What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
Thanks,
Tom

Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
Doug

:What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
:Thanks,
:Tom

I was looking at one small stereo earphone type plug that has three contacts. would I connect the right side and the left side outputs together?
Tom

:Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
:Doug
:
::What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
::Thanks,
::Tom

Oh, OK, that'll work. All you are needing to do is parallel the left and right channels, and then feed the combined signal into the xmitter.

But if you are home-brewing your hook-up, be careful that the phasing is matched for each channel. If the phasing is wrong, you'll get the difference between each channel, not the sum.
Doug

:I was looking at one small stereo earphone type plug that has three contacts. would I connect the right side and the left side outputs together?
:Tom
:
:
:
:
::Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
::Doug
::
:::What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
:::Thanks,
:::Tom

Doug, How do I make sure that the phasing is correct? Do I just take the the common side of the outputs and connect to one side of the input of the transmitter. then take the right side stereo output and connect it to the left side stereo output and connect them to the other side of the input of the transmitter? Will this not hurt the CD player? shorting the right and left outputs together?
Tom

:Oh, OK, that'll work. All you are needing to do is parallel the left and right channels, and then feed the combined signal into the xmitter.
:
:But if you are home-brewing your hook-up, be careful that the phasing is matched for each channel. If the phasing is wrong, you'll get the difference between each channel, not the sum.
:Doug
:
::I was looking at one small stereo earphone type plug that has three contacts. would I connect the right side and the left side outputs together?
::Tom
::
::
::
::
:::Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
:::Doug
:::
::::What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
::::Thanks,
::::Tom

Tom,
We had that discussion, back a month or so. I think most modern stereo amps use a technique called BTL (bridge tied load), where both the high and low side (+/-)of each are fed from a small power amp, and hence the load (speaker/headphones) ties the two together. I suggest a small resistor (1k) in series with each channel before connecting them together. You might Google BTL, and see what comes up.

marv

:Doug, How do I make sure that the phasing is correct? Do I just take the the common side of the outputs and connect to one side of the input of the transmitter. then take the right side stereo output and connect it to the left side stereo output and connect them to the other side of the input of the transmitter? Will this not hurt the CD player? shorting the right and left outputs together?
:Tom
:
:
:
:
::Oh, OK, that'll work. All you are needing to do is parallel the left and right channels, and then feed the combined signal into the xmitter.
::
::But if you are home-brewing your hook-up, be careful that the phasing is matched for each channel. If the phasing is wrong, you'll get the difference between each channel, not the sum.
::Doug
::
:::I was looking at one small stereo earphone type plug that has three contacts. would I connect the right side and the left side outputs together?
:::Tom
:::
:::
:::
:::
::::Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
::::Doug
::::
:::::What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
:::::Thanks,
:::::Tom

Now, let me back up here.

What I'm doing with my AM transmitter is feeding it a signal from an AM/FM stereo tuner (not an amp). For that I am just using one of those Y-cables from RadioShack. The Y-cable just parallels the two channels, left and right.

A tuner just puts out line-level output, not power like comes out of an amp. If we're talking about feeding the transmitter from an amp, then I'm out of my league.
Doug

:Tom,
:We had that discussion, back a month or so. I think most modern stereo amps use a technique called BTL (bridge tied load), where both the high and low side (+/-)of each are fed from a small power amp, and hence the load (speaker/headphones) ties the two together. I suggest a small resistor (1k) in series with each channel before connecting them together. You might Google BTL, and see what comes up.
:
:marv
:
::Doug, How do I make sure that the phasing is correct? Do I just take the the common side of the outputs and connect to one side of the input of the transmitter. then take the right side stereo output and connect it to the left side stereo output and connect them to the other side of the input of the transmitter? Will this not hurt the CD player? shorting the right and left outputs together?
::Tom
::
::
::
::
:::Oh, OK, that'll work. All you are needing to do is parallel the left and right channels, and then feed the combined signal into the xmitter.
:::
:::But if you are home-brewing your hook-up, be careful that the phasing is matched for each channel. If the phasing is wrong, you'll get the difference between each channel, not the sum.
:::Doug
:::
::::I was looking at one small stereo earphone type plug that has three contacts. would I connect the right side and the left side outputs together?
::::Tom
::::
::::
::::
::::
:::::Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
:::::Doug
:::::
::::::What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
::::::Thanks,
::::::Tom

I Googled "Bridge Tied Load" amps, but was unable find a direct reference to shorting the outputs, although there was mention of very low DC offset between the two outputs, which otherwise would contribute to unwanted current. Didn't read all the available data sheets, but seem to remember "SHORT CIRCUIT PROOF", but don't remember whether that is a complete shutdown or just current limiting. The classic approach would be an emitter/cathode follower for the line level (600 ohm) output, and except for a BTL output, it might be wise to add a small restance in series with each channel unless the followers have it.

marv

:Now, let me back up here.
:
:What I'm doing with my AM transmitter is feeding it a signal from an AM/FM stereo tuner (not an amp). For that I am just using one of those Y-cables from RadioShack. The Y-cable just parallels the two channels, left and right.
:
:A tuner just puts out line-level output, not power like comes out of an amp. If we're talking about feeding the transmitter from an amp, then I'm out of my league.
:Doug
:
::Tom,
::We had that discussion, back a month or so. I think most modern stereo amps use a technique called BTL (bridge tied load), where both the high and low side (+/-)of each are fed from a small power amp, and hence the load (speaker/headphones) ties the two together. I suggest a small resistor (1k) in series with each channel before connecting them together. You might Google BTL, and see what comes up.
::
::marv
::
:::Doug, How do I make sure that the phasing is correct? Do I just take the the common side of the outputs and connect to one side of the input of the transmitter. then take the right side stereo output and connect it to the left side stereo output and connect them to the other side of the input of the transmitter? Will this not hurt the CD player? shorting the right and left outputs together?
:::Tom
:::
:::
:::
:::
::::Oh, OK, that'll work. All you are needing to do is parallel the left and right channels, and then feed the combined signal into the xmitter.
::::
::::But if you are home-brewing your hook-up, be careful that the phasing is matched for each channel. If the phasing is wrong, you'll get the difference between each channel, not the sum.
::::Doug
::::
:::::I was looking at one small stereo earphone type plug that has three contacts. would I connect the right side and the left side outputs together?
:::::Tom
:::::
:::::
:::::
:::::
::::::Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
::::::Doug
::::::
:::::::What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
:::::::Thanks,
:::::::Tom

Yes, Marv, I also Googled "BTL" but did not find anything that I could understand that helped me.But, I did look back at last month's posts on this site and found a post titled "Adding aux. input to 51 Ford Bendex radio" in this post Tom D. said to use 50K-100K resistors inline with the "hot" leads right and left then connect them together. then use that and the "common ground" lead as the two leads to the transmiter. Does this sound right? I was just going to get a cheap small CD player to drive the transmitter. The CD player will most likley have a headphone output an not a line level output and I would not like to damage the amp.
Tom

:I Googled "Bridge Tied Load" amps, but was unable find a direct reference to shorting the outputs, although there was mention of very low DC offset between the two outputs, which otherwise would contribute to unwanted current. Didn't read all the available data sheets, but seem to remember "SHORT CIRCUIT PROOF", but don't remember whether that is a complete shutdown or just current limiting. The classic approach would be an emitter/cathode follower for the line level (600 ohm) output, and except for a BTL output, it might be wise to add a small restance in series with each channel unless the followers have it.
:
:marv
:
::Now, let me back up here.
::
::What I'm doing with my AM transmitter is feeding it a signal from an AM/FM stereo tuner (not an amp). For that I am just using one of those Y-cables from RadioShack. The Y-cable just parallels the two channels, left and right.
::
::A tuner just puts out line-level output, not power like comes out of an amp. If we're talking about feeding the transmitter from an amp, then I'm out of my league.
::Doug
::
:::Tom,
:::We had that discussion, back a month or so. I think most modern stereo amps use a technique called BTL (bridge tied load), where both the high and low side (+/-)of each are fed from a small power amp, and hence the load (speaker/headphones) ties the two together. I suggest a small resistor (1k) in series with each channel before connecting them together. You might Google BTL, and see what comes up.
:::
:::marv
:::
::::Doug, How do I make sure that the phasing is correct? Do I just take the the common side of the outputs and connect to one side of the input of the transmitter. then take the right side stereo output and connect it to the left side stereo output and connect them to the other side of the input of the transmitter? Will this not hurt the CD player? shorting the right and left outputs together?
::::Tom
::::
::::
::::
::::
:::::Oh, OK, that'll work. All you are needing to do is parallel the left and right channels, and then feed the combined signal into the xmitter.
:::::
:::::But if you are home-brewing your hook-up, be careful that the phasing is matched for each channel. If the phasing is wrong, you'll get the difference between each channel, not the sum.
:::::Doug
:::::
::::::I was looking at one small stereo earphone type plug that has three contacts. would I connect the right side and the left side outputs together?
::::::Tom
::::::
::::::
::::::
::::::
:::::::Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
:::::::Doug
:::::::
::::::::What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
::::::::Thanks,
::::::::Tom

Tom,
Too many acryonyms, too little time. If still interested, Google "bridge tied load" vs BTL, and maybe a data sheet for a BTL amp. The 50-100k might be more appropriate for tube sets with much higher voltages. For the CD and line output, something around 1k might be a good starting point. Take a close look at the source and terminating impedances/resistance, which may well be different for different equip, to make sure isolation resistors does not drop the level beyond usable. In all cases I would recommend isolation to some degree, regardless of equip types.

marv

:Yes, Marv, I also Googled "BTL" but did not find anything that I could understand that helped me.But, I did look back at last month's posts on this site and found a post titled "Adding aux. input to 51 Ford Bendex radio" in this post Tom D. said to use 50K-100K resistors inline with the "hot" leads right and left then connect them together. then use that and the "common ground" lead as the two leads to the transmiter. Does this sound right? I was just going to get a cheap small CD player to drive the transmitter. The CD player will most likley have a headphone output an not a line level output and I would not like to damage the amp.
:Tom
:
:
:
::I Googled "Bridge Tied Load" amps, but was unable find a direct reference to shorting the outputs, although there was mention of very low DC offset between the two outputs, which otherwise would contribute to unwanted current. Didn't read all the available data sheets, but seem to remember "SHORT CIRCUIT PROOF", but don't remember whether that is a complete shutdown or just current limiting. The classic approach would be an emitter/cathode follower for the line level (600 ohm) output, and except for a BTL output, it might be wise to add a small restance in series with each channel unless the followers have it.
::
::marv
::
:::Now, let me back up here.
:::
:::What I'm doing with my AM transmitter is feeding it a signal from an AM/FM stereo tuner (not an amp). For that I am just using one of those Y-cables from RadioShack. The Y-cable just parallels the two channels, left and right.
:::
:::A tuner just puts out line-level output, not power like comes out of an amp. If we're talking about feeding the transmitter from an amp, then I'm out of my league.
:::Doug
:::
::::Tom,
::::We had that discussion, back a month or so. I think most modern stereo amps use a technique called BTL (bridge tied load), where both the high and low side (+/-)of each are fed from a small power amp, and hence the load (speaker/headphones) ties the two together. I suggest a small resistor (1k) in series with each channel before connecting them together. You might Google BTL, and see what comes up.
::::
::::marv
::::
:::::Doug, How do I make sure that the phasing is correct? Do I just take the the common side of the outputs and connect to one side of the input of the transmitter. then take the right side stereo output and connect it to the left side stereo output and connect them to the other side of the input of the transmitter? Will this not hurt the CD player? shorting the right and left outputs together?
:::::Tom
:::::
:::::
:::::
:::::
::::::Oh, OK, that'll work. All you are needing to do is parallel the left and right channels, and then feed the combined signal into the xmitter.
::::::
::::::But if you are home-brewing your hook-up, be careful that the phasing is matched for each channel. If the phasing is wrong, you'll get the difference between each channel, not the sum.
::::::Doug
::::::
:::::::I was looking at one small stereo earphone type plug that has three contacts. would I connect the right side and the left side outputs together?
:::::::Tom
:::::::
:::::::
:::::::
:::::::
::::::::Tom - you can use one of those wye-type phono-cord connectors, available at RadioShack. One end has two plugs, one for each channel's ouput from your stereo player. The other end has one plug to go to your transmitter's input jack.
::::::::Doug
::::::::
:::::::::What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
:::::::::Thanks,
:::::::::Tom

Tom, you might just consider buying a used CD player with line-level output - or even a new one, as cheap as they are.

With my old Pioneer CD player, a Y-cord connecting my SSTRAN AM transmitter works just fine. I have also used the Y-cord from RadioShack to connect my CD player to the phono jack of an old tube-type mono radio. Everything seems to work fine, and so far nothing has blown up or caught fire.
Doug

I don't understand anything about the BTL business. Maybe BTL and/or series resistors come into play when connecting to an amp's output, not line level? Or maybe ignorance is bliss?
Doug

:Tom,
:Too many acryonyms, too little time. If still interested, Google "bridge tied load" vs BTL, and maybe a data sheet for a BTL amp. The 50-100k might be more appropriate for tube sets with much higher voltages. For the CD and line output, something around 1k might be a good starting point. Take a close look at the source and terminating impedances/resistance, which may well be different for different equip, to make sure isolation resistors does not drop the level beyond usable. In all cases I would recommend isolation to some degree, regardless of equip types.
:
:marv
:
::Yes, Marv, I also Googled "BTL" but did not find anything that I could understand that helped me.But, I did look back at last month's posts on this site and found a post titled "Adding aux. input to 51 Ford Bendex radio" in this post Tom D. said to use 50K-100K resistors inline with the "hot" leads right and left then connect them together. then use that and the "common ground" lead as the two leads to the transmiter. Does this sound right? I was just going to get a cheap small CD player to drive the transmitter. The CD player will most likley have a headphone output an not a line level output and I would not like to damage the amp.
::Tom
::

I would have to agree with Doug except I would probably go with an inexpensive DVD player. That would enable you to load up a CD with MP3 files as well and would require less 'disc swaps'. You would not have a display to view your tracks unless you hooked up a TV/monitor but I would think if you placed all your files in the root folder it would play sequentially. I too built an SSTRAN and plan on feeding it from a DVD player I upgraded and broadcast OTR files to my radios. I've seen a lot of cheapo players at Best Buy and the like for under 30 dollars at times.

:Tom, you might just consider buying a used CD player with line-level output - or even a new one, as cheap as they are.
:
:With my old Pioneer CD player, a Y-cord connecting my SSTRAN AM transmitter works just fine. I have also used the Y-cord from RadioShack to connect my CD player to the phono jack of an old tube-type mono radio. Everything seems to work fine, and so far nothing has blown up or caught fire.
:Doug
:
:I don't understand anything about the BTL business. Maybe BTL and/or series resistors come into play when connecting to an amp's output, not line level? Or maybe ignorance is bliss?
:Doug
:
::Tom,
::Too many acryonyms, too little time. If still interested, Google "bridge tied load" vs BTL, and maybe a data sheet for a BTL amp. The 50-100k might be more appropriate for tube sets with much higher voltages. For the CD and line output, something around 1k might be a good starting point. Take a close look at the source and terminating impedances/resistance, which may well be different for different equip, to make sure isolation resistors does not drop the level beyond usable. In all cases I would recommend isolation to some degree, regardless of equip types.
::
::marv
::
:::Yes, Marv, I also Googled "BTL" but did not find anything that I could understand that helped me.But, I did look back at last month's posts on this site and found a post titled "Adding aux. input to 51 Ford Bendex radio" in this post Tom D. said to use 50K-100K resistors inline with the "hot" leads right and left then connect them together. then use that and the "common ground" lead as the two leads to the transmiter. Does this sound right? I was just going to get a cheap small CD player to drive the transmitter. The CD player will most likley have a headphone output an not a line level output and I would not like to damage the amp.
:::Tom
:::
:

Tom, I went down to the Dollar store and picked up the CD player and just "wye it", CD cost about $6.00 (yeah some $ stores lie).

:I would have to agree with Doug except I would probably go with an inexpensive DVD player. That would enable you to load up a CD with MP3 files as well and would require less 'disc swaps'. You would not have a display to view your tracks unless you hooked up a TV/monitor but I would think if you placed all your files in the root folder it would play sequentially. I too built an SSTRAN and plan on feeding it from a DVD player I upgraded and broadcast OTR files to my radios. I've seen a lot of cheapo players at Best Buy and the like for under 30 dollars at times.
:
::Tom, you might just consider buying a used CD player with line-level output - or even a new one, as cheap as they are.
::
::With my old Pioneer CD player, a Y-cord connecting my SSTRAN AM transmitter works just fine. I have also used the Y-cord from RadioShack to connect my CD player to the phono jack of an old tube-type mono radio. Everything seems to work fine, and so far nothing has blown up or caught fire.
::Doug
::
::I don't understand anything about the BTL business. Maybe BTL and/or series resistors come into play when connecting to an amp's output, not line level? Or maybe ignorance is bliss?
::Doug
::
:::Tom,
:::Too many acryonyms, too little time. If still interested, Google "bridge tied load" vs BTL, and maybe a data sheet for a BTL amp. The 50-100k might be more appropriate for tube sets with much higher voltages. For the CD and line output, something around 1k might be a good starting point. Take a close look at the source and terminating impedances/resistance, which may well be different for different equip, to make sure isolation resistors does not drop the level beyond usable. In all cases I would recommend isolation to some degree, regardless of equip types.
:::
:::marv
:::
::::Yes, Marv, I also Googled "BTL" but did not find anything that I could understand that helped me.But, I did look back at last month's posts on this site and found a post titled "Adding aux. input to 51 Ford Bendex radio" in this post Tom D. said to use 50K-100K resistors inline with the "hot" leads right and left then connect them together. then use that and the "common ground" lead as the two leads to the transmiter. Does this sound right? I was just going to get a cheap small CD player to drive the transmitter. The CD player will most likley have a headphone output an not a line level output and I would not like to damage the amp.
::::Tom
::::
::

Paul: $6 for a CD player? Wow! The wye-cord itself probably cost at least a couple of bucks?
Doug

: Tom, I went down to the Dollar store and picked up the CD player and just "wye it", CD cost about $6.00 (yeah some $ stores lie).
:
:

Yeah, Tony's advice to buy a cheapo DVD player makes sense. Something tells me they don't even make plain CD players anymore, but how would I know? My old Pioneer CD changer probably belongs in a museum. It must be at least 20 years old?

I would guess that Wal-Mart would sell cheapo DVD players, made in China?

I have my SSTRAN AM transmitter set up to broadcast from either my CD player, my FM tuner, or my turntable (the latter through a phono preamp) - all stereo, but converted into mono with a RadioShack Y-cord. I have a RadioShack selector switch which allows quickly changing the input source to the SSTRAN.
Doug

:I would have to agree with Doug except I would probably go with an inexpensive DVD player. That would enable you to load up a CD with MP3 files as well and would require less 'disc swaps'. You would not have a display to view your tracks unless you hooked up a TV/monitor but I would think if you placed all your files in the root folder it would play sequentially. I too built an SSTRAN and plan on feeding it from a DVD player I upgraded and broadcast OTR files to my radios. I've seen a lot of cheapo players at Best Buy and the like for under 30 dollars at times.
:
::Tom, you might just consider buying a used CD player with line-level output - or even a new one, as cheap as they are.
::
::With my old Pioneer CD player, a Y-cord connecting my SSTRAN AM transmitter works just fine. I have also used the Y-cord from RadioShack to connect my CD player to the phono jack of an old tube-type mono radio. Everything seems to work fine, and so far nothing has blown up or caught fire.
::
::I don't understand anything about the BTL business. Maybe BTL and/or series resistors come into play when connecting to an amp's output, not line level? Or maybe ignorance is bliss?
::Doug
::

Well, until I got bored with the few CDs I own, and Camelot Music went out of business, I used to feed my portable CD player into my car radio all the time. Prior to that I used my portable cassette player. I never had trouble with the cassette player, but I usually used only one channel anyway, since the music was in mono, and cassettes have terrible phasing problems (the head is almost never perfectly perpendicular to the two tracks).

With the CD player, however, especially with Esquivel stereo CDs, I'd combine the two channels, and I'd get bad distortion. I tried isolating each channel with a capacitor. I don't think that it helped, though I don't remember. I also tried resistors. I think that they helped. I'm not sure if the distortion is from the amplifier, or if the digital technology has phasing issues, too. Digital signals mixed slightly out of phase would sound very gritty, which they did. I resorted to playing mostly mono CDs, and I used only one channel.

See what works for you. I don't think that I had very good luck with the line-out jack on my portable CD player, either. Resistors will most likely help, or at least soften things up a bit.

T.

Just curious why you use a Y cable to convert to mono. My SSTRAN kit has inputs for both channels and the combining of both channels is handled in the unit.

:Yeah, Tony's advice to buy a cheapo DVD player makes sense. Something tells me they don't even make plain CD players anymore, but how would I know? My old Pioneer CD changer probably belongs in a museum. It must be at least 20 years old?
:
:I would guess that Wal-Mart would sell cheapo DVD players, made in China?
:
:I have my SSTRAN AM transmitter set up to broadcast from either my CD player, my FM tuner, or my turntable (the latter through a phono preamp) - all stereo, but converted into mono with a RadioShack Y-cord. I have a RadioShack selector switch which allows quickly changing the input source to the SSTRAN.
:Doug
:
::I would have to agree with Doug except I would probably go with an inexpensive DVD player. That would enable you to load up a CD with MP3 files as well and would require less 'disc swaps'. You would not have a display to view your tracks unless you hooked up a TV/monitor but I would think if you placed all your files in the root folder it would play sequentially. I too built an SSTRAN and plan on feeding it from a DVD player I upgraded and broadcast OTR files to my radios. I've seen a lot of cheapo players at Best Buy and the like for under 30 dollars at times.
::
:::Tom, you might just consider buying a used CD player with line-level output - or even a new one, as cheap as they are.
:::
:::With my old Pioneer CD player, a Y-cord connecting my SSTRAN AM transmitter works just fine. I have also used the Y-cord from RadioShack to connect my CD player to the phono jack of an old tube-type mono radio. Everything seems to work fine, and so far nothing has blown up or caught fire.
:::
:::I don't understand anything about the BTL business. Maybe BTL and/or series resistors come into play when connecting to an amp's output, not line level? Or maybe ignorance is bliss?
:::Doug
:::
:

:Just curious why you use a Y cable to convert to mono. My SSTRAN kit has inputs for both channels and the combining of both channels is handled in the unit.
:
::Yeah, Tony's advice to buy a cheapo DVD player makes sense. Something tells me they don't even make plain CD players anymore, but how would I know? My old Pioneer CD changer probably belongs in a museum. It must be at least 20 years old?
::
::I would guess that Wal-Mart would sell cheapo DVD players, made in China?
::
::I have my SSTRAN AM transmitter set up to broadcast from either my CD player, my FM tuner, or my turntable (the latter through a phono preamp) - all stereo, but converted into mono with a RadioShack Y-cord. I have a RadioShack selector switch which allows quickly changing the input source to the SSTRAN.
::Doug
::
:::I would have to agree with Doug except I would probably go with an inexpensive DVD player. That would enable you to load up a CD with MP3 files as well and would require less 'disc swaps'. You would not have a display to view your tracks unless you hooked up a TV/monitor but I would think if you placed all your files in the root folder it would play sequentially. I too built an SSTRAN and plan on feeding it from a DVD player I upgraded and broadcast OTR files to my radios. I've seen a lot of cheapo players at Best Buy and the like for under 30 dollars at times.
:::
::::Tom, you might just consider buying a used CD player with line-level output - or even a new one, as cheap as they are.
::::
::::With my old Pioneer CD player, a Y-cord connecting my SSTRAN AM transmitter works just fine. I have also used the Y-cord from RadioShack to connect my CD player to the phono jack of an old tube-type mono radio. Everything seems to work fine, and so far nothing has blown up or caught fire.
::::
::::I don't understand anything about the BTL business. Maybe BTL and/or series resistors come into play when connecting to an amp's output, not line level? Or maybe ignorance is bliss?
::::Doug
::::
i built 2 different homebrew am xmitters and made a wye plug for an old cassette deck and used that and it worked fine for both
::

Butch: OK, I stand corrected. I'm using a wye cable to connect a CD player to the phono input of an old E.H. Scott radio. I'm not using a wye cable for my SSTRAN.
Doug

::Just curious why you use a Y cable to convert to mono. My SSTRAN kit has inputs for both channels and the combining of both channels is handled in the unit.
::

:::::
:i built 2 different homebrew am xmitters and made a wye plug for an old cassette deck and used that and it worked fine for both
:::

Butch, how does the SSTRAN combine the two channels? does it just connect them? I could do the same thing.
Tom

::Just curious why you use a Y cable to convert to mono. My SSTRAN kit has inputs for both channels and the combining of both channels is handled in the unit.
::
:::Yeah, Tony's advice to buy a cheapo DVD player makes sense. Something tells me they don't even make plain CD players anymore, but how would I know? My old Pioneer CD changer probably belongs in a museum. It must be at least 20 years old?
:::
:::I would guess that Wal-Mart would sell cheapo DVD players, made in China?
:::
:::I have my SSTRAN AM transmitter set up to broadcast from either my CD player, my FM tuner, or my turntable (the latter through a phono preamp) - all stereo, but converted into mono with a RadioShack Y-cord. I have a RadioShack selector switch which allows quickly changing the input source to the SSTRAN.
:::Doug
:::
::::I would have to agree with Doug except I would probably go with an inexpensive DVD player. That would enable you to load up a CD with MP3 files as well and would require less 'disc swaps'. You would not have a display to view your tracks unless you hooked up a TV/monitor but I would think if you placed all your files in the root folder it would play sequentially. I too built an SSTRAN and plan on feeding it from a DVD player I upgraded and broadcast OTR files to my radios. I've seen a lot of cheapo players at Best Buy and the like for under 30 dollars at times.
::::
:::::Tom, you might just consider buying a used CD player with line-level output - or even a new one, as cheap as they are.
:::::
:::::With my old Pioneer CD player, a Y-cord connecting my SSTRAN AM transmitter works just fine. I have also used the Y-cord from RadioShack to connect my CD player to the phono jack of an old tube-type mono radio. Everything seems to work fine, and so far nothing has blown up or caught fire.
:::::
:::::I don't understand anything about the BTL business. Maybe BTL and/or series resistors come into play when connecting to an amp's output, not line level? Or maybe ignorance is bliss?
:::::Doug
:::::
:i built 2 different homebrew am xmitters and made a wye plug for an old cassette deck and used that and it worked fine for both
:::

Tom, it's a little complicated to explain, but if you send me your email address, maybe I can scan the SSTRAN schematic, and send it to you.
Doug

:Butch, how does the SSTRAN combine the two channels? does it just connect them? I could do the same thing.
:Tom
:
:

:What would be the best way to connect a stereo cd or tape player output to a mono transmitter?
:Thanks,
:Tom
i don't have the sstran tom,i have a couple of tube type am xmitters i homebrewed.butch