streaming or MP3 audio. Just plug it into the headphone jack of your computer's speakers or sound card and listen on any FM radio anywhere in the house. It does this by taking the audio and turning it into an FM radio broadcast. Use it to send a satellite radio signal, MP3 audio, and more, to nearby radios around your home or workplace, even in your car.Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
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