PC Playback on your Radio
How would you like to playback tunes stored on your PC on your home hi-fi? If the PC and hi-fi are in the same room, or you have a laptop, then it’s not too difficult to hook up the PC’s audio out to the hi-fi’s audio input using a stereo connecting cable, but there’s an easier way.
Last week at a local computer fair Propellerhead picked up a wireless ‘sender’ (basically an iTrip knockoff) designed for portable MP3 players, iPods and the like, for the princely sum of £7.50. Judging by the number of different models on sale — and they’re starting to appear on ebay — It looks as though we’re about to be flooded with the things.
It’s a low power FM stereo transmitter, for sending sounds from an MP3 player to a nearby radio — they’re a handy way to play your digital tunes through a car radio, for example. Well, they work just as well with the tuners in hi-fi systems, and the audio outputs on PCs, and the quality is not half bad. Technically they’re still illegal but plans are afoot to amend the law (or at least turn a blind eye to them).
The range on my cheapie sender is around 10 metres, enough to hear the PC in an upstairs bedroom on the living room sound system. The widget is battery powered, and they last for ages, but you can cut running costs to next to nothing with an adaptor or by using rechargeables. Looking for more PC tweaks? Then head over to the archive at PCTopTips
