FM Transmitter's

480hsv

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Dec 22, 2020
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Hi All,

Has anyone had experience with both these items? Just wanting to know the main difference between them. Is it primarily distance? I only really need 40-50 meters as my show will be approx 10 meters from the street. Will both do the job?



Thanks in advance.
 

OzAz

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Yes the 7W one has higher output power therefore longer transmitting distance. Either will work fine for most displays. Personally I'd go with the lower wattage one (CZE-05B)
 

i13

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I wouldn't recommend either of those because they're too powerful. With an okay antenna, you should get more than enough range with 0.01W. Car radios are sensitive compared to radios built into typical CD players.
 

Mark_M

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I have a SignsTek unit, labeled for 0.5W.
It is basically the same as these CZE-05B units.

In my test; I changed the transmitter to low power which is 0.1W.
Transmitter was located in a room towards the back of the house. Signal passed through brick roof, walls, metal garage and neighbours houses. I only went in this one direction during testing:

View: https://imgur.com/yAxPhuJ


160m is a rough guess by Google. Testing was using my Smart phones built in FM tuner.
 

Mark_M

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I suggest testing that with a car radio.
More or less do you think?

I could try with a battery powered FM receiver at some point.
Car radios do differ as well. Modern ones will have good distortion reduction which may give the effect of more range for the signal.

I'm curious what you think a car radio would do to the range.
 

i13

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I think a car radio (modern or old) will pick up the signal much further away.

An unrelated but relevant point is that newer car radios often have a problem where there is a delay between them receiving the signal and playing it through the speakers.
 

TerryK

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... Has anyone had experience with both these items? Just wanting to know the main difference between them. Is it primarily distance? I only really need 40-50 meters as my show will be approx 10 meters from the street. ...
Go with the 0.5 Watt unit to limit transmission range and minimize the possibility of any attention from the Australian agency that regulates transmitters. Test your coverage and either (or both) physically re-locate the transmitter or adjust the antenna to enlarge or compress the coverage area (ideally to stay within legal limits). The 7 Watt unit indicated that it is FCC Accepted but that does not mean it is legal to operate it unlicensed.

I look at other specifications (noise, distortion, etc.) usually before output power. A problem is that with the lower priced units, documentation of specifications is usually not well listed.
 

TANSA

Sparky with Blinky Lights ;-)
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I swapped the CZE-05B out with a VAST and found it to be better. The FPP plugin is great.
 

Dreamin

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Dec 28, 2016
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I have the CZE-05B and run low power mode, it just transmits a bubble big enough for cars to listen to around my house, a few houses away it starts to get a bit crackly. Worked perfectly off the Pi with the USB audio.
 

brando

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Is the CZE-05B still a good option? I bought a $9 cheapo off eBay which is rubbish. Found this on AliExpress. I don't see any switch about low power mode etc, is it likely to be a knock off? Pricing for the same unit on eBay is $100+
 

Mark_M

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Is the CZE-05B still a good option? I bought a $9 cheapo off eBay which is rubbish. Found this on AliExpress. I don't see any switch about low power mode etc, is it likely to be a knock off? Pricing for the same unit on eBay is $100+
Yes, the CZE/SignsTek (both the same, just rebranded) is the choice between quality and price.

The cheapo $9 one is still great for it's price. Performance heavily depends on your antenna soldered to the board.
 
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