C. Crane FMT Digital FM Transmitter with AC Adapter

by C.Crane

Product Details

Product Manual [198kb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000E6I1N
• Item model number: FMT
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (189 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,040 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 29, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Enjoy wireless transfer of any audio to any FM receiver with the high quality Digital FM Transmitter from C. Crane. The unit allows you to easily send satellite, computer audio, or audio from your portable MP3 player to your home stereo system or any radio in your house.

Finding the right way to connect your MP3 player, or computer audio, to a stereo system can be time consuming and frustrating. The C.Crane Digital FM Transmitter is the simple solution, letting you send a signal from any audio source to a stereo system or a portable radio without wires. The C. Crane FM Transmitter:

- Transfers virtually any audio to any FM Receiver.
- Features Digital Phase Lock Loop for drift free tuning in full stereo.
- Has exceptionally good frequency response.

The FM Transmitter is simple to use. Just plug the Transmitter into the line out or headphone jack of any audio device and set it to the frequency of your choice (88-108 MHz). You’re now free to listen to your MP3 player, portable radio, or computer audio--virtually any audio device--in another room and without the need for headphones. C. Crane’s FM Transmitter also:

- Offers highest Quality, full stereo on any FM Frequency of your choice.
- Transmits any audio, from MP3s to streaming audio or guitar songs to a home or car radio.
- Transmits audio from your computer on your kitchen radio.
- Plugs it into the earphone jack or line out of any audio device and set the frequency of choice.

Product Description

The FM Transmitter is a way to listen to streaming or MP3 audio. Just plug it into the headphone jack of your computer's speakers or sound card and listen on any FM radio anywhere in the house. It does this by taking the audio and turning it into an FM radio broadcast. Use it to send a satellite radio signal, MP3 audio, and more, to nearby radios around your home or workplace, even in your car.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

321 of 324 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HOW TO FIX THE RANGE PROBLEM, September 28, 2004

By 

NC "NC" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: C. Crane FMT Digital FM Transmitter with AC Adapter (Electronics)

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

82 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worthless without the hardware mod, July 12, 2006

By 

Michael B. Carroll "hobbitt" (Pete Townsend, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: C. Crane FMT Digital FM Transmitter with AC Adapter (Electronics)

I bought this to replace a LineX transmitter that has only 7 frequency settings, none of which are very usable in my area. We use it to broadcast audio from our Audiotron to radios in and around our house. The LineX has a good range for this use, 75-100 feet or so.

When I got the Crane, I loaded batteries into it, plugged it into the Audiotron, and turned it on. Using a portable FM receiver I found the range to be *3* (yes, THREE) feet. Using the AC adaptor did not expand the range, nor did adjusting either of the transmitter and receiver antennas, nor did adjusting the input levels.

So, I popped the box open and set the variable resister as other reviewers have noted. After this change I got a range closer to that of the LineX.

NOTE THAT THIS MODIFICATION VOIDS THE CRANE WARRANTY! Page 11 of the manual: "Removing the cover ... will void the warranty." The bean counters at Crane must be very happy about this; ship a product that can only be used by voiding the warranty, and you eliminate any returns. To be fair, there are no seals on the Crane, so you could pretend that you never opened it, but it's still pretty sleazy.

The Crane's input levels are touchy. I had to tweak the Audiotron output and Crane input levels many times to get a clean signal on our receivers.

The frequency display is LCD, with no backlighting. Depending on available light and the viewing angle, it's not as easy to read as the marketing materials would have you believe. For a static installation such as mine this is OK - find a good channel and forget it. For use on the go this could get annoying.

The ability to set a frequency between FM channels is very useful in avoiding interference from radio stations, and that's what I've done. NOTE: your FM receivers must be capable of tuning "off channel" for this to work for you.

Another reviewer notes that the antenna on the Crane is too short for the frequencies involved. The length was obviously chosen so it would fit the cover when collapsed, not for efficient transmission. I considered replacing the antenna, but the Crane is not built to easily allow it and I didn't want to push the warranty issue too much further.

On the Crane box is a quote from John O'Brien, Wired Magazine, who says "The Crane is tops... easy-to-read... great audio... variety of power sources... wide range of frequency..." I find it telling that there's no mention about the range of the Crane, so I looked up the review on the web (Google "crane transmitter wired magazine review"). The review says "30 feet across an apartment to a radio in another room", but doesn't say that he actually tried it. I don't know what product he was reviewing, but it certainly wasn't this one.

Pros:
-- Acceptable range after making the hardware mod.
-- Acceptable audio quality after repeated levels tweaking.
-- Ability to tune off-channel.
-- LCD frequency display. (The LineX uses DIP switches and has no display. The LineX is also $30 cheaper.)
-- Audio splitter cable included, which was exactly what I needed for my set up.
-- AC adapter. (The LineX used only batteries, and they would last about a week at 24x7.)

Cons:
-- You have to void the warranty to make it usable.
-- Touchy levels control.
-- LCD display hard to read in less-than-optimal light and viewing angle.

This could have been a great product, but it's only mediocre.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Follow-up on audio issue, March 10, 2004

By 

Doug W. "twinular" (Hamilton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: C. Crane FMT Digital FM Transmitter with AC Adapter (Electronics)

C. Crane informed me that they tested a unit and found the tones as I described them, but they do not have a solution to the problem at this time since this was apparently new information to them. I complimented them on their willingness to substantiate my claim in the lab rather than sending a boilerplate "we're sorry for the inconvenience"-type reply to my e-mail. Unfortunately it didn't solve the problem, but it did save me the trouble of returning it only to find the same thing in the replacement unit.

As I posted earlier, I was going to check out the Belkin TuneCast II...well, it went right back. The C. Crane unit overwhelmingly beats the Belkin unit for range (once the very simple power boost modification is done, that is), and even with the annoying audio tone, the C. Crane unit serves my needs much better for clearly transmitting throughout the house. The Belkin unit doesn't have a separate antenna, which severely limits its capabilities for range.

If you need a transmitter for the car, almost any one will do, but if you need one with range, the C. Crane transmitter is a good choice.