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NutmegCT

NutmegCT

Great Pumpkin
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OK, I work with oxen and grow my own food. But I still have a few brain cells left.

How can I get the audio from my laptop to an AM radio? (The device I got last year works, but has a strong hiss which is slowly getting worse.)

Dell laptop supports Bluetooth.

Is there a Bluetooth device I can plug into the laptop, which would take laptop audio and transmit it as AM radio (somewhere between 570 - 1600 khz?) to my 1930 Atwater Kent?

Inquiring minds want to know!
Tom M.
 
Hard to say Tom, but maybe this will help! :devilgrin:
Seniors Internet.jpg
 
Are you sure it is the transmitter, not the radio's antenna that is the problem? I have always thought that AM radio sucked.
 
GregW said:
Are you sure it is the transmitter, not the radio's antenna that is the problem? I have always thought that AM radio sucked.
Click to expand...
Trying to use a Bluetooth transmitter to send a digital signal to an analog AM radio is likely the issue. Vacuum tubes have heaters, emitters. The radio is trying to amplify a data stream it doesn't recognize. At least that's my story. :LOL:

In the sixties, AM stations were the ones playing current pop chart music, the FM stations were playing what was then called "long hair" music. Orchestral and instrumental stuff.
 
DrEntropy said:
Trying to use a Bluetooth transmitter to send a digital signal to an analog AM radio is likely the issue. Vacuum tubes have heaters, emitters. The radio is trying to amplify a data stream it doesn't recognize. At least that's my story. :LOL:
Click to expand...
It isn't the issue yet. Tom is currently using an AM transmitter hooked up to his laptop.
 
Tom, your Dell supports Bluetooth, does that mean it is built in? If that's the case, there is nothing to plug into your computer. Other things can communicate with your computer wirelessly. Mice, cell phones, speakers, etc. Any electrical device in your home can be causing the hissing problem. Hair dryers, shavers, wifi routers, blenders. That is why I hate AM.
 
I don't see how adding Bluetooth to the mix will improve things. If I understand correctly, you have this AM adapter hooked directly to the laptop (> How do I ... < ) . Does moving the laptop and transmitter closer to the Atwater Kent lessen the static? If so, the static is from something else. If the static stays the same, maybe it's from the transmitter power supply?
 
Thanks gents. John T is right - I've been using an RF transmitter, shown in the thread he linked. The hiss/scratchiness starts when the power to the transmitter is turned on, whether it's the wallwart or just two DC cells. Doesn't even have to be hooked into the laptop audio output.

As there are hundreds of bluetooth dongles available for laptops, I wondered if there's one which would take laptop audio output and transmit on AM frequency (530-1700). (Obviously, I've never used Bluetooth ...)
Thanks.
Tom M.
 
In the old thread you say a 3.7v battery is required. What voltage is the wall wart supplying? The 2 D cells may not be enough.
 
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Greg - that hardware was designed for a 3.7v battery; I use a wall wart supplying 3 v, and sometimes with 6 v. Same for DC cells, 2 for 3v, 3 for 4.5 v, 4 for 6v.

Don't know why it was designed for a single (expensive) 3.7 v cell, when 3, 4.5, or 6v would have been more do-able with much more common cells.

Main thing is that regardless of input, and regardless of having audio input or not, soon as the hardware is powered up, the AM radio receives the signal, as well as a hiss/scratchiness.

I could find only two systems that take audio output from laptop (Dell Latitude) and produce AM signal. So am hoping to find another "system" (Bluetooth?) to do a similar job.

Thanks.
Tom M.
 
Thanks George. Never even knew about that system. Looks like it uses Bluetooth as well as standard audio (3.5mm plug) signals, and outputs over the entire AM band. That's much more flexible than what I've got now.

Still hoping for something a bit simpler: a unit which would plug into my USB port, and output an AM signal (probably on a short vertical antenna). And without the hiss/static of the unit I'm using now.
 
GregW said:
Tom, your Dell supports Bluetooth, does that mean it is built in? If that's the case, there is nothing to plug into your computer. Other things can communicate with your computer wirelessly. Mice, cell phones, speakers, etc. Any electrical device in your home can be causing the hissing problem. Hair dryers, shavers, wifi routers, blenders. That is why I hate AM.
Click to expand...
Yea I get AM hiss when I turn on the light fixture in the kitchen, it uses LED bulbs, and the radio is 20ft or more straight line with a wall in between away.
 
That's the "fun" bit - the radio hiss only starts when the AM transmitter is powered up. Lights, motors, etc. aren't causing the hiss. And the transmitter still causes the hiss even if not plugged into the laptop audio jack.
 
NutmegCT said:
Greg - that hardware was designed for a 3.7v battery; I use a wall wart supplying 3 v, and sometimes with 6 v.
Click to expand...
I think that is your problem. Putting 6 volts to a system designed for 3.6 volts may not be enough to make it go POOF, but it can still fry the circuit.
 
eek - if the unit is fried, guess I need another system more than I thought!
 
What kind of cable are you using to connect to the laptop?
That Xmitter is probably picking up junk.
If you unplug the input to the transmitter ( with power to the xmitter)do you still get the buzz?
 
George_H said:
That Xmitter is probably picking up junk.
Click to expand...
If it "hisses" with turning on a light fixture, it seems it picks up a 60 cycle AC "hum."
 
George_H said:
What kind of cable are you using to connect to the laptop?
That Xmitter is probably picking up junk.
If you unplug the input to the transmitter ( with power to the xmitter)do you still get the buzz?
Click to expand...
Thanks George. I use a run-of-the-mill audio cable, male-male. But remember that the buzz occurs whether that cable is plugged into the xmitter or not. Even if the laptop is off, the buzz occurs if the transmitter is powered up. And xmitter can be powered with batteries or powerpack; regardless, the buzz occurs when the unit is powered up.
 
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