FAQs

• How Far Does The Whole House FM Transmitter 2.0 Go?
• How Many Frequencies Does The Whole House FM Transmitter 2.0 Offer?
• Will It Work With My Audio Source?

Audio Questions

• What Is The Cable With The Red & White RCA Jacks For?
• My Audio Source Doesn’t Have A Volume Control, What Do I Do?

Power Questions

• Will Leaving My Whole House FM Transmitter On 24/7 Harm It?
• I Lost My AC Adapter Can I Use Some Other One?
• Why Doesn’t My FM Transmitter Turn On?

Transmitting Questions

• What Is The Maximum Distance An FM Transmitter Can Go Without A License?
• Is This FM Transmitter Designed To Comply With FCC Part 15 Rules And What Exactly Are The FCC Rules?
• Why Does the FCC Use Microvolts (µV) to Determine the Power Output (Field Strength) of a FM Transmitter And Not In Watts?

Technical Questions

• I’m Having A Little Trouble Can Someone Help Me?
• Why Don’t I Hear Anything On My FM Radio?
• What Are the Warranty Terms for the Whole House FM Transmitter?
• I’m Still Not Sure What Else To Do, Who Can I Call?

Since the average home is around 2,000 square feet, according to National Association of Home Builders, it shouldn’t be a problem to cover your entire house. Even Bill Gates’ home is “only” 48,000 square feet!

And yes, even running it in a hot car during summer won’t hurt it… just don’t leave it in direct sunlight, like your dashboard!

Visit our accessories area to purchase another one.

• Is the power cord firmly attached to the FM Transmitter?

• Is the AC adapter plugged into the wall?

• Have you tried another power source? Like use batteries or the USB Power cable with your computer to power it instead of the AC Adapter (or vice versa)?

The field strength of any emissions within the permitted 200 KHz (88 – 108MHz) band shall not exceed 250 microvolts/meter at 3 meters. The emission limit in this paragraph is based on measurement instrumentation employing an average detector.

Since this is a question the FCC receives a lot they have also issued a Public Noticed dated July 24, 1991 to help clarify any questions.

(Our FCC ID: XOAWH-FMT and for Canada it’s IC.8728A-WHFMT)

The new FCC Part 15 Rules specify a maximum “Field Strength” of your transmitted signal. Since it is unlikely that you have the equipment to carry out accurate field strength measurements in microvolts, it is useful to understand at least the theory of field strength so that you can understand both what you can expect from such transmitters, and what limits the FCC intends. Previous limits on nonlicensed FM-broadcast band devices were defined as a maximum field strength of 40µV per meter measured at a distance of 15 meters.

The June 1989 revised rule specifies a maximum of 250 µV per meter, but measured at 3 meters from your antenna. The term, “250µV per meter” means that an accurate field-strength meter with a calibrated and scaled 1-meter antenna may indicate a maximum signal field strength of 250µV (In contrast, non-licensed operation from 26.96 to 27.28 MHz, your standard CB walkie-talkie, is limited to a field strength of 10,000 µV per meter at 3 meters).

In all cases, the field strength of a signal decreases in direct proportion to the distance away from the antenna. Power decreases by the square of distance: for every doubling in distance, the signal power is quartered, but the field strength voltage is only halved. Using this theory, we can construct a simple chart to show the maximum permitted performance of a non-licensed FM band transmitter. The theoretical figures assume a simple 1 meter receiving antenna in all cases and do not take into consideration that reception can be greatly enhanced with larger, multi-element antennas and preamplifiers on the receiver. In the following chart, the field strength (theoretical minimum) gets stronger as you move from the edge of these circular boundaries toward the antenna:

This “exercise in meters and microvolts” demonstrates that the FCC clearly intends to limit the theoretical range of non-licensed devices operating in this band. It also shows the potential for causing interference at a home down the street from you. But it also shows that you can legally put out quite a good signal over wider areas than you might have imagined.

For other kinds of radio services, the FCC restricts such factors as transmitter power or antenna height, which cannot really limit the possible “range” of a transmission under good conditions. By restricting the maximum field strength at a specific distance from your antenna, the FCC clearly plans for your signal to “die out” at a specific distance from your antenna, no matter what kind of transmitter power or antenna you are using. On the other hand, the FCC standards do make it legal and possible for you to broadcast on a school campus, campground or local neighborhood, as long as you remain within the field strength limitations and do not cause interference to broadcast reception.

If you are more of the hands on type, go to our Technical Support Page for a basic step-by-step guide to fix most of the issues you may run into.

• Is the audio cable firmly attached to the Whole House FM Transmitter and your audio source?
• Is the volume turned up on your audio source? We suggest you start with a medium level of volume
• Is the volume turned up on your FM Receiver source?
• If you are using it for a TV, DVD or VCR make sure you are using the audio OUT not the audio IN ports
• Make sure your audio device is working properly

If this doesn’t solve your problem please call us at (888) 674-6226 (we are open M-F 8-5pm ET) and we can help. If you want to try and solve the problem yourself please see the Technical Support Page for a basic step-by-step guide to fix most of the basic issues you may run into.