Equipment Review
Maxell FMT-1 Part 15 Certified FM Transmitter
Maxell Corporation of America - Fair Lawn, New JerseyMaxell has been a well-known brand name when it comes to recording media in both the professional and consumer markets. Maxell currently markets recordable media for consumer and industrial users as well as a line of audio accessories. Among their line of accessories for portable music players is the FMT-1 FM transmitter.
The idea of evaluating the FMT-1 came from forum member Rattan, who found it to be one of the handful of Part 15 certified transmitters which would be considered "entry level" for those just starting out and working within a budget. The test specimen obtained by the HobbyBroadcaster.net Labs cost us a whopping $9.00 plus $5.99 shipping for a grand total of $14.99. You can't get more entry level than that
Opening The Box:The FMT-1 comes on a hanging wall card blister pack. The transmitter itself is quite compact, measuring in at 2 3/8 inches in diameter. The transmitter exterior sports a single push on / push off switch with red LED power indicator. Contained underneath is the battery compartment. The transmitter uses three "AAA" batteries for power. Also contained within the battery compartment is a 3-inch wire antenna lead that can either remain self contained or fed outside of the transmitter housing through a slot in the battery cover.
Tuning Up:Along the edge of the transmitter is a four-position switch that allows you to tune the transmitter to one of four output frequencies: 88.1, 88.3, 88.5 and 88.7 MHz. This is one of the factors that we've found that can limit placing your signal where casual listeners would be more likely to run into you. The audio connection is made by connecting the swing-out 1/8-inch three-conductor plug, also located on the edge of the transmitter body.
The Test RangeNothing fancy for the tests here. Using a very long 1/8-inch headphone extension cable we gingerly lobbed the transmitter up to the peak of the roof. The transmitter was bubble wrapped to prevent damage. Care was also taken to insure the antenna lead was fully extended and unobstructed.
A variety of audio sources were used for the pre-flight tests. Our trusty Windows laptop was pressed into service using the StationPlaylist Pro Broadcast Automation software. Programming was played into the transmitter in both unprocessed and processed modes. Processing was accomplished with the Sound Solutions and Tomass audio processing plug-ins.
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