all--

I've got a few projects lined up now that I'm in my new house, so I
thought I'd report on them as they come to fruition. The first one is
*really* easy: I wanted to stream my music wirelessly through my house
and beyond, and I wanted the advantage of playing it on non-digital
devices like my car stereo or the boombox in the garage, so I opted to
use FM radio waves as my medium of choice.

Step One is to get an FM transmitter of some sort. There are several
of these devices on the market for around $50 - $100 (see here for the
one I purchased:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007ODOMA/102-4260185-9207304?v=glance&n=17228\
2),
or you can make one yourself from a kit...just don't exceed the FCC
wattage ceiling, or you'll be getting a visit from the feds. The one
I purchased had a minijack input and a variety of power options (AC,
USB, battery).

Step Two: get a minijack Y-splitter so that your external computer
speakers still work. I picked this up at Radio Shack for around $5.

Step Three: plug splitter into computer audio port. Plug splitter and
external speakers into splitter.

Step Four: Turn on transmitter. Set frequency to dead air (in my case,
setting 3 switches in various on/off combos until i found an
unoccupied frequency).

That's it--now you can go fire up your iTunes or whatever, go out to
your car and set the radio to your new pirate radio station, and rock
out to all those RIAA-approved mp3s. My coverage extends a little
less than 2 blocks from my house in all directions, so I can even
share with my neighbors if I want.

More to come...