Drizzly night

[altivo]

Fortunately, it is supposed to stay well above freezing. Otherwise, this would make nasty ice conditions. We are supposed to finally see winter by about Sunday, with a 60% chance of snow.

Nothing to report on the library rebellion front. There was a significant meeting this morning, but I wasn't there and since I don't work on Thursday afternoon I haven't yet heard a report. However, an e-mail from a colleague at the institution where the meeting took place suggests it went well. Plans are going forward for budgeting, network equipment, and such.

Got the FM transmitter to work with my Zen Nano, so I can listen to digital audio in the car again. This transmitter is borrowed from the library, where it is rarely used, but I'll have to return it eventually. I'll be looking for a better quality one to buy. It is indeed hard to find a vacant frequency to use here. I started at 88.1 MHz and had to go all the way to 105.7 before I found a channel quiet enough to work. Between that and listening while cleaning stalls, though, I'm more than halfway through Redwall.

Tomorrow is payday and then (I hope) a fairly quiet weekend. I need some down time.

Comments

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of building one of these:

http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=FM10C

It would be nice to be able to listen to the output of my PC when I'm outside doing chores. :)

Of course, this one would be even better :)

http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=FM30

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heck, you might as well go for this one and have your own mini-station.

I've never built a Ramsey kit, but I keep eyeing them and thinking they look good. A friend needed a project like that for a freshman electronics class and I suggested them. I understand his worked perfectly.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

I know, but then I'd be tempted to add a 50W power stage. I just got my commercial ticket, and I'd like to hold on to it. :D

Seriously, I'll probably go the cheap route. I just need something to cover from the house to Yukon's pen and the front yard (a few hundred feet).

[altivo.livejournal.com]

OK, O high and mighty wise commercial ticket holder... [insert grin here]

Just what ARE the FCC rules about unlicensed transmitters in the FM band? I know you can do it in the AM band subject to restrictions on the power and antenna used. Looking at these Ramsey things, the point at which you break over into needing an actual broadcast license is pretty fuzzy, and while I adore fuzzy, in this context it makes me nervous. All I have is a ham license and a GMRS license, but still, I'd like to keep those too.

[atomicat.livejournal.com]

It's -35 here tonight. Glad there's no wind! I need an icon for COOOOOLD!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Paint one blue? Now just before dawn we have dense fog here.

[farhoug.livejournal.com]

Been thinking of getting one myself for my MP3 player (Zen Nano Plus, incidentally), so I wouldn't need to burn a CD every time I wanted to listen something in the car too... How was the sound quality with that transmitter thingie?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't recommend this particular one. It's made in Korea and marketed in the US at least under the tradename AudiaX. On the advantage side, it can tune the entire commercial FM band in 0.1 MHz increments where most other transmitters I've seen have just a few preset frequencies; and it is very tiny, about 3 cm. across. On the disadvantage side, at least with my car's radio, the sound quality is just "OK" and the thing is very prone to microphonics, meaning if you hit a bump it makes clattering noises.

I like the look of this one that powers itself from the socket in the vehicle. It will take the audio via cable from a regular MP3 player, or it can function as a player itself, using a USB flash drive as the music file source. I dunno if you can get something like that in Europe, but I imagine you probably can. The stable mounting by locking it inot the power socket should reduce the microphonic pinging too.

[farhoug.livejournal.com]

That USB connectivity would come in handy, as those USB sticks get cheaper every day. It was actually just last year when those small range transmitters became legal here, thus there's not that many models around yet. But it's nice to know there's some handy features in those available elsewhere, they'll land here eventually too. =)