Together, these two units comprise a high accuracy, very high fidelity low power FM transmission setup; all you need besides this gear is some wire and cables, and the knowledge of how to use it all together. All of which I do have. The 1100A does the pre-emphasis required for Dolby encoding and manages some minor issues (like stereo balance); the 1000A creates an actual FM signal and can measure the fidelity of that signal very accurately. The only other equipment you should have is a frequency counter, so that you can set the transmission to the precise on-channel frequency the FCC requires (and modern gear needs because most receivers today cannot be tuned off of precisely defined center channels) and, if you like Dolby, a broadcast encoder. Older equipment like my Marantz units use linear tuning designs that are not subject to this limitation.

You can find these Sound Technology units on EBay from time to time, and you'd be unlikely to pay as much as $400 for the pair of them. I checked today, and the last two ST1000A's that sold went for under $200 each; the ST1100A is likely to be expensive, even though it is a very simple device, essentially because they aren't that easy to come across.

Not only is this equipment capable of transmitting a signal better than the FCC's regulations require in terms of quality, stability, and and compatibility, it can also broadcast Dolby-encoded FM, which is how I use it at home.

I feed it from a CD changer when I'm in the mood for the highest possible quality audio, or from my Sirius satellite radio when I want background music, or I just want to hear something new and different.

The output is fed via 75-ohm coaxial cable to my various FM receivers (I collect Marantz stereo gear, and I have enough systems so there is at least one high quality Marantz audio system in every room of the house.)

This makes for a whole-house arrangement that relieves me of having to listen to our one and only local FM station, which is apparently run by the same clan of monkeys that have been trying to get that Shakespeare script out the door for a while now.

Should you obtain one of these and you're technically adventurous, here is a guide to improving the fidelity even further.

When the equipment is actually set up and in operation, there are a fair number of cables and connections made to it, so I disconnected everything for this "portrait" of the gear. I thought it would be more interesting to be able to read the nomenclature than see a bunch of wires.

#audio

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