Old technology still has its place! (LineX Wireless USB FM Transmitter)

Member Name: grahamt

Product:	LineX Wireless USB FM Transmitter
Date:	29/11/07 (1416 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple to use and inexpensive

Disadvantages: Possible FM frequency conflicts

Have you noticed that despite all the advances in computer laptop technology over the years, the one thing that seems to remain steadfastly stuck in the last millennium is the quality of the sound produced by the built-in speakers? OK, that's not true of all makes. I used to use an old IBM Thinkpad that actually produced quite a decent sound but that was very much the exception rather than the rule. Even then, the volume of sound produced was inevitably pretty weak, especially when unpowered external speakers are plugged into the headphone socket, even on full volume.

There are many answers to this problem. You can buy powered 2.1 or even 5.1 sound systems for use with computers and many do produce a much improved sound quality but, of course, they are only of benefit when you are sitting at the computer to which they are attached. Like many, I would prefer to sit somewhere comfortable, such as in the lounge, listening to music on my cinema surround sound system attached to my TV. The sound quality it produces is vastly superior to that from the speakers built-in to the TV. Like computers, the sound system that comes as a part of most TVs seems always to be the part that has the least amount of money spent on it!

So, how to get the sound from the one to the other? Well, I suppose that depends upon how far apart they are. If, as in my case, they are quite some distance then it would require either a very long cable or else some sort of wireless connection. There are devices that are specifically designed to convey audio and in most cases video signals also, between devices. Most are intended to send the signal from such as a cable set-top box or a video player to a TV somewhere else in the house. It requires a transmitter and a receiver and, of course, you can only send it one-to-one. Although I could use this sort of setup, in my case I'm only interested in the audio signal anyway; it would be a bit of waste.

It is possible to send the audio via a network. There is software that will enable you to stream audio from your computer out onto your network (wireless or wired) such as Shoutcast and devices that will take in a network streamed audio feed and convert it back into audio to input to a Hi-fi system. The new media centres that are available will do the complete job for you. A wired network connection to my audio system is not a possibility due to the way the house is constructed so mine would have to be wireless anyway.

So, lots of possibilities but most potentially needing a lot more equipment and undoubtedly most of it quite expensive. I thought, there must be another way...

It may have escaped your notice but there has been a recent change to the law regarding wireless broadcasting. Ofcom recently announced that as of the 8th December 2006 it will be legal to use certain approved low powered FM transmitters to connect devices like MP3 players to such as car radios and home Hi-fi systems using standard FM frequencies. Obviously, for this to be effective you need to be using a frequency that is not already being used for an authorised radio station. There are, however, still many free frequencies available in most areas.

My audio system certainly has a built-in FM radio function and this enables this sort of solution to the problem. All it needs is a device to convert the audio signal from the computer into an FM signal on a free FM frequency. My Internet search lead me to the LineX Wireless Audio USB FM Transmitter. I discovered it on the Add-ons World website but I have since also found it elsewhere.

The LineX device is a very neat black box about 10cms by 5cms by 2cms and has just one socket, a two contacts USB socket. A four contact to two lead is provided and is about a metre long. Above the socket is a black cover, under which is found 3 DIP switches. On the opposite side of the case is an LED indicator.

First of all you need to find a frequency on your radio that is not being used, at the lowest end of the 88-108Mhz FM spectrum. The range supported by the LineX is from 88Mhz to 89.2Mhz. The frequency intervals are 200Khz. Once you have found a frequency you can use within this range you set the LineX to use this frequency with the DIP switch settings. The frequency, once chosen, will not wander as has been the case in the past with similar devices since the LineX uses Phase Locked Loop (PLL) technology. In my area I am using 88.4Mhz.

You may be wondering about interfering with other FM broadcasts. The FM frequency spectrum chosen is one that is mostly avoided by commercial broadcasters, for exactly this reason. It's the range that is also used by the similar devices used in-car to take the sound from iPods and MP3 players to the car's radio, to play over the built-in car speakers. So, clearly there are going to be other people using these frequencies. LineX states that the device only has a range of 45 metres maximum so the issue should not occur. If it does, you can always change frequencies.

You plug in one end of the USB cable into the LineX and the other into any free USB port on your computer. That's it; there is no power cable; the Linex draws what power it needs from the USB port. Windows (I'm using XP so the following applies to that version) recognises the device as a pair of USB speakers and makes it available to you. To use it you have to go into the Audio Properties by right-clicking the little speaker icon in the System Tray. Select the Audio tab and from the Sound playback chose the Default device from the drop-down box as USB Speakers.

You should do all of this before you open any media players as they won't recognise the Linex unless it is activated beforehand. If you have got something like Windows Media Player open then close it and reopen it.

The strength of the FM signal broadcast by the LineX is determined by the volume setting on the computer. Too loud and you will get distortion. Adjust the volume level on the computer to provide a good signal but without obvious distortion. As I said, the instructions state that the signal range is around 45 metres but I haven't checked if that's so myself.

As a solution to enabling audio to be played via the computer anywhere in the house it's excellent. We have a radio in the kitchen that has no CD player but by playing a CD in my laptop we are able to listen to it in the kitchen. I can also choose a whole load of MP3s that live on the Network Attached Storage device (Buffalo LinkStation 250GBs) and play them anywhere in the house.

When I bought my LineX I got it for £14.95 from Add-ons World although I notice that the price has recently gone up. From them it now costs £26.99. Amazon were advertising it for £15.99 but but don't appear to be doing so at present. Ebay at the time of writing this review has one for £16.49 and one for £17.49, quoting the supplier as Add-ons World for both. Figure that out! I suggest you just hunt around but, be careful you get the right model. There are also versions sold under the LineX brand that are intended to plug into an iPod or MP3 player and these don't use the USB connection.

I think this is a great and simple solution to the problem of getting audio all around the house, and cheap as well.

Summary: A quick and easy way to stream music around the house

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