Wireless Surround Sound System

by gpotvin

13K174

Intro: Wireless Surround Sound System

Everybody wants to have a nice, crisp, clear home theater surround system.  There are two problems with this: The cheap ones involve a lot of wiring and work and take up a lot of space.  The ones that don't take up a lot of space can cost hundreds of dollars.

I have come up with a cheap solution that is compact, almost completely wire free, and makes use of those old 1970s portable Stereo Radio Cassette Recorders gathering dust in the garage.

STEP 1: Gathering the Materials

Materials:

> FM Transmitter (one for wireless headphones might work)

> 2+ Portable Stereos with FM Tuner

> 3.5mm Stereo Auxiliary Cable [or] Red/White Cables (Depending on the Output on the device and the Input on the transmitter)

STEP 2: Set It Up

The FM tranmitter I happen to be using has an Aux IN and an Audio OUT, which is essential to this working.  To start, you will need to find an empty radio station (no sound or constant static) on your FM tuner.  When you have found one, tune your FM Stereos and your transmitter to that station.  Most transmitters have a signal radius of acout 15-30 feet. 

STEP 3: Make the Connections

This step is a little bit self-explanatory.  You will need to connect your audio source to the Aux. IN on your transmitter.  All of the connections are shown in the schematic below.

4 Comments

TheAntiHeroHimself 11 years ago

This is pretty interesting! How is the sound quality?

And this means I can pretty much add as many speakers as I choose, correct?

Chowmix12 13 years ago

Most FM tuners need 12v power sources. This instructable is very incomplete. Its a great idea though...

gpotvin 13 years ago

Ok. Sorry that it is incomplete. I litterally made it during lunch break at my middle school. And you are correct about it needing a 12v power supply. I used an ac-dc converter and plugged it into that. It was meant for the car so it plugs into the cigarette lighter. Any way. If you want me to add something just post in the coments.

Quercus austrina 13 years ago

1970's portables? Looks like the Toshiba is latter 80's/early 90's, the Sony is probably early 2000's and the style is still sold today. Most 70's portables were mono radios.

Anyway, what you have proposed is just wireless stereo. True surround uses a minimum of 4 channels, 2 front and 2 rear, and usually there are 5 or more channels. You will need a minimum of 2 stereo transmitters set to 2 different "empty" stations (add another stereo transmitter and "empty" station for each additional "pair" of channels) in order to get true surround. While looking for boomboxes, try to find ones with the Stereo Wide or Stereo Expand to widen the soundstage of the boombox. This has the effect of making the speakers sound further apart than they really are.

Great idea, just needs a little tweaking.

Qa