FM transmitter hack

[ArtemisGoldfish]

I recently bought an FM transmitter iPod Nano accessory from Wal-Mart for $10, thinking that I could hack it. It is the AirPlay2, using a BH1418FV FM Transmitter chip and using their PCB antennas for...Well, the antennas. From pinouts.ru, I've connected the power (3.3V) and common GND. Upon hooking the power up to two 1.5V AA's, it cheerfully starts, the LCD screen for selecting broadcast frequency glowing and fully operational. I've also soldered in the Audio connections (Pins 3 and 4) to a normal audio jack, correctly polarized and connected to the common GND (Left at tip, right at middle ring, GND at base). (The document states that the Audio/Video ground is connected to the other GND's on the iPod motherboard, so I just use the common GND for the audio hookup.)

Upon powering my MP3 player, powering the FM transmitter and playing a song near a radio which is tuned to the broadcast frequency, nothing happens. I've checked all my soldering connections, and despite working with very small contacts to solder on and single wires from IDE cables, I have managed to keep the contacts soldered properly without shorting with any other lines.

Any ideas, peoples? https://pinouts.ru/PortableDevices/ipod_pinout.shtml This is the page for the 30-pin iPod connection which this transmitter uses.

Thanks :-D

 

[HiTech]

R U hoping that Xmttr will become a mini-broadcasting station for your neighborhood? If so you're in for a disappointment. Those things don't transmit farther than where you can spit.

 

[ArtemisGoldfish]

R U hoping that Xmttr will become a mini-broadcasting station for your neighborhood? If so you're in for a disappointment. Those things don't transmit farther than where you can spit.

First off, dear god, spellcheck. Secondly, I plan to use it as a cheap home-made wireless headphone system in combination with a cheap, mini FM radio.

 

[audioguru]

Cheap? It is not cheap if you bought it and it doesn't work.
Read the review about the AirPlay2 in Google. They say it has no bass and has no treble frequencies. They say it sounds flat.

Have you heard a cheap mini FM radio? It sounds very cheap. It is mono, not stereo. It has no sensistivity so the sound fades in and out. Its headphones are crap.
Cheap.

 

[-=GST=- Nemisis (cs/cz)]

you can buy very high quality sennheiser wireless headphones from amazon, im currently wearing a pair myself, cost about £35 but were a brilliant buy. check amazon.com for more details (i got mine from amazon.co.uk), search for r120 or r140. only the transmitter is wired to the mains and so the headphones cant relaly be used outside the house, tho i do wear them in the garden sometimes.

 

[ArtemisGoldfish]

The practical implication isn't the problem here, it's the fact that it doesn't broadcast. I don't care about reviews or crappy quality at all, I just have a spirit for experimentation.

 

[Sceadwian]

Moding the circuit itself is probably not going to be practical. But creating an RF amplifier that can be driven on the little signal that the module makes might be more practicle and reasonable for an experimenter.

 

[HiTech]

First off, dear god, spellcheck.

"R U hoping that Xmttr"

Spellcheck for what? Or should I say, Spellcheck 4 wut? Haven't you ever abbreviated some words to save on typing effort and time? News flash: it's done everyday in forums and emails and is acceptable nettiquette (for the most part) in those mediums.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

News flash: it's done everyday in forums and emails and is acceptable nettiquette (for the most part) in those mediums.

No it's not acceptable nettiquette, and never has been on forums or email, fair enough using textspeak if you're typing on a numeric phone pad, but with a full ASCII keyboard it's just as easy to type properly. On these forums, as with almost all others, textspeak isn't allowed.

 

[HiTech]

I said "for the most part". I participate in a number of other non-electronic forums where textspeak is commonplace, with nothing mentioned against it in the guidelines. Bottomline: I guess each forum has it's protocols. Can I at least be allowed to abbreviate rcvr./xmttr.?

p.s.: You have to admit that reading textspeak is a whole lot easier to decipher than many of the "Dearest Sirs to helps me with class projekt" postings we commonly see in this place!

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

p.s.: You have to admit that reading textspeak is a whole lot easier to decipher than many of the "Dearest Sirs to helps me with class projekt" postings we commonly see in this place!

No, they are written in plain English, usually with better than average spelling, textspeak is treated by most adults with the respect it deserves - and completely ignored!.

 

[mneary]

p.s.: You have to admit that reading textspeak is a whole lot easier to decipher than many of the "Dearest Sirs to helps me with class projekt" postings we commonly see in this place!

Not only are they usually well written, but they often come from someone who does not speak English natively, and is doing his very best.

 

[HiTech]

I never had any problems reading textspeak, but then I also see that I don't have any friends here on the subject matter!

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I never had any problems reading textspeak, but then I also see that I don't have any friends here on the subject matter!

Presumably you're a kid then?, and don't know any better?.

BTW - congratulations on your 1000th+ post!.