by Jim Bray
Wireless is everywhere these days, from cell phones to computer networking--but what if you want to play your tunes on a device that isnt compatible with your other listening devices.
Theres actually quite a wide selection of wireless music transmitters around that can do the job, as you can see the next time you visit your local electronics store. I was curious to find out how these things perform, and aerielle Inc. happened to get in touch offering their new audioBug aB-250, so it seemed like the perfect chance to try out the technology.
The $40 U.S. audioBug aB-250 transmits audio wirelessly from such devices as MP3 or portable CD players to FM radio tuners. It uses the little-exploited lower FM frequencies of around 88 MHz, and in my tests it worked quite well.
The aB-250 is switchable through four frequencies in the 88--89 MHz range, to give you a better chance to find a free frequency, and this came in handy.
The audioBug is a cute little bugger that looks kind of like one of those small, portable mouses that are becoming so popular with notebook computers. It isnt a mouse, of course, its a bug and as such it has two big blue "bug eyes" that light up when its fired up, looking neat but not really adding anything to the process. But it is cute.
anyway, you plug the end of the bugs "tail" into the headphone jack of your portable device, tune your FM radio to the channel you select, press "play" on the portable music device, and "Presto!" you have stereo audio coming from your system (assuming the FM tuner system youre using offers stereo--and most do).
Now, you only have range of about 15 feet, so you cant for example set the audioBug up in your living room and send the signals to your big home theater in the family room (or wherever), and thats a shame. On the other hand, it did a wonderful job in a couple of applications I tried.
Firstly, sometimes I like to stream Internet audio into my home theatre and Ive been doing it using a Stereo Link unit that interfaces with the PC via USB, and with the stereo via conventional stereo audio jacks. It works fine, but it means you need an extra power plug and have to run wires across the room.
The audioBug changes all that. It lets me send the streaming audio (or whatever) directly from the computer to the stereo receivers FM tuner, accomplishing exactly the same task while freeing up an aC power plug, USB port and stereo input jacks on the receiver.
and it worked fine!
after Id messed around with the audioBug trying out various FM radios in the house, with a variety of results, I tried it in one of my cars. I own a 1991 Infiniti Q45 I bought very used and which, alas, didnt come with Infinitis optional CD player. So to play my discs I use a portable Sony Discman hooked into the cassette player by an adapter.
It works, but at the cost of wires running through the vehicles interior as well as squeaking and grinding noises from the cassette adapters mechanical moving parts.
Enter the audioBug. On a recent weekend road trip, I unplugged the cassette adapter and replaced it with the Bug, then tuned the Qs FM radio to pick up the audioBugs signals.
and it worked fine, even though I had in effect tripled the distance from the Discman to the stereo head unit. Think about it: in order to get the CDs output to the radios head unit (a distance of about two feet), the audioBug sends the signals outside the car to the radio antenna on the rear quarter panel. The antenna picks up the signals and sends them back to the radio, which plays them through the cars speakers.
It wasnt perfect. at times there was some interference and some noise, but on the whole the audio quality was better and more consistent than what Im used to from the cassette adapter.
So guess where the cassette adapter is now. Right, a junk drawer.
The audioBug, obviously, is battery powered and uses one CR2 battery--which is included. I have no idea how long a battery lasts, but I havent yet gone through the first battery--not that I use the audioBug that much. aerielle says you should get "over 40 hours" from a battery, which doesnt seem like much.
On the upside, the unit features an instant on/auto off feature to ensure you arent wasting battery life. aerielle offers a replacement four pack of batteries on its website for $12US.
Okay, so this is no cure for cancer, but its a nifty little gadget that works as advertised and really does let you catch up on your tunes, or your streaming broadcasts, with no strings attached.
and thats fine with me!