FM transmitter - what is it?

Any driver likes to listen to their favorite music while driving. If you are stuck in a traffic jam, then music will help you relax and get distracted. If you are driving for several hours at night, then rhythmic music will help you maintain vigor.

Not all motorists can boast of a modern audio system with USB connectors for flash memory. Radio does not always catch well outside the city. And a lot of CDs and MP3s in the glove compartment take up free space. In this case, you will come to the aid of a relatively inexpensive, but very functional device - an FM transmitter.

FM transmitter

An FM transmitter or MP3 modulator is a radio electronic device that allows you to listen to files stored on a memory card via FM radio. This is a small device that connects to the cigarette lighter.

Usually it comes with a remote control. There are also more modern models with a small touch screen that displays track names, so you don't need a remote control.

The principle of its operation is quite simple:

• the transmitter reads files from an internal or external drive;
• transforms them into radio waves;
• these radio waves are picked up by your radio's FM radio and played through your audio system.

That is, in fact, this is a small radio transmitter, its waves can be picked up not only by the antenna of your radio receiver, but also by the antennas of nearby devices.

FM transmitters for Android or iPhone work in the same way. But there is one big difference - the signals are not transmitted via a radio channel, but via Bluetooth. Accordingly, the multimedia system of your car should have such an option as Bluetooth reception. By turning it on, you can broadcast audio files from the smartphone's memory to the radio and listen to them.

How to set up an FM transmitter?

Despite its apparent simplicity, the transmitter is a technically rather complicated device, because in a small package it combines several functions at once:

• MP3 player that reads audio files in different formats, not just MP3;
• converter - thanks to him, the signal is modulated from digital to radio wave;
• transmitter - transmitting a signal over a radio channel.

In addition, there should also be a memory card reader, since the internal memory is usually not very large - 2-4 Gigabytes. There are also connectors for a USB cable to transfer files from the computer's memory to the internal memory of the modulator.

The transmitter is connected to the cigarette lighter. The power of its transmitter is quite large - the signal can propagate within a radius of up to 20 meters, although in reality 1-2 meters are enough, since this is the distance from the transmitter to the antenna of your radio.

Next, you simply tune the modulator wave and your FM receiver to the same frequency that is not occupied by radio stations. Let's say from our own experience that in a big city, almost all frequencies are busy and overlap each other, so finding a free band is quite difficult. But outside the city, the device will work much better.

However, there is one problem - at FM stations, all tracks are optimized, that is, they pass through a special filter system, thanks to which they sound quite decent even on the cheapest radio receiver. Budget FM modulators do not provide such filters, so the quality will be appropriate. And if you don’t have the best radio yet, then the sound can be very bad, with interference.

You can select several modes for playing tracks: in order, in random order, playlists. Different models of transmitters can only read files from one folder, while some read both the root directory and all folders nested in it.

The most advanced transmitter models allow you to adjust the playback volume. In addition, they can be connected directly to sound sources, such as mini speakers, headphones, smartphones and tablets.

Based on all that has been said and from our own experience, let's say that it is best to use the FM modulator outside the city, where there is the least interference. In Moscow, there are enough radio stations for every taste, and the quality of their signal is very good.

A little about the choice of device.

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