Sometimes old tech that we've forgotten about is worth pulling off the shelf for a second look. Take for example the FM Stereo Transmitter I got at Radio Shack (ID 12-2051A) years ago. This lightweight little doohickey dates back to the '80s portable CD player explosion, a time when people were buying lots of CDs, but most cars weren't equipped with CD players yet. Radio Shack provided a simple and inexpensive solution in a miniature transmitter that plugged into the headphone jack of any portable player and then broadcast the music to an FM station on the very high or low end of a nearby radio dial.
The unit is still available at The Shack nationwide and sells for US$40. It broadcasts in either mono or stereo and manages to squeezes more than 100 hours out of a pair of AAA batteries. Oh yeah, and guess what? It works like a dream with today's new generation of digital music portables.
Fact is, the FM Stereo Transmitter doesn't care what you hook it up to. As long as you can find a 1/8" headphone jack on the device, you're in business. The unit is just as comfortable pumping MP3s into your car radio as it is sending them to grandma's 1965 RCA vacuum tubed wonder. You can even plug into your computer's headphone jack and use it to beam Internet audio, like my weekly RealAudio radio show at AntennaRadio.com [Why you shameless little hussy! -Ed.], to the obscure corners of your house.
Pushing Internet audio away from the desktop is indeed a good thing. The concept is similar to the new Kima system by Akoo which, for some reason, the press is treating like a new idea. It isn't (although in fairness, the Kima has a much stronger broadcasting signal than the Shack transmitter). But Net radios cost considerably more and aren't as portable. Depending on your needs, you may find that this more humble solution is more than adequate (especially if you already have one kicking around like I did).
- Scott Bass [2/2/01]
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