Thursday, April 28, 2005
Digital Wireless Broadcasting: the Digiana Audia-x FM Transmitter v2
Posted by Jason Dunn in "HARDWARE" @ 10:00 AM
http://www.merconnet.com/product_info.php?products_id=426
The concept is pretty simple: a small FM broadcasting unit, with enough power to reach a few feet, connected to any sort of media player with a mini jack on it. You tune the FM broadcasting unit to the same radio station as the one your car it set on, and you're listening to whatever is on your media player. I've tried two units like this before, and never bothered to keep them for one reason: it's notoriously hard to get the dials on the broadcasting unit set perfectly to match the car radio station. Modern cars have digital radio tuners, but the transmitters I tried were analog. Until the Audia-x v2, sent to me by Merconnet.
I tested this unit with a Creative Labs Zen Micro, Dell Axim X50v, and an Orange C500 Smartphone - it worked well with all of them. The range on the Audia-x is two meters on paper, and while I never moved the unit beyond four feet, it maintained the signal perfectly - which is more than I can say for the other units. The thing that makes this unit really stand out though is the digital tuner - by having a digital tuner on both the transmitter and the car radio, it allowed for a fast and painless signal lock. Audio quality is about what you'd expect - it's FM radio, so while it sounds passable, it pales in comparison to a CD. But that's not a surprise, and the Audia-x does the best it can within the limitations of FM quality.
The unit retails for $39.99 USD, and includes an auto adaptor for power and a battery, which is a nice touch - it has everything you need. The audio cable is attached to the unit so there's no danger of missing a piece when you most need it. If you're looking for an FM transmitter solution for your audio device, I can highly recommend the Digiana Audia-x FM Transmitter v2 as a solid solution.
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