What is the PowerConnect FM transmitter?

**DAB** · #1 02-01-2010, 12:18 AM

We first saw the PowerConnect FM transmitter during the product showcase at Sirius XM's NYC headquarters. But more and more new satellite radios are coming out with PowerConnect (like the XMP3i), and some people want a full explanation of what exactly the PowerConnect FM transmitter does.

But first... a little history lesson.
When satellite radios were first available ("the ol' days") receivers had built-in FM transmitters. These were a great because all you had to do was run the satellite radio antenna and plug-in the receiver - installation was pretty simple.

The reality was, many of these satellite radios had overpowered FM transmitters.

So overpowered, in fact, that surrounding cars could pick up the signal. It got to the point that some satellite radio owners were putting stickers on their cars letting others around them know what station to tune in to. Fun right? Not so fun for others who happened to be listening to public radio, which commonly were in the frequency range (read complaints from NPR listeners that sparked an investigation).

What happened afterwards, during the summer of 2006, had a lasting result on the satellite radio retail market: complaints from the NAB, demands to the FCC for a full recall, then XM started suspending receiver shipments, followed by Sirius halting production as well. It was a mess.

Months later, both Sirius and XM came up with solutions that the FCC could accept. Consumers were forced to run a multitude of wires in order to get a working FM transmitter.

That's why the new PowerConnect FM transmitter is such a break-through.

Now, instead of running wires everywhere, consumers can go back to the good ol' days. Just run the antenna wire, plug in the receiver, and you're good to go. What you see below is how you install the PowerConnect... that's it, nothing else:

So how does the PowerConnect work?

The concept is simple and brilliant (so much so that it's patent pending technology).

Essentially the FM signal is piped through from the cigarette lighter into the radio by using the electrical connection to transmit the signal. The PowerConnect itself is a power-source and an FM transmitter in one.

Below is a video I recorded at the Sirius XM product showcase explaining how the PowerConnect works (the company asked that I didn't post the video at the time, but I think it's safe now):

Pretty neat right?

You can expect every new satellite radio that gets released from now on to include the PowerConnect FM transmitter. You can also expect to see many existing models that have the "old" FM transmitters to get upgraded to include the new technology. Some of these include the Stratus 6, XM Onyx, XpressRCi, the upcoming XMP3i, and yes, the XM SkyDock.

Aside from ease of installation, the sound-quality from the PowerConnect is pretty incredible too. If you don't have a direct connection or a tape adapter, the PowerConnect provides a superior sounding experience to other FM transmitters.

So that's it, the PowerConnect in a nutshell. Do you have any question or own a PowerConnect enabled radio? Share with us in a comments below.

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View the original Article at Orbitcast or discuss it here.