iLuv I701 Digital FM Radio Transmitter (White) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)iLuv is relatively small and thin. Easy to carry around, will fit almost anywhere. Uses standard 3.5mm stereo audio connector. It is in no way iPod specific. I guess it has "i" in the name because every cool device these days has "i" in the name. You can use iLuv with anything. Laptops, MP3 players, Walkmans, CD players, anything standard. And with iPod too. Of course, if your device has non-standard connector (most mobile phones for example) you are out of luck.
It uses AAA batteries, which is not really a good thing. However, given that device is too thin for AA batteries, I'm not going to hold it against it. BTW, may I suggest rechargeables to everybody who bitches about price of AAA batteries. There is a 3V connector on it, so you don't need batteries if you have 12V to 3V adapter for car. I just got iLuv today, so can't really comment on battery life. It's been turned on for the whole afternoon with used batteries (that I pulled out of my old FM transmitter), and it still works.
It covers the full FM frequency range in 0.1 MHz increments. You can set it to virtually any unused FM slot. As far as I can tell, it stays at the dialed frequency and doesn't "pollute" reception of nearby stations (translated, your neighbors will not hate you). However, the range is very limited. You probably want to keep it no more than 10 feet or so from the antenna of your radio. If you are looking into buying it for use in car, this is not a problem. Tested. I placed it at the worst position in car, furthers away from antenna, and the sound quality was still good. If you want to transmit to the room on the other end of a house, you'll be very disappointed. It simply doesn't have enough juice for that.
There's some audible white noise when there's no input signal, but not any worse than some other devices I had in my hands. Don't expect miracles from something in this price range. If you'll be using it in a car (use most folks are buying this devices for), don't worry about it at all. Even if you have very quiet car, you won't notice this at all. On the other hand, if you are audio perfectionist, you'll probably have to spend much more money for something better.
Conclusion. iLuv is no worse then what I read in reviews for most other FM transmitters. It is way better then my old Radio Shack branded one.

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Digital FM Radio Transmitter, White

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C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna Review

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(More customer reviews)Amazon's price for this antenna was the best I could find. I ordered it on a Sunday before a Monday holiday and it was delivered the following Wednesday via their Super Saver free shipping, which I considered to be excellent service. This antenna looks better than a twin-lead dipole antenna, appears to be well-made, comes in an attractive box with a balun coil (matching transformer) for connecting to screw terminals and also an alligator clip for hooking it to a built-in antenna.
Since this antenna has received mixed reviews from other users I decided to be as "scientific," as my skills and equipment would allow. I used my training as an FCC licensed broadcast engineer to compare it to the standard twin-lead dipole antenna that was included free with my tuner. I had already oriented my existing dipole antenna for optimum reception, using my tuner's signal-strength indicators. I then used my tuner's scan mode to see how many stations it could find and I carefully wrote down the frequency and signal strength for each of the many stations that I can receive. Since I live about halfway between New York City and Philadelphia, my FM dial is crowded with stations.
After establishing a base-line of performance with my ordinary dipole antenna, I replaced it with the C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna and experimented with dozens of antenna positions to obtain best reception. Remarkably, mounting the C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna in the exact same position and location, that my twin-lead dipole antenna had been installed, gave me the best performance. After this optimum positioning, I once again used my tuner's scan mode to see how many stations it could find. I then carefully compared the signal strength from each station that my tuner found using the new antenna, with the signal strength that I had received with my previously-installed antenna. Although I saw no indication of a stronger signal on any of the existing stations, I was able to pick up two more stations in my tuner's scan mode with the new antenna.
As a percentage of the large number of stations that I could already receive at my location, I considered two additional stations a very small improvement. The difference easily could have been due to minor changes in atmospheric conditions between the tests. It was certainly not as dramatic as the improvement that I expected when comparing a $3 antenna with a $30 antenna. If you're using a good twin-lead dipole antenna and have adjusted its position for best reception, I believe that you'll need to upgrade to an outdoor antenna, such as the Winegard HD-6000 FM Stereo Antenna, to get a noticeable improvement. I could not find that the C. Crane FM Reflect Antenna is significantly better.
To understand why the results turned out as they did, it might be helpful to understand how antennas work. The most effective antenna elements in the FM and TV band are the length of the radio wave that they're tuned to receive. Our FM band extends from 88Mhz to 108Mhz, which represents a wavelengths from slightly more than 109 inches to slightly more than 134 inches. The higher the frequency, the shorter the wave.
A typical folded dipole antenna is about 61 inches wide, which is half the length of the average FM radio wave. Since the dipole is folded onto itself, it has an effective antenna length of about 122 inches, which is the average between the 109 inch and 134 inch wavelength extremes of the FM band.
There are several ways to increase the gain of an antenna. One way is to increase the number of active antenna elements that are exposed to the radio waves and connect them together. Another is to use a reflector to concentrate the radio waves onto the antenna. Satellite antennas, for example, reflect and concentrate very short waves onto a rigid dipole antenna by using a dish. Outdoor Yagi FM (and TV) antennas use multiple elements connected in tandem with reflecting elements in the rear to focus the antenna's sensitivity in a single direction. Such antennas are very efficient because they use both multiple elements and reflectors to increase gain.
Ultimately the Crane antenna, no matter how attractively it may be designed and packaged, cannot defy the laws of physics. It has only a single active T-shaped folded antenna element which is exactly the same as an inexpensive twin-lead folded dipole antenna. It is, therefore, not surprising that several reviewers including me, who have compared it to the cheap variety, have found that it gives no better reception.

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Whether you listen to a portable radio or a top-of-the-line stereo receiver, the quality of sound coming from an FM station is dependent upon the stations signal strength in your area. Adding an FM antenna can help greatly, so be sure to select the best FM antenna for your needs. The FM Reflect Antenna will work with any portable or stereo receiver. This antenna incorporates a new dipole design for maximum gain across the entire FM broadcast band. Up to 213 percent more powerful than a standard dipole antenna, it covers the entire FM band with an almost flat response, where standard dipoles start to fall off near the end of the band. Many FM stations now broadcast their signal with circular polarization. The FM Reflect Antenna is the only FM antenna that can be adjusted to take advantage of this. It is not affected as much by surrounding objects and people as other FM antennas are.

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Griffin Technology RadioShark AM / FM Desktop Radio with Time-Shift Recording Review

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(More customer reviews)I already have a couple software programs that will automatically record and save radio programming but when the Radio Shark was announced, I couldn't resist. Mac elegance, simplicity and functionality. Or so I thought. The product is solid, well made and the software is easy to use. Unfortunately, the reception is unacceptably poor in my suburban, residential area. Every radio I own from clock radios, a couple Tivoli Pal's, a built in-whole house system, mini-systems and so on receive programming easily. The Radio Shark's reception is inferior to even the lowliest of portables. I've tried everything I can think of. Coiling the USB cable, moving it to every place within reach, using a high dollar shielded usb extension cable which also allowed me to move the Shark further from the computer), using the Radio Shark's headphone input with a pair of ear buds and a minijack to rca cable (as Griffin's website suggests). Nothing seems to help. I have two other radios within 18 inches of computers and they were pretty easy to set up and receive clear, static free programming. The Radio Shark has been a huge disappointment. I should have learned my lesson after purchasing the Power Mate from this company. The Power mate (ditto for the Radio Shark) is very high quality piece of hardware from a fit and finish standpoint but the software was glitchy with a pc. Maybe it would have been better with a mac. But I digress. Perhaps if you live far from all urban and suburban interference or live on a hill with better line of site to the towers you want to receive from, the Radio Shark might be fine. For the rest of us, the Radio Shark is likely to disappoint. If you want to time shift radio programming, I can recommend two excellent pieces of software. High Criteria's Total Recorder Pro (for the pc) and Rogue Amoeba's Audio Hijack Pro for the Mac. I don't work for or profit from either comany. I use both on a daily basis. Both are rock solid. All you need to do is connect a radio to your pc or mac and you're set.

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The radio airwaves will never be safe again. The RadioSHARK adds an AM/FM radio to any Mac or PC (* Mac OS X (10.2.8 or higher) or PC running Windows XP) but that's just the beginning.The RadioSHARK can record any AM or FM radio broadcast in real time. You can also program it to record a scheduled show, or to pause' live radio so you can return right where you left off moments or even hours before (See What is Time-Shift Recording?' sidebar above).RadioSHARK includes a full-featured application that controls all radio and recording functions. Favorite station presets can be set with the click of a mouse, and new stations can be scanned and tuned with ease. The application is also where you program Time-Shift Recording, either to take a break without missing any of a show or to record your favorite broadcast to listen to later.The RadioSHARK connects to and is powered by USB. The fin-shaped device acts as an antenna and can be positioned for best reception and recording. Any recorded broadcast can be transferred to an iPod or any other AIFF-compatible digital music player to replay on the go.The RadioSHARK connects to and is powered by USB. The fin-shaped device acts as an antenna and can be positioned for best reception and recording. Any recorded broadcast can be transferred to an iPod or any other AIFF-compatible digital music player to replay on the go.

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Eton FR300 Emergency Crank Radio Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this specifically for emergencies. In the big fires we had here a couple years ago, radio was pretty much useless on the first day - several stations were off the air due to power failures and the press conferences with the police and fire chief were all on TV. Eventually, the radio stations advised people to watch their TVs. This unit gets good audio reception on three local broadcast TV stations plus a whack of AM and FM stations. Another reviewer indicated that the FM tuning isn't great. They're right - it isn't. That's the missing star in my rating. The NOAA weather stations come in well too. Once there's no more free broadcast TV signals, I guess this will be an expensive hand-cranked AM radio.

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With a dependable hand-crank power generator that powers the unit's AM/FM/TV/Weather radio, built-in LED flashlight, cell phone charger and emergency siren, the lightweight and portable Etón FR300 is an excellent and economical choice for anyone in the market for a radio that can be relied on in emergencies or in environments where there are limited power sources.
If you want a water-resistant radio, check out the FR 400.

Power When You Need It At the heart of all of Etón's emergency radios, including the FR300, is an internal generator that recharges the internal Ni-MH battery pack and powers the radio, siren, and light. Also, by plugging your cell phone into the jack on the back of the radio, you can use the crank to power your phone. In our test, after draining our cell phone of power, we recharged it using the FR300 enough to make a few calls. The rate of cell phone recharging will vary greatly depending on the cell phone and the state of its battery, but the FR300 can provide your compatible p!hone with power in a pinch.

Important Note: Until this year, Etón provided a package of several different cell phone adapter tips with every radio. In 2007, Etón began instead including a coupon for a free adapter for whatever phone you have. So, the first thing you want to do when you get the radio is fill out the card with your cell phone's make and model and send it in to make sure you have your adapter.

According to the product manual, to achieve 40 to 60 minutes of uninterrupted power to the radio, you must turn the crank at a rate of two revolutions per second for 90 seconds. In our test, after our initial 90 seconds of rigorous cranking, the FR300 powered right up and was still going strong with radio reception after an hour. At the hour mark, we briefly turned the flashlight on, and that too was at full force, with no perceivable drain on radio reception. In fact, the FR300 was still going strong over 75 minutes after we recharged t!he battery pack. The FR300 can also be powered via an AC adapt!er which , to our dismay, is not included, or from three AA batteries, also not included. The dynamo crank tucks itself nicely into the side of the radio and offers little resistance as you turn the handle. (Don't let the cranking requirements frighten you! While it's true that a full 90 seconds of turning the crank can be tiring and may not be for everyone, we were able to recharge the radio with less than a minute of cranking and achieved over 40 minutes of continuous power.)

Design and Controls At slightly more than a pound in weight, and with dimensions of 6.5 x 6.00 x 2.5 inches (WxHxD), the FR300 is made to be tucked neatly into its handy nylon carrying case, and stored in an emergency box, or packed neatly for a camping trip. A white LED light is set on the front of the radio, just to the side of the analog tuner. The light is designed to help you down an unlit stairwell or enclosed hallway in a pinch, but it is not directed or strong enough to help you much in a pitch-black forest or other open area. The FR300 also includes a red flash!ing LED light that can be used as a distress signal. The radio and light can be operated simultaneously, though of course at the expense of power.

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Griffin iFM Radio Receiver for iPhone and iPod Review

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(More customer reviews)this product is even better than i thought! from the description it doesn't say that you can tune to specific stations (not just a list of ones that the device thinks you want to hear) i just hoped for the best when i ordered it. this means that i can use it at the gym to tune to the tvs and hear the sound. as far as i know this is the only product you can connect to an iphone/pod and do this. it does not have the iphone 4 listed as a compatible device but it works with mine. i highly recommend this product.

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iFM is a radio receiver that allows you to listen to FM radio through your iPhone or iPod. iFM works with Griffin's free downloadable iFM Controller software to provide an interactive FM radio tuner through the Multi-Touch display of your iPhone or iPod touch. Other iPod devices control iFM through their familiar Click Wheel and buttons. Use iFM Controller to tune in your favorite stations, and to save and recall presets. It's the intuitive, hassle-free way to play FM stereo on your iPhone or iPod.

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Hauppauge 1183 WinTV HVR-1600 Internal PCI Dual TV Tuner/Video Recorder Media Center Kit Review

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(More customer reviews)The installation instructions were abbreviated...a little too abbreviated. The drivers didn't install properly and I was afraid I had made a mistakein buying this card. I downloaded the newest software from the website, and in the process figured out what the problem was with the original install. Once I had that done I started to receive some channels, but not all. It was through a trial error process I was able to figure out that in order to receive all TV channels and FM radio I needed an antenna connected to all three inputs. It's not an easy trick because of the limited space between the connectors. It also makes the back of the PC a little messy. The instructions for the operation software were also quite brief and very vague, and that took some time to work through as well
But I eventually figured everything out and I'm glad I did. Using a P4 2.99 ghz and XP Pro SP 3 and an HP 2207h HD monitor the picture is as clear as it is on my large HDTV. I am very impressed. I've used the record function and it works very well, as does the screen shot feature. Now that it's up and working I think my wife could sit down and watch TV on it with little or no instruction from me, so that learning curve is very short.
Don't expect to stick this card in and be up and running in 5 minutes. And don't buy this card if you are a computer or a/v neophyte - you'll be disappointed. But if you know your way around software installs and enjoy fiddling around with something like this and the satisfaction of getting it working it is does a VERY good job.

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The Hauppauge 1183 WinTV HVR-1600 Internal PCI Dual TV Tuner/Video Recorder Media Center Kit includes dual TV tuners to let you watch both digital and analog television on your PC, in a window or full screen. With PVR software and built-in hardware for MPEG-2 encoding, you can also record television onto your computer for viewing later without slowing down your computer. The WinTV application offers an elegant interface to watch TV in a window or full screen. View larger.Watch High-definition Digital TV on Your Computer With dual format TV tuners, the WinTV-HVR-1600 lets you watch ATSC digital TV as well as QAM digital TV and analog cable TV. ATSC digital TV, which typically requires an antenna for reception, is the over-the-air HDTV standard for North America. ATSC broadcasts range in resolution from standard definition up to the high definition 1080i format. (To check the ATSC digital transmissions in your area, input your zip code at titantv.com.)The WinTV-HVR-1600 also lets you watch and record QAM channels, which are unencrypted digital channels broadcast by your local cable operator. If you don't have access to digital television channels yet, you can also watch regular analog cable television. And with the included remote control, you can control your cable TV or satellite set top box.In addition to high-definition video, the card also features a dbx-TV stereo decoder for great TV sound. The card has Composite/S-Video and audio inputs that allow for connecting VCRs or cable/satellite set top boxes and an FM radio tuner that lets you listen to your favorite FM radio broadcasts.Your Own Personal Digital Video Recorder! With the included software, you can easily record TV shows to your hard disk using MPEG-2. Several recording options are available depending on your playback needs; higher quality video requires more disk space. Generally, 5 GB of disk space is used per hour of ATCS digital TV recordings. Thanks to the built-in hardware MPEG-2 encoder, your PC continues to run at full speed even while recording. With the WinTV-Scheduler software, you can easily schedule the recordings of your favorite television shows daily, weekly, or just once. You can then play back the recordings at your leisure, burn them onto CD or DVD for playback on another computer or your television, or with video editing software (not included), you can edit the shows. This is great for saving favorite movie clips, or of your favorite teams dramatic last-second win or your favorite player's grand slam.The Hauppauge 1138 WinTV-HVR-1600 plugs into a PCI slot and is compatible with Windows Vista, XP with Service Pack 2, and Windows XP Media Center Edition. With XP-MCE and Vista, you can add the WinTV-HVR-1600 as either the primary or secondary TV tuner. The Microsoft Media Center application supports up to two TV tuners, so you can watch on channel while recording another.What's in the Box WinTV-HVR-1600 PCI card, Windows Media Center certified USB remote control transmitter and receiver, and CD-ROM with WinTV software.

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C. Crane FMT Digital FM Transmitter with AC Adapter Review

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(More customer reviews)1) Open up the box,
by removing 3 screws (one screw is in battery compartment and the other 2 are under those circular rubber feet which are adhesive and once removed can be refitted afterwards)
2) Locate the variable resistor marked VR2 on the circuit board. (For those non-technical this is like a volume control that is operated by inserting a tiny screwdriver and turning fully clockwise). Turn VR2 to the fully clockwise position.
Viola! The power output will increase by about five fold.
If you want to go even further, then
a) sit it on a grounded metallic surface, such as a metal tray to form a ground plane.
b) increase the length of the antennae to about 75 cm (29 inches) which is the correct quarter wavelength at these frequencies.
But frankly, you are unlikely to need this once you turn up the boost.
Enjoy


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Includes C Crane Digital FM Transmitter Black AC adapter.

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