Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega Electrical and Audio Help => Topic started by: feeutfo on 11 December 2009, 03:07:03

Title: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: feeutfo on 11 December 2009, 03:07:03
original plan was to buy an emulator to transmit mp3 player or nokia or whatever, with 3.5 jack to my 2015 fm radio.

However, i've been looking at a mobile phone upgrade, and the nokia n900 has an fm transmitter built in for exactly that application.

Whats the odds on it being any good v an emulator?
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: rustym95 on 11 December 2009, 07:47:44
there are a lot of FM transmitters about, I have one that you just put in the cig lighter only cost £3, digitial, sounds as near to cd quality, but my old one was hissy and can hear other cars when at traffic light tuning in as its a strong signal think it has a rang of 10 meters, so if you dont mind people listening in would go for the FM transmitter.
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: tunnie on 11 December 2009, 08:51:15
Quote
there are a lot of FM transmitters about, I have one that you just put in the cig lighter only cost £3, digitial, sounds as near to cd quality, but my old one was hissy and can hear other cars when at traffic light tuning in as its a strong signal think it has a rang of 10 meters, so if you dont mind people listening in would go for the FM transmitter.

Not much point when the radio is not digtial  ;D

I used them in my last car, wireless ones a shite, not helped due to the Omega ariel is the back window so if the transmitter is up front is going to have issues.

One in a phone is going to be just as bad, its going to stuggle to get the signal to the back of the car in decent quality

I went the wired route, which is MUCH better. Belive the ariel in the Omega is in the drivers kick pannel, just slice into it there, mine was quite old and had a manual switch. Sounded as good as the radio.
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: rustym95 on 11 December 2009, 20:28:11
Quote
Quote
there are a lot of FM transmitters about, I have one that you just put in the cig lighter only cost £3, digitial, sounds as near to cd quality, but my old one was hissy and can hear other cars when at traffic light tuning in as its a strong signal think it has a rang of 10 meters, so if you dont mind people listening in would go for the FM transmitter.

Not much point when the radio is not digtial  ;D

I used them in my last car, wireless ones a shite, not helped due to the Omega ariel is the back window so if the transmitter is up front is going to have issues.

One in a phone is going to be just as bad, its going to stuggle to get the signal to the back of the car in decent quality

I went the wired route, which is MUCH better. Belive the ariel in the Omega is in the drivers kick pannel, just slice into it there, mine was quite old and had a manual switch. Sounded as good as the radio.
no thats the make.
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: TheBoy on 12 December 2009, 16:20:55
This doesn't happen often, but I'm gonna have to agree with Tunnie.  Wired FM, easily accessed in drivers kick panel
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: feeutfo on 31 December 2009, 18:50:45
Well...initially, very dissapointing. Tried to connect it to an FM radio in the house. Useless. Even with the wire antena wrapped around the phone it was barely audible.

However in the car it was far better, almost useable...almost. Some hiss, and not in stereo, a bit more volume needed, and have to turn off RDS and traffic reports or it will try to retune continually. :-/
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: tunnie on 31 December 2009, 21:54:06
let me know how you get on with the wired option, i may going this route soon if i get an OEM head unit...
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: TheBoy on 01 January 2010, 10:14:12
Quote
let me know how you get on with the wired option, i may going this route soon if i get an OEM head unit...
He is trying to use the built in FM transmitter in his gay Nokia. Seems Nokia can't even get that to work well...
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: tunnie on 01 January 2010, 10:35:08
Quote
Quote
let me know how you get on with the wired option, i may going this route soon if i get an OEM head unit...
He is trying to use the built in FM transmitter in his gay Nokia. Seems Nokia can't even get that to work well...

Having Bose, i'd say its a must have to get decent audio in. Old wired one i had worked very well. Although had to use a manual switch each time i wanted to use it.
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: feeutfo on 03 January 2010, 01:17:53
Quote
Quote
Quote
let me know how you get on with the wired option, i may going this route soon if i get an OEM head unit...
He is trying to use the built in FM transmitter in his gay Nokia. Seems Nokia can't even get that to work well...

Having Bose, i'd say its a must have to get decent audio in. Old wired one i had worked very well. Although had to use a manual switch each time i wanted to use it.
indeed bose does magnify any inferior sound source when comparing the two. Was out and about today and the built in fm transmitter on n900 is better than the portable one i had previously, but still not up to scratch. It fades out into a hiss when moving.

As Mark dtm suggested on another thread on this topic, fm transmitters are hamstrung from the outset in this country by licensing laws, in as much that the max power outlet allowed by law is too low to be of any use for the application it was designed for.

In other words, all fm transmitters legally licenced for sale in the uk are shite. Be it made by Nokia or anyone else.

Wonder if another firmware version would give a higher output? US or AUS maybe?
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: tunnie on 03 January 2010, 09:09:09
Quote
Quote
Quote
Quote
let me know how you get on with the wired option, i may going this route soon if i get an OEM head unit...
He is trying to use the built in FM transmitter in his gay Nokia. Seems Nokia can't even get that to work well...

Having Bose, i'd say its a must have to get decent audio in. Old wired one i had worked very well. Although had to use a manual switch each time i wanted to use it.
indeed bose does magnify any inferior sound source when comparing the two. Was out and about today and the built in fm transmitter on n900 is better than the portable one i had previously, but still not up to scratch. It fades out into a hiss when moving.

As Mark dtm suggested on another thread on this topic, fm transmitters are hamstrung from the outset in this country by licensing laws, in as much that the max power outlet allowed by law is too low to be of any use for the application it was designed for.

In other words, all fm transmitters legally licenced for sale in the uk are shite. Be it made by Nokia or anyone else.

Wonder if another firmware version would give a higher output? US or AUS maybe?

Not sure what affect non-UK firmware would have on base operations, would it start trying to seach for the wrong frequency?  :-/

I think wired option is the best route, use one of those Nokia - 3.5mm adaptors and route a cable to the arm rest maybe? or some other kind of mount?

Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: Dave DND on 03 January 2010, 09:58:53
The pro option for the Ice-retailers is to spend more than 50p on a decent FM modulator

try this

http://www.dndservices.co.uk/am-88t.html

Quite a few Oofers are using these now and all of them appear to be getting on very well with them
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: tunnie on 03 January 2010, 10:13:22
Quote
The pro option for the Ice-retailers is to spend more than 50p on a decent FM modulator

try this

http://www.dndservices.co.uk/am-88t.html

Quite a few Oofers are using these now and all of them appear to be getting on very well with them

Looks very similar to the one i have spare, but mine, once switched, would totaly cut out all other signals, looks like that one constant broadcasts on a specifc freqency as well as allowing others though?

Looks good, might get one of those if i get the OEM unit back
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: feeutfo on 03 January 2010, 10:27:00
Quote
The pro option for the Ice-retailers is to spend more than 50p on a decent FM modulator

try this

http://www.dndservices.co.uk/am-88t.html

Quite a few Oofers are using these now and all of them appear to be getting on very well with them

yeah should have got one of those for xmas from the Mrs, i thought i would see how this pans out as i have it anyway.
Would i be right in saying that i wont get stereo no matter what, with a transmitrer. Or is it a case of stereo ariving over a certain strength. It seems possible to hack the application and double the output value, from what i've seen via google...?
.
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: TheBoy on 03 January 2010, 10:49:29
Quote
The pro option for the Ice-retailers is to spend more than 50p on a decent FM modulator

try this

http://www.dndservices.co.uk/am-88t.html

Quite a few Oofers are using these now and all of them appear to be getting on very well with them
Would a wired option be better?
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: feeutfo on 03 January 2010, 11:02:04
Quote
Quote
The pro option for the Ice-retailers is to spend more than 50p on a decent FM modulator

try this

http://www.dndservices.co.uk/am-88t.html

Quite a few Oofers are using these now and all of them appear to be getting on very well with them
Would a wired option be better?
suspect it probably will be, would be nice to avoid a cable hanging out the dash by the top of climate panel area and having to plug it in each time
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: Dave DND on 03 January 2010, 11:07:00
Quote
Looks very similar to the one i have spare, but mine, once switched, would totaly cut out all other signals, looks like that one constant broadcasts on a specifc freqency as well as allowing others though?

Once switched on, yes, it will constantly broadcast on a selectable channel, and the channels are selected to prevent any harmonics or bleedover from other sources or radio stations and that way you can find a frequency to broadcast on that will also allow a seperate radio to be used in the car - ideal for multimedia applications where different people in the car are listening to different sources.

Quote
Would i be right in saying that i wont get stereo no matter what, with a transmitrer. Or is it a case of stereo ariving over a certain strength. It seems possible to hack the application and double the output value, from what i've seen via google...?

Don`t quite understand? This is a Stereo FM modulator - plug in a stereo source, and stereo will be broadcast to your stereo FM radio.

Quote
Would a wired option be better?

Not on a vehicle that uses a booster on the antenna. The signal from the radio is often so poor that any extra connections or hardware in line can seriously compromise any radio reception. Yes, the modulator will work fine, but at the expense of the radio reception. If you have an external aerial, then its a 50/50 choice about wired / or Unwired. It really comes down to the quality of the hardware - 50p plug in fag lighter modulaters from China simply do not work.
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: TheBoy on 03 January 2010, 11:11:53
Cheers Dave DND - the cd changer in her Rover is being troublesome. Looking fo other options. Don't want to replace the (shite - r770) hu
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: Dave DND on 03 January 2010, 11:21:34
Quote
Cheers Dave DND - the cd changer in her Rover is being troublesome. Looking fo other options. Don't want to replace the (shite - r770) hu

Any reasons for keeping the R770? Which changer are you struggling with? DC026?

If you change to the Blaupunkt CC32 or CD32 as in the later model Rover 25 / 45 you can also connect an AUX in (or an iPod or USB with full control from the head unit via an interface)
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: feeutfo on 03 January 2010, 11:30:23
Quote
Would i be right in saying that i wont get stereo no matter what,with a transmiter . Or is it a case of stereo ariving over a certain strength. It seems possible to hack the application and double the output value, from what i've seen via google...?

Don`t quite understand? This is a Stereo FM modulator - plug in a stereo source, and stereo will be broadcast to your stereo FM radio.
Title: Re: fm transmitter/emulator
Post by: TheBoy on 03 January 2010, 12:16:51
Quote
Quote
Cheers Dave DND - the cd changer in her Rover is being troublesome. Looking fo other options. Don't want to replace the (shite - r770) hu

Any reasons for keeping the R770? Which changer are you struggling with? DC026?

If you change to the Blaupunkt CC32 or CD32 as in the later model Rover 25 / 45 you can also connect an AUX in (or an iPod or USB with full control from the head unit via an interface)
Had a feeling it was a DC036, but its been a while, and far too cold outside to check ;D

As for the r770 - she knows how to use it!! ;D. And I have no end of rubbish plugged in the back of it - phones, TMs etc ;D

Might look at the later ones, though can't see any on eGay.


Still have my 17yr old Kenwood with its 10 disc changer which I guess I could fit, but running out of room behind dash to fit more stuff (needs external amp)