Well here is a video I made of whats going on. Sorry that it kind of cuts off at the end I ran out of storage on my phone.
Hi winter4w,
I watched the video. I may have not seen it right, but it looked like when you changed frequencies you didn't go from 104.1 to 104.3. It looked like you went to an 'off' frequency, 104.05. The next frequency up from 104.1 would be 104.3, but that certainly doesn't explain why it wouldn't play on 104.1. Is there any kind of a reset button? I'm not familiar with the unit, but I'm wondering of the 'off' frequency has anything to do with it? Just a thought.
Yea I did go to 104.05Mhz. There is no reset buttion but as you can see on the SDR it should of moved down the band it just stoped transmitting. With the C. Crane you can pick any frequency within 88.3 MHz - 107.7MHz. So far from what I know there is no reset buttion I can find on the unit.
Just bad luck.....probably one in 500 units.....a replacement will solve the problem but make sure you get a new unopened one.
Mark
Perhaps your receiver doesn't recognize 'off' frequencies. Could you manually set it for 103.9 or 104.3? When you pick a frequency, the number after the decimal HAS to be an odd number---.1, .3, .5, .7 or .9. I don't know the answer, but perhaps an 'off' frequency could be a factor. Also, did you unplug the transmitter, wait maybe 30 seconds and plug it back in? I may be reaching here for a simple fix, so again, just a thought. Looks like you've got a pretty good set-up!!
@Mark
Thats what I was fearing 😛 all well. I did msg them on amazon and I will also make a video and send it to them of the issue and hopefuly they will send me a brand new one.
I know its not the off numbers. My SDR can pick up off number stations. When it works when I change the frequency I can pick it up. Even if that was the issue and I turned it off and back on again it should fire right back up on 104.1Mhz but it did not as seen in the video. Guess I got a lemon :'(
Sounds lilke you really did get a lemon. Amazon and C. Crane should swap it out for you. I've had no problems with them.
50 meters is what they gaurantee on a good Radio for a part 15 transmitter. If your going to do the mod and that is the range you get that is about the expected range.
I think however you'll like your Whole House 3. Just run it through a compressor and limiter if you can. Maybe save up for NextKast and you won't have any issue.
Yea I am still looking for a good compressor and limiter for my AM transmitter. Me and 2 other people were commenting on a YouTube video and someone said if we get a compressor and limiter we can increase the volume and it won’t then overload the Talking House Transmitter. The reason I would like this is 1. I will have much more clear sound since it will be loud enough that it will be hard to hear the random interference and 2. I will have much more range on it, probably the max range I can get with it. I am looking into getting the MDX1600. On my post here I was questioning on how much range I can get and how much did it improve the audio quality. ( http://part15.us/forum/part15-forums/general-discussion/audio-processor)
"I see allot of Behringer MDX1600 for sale on eBay in my price range. For those of you who have it and use it with the Talking House how much range did it get you and how improved was the audio quality?? "
The only issue I had with the Whole House is how the company has some fishy stuff going on. I might give it a try one day when I feel like spending the money to get it. May I ask do you broadcast it in the high power mode or normal and how much range do you get in the car stereo?
I went to my friends house in Canada during the time I visited. I had the transmitter set to High Piwer and got 1.1 mile to a Digital Car Stereo. 0.8-1 mile was very listenable and with the wire antenna attached to it. In that area I was on the first floor and the only thing was a few trees. So on High Power you will go the distance and with clean clear sound with the compressor. WARNING: Doing this in the USA may violate FCC RULES this information is INTENED for educational purposes ONLY. Part 15 dot us does not control what an operator does with their equipment but does encourage Legal operation. I hope this info helps. All of this is at the 310 mW setting and for the record the Whole House FM Transmitter has a better output than a 500 mW SainSonic AX-05B set to High Power. At the High Power at the same location and on the duck it only went ¼ mile until hard rock drop off. Plus the SainSonic AX-05B has a huge issue with spurs and noise. The Whole House 3.0 cost more but in my opinion is well worth the money. On the rubber Duck on High Power the Whole House 3.0 goes ¼ mile to a Digital Car Stereo.
Ok so what everyone said about C. Crane as a company is true. They are sending me a brand new (tested) one to me for free. I dont even have to send my broken one back 🙂 I will post back here about my experience with the new one when I get it.
That is pritty far with a small device. On high power mode with the wire atenna, did it create inteference with other stations or was it pritty clean?
winter4w, I am very glad you are getting a working c.crane FM transmitter and they are letting you keep the dud.
What I was thinking is that your broken unit might have a "cold solder" somewhere on the internal circuit board.
As you probably know, a cold solder is a bad solder that might look o.k.
Inspect the board on both sides with a magnifier and poke gently at each solder point with a round wooden toothpick. If a wire moves like a soldered wire wouldn't, heat up the soldering iron and carefully reflow the solder which might fix the whole transmitter.
Then you will be the proud owner of two excellent transmitters.
The C.Crane, and the Wholehouse 2.0 and 3.0 for that matter, have professional 75 uS Pre-emphasized audio like any professional transmitter.
You did everything right.
Inside your house you would get a FFF within about 10 feet of the transmitter on other stations, but no where as bad as the SainSonic which would totally wash away any station over 50 foot from the transmitter. The Who House 3 didn't bleed my Grundig as bad as the Sony boom box. The Grundig did it maybe 6 feet from the Whole House 3.0 on High Power. I'm curious what range you'd get with the C. Crane on High. If you have close by homes it could fit the bill. Now for the AM side I was able to go ¼ mile in my New home. It has a bay window and I have the wire beside the window. Plus there is an electrical box near by. Woo Hoo the carrier current effect. I did notice around the complex the Talking House comes in with very good audio. So even with the wire I get nice range now with it. I can't wait till the other antenna is done. Makes for a very nice community station and sounds good with the software I use. It may have made a difference too that I have the power supply plugged straight into the wall no power strips. So the ground is now coming right from household ground and since I'm right on top of the electrical box it could have been the reason the range for AM is better here.
Thanks 🙂 I am not sure if I will poke around much with the old once since it has a 50% chance of working but I guess no harm can be done. I might use it as a speaker system for my PC. Just set it to a frequency and tune my clock into it.
The C. Crane I modded so I can get the max power from it (High Power Mode). I get around 50 meters with my car stereo. This transmitter can’t over power other stations with the power at max and it does accept any interference which I am guessing still keeps it Part 15 Compliant. The C. Crane is useless without the mod unless you place it next to the receiver. I am not sure if my range is limited due to it being a lemon or that’s just how far it goes. I believe that’s how far it goes but I will be able to confirm that when I get the working one 🙂
winter4w, one thing a compressor won't do on FM is give you more range. On AM, compression will indeed push the usable signal out farther, but not so on FM.
What compression on FM will do is improve the signal to noise ratio somewhat... make your signal louder, helping it to jump out on the dial... and add more punch and consistency to your audio levels.
There are lots of compressors out there that will do the job for not a lot of money. One that I'm currently using with my CCrane 2 is the dbx 266xs. It's stereo (or dual mono), adjustable attack, release, threshold, input, and output. And it's pretty clean. They're pretty easy to find on eBay.