InfOspot AM Radio Transmitter v TH4.75 (Talking House)

This unit performs as advertised, then some. Using the relatively short antenna wire that is packed with the unit, it puts out a usable signal 1/4 mile from my house. I found this astounding, given the output power of the unit is something like 100 milliwatts. There is a local radio station with an antenna farm close to my location at the low end of the AM broadcast band. I set the unit to broadcast at 1660 kHz at the other end of the band, which works extremely well in my location. I use the unit to broadcast recordings of old time music, big bands, etc., to my collection of old AM transistor radios. For this purpose, it it working wonderfully. When I first fired up the unit, there was a pretty loud hum in the signal. Another buyer posted a review recommending winding the power cord into 8 tightly wound 2" coils, close to the plug. I tried this, and it helped reduce the hum somewhat. I have ordered an assortment of ferrite chokes, and when they arrive, I'll snap them along the cord to see if I can eliminate the hum altogether. I found it odd that there is no power switch for the unit. When you plug the unit in, it's on. To turn it off, you have to pull the plug from the wall, or from the connection on the back of the unit. When I'm finished with my broadcasting session, I pull the power cord connector from the back of the unit to turn off the power. Seems to work ok, but a bit odd there is no on/off switch on the front panel When setting the unit up, I found it necessary to turn up the gain of the input signal to a decent level. It's easy to find the right input signal level - just listen to your AM radio. When the sound becomes distorted, your input level is too high - just back off a little until the sound is satisfactory. Highly recommend. Easy to hook up, easy to use. Longevity? Who knows.

This is a nice AM transmitter that you can pick the frequency with and easily record a recorded message that plays over that radio frequency. It did have a bit of a buzz, but I followed the directions and it was lessened when I made the changes. Fairly easy to use. I tried using an external mic, and that did not work at all. But, the internal mic works fine. Its not as good as an FM transmitter, but works fine at about 200 ft or so. If you get closer, it sounds a bit better. Of course, it is AM, so the sound quality is just OK. I am using it for both live broadcasts and recorded and both work fine. I did try to call customer service about the mic, but no answer.

I have a new hobby of restoring AM radios from the 1920s and 1930s. I enjoy listening to oldies and country, but not talk radio or the salsa music that now dominates this band. I was able to pick up several fairly weak stations that play the music I enjoy, but then either one of my neighbors installed a device in their home like a new TV, or the city replaced a power line transformer about two weeks ago. The RF interference is now horrendous. I was bummed. There is no way I can enjoy my radios with all that static. Enter the Talking House AM transmitter. Easy to set up, great range and signal quality. I tuned it to an open AM frequency (1700 KHZ), plugged it into my Iphone (line input) and now can listen to my music library and stream whatever content I want from the internet, static free. There was a bit of a hum in the signal initially, but they supply a non-grounded AC adapter for the Talking House transmitter which totally eliminated that. I am so pleased, particularly for the $95 I spent. Highly recommend this device for others who have similar needs. I have not tried to record anything or used the microphone feature so I really can't comment on that. UPDATE: Within about a month the Talking House started having calibration problems. It would try to calibrate and show "Err" on the display. The good news is that I got my money back so I will retain the original 5-star rating. Maybe this is a fluke and the unit is reliable overall.

The only product superior to this transmitter is the Hamilton Range master. Using only the supplies and certified antenna, this transmitter broadcasts to greater than a 1/4 mile in a rural setting, but in a dense urban one about 3 city blocks.

Like most, I also bought this for use with my vintage radios. It is easy to setup and use, but the constant background buzz makes listening unenjoyable. Even the ground loop isolator installed, there is a constant buzz. Does not matter if the input device is a computer or a battery operated phone. The buzz is always there. Seems to have something to do with the DC power input because moving the plug at the back of the device can make the buzz better or worse.

It covers my entire home with the indoor antenna! I had to stand near my window outside in order to pick up the music, so this device is low power enough the fcc shouldn't come knocking on your door! The antenna does NOT get hot, unlike professional a.m./mw tower antennas do, so if my toddler or pet doves touch it, everyone s fine, no rf burns. It takes up about as much space as a vhs player, and it's light weight. I'd recommend storing it in it's plastic bag when not in use to keep dust and stuff out. The box also has a speaker so you can hear your music through it and not just on your radio. I wish they made a mini one for the car or bike, since the fm band is so crowded and the am/mw and is fairly empty in the daytime.

So first, this is a very niche product, and there is very little competition in the arena. So the features it has versus the price point is pretty good. A couple points to consider.... 1. It’s a very large box, and could be significantly smaller, like half the size or less. The antenna tuner could be solid state, which would dramatically cut down the size. 2. Range is extremely limited... I literally have to place the unit on top of the receiver to get any reasonable sound quality out of the signal being broadcast. If I move it 20 feet away, it pretty much dies completely. Now, granted I’m using a console tube radio as a receiver, and I actually want the classic am radio sound of a tube radio, but still, this box is not performing to expectations. 3. The built-in memory is great if you’re playing a music on hold message, but it’s very limited for this already niche device. If the device has a player built in, why can’t I stick an SD card in it with hours of music? 4. On the plus side, I really like that it has a speaker built in, so you can hear the signal you are trying to braid ADT for troubleshooting purposes. That was very helpful when I was trying to figure out the range issue. So all in all it’s doing the job, but having a modern piece of digital electronics sitting on top of the antique tube radio kinda kills the ambiance.

Decently made product but designed to transmit voice. so music fidelity suffers in the high and very low ranges, although there are modifications with many how-to's online. I have something interfering in my area that permeates the whole AM band so no matter what frequency I chose the static was as loud as the music signal and pretty much unusable. Maybe an outdoor antenna would help and it has provisions for one on the back. Information Station Specialists are a great vendor so buy one from them if you're interested in these. The i A.M. version supposedly has improved audio quality but the same output power.