Sharing Music Across Cars

[smittydc]

What systems are people using to share music across art cars? (besides running long RCA cables)
I know someone was loaning good quality wireless receivers around some of the major large cars, and I was wondering what they used? 5.8ghz uhf? WiFi?

[GreyCoyote]

Just broadcast on normal FM.

http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/Digita ... rchSize=12

The link goes to a 1-watt unit designed for export, but they also have a "legal" version for $50 less. Both are 12 volt.

I have used the one in the link above. With a good antenna and 40 feet of elevation, you will have NO problem being heard anywhere in the moop fence. With a "rubber ducky" and no height, your clean, clear range will be in the order of 500 feet.

Edited to add: in low power FM, height is EVERYTHING. Get the antenna as high as possible. You will be heard farther, and clearer, with 1 watt at 40 feet, than 50 watts at 1 foot. Pretty much, "if you can see it, you can talk to it" is the mantra. Big power only shows the world how seriously clueless you are and pisses-off the feds something fierce. YMMV.
I will now let the ever-vigilent HAMs educate you on the finer points of the FCC rules. Heheheh

[trilobyte]

I'm nudging this over to the Q&A board, since that's a better fit. It probably could also have worked in the Transportation board, but in a large number of cases the signal sharing with a mutant vehicle happens between a vehicle and a fixed installation (such as a camp's sound system).

IMO if you're looking to use multiple vehicles and systems to make the party bigger (as opposed to having people just 'tune in' as they cruise by), you either need to go to stage equipment quality wireless rigs or wired connections. The problem with FM transmission is that the sound quality is generally pretty terrible. Not so bad for car stereos, but comes up very very short in both the low and high end on any kind of decent quality PA.

[BBadger]

We use wireless transmission equipment in the form of speakers.