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Super Simple Ipod FM Transmitter - Make
Super Simple Ipod FM Transmitter - Make
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FM transmitters can be complicated to build, but not this one this iPod FM transmitter
about the easiest you can possibly make. And though the science of radio is well
understood, theres a magical, emotional quality about it that we dont often stop to
appreciate. You will not forget the rst time you pick up a transmission broadcast from a
device you soldered together, yourself, from a few bits of copper, carbon, plastic, and wire.
I am indebted to Jim and Kat of Sonodrome for rst introducing me to that experience,
through this very circuit, which I rst built on a pre-etched PCB from a kit they offered for
sale as recently as 2011.
This design was originally popularized by Japanese multimedia artist Tetsuo Kogawa. The
circuit itself is a slight variation on Kogawas simplest FM transmitter design, and the
method of building it is sometimes referred to as Manhattan style. Ituses a piece of
copper-clad circuit board but, rather than etching the circuit traces through the copper
layer, a large piece of continuously-plated board is used to make all the circuits ground
connections, and small sections of plated board are glued to the surface to form nodes or
pads that are insulated from ground. Besides being a convenient way to assemble
circuits using minimal tools, this building method encourages you to think about circuits in
an interesting way as groups of connections that are either grounded or oating above
ground.
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2 transmitter uses ten on-board components and will transmit a monaural audio signal
This
about 30 feet. It is possible to extend that range by adding an antenna, and Mr. Kogawas
website has more information about how to do that.
NOTE:Depending on where you live, operating an FM transmitter even a very shortrange one like this may be illegal without a license. Unless you attach an antenna, its
very unlikely that anyone will notice or complain about any transmissions you may make
with this device. On the other hand, its very difcult to predict, before construction is
complete, just where on the FM band this transmitter will broadcast. Use due caution
during testing, and make sure you understand the law in your area before attaching the
battery.
PARTS
STEPS
PROJECT STEPS
1. Form the coil.
2. Cut the board.
3. Mount the coil.
4. Add capacitor C3 and resistor R2.
5. Add the electrolytic cap, resistor R1, and capacitor C2.
6. Add the transistor.
7. Add the 10pF caps, resistor R3, and the battery clip.
8. Attach the phone plug.
9. Tune it up!
10. Mount the battery.
ADVERTISEMENT
Attach your 9V battery to the battery clip and insert the phone plug into an audio source like an MP3
player or smartphone. Start a song or other easily-recognizable audio track playing, then turn on your
radio and scan through the FM band to locate the transmission.
TIPS:
Start with your receiver right next to the transmitter.
A digital tuner with precision down to 0.01MHz may be helpful.
Be patient and careful. Scanning is a bit tedious, but if you get impatient you may miss the signal
altogether and mistakenly believe the transmitter isn't working.
If you scan the entire band and can't locate your signal, try changing the orientation of your receiver's
antenna with respect to the board and scanning again.
It's best to run your audio source on battery power when you are rst isolating the transmitting
frequency. If you have to run it from mains power, make sure electrically noisy devices like
uorescent lights, TVs, and computer monitors are not active on the same circuit at the time.
You can tune the transmitting frequency by changing the spacing between turns in the coil. Closing the
spacing will lower the transmitting frequency, while opening it up will raise the transmitting frequency.
You can also use a variable capacitor for tuning (see Step 7).
seanmichaelragan@gmail.com
155Comments
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AmitabhSongara 2yearsago
sir
canyoutellhowwecanchangethefrequency
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22
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WH>AmitabhSongara 2yearsago
youcanchangethefrequencyifyoureplaceC510pFcapacitorwitha222pFvariable
capacitor.
7
Reply Share
NickVanderplop>WH ayearago
oranyothervariablecapacitorwithasimilarrange
1
Reply Share
RizwanQayyum>WH ayearago
Inductorvalue??
Reply Share
WH>RizwanQayyum ayearago
approximately42.74nH
http://www.66pacific.com/calcu...
http://www.daycounter.com/Calc...
ijustusedacoilinductancecalculatorontheabovepageswithdatafromthis
site
turns4
diameter:6.35mm(0.25inches)
length:12mm(0.472441inches)
3
Reply Share
Boguslav>WH 3monthsago
Youhaveonemistake.Approximately,inductanceis84,25nH.Forcalculation
youneeddiameterofthewire,butnolength.Takelinkwithcalc:
http://cxem.net/calc/inductor_...84.284.2NY
Reply Share
Koby 2yearsago
thisisawesomeI'mgoingtomakeone.Butwherewouldyouconnecttheantenna?
14
Reply Share
ZidaneTribal>Koby 2yearsago
youwouldhookuptheantennatotheemitterofthetransistor.atleastthatswhatthediagram
showsandhowihaveithookedup.haventtestedthedistanceyet.
9
Reply Share
caswell 2yearsago
Hi,Ihavebuiltthesupersimpleradiotransmitter,itworksbutthesignalistoonoisyorscratchy,what
canIdotoenhance,Isuspectmycoilistheproblemasitisnoteven,itisalsofoundtoolowinthe
FMspectrum,howcanImoveituptothemixberangeofthespectrum,thanksalot,enjoyedbuilding
FMspectrum,howcanImoveituptothemixberangeofthespectrum,thanksalot,enjoyedbuilding
it......caswell
31
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michaelgeorge 2yearsago
Thisisanamazingcircuit.itworksproperly:)
butitwouldbebetterifyouexplainedthefunctionofeachcomponentindetails.
WouldyoutellmewhatthefunctionofC4is?
Thanksinadvancesir,
10
Reply Share
Jake 2yearsago
IthasbeenveryhardformetofindsolidcopperinmyareacanIusetinnedcopperinstead?
9
Reply Share
NathanaelBeall>Jake 10monthsago
useastandardcablewire,(forTVinstallation)thereusually18awg
1
Reply Share
ZidaneTribal 2yearsago
imadethismyself,butitseemsthatwitha9vbatteryicanonlyusevolume36atmostwithout
significantdistortion.idontknowmuchabouttransistorsandtheirvoltageratings,butihookeditup
using18voltsanditwasrunningfineandicoulduseahigherinputvoltageaswell.hoever,after
aboutanhourthe29vbatterieswerewarmhowwouldicheckthecurrentdraw?itriedtheamp
probeonmymeterbutitdidntwork.
6
Reply Share
FireControlman2ndClassUSN>ZidaneTribal 2yearsago
currentdrawwouldbeP/E.powerdividedbyvoltage,soyouhavetodothemathandfindthe
currentthroughthecollectorandgofromthere
1
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AnupUpadhyaya 2yearsago
WherecanIfindthehardwareused?CanIfinditinsideaCDplayer?OrinsideaRadio?
P.S.:Iamnotaelectronicsstudent.
10
Reply Share
JohnDaniels>AnupUpadhyaya 4monthsago
Youcouldprobablyfinditallinaradio,butanyelectronicspartsstoreshouldhaveeverything
youneed.RadioShackisthetraditionalplacetofindthisstuffintheUS,butthesedays
they'rehitandmiss.Amazon.comprobablyhasitbutyoumighthavetobuylargequantities.
Youdon'thavetobeanelectronicsstudentifyoujustlookatthenumbers.Usuallythevoltage
ratingontheseparts(forexample25v)isthemaximumvoltageyoucanapply.Sincethisuses
a9vbattery,anythingabove9vwillbeokandanythinglowerthan9vcouldburnout.The
resistanceorcapacitanceratingisthenumberthatyouneedtomatch(forexample103kon
theresistorand22uFonthecapacitor).Ihopethishelpsyoufindtherightparts.
Yikes,I'mjustnoticingthatyoupostedthisayearago.Ihopethiscanstillhelpyoualittleor
anyoneelsejuststartingout.
Reply Share
AidanPayne ayearago
WherewouldIattachanantennathathasmultipleconnections,likeontakenfromanoldradio?
4
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IrfanuddinShafi>AidanPayne ayearago
Onetocapacitorc5andthegroundtogroundplane.
Reply Share
SaurabhSingh 2yearsago
isanysubstitutionof2N3904transistor.Ifexistsplsreply.
4
Reply Share
GarethAndrews>SaurabhSingh 2yearsago
2N3904/BC547/PN2222/2N4401areallNPNtransistors,
don'tknowifthey'llworkbutitsworthatry:)
1
Reply Share
FokkoPerton>GarethAndrews 4monthsago
Bc547or537bothworkacharm,they'remoreeasilygettableinmycase.
1
Reply Share
WH 2yearsago
Thisisfantastic.Thankyouverymuchforpostingit.Itworksverywell.Iuseitinthecarinorderto
connectmyphonetotheradiosoicanplaywhateveriwant.Withoutantennatherangeisjust1or2
meterssoitdoesn'tcauseanyinterferenceatall.Wheniattachedan82cmlongcopperwireasan
antennatherangewentupto100morso.Imayconnectthecircuittothe12Velectricalcircuitofthe
car.Iassumeitwilljustincreasetherange.
4
Reply Share
ThilinaJayasingha>WH 2yearsago
Isitworksrealy.i'mnotmakeit.Butiwantoknowwhatfreaquencycanheardyou?plzreply
meassoonaspossible.
1
Reply Share
WH>ThilinaJayasingha 2yearsago
WH>ThilinaJayasingha 2yearsago
yes,itworksbutthefrequencyissensitive.Inprototypeboardi
firstgot91MHzthenibuiltthecircuitoncopperboardandthefreq
wentdownto86MHzwhichisoutoftheFMrange.Inmyexperiencethefrequency
alsodependsonthebatterylevelandwhetherornotanantenna(thatcanbean80cm
longcopperwire)isconnectedtotheoutput.Icheckedtheoutputfreqwithahighfreq
oscilloscope.
Ifyouusea222pFvariablecapacitorinplaceofC5youcanchangetheoutputfreq.
Thelessthecapacitancethehighertheoutputfrequencybutthelesstheoutput
performancewillbe.Youcancompensatetheperformancedropbyaddinganantenna
butitaffectsthefreqalittle.
4
Reply Share
lim 2yearsago
couldyoucanshowalldetailsfortheresistor!Cuzifinalyearwantodoit
4
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concerned_legal_citizen 2yearsago
Sean,Ijustfinishedbuildingthefmtransmitter.Ididgetittowork,however,itisverysensitive
touchinganyofthecomponentsontheboard.Iaddeda3inchantenna.Togetthetransmittertowork,
Ihavetoadjustthecoilandthenbackawayabout6feettohearitworking.Istheoneyoubuiltthis
sensitivetofrequencychangesandproximitytoyourbody?
3
Reply Share
ToadofToadHall 2yearsago
Veryinteresting.Quiteillegal,ofcourse.
But,ohdear,didn'ttheyteachyoutolookafteryourtools?
3
Reply Share
DhaveGatchalian 2yearsago
caniusebc548transistor?
2
Reply Share
Cubeofcheese 6monthsago
Ihave18guagewire,butoutisnotsolid,woulditstillwork?
1
Reply Share
Lukas 9monthsago
Amazing,amithefirsttorealisethatitworksjustfinewithoutanypower/battery...
Thismeanticouldmakeatinyadapterformyphonetoplaymusictoanyradio!
Reply Share
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Share
Gaurav>Lukas 5monthsago
HeyLukasthatwasindeedremarkable.Wouldbegreatifyoucouldpleasesharethiscompact
PCBcomponentlayoutwithus...
Reply Share
Lukas>Gaurav 5monthsago
SorryIdidn'tnoticethecomments..Tobehonest,Allididwasplaceallthe
componentsinalineasyoucanseeinthepicture.ButImadesurethatthe
componentsnexttoeachothermadeconnectionsinordertoavoidtoomanyjumper
cables.Iusedaprojectboardratherthanacustompcb.Ijusthavetopointoutthatthe
audioinputprovidesenoughpowertoemitaweaksignalwhichifoundcanonlybe
capturedbymorepowerfullradioswithaverylowrangeofabout1m.However,thisis
prettyremarkableconsideringitdoesNOTREQUIREabatterytoowork!Unfortunately
idon'trememberandidonthavetimetocreatethelayoutwhichiusedtobuildthe
transmitterinthepicturebutgiveitatry!Playaroundwiththelayout.
Reply Share
Gaurav>Lukas 5monthsago
HiLukas...thanksfortakingtimetoreply.Canyoupleasesupportbyatleast
clickingaTOPandBackImageofyourassemblyformykindreference.
AlsoIamsurprisedwhenyousaythatthiscircuitdoesn'trequireanypoweras
itworksona9Vbattery!!!
Thanks,
Gaurav
India
Reply Share
Gabriele>Lukas 6monthsago
Youcansendmetheschematicandcomponentsthatyouused?IIwantatestformyphone.
Reply Share
JS7457 ayearago
imakeitanditsocool!!doitwithacooperboard!Verygoodqualityforme!
102,5Mhz!Iusea0.05mmsolidcooperwire,4turns!
1
Reply Share
raiden ayearago
canuplzzztellmethepricipleonwhichitworks....plzzzexpliantheworkingofthemodel......itisfor
myphysicsproject........plzzreplyfast
1
Reply Share
Finnley 2yearsago
Icouldnotgetminetoworkdoyouhaveanysuggestions
Icouldnotgetminetoworkdoyouhaveanysuggestions
1
Reply Share
davidson>Finnley ayearago
canweseeyours?
Reply Share
NoahStewart 2yearsago
Hasanyonecreatedastereoversionofthis?
1
Reply Share
ShrivardhanKantharia>NoahStewart ayearago
yesihavebutit'snotworking
Reply Share
FIREphaenix 2yearsago
Isitpossibletomakeitanysmaller?
1
Reply Share
GarethAndrews>FIREphaenix 2yearsago
size?yes.components?notreally.
Reply Share
FIREphaenix>GarethAndrews 2yearsago
shame
Reply Share
vishwanathk ayearago
Sir,
InsteadofcoppercladboardihaveusednormalPCBiamnotgettingoutputinmycircuitalsoihave
usedC1as0.01ufhasvariablecapacitorisnotavailableinmyregion.PLEASETELLMEHOWTO
GETOUTPUT...
thankyou.
Reply Share
EdenSimpson>vishwanathk ayearago
HiIrecentlymadeoneofthese,forC1iused1uf.theinputdoesn'tneedtobeveryloudforit
towork.Forlackofcopperboardiusedthe3Dapproachasseeninthepicture.
IusedaBC547asthetransistor.
Myoneis96.1mhzbutitonlyworksifyouholdtheAntenna.?
Reply Share
NathanaelBeall>EdenSimpson 8monthsago
itisusingyourasabigantenna
Reply Share
javier>EdenSimpson ayearago
maybeuhaveabridgesomewere,probablyonground,oyouhavenotatallsoyou
areinsteadwhenutouchit.
Reply Share
Advait>javier 10monthsago
Idontunderstand?
howwillthathappen?
Reply Share
IndiraGanesan 2monthsago
doesthereceiverdetectthenewfrequencywerbroadcastigoritchoosesthepreviouslyavailablefm
radiostationfrequecy
Reply Share
ChetanChauhan 2monthsago
Hey,Iactuallymadethisfmtransmitterformyschoolprojectbuttheproblemwiththetransmitteris
thatitisemittingtheinputateveryfrequencysothereisnoparticularfrequencyrequiredandthereis
lotofnoisewhilereceivingthesignal,socananyonetellmehowtosolvetheproblemoffrequency?
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