Using a FM Transmitter with a Zune

Like many geeks, I'd like the ability to play music anywhere in my house from the music collection that I have aggregated on a PC sitting in my home office. The only thing special about this PC is that it has the Zune client installed. It's not a Window Media Center PC. Nonetheless, I wanted a solution that allows me to play music hosted on a PC on the second floor of my home throughout the rest of the house. A friend of mine clued me into a device from C. Crane. Their Digital FM Transmitter accepts input through a standard headphone jack and broadcasts over adjustable FM frequencies and retails for $69.95 at the time of this writing when purchased directly from C. Crane.

There are other FM tranmitters available like the Belkin: TuneCast II which retails for $39.99, but the broadcast range is 10-30 feet. Belkin recommends that it is within 10 feet to minimize interference. I'd like a longer range than that for broadcasting throughout my house.

Tuning 
Finding the right frequency can be a challenge. A frequency that is not only unused, but also 1 Mhz or so away from any active channel in either direction is ideal. Conveniently, the Radio Locator site can be used to find both used and unused frequencies by zip code. Once you found a viable frequency you'll need to tune your receiver. After trying to use this with both an analog and a digital receiver I much prefer using a digital reciever. The additional precision becomes a necessity when you have a narrow range of unused frequencies between two active frequencies.

There's an interesting post on Amazon on how to increase the range by decreasing the setting of an internal resistor. In order to access this resistor you need to unscrew the underside of the device. Modification voids the warranty. Use at your own risk:
How to Fix the Range Problem 

PositioningNow that I have a good set of frequencies to try, it's time to find the best location for the transmitter. I attached the device to the head phone jack of my laptop, positioned myself close to the antenna attached to my home theater reciever and validated that I could, indeed, hear the dulcet tones of Ministry. I figured I'd start with something loud. It worked. Radio Free John was on the air.

I then started to wander about until the signal was lost, found, and lost again. Unsurprisingly, it works best when the transmitter antenna and the receiver antenna are within line of sight. Ideally, I wanted it to work on the second floor and so up I went and lo, there was still music. It didn't come in as clearly as on the first floor. I did have to adjust the antenna of the receiver a bit. So, the broadcast works fine for the home theater system. Most of the battle is won. I also have a small boom box that tends to wander between the basement and the kitchen. I was able to pick up the signal in the kitchen, but was out of luck in the basement.

Going Quasi-MobileSo I'm left with coverage over 2/3rds of the house. Not a bad deal for a $70 purchase. There are times I do want to be in the basement. There's a dart board down there and the games are much better with a beer and some music. This solution addresses the latter.

The device comes with a DC adapter and also has the option of using two AA batteries. So, for late night dart games, the Zune takes the place of my home office PC and my tunes are available down in the bowels of the house. With two fresh batteries the transmitter is unfettered and I'm off to the basement for a round of criket.

At this point I am quasi-moblie. I can roam the house, but globetrotting is not much of an option. I took it along for an extended car trip hoping to broadcast to my car radio from the passenger seat using this arrangement. I did not meet with success. Even if I managed to get a signal as I left my house I would have had to retune when crossing into areas with different radio stations.

Since I did have it on the road, I decided to give it a shot with the digital clock radio in the hotel room. So, I checked for the ideal unused frequency at Radio Locator, tuned the transmitter to an unused frequency and adjusted the clock radio using the analog dial. After some adjustments I was able to pick up the transmission. However, the range was only a foot or two. The clock radio has no external antenna.

SummaryMy experiences with the device can be summed up with these observations:

- Place the broadcast source at a high, central location in the house to maximize the range.
- Antenna size and positioning matters.
- Don't expect it to work in your car

It's not a Media Center PC, but it is an inexpensive solution for broadcasting music from a central PC or from your favorite MP3 player.