Date:         Sat, 4 Sep 2004 13:43:16 -0400
Reply-To:     William Alexander <william@IDZYN.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         William Alexander <william@IDZYN.COM>
Subject:      Re: Using FM stereo for film soundtrack
In-Reply-To:  <4139D13A.5090307@adelphia.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

I have a similar set up in the car I previously spent all of my money
on before I became aware of how obsessed I am with Vanagons... It is an
FM Modulator that you plug in between your stereo and your car's
antenna - and the box installs somewhere in the dash. I put it all in
myself pretty easily - so now I have a headphone jack that comes out of
my dashboard - the original set up is for my iPod. (aside: Seems like
more Vanagon owners use macs than in the general population) Anyway I
can just tune it to 87.9 or whichever the station is and play whatever
I want through the stereo.. it took me about 15 seconds to imagine the
possibilities with my DVD playing laptop plugged into the stereo and
sitting on that rear table and me and my honey all layed out on the
rear bed.. it'll end up soundin better than the living room in the
house!

wm in roa va



On Sep 4, 2004, at 10:29 AM, Rocket J Squirrel wrote:

> We took our maiden camping trip a few days ago, and I brought a small
> inverter to power the laptop so we could watch DVD movies. But the
> tinny, puny  sound from the laptop's mighty 1'' speakers was
> underwhelming. I had recently installed a better stereo w/ CD changer
> and subwoofer into the 84 Westy and I found that I wished that it had
> spare inputs which the laptop could plug into, but alas, it was not so
> equipped. So I stopped at Target (a chain, sort of an upscale WalMart)
> to look for either powered speakers or maybe a couple of headsets to
> use
> with the laptop.
>
> While poking around the audio/video/computer accessories section, near
> the portable CD players, I found a very cool solution : a $19.99 FM
> modulator that plugs into the headphone jack of a CD player and
> converts
> it to a stereo radio signal that any FM tuner can receive. Looks kind
> of
> like a gray computer mouse, takes two AAA batteries, has a 7'' cord
> with
> a stereo 1/8'' plug on it -- which fits the headphone jack on a laptop.
>
> A switch on the side permits you to select between four possible FM
> frequencies, 88.1, 88.3, 88.7 and 88.9. You check these frequencies
> with
> your tuner and find one that does not already have a station on it, and
> set the FM modulator to transmit on that frequency.
>
> Worked like a charm!!! The FM signal had no trouble reaching the
> Vanagon's outside antenna. Suddenly we had great sound: almost like
> surround sound when seated on the rear seat with the Westy's cabinet
> speakers behind us; and with the subwoofer turned on, good bass
> effects,
> too.
>
> My wife thought I was a genius. I was pretty impressed, too. This one's
> a keeper.
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 VW Type 2 / 84 Westy: A poor but proud race.
> KG6RCR
>