Hi folks,
Situation here is that since I've been in my new place, I've missed a few recording opportunities from our guest room. I usually know when my flatmates are going to have guests a while in advance, but getting into the room while the newcomers are staying can be tricky. This lead me to thinking that some sort of transmitter with a battery life of a couple of days would be perfect for the job of monitoring. UHF seems pretty damn expensive, FM seems much cheaper and nobody in this house owns a radio that I know of except me. Even if they did, to the uninterested ear just scanning for something musical, they'd probably just flick past it.
But here's the snag. Prices for this gear seem to fluctuate wildly from site to site. Some of it is bound to be cheap crap, some of it is bound to be suppliers having a good laugh at a newbie's expense. The most frustrating part of all this for me is that nobody seems to have ever put up audio examples of what a transmitter with its onboard mic sounds like.
So, I turn to you perverts for help. If you know of anywhere I can find examples, know good gear for the job, own a transmitter and would be prepared to record an example for me, anything at all that might help... please get in touch. Our next guests (couple) are on the 15th, and I'd prefer not to miss the boat on this one yet again.
Cheers in advance
Sc0tt-uk
anyone got experience of fm transmitters and similar devices
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sc0tt-uk
- Knight
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antiface
- Member
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- Joined: 05 Jul 2006 06:59
Re: anyone got experience of fm transmitters and similar dev
Um, maybe this has been answered before, and I apologise if it has, but have you thought about a baby monitor? Or, would the sound quality be too rough?
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sc0tt-uk
- Knight
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Hiya - yep I've thought about it. The main reasons I haven't tried this is I'm on a fairly tight budget, so i need to be reasonably sure about what i'm buying, and like you i wondered whether the audio would be too rough to get anything subtle... can't find any examples. The other thing that makes me hesitant is that a baby monitor looks like what it is, whereas a random little black box or an unboxed bug style thing would be more on my side in this case. my flatmates are used to heaps of my music/electronic crap being left everywhere haha, so if they don't recognize it they leave well alone.
It's a thought though, and if i could only find examples of the audio it might just be the answer price-wise.
The 15th draws closer... don't fail me perves!!
Sc0tt-uk
It's a thought though, and if i could only find examples of the audio it might just be the answer price-wise.
The 15th draws closer... don't fail me perves!!
Sc0tt-uk
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shung421
- Member
- Posts: 162
- Joined: 27 Dec 2005 05:25
To follow up on the baby monitor suggestion, I bought one for similar purposes a few years ago. Although it's great for live monitoring, you wouldn't want to record the transmissions unless your sound quality preferences are very low!
In my situation, I was able to place the monitor in my window that faces near my neighbors (when I suspected there might be some action going on that day). Then I could be in my living room or kitchen or wherever and be alerted that action was taking place and could immediately place my digital recorder at the window instead.
In my situation, I was able to place the monitor in my window that faces near my neighbors (when I suspected there might be some action going on that day). Then I could be in my living room or kitchen or wherever and be alerted that action was taking place and could immediately place my digital recorder at the window instead.
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mjj9994
- Knight
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- Joined: 20 Dec 2005 23:06
- x 160
Scott -
Sorry for the delayed response.... haven't had a chance to really check the boards thoroughly while on my travels.
I bought one of the smaller FM transmitters w/ built-in electet mic (powered by 1 AAA battery). THe mic was awesome, and the sound was good... IF you were within 5-10 feet of the transmitter. I would definately NOT recommend the 'FM tramsmitter' types, as the transmitter power is only 10miliwatt and the effective range is only good for novelty purposes. Unfortunately, that was about the only size I found for FM transmitters.
The next step up in transmitters power-wise was that I could find (that was still tiny at 1"x.25"x2") included both audio/video and used RCA connections, which would require an adapter for adding a microphone. I played with the unit a little bit when I first got it, but really couldnt get an effective range greater than maybe 20-30 feet, and this was a 100 miliamp unit.
I did some more research after this and the only higher power sized transmitters were significantly larger (3"x3"x2"), plus antenna, and also had RCA inputs, so that would require more connections and take up more space, then would require another enclosure so you couldnt notice all the connections and whatnot. I have not bought any of these untis, but they would seem the most promising for delivering decent quality at a moderate range (from my experience, I would guess the ranges would be somewhere around:
100-200 feet (indoor) for 1/2 watt transmitter
200-400 feet (indoor) for 1 watt transmitter
I know the companies advertise 1 mile+ ranges for the 1 watt transmitters, but I think this is under ideal conditions, in the desert with no other electronic interferance or obtrusions (walls, etc).
I did not buy any higher powered units ss the price for these units are significantly higher also ($300-500 us for 1/2-1 watt transmitter), plus the size was much larger and would be more difficult to disguise, plus... as these units are high-power, they require high power consumptions and you would probably have to manufacture or buy some type of 12v battery pack to power these units. In addition, the receivers must be purchased separately and require special antennas and whatnot. While I am all about gadgets and whatnot, a $1000+ investment just was not in my budget for an operating transmitter/receiver unit that would possibly be up to 6"x6"x4" after connecting all the cables, adding a mic and battery pack.(and with probably a 2-4 hour max run time on battery pack).
Just my input... but I would recommend staying with hard-wired connections as the wireless community is still lagging a bit in manufacturing a decent transmitter that will produce a quality recording with decent battery life.
- Mark
Edit -
Scott, I just re-read your post and it sounds like you may be able to put the recorder relatively close to the transmitter. As you can pick up the fm-transmitter devices relatively cheap (got mine for like $10-15), I would say go ahead and give it a shot.
Just remember your range/quality will degrade as the battery drains....so you may want to invest in the new Energizer Lithiums... those seem to last about 5x the normal alkalines (meaning up to 24 hr run-time would be possible). Like I mentioned, the recording quality is crystal-clear (radio quality), as long as you are receiving a good signal (which depends on electrical interference, other stations using bands close to the 108mhz range, etc)... I guess the max range you will get is 15-20 feet. If you can put the recorder within that distance, you should have a decent rig.
Sorry for the delayed response.... haven't had a chance to really check the boards thoroughly while on my travels.
I bought one of the smaller FM transmitters w/ built-in electet mic (powered by 1 AAA battery). THe mic was awesome, and the sound was good... IF you were within 5-10 feet of the transmitter. I would definately NOT recommend the 'FM tramsmitter' types, as the transmitter power is only 10miliwatt and the effective range is only good for novelty purposes. Unfortunately, that was about the only size I found for FM transmitters.
The next step up in transmitters power-wise was that I could find (that was still tiny at 1"x.25"x2") included both audio/video and used RCA connections, which would require an adapter for adding a microphone. I played with the unit a little bit when I first got it, but really couldnt get an effective range greater than maybe 20-30 feet, and this was a 100 miliamp unit.
I did some more research after this and the only higher power sized transmitters were significantly larger (3"x3"x2"), plus antenna, and also had RCA inputs, so that would require more connections and take up more space, then would require another enclosure so you couldnt notice all the connections and whatnot. I have not bought any of these untis, but they would seem the most promising for delivering decent quality at a moderate range (from my experience, I would guess the ranges would be somewhere around:
100-200 feet (indoor) for 1/2 watt transmitter
200-400 feet (indoor) for 1 watt transmitter
I know the companies advertise 1 mile+ ranges for the 1 watt transmitters, but I think this is under ideal conditions, in the desert with no other electronic interferance or obtrusions (walls, etc).
I did not buy any higher powered units ss the price for these units are significantly higher also ($300-500 us for 1/2-1 watt transmitter), plus the size was much larger and would be more difficult to disguise, plus... as these units are high-power, they require high power consumptions and you would probably have to manufacture or buy some type of 12v battery pack to power these units. In addition, the receivers must be purchased separately and require special antennas and whatnot. While I am all about gadgets and whatnot, a $1000+ investment just was not in my budget for an operating transmitter/receiver unit that would possibly be up to 6"x6"x4" after connecting all the cables, adding a mic and battery pack.(and with probably a 2-4 hour max run time on battery pack).
Just my input... but I would recommend staying with hard-wired connections as the wireless community is still lagging a bit in manufacturing a decent transmitter that will produce a quality recording with decent battery life.
- Mark
Edit -
Scott, I just re-read your post and it sounds like you may be able to put the recorder relatively close to the transmitter. As you can pick up the fm-transmitter devices relatively cheap (got mine for like $10-15), I would say go ahead and give it a shot.
Just remember your range/quality will degrade as the battery drains....so you may want to invest in the new Energizer Lithiums... those seem to last about 5x the normal alkalines (meaning up to 24 hr run-time would be possible). Like I mentioned, the recording quality is crystal-clear (radio quality), as long as you are receiving a good signal (which depends on electrical interference, other stations using bands close to the 108mhz range, etc)... I guess the max range you will get is 15-20 feet. If you can put the recorder within that distance, you should have a decent rig.
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El Ciego
- Kingpin
- Posts: 142
- Joined: 09 Oct 2006 06:36
- x 1
Besides wireless...
Scott,
Have you considered simply hiding a hard-wired microphone in the room, with a cable leading to your recorder? Remember that mains outlet boxes, lamp housings, telephone boxes etc. all have wires running to them that you may be able to trace and wire in an unobtrusive miniature mic.
Regarding wireless transmitters: Most I've found for less than L150.00/$225.00 U.S. are crap. Pressure zone mics, shotgun mics and other magnifier microphones are often less expensive, as is drilling a tiny hole through the wall and mounting a spike mic or tiny condenser microphone into the hole.
If I was doing this in my own place of residence, I'd try to find a hardwired solution. Even running the microphone cable through air ducts can be okay, especially if you can cut the air flow to the ventilator duct.
Have you considered simply hiding a hard-wired microphone in the room, with a cable leading to your recorder? Remember that mains outlet boxes, lamp housings, telephone boxes etc. all have wires running to them that you may be able to trace and wire in an unobtrusive miniature mic.
Regarding wireless transmitters: Most I've found for less than L150.00/$225.00 U.S. are crap. Pressure zone mics, shotgun mics and other magnifier microphones are often less expensive, as is drilling a tiny hole through the wall and mounting a spike mic or tiny condenser microphone into the hole.
If I was doing this in my own place of residence, I'd try to find a hardwired solution. Even running the microphone cable through air ducts can be okay, especially if you can cut the air flow to the ventilator duct.