FM Radios at Assemblies and Conventions

[Theocat0]

I have read the above comments about the new announcement re: FM frequency at the conventions.  I have not looked into the different radios available but did notice that none seem  to have bluetooth.  The reason I say this is because my wife is legally blind and is very aware of assistive technology and just recently had to purchase hearing aid also which have bluetooth that can be transmitted from her ipad to hearing aids...so she was hoping she could listen with her hearing aids DURING the convention and therefore follow along watching the video's in real time.  For her recording would be a second thought. Any thoughts on this

[Friends just call me Ross]

13 minutes ago, Theocat0 said:

I have read the above comments about the new announcement re: FM frequency at the conventions.  I have not looked into the different radios available but did notice that none seem  to have bluetooth.  The reason I say this is because my wife is legally blind and is very aware of assistive technology and just recently had to purchase hearing aid also which have bluetooth that can be transmitted from her ipad to hearing aids...so she was hoping she could listen with her hearing aids DURING the convention and therefore follow along watching the video's in real time.  For her recording would be a second thought. Any thoughts on this

 

Research to see if their is a radio app that gets those low end FM stations.  

 

Last year, I purchased a little digital FM radio only to discover it doesn't cover those frequencies.😭

[Lee49]

On 4/11/2023 at 10:31 PM, Tortuga said:

The new FM frequencies will be between 72-76 MHz and standard FM radios here will not receive the lower frequency.

You mean this old radio my wife inherited from her mom won't work ?

 

[Qapla]

They make BT transmitter/Receivers that connect to a radio with a mini-plug cord. On most radios, the cord for the earphones/earbuds serves as the antenna so the 3.5mm audio cable going to the BT transmitter would work for this.

 

I have one that is shaped like a hockey puck that work quite well and have used at the assemblies/conventions if I wanted to use BT earbuds or stream to my hearing aids

 

Something like this:

[foghorn]

I researched this same idea last summer. I also found that none of these expanded FM radios were designed to produce a Bluetooth connection. But as Qapia said, you can purchase an inexpensive Bluetooth device That plugs into the earphone jack of the radio and re-broadcasts the audio to a Bluetooth device (speaker or hearing aids). Here is an inexpensive radio that worked REALLY well at our convention last year: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B7R72YS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1. This radio picks up the FM signal reliably, and can go very loud if needed.

[Floyd]

On 4/3/2024 at 1:38 PM, Friends just call me Ross said:

 

Research to see if their is a radio app that gets those low end FM stations.  

 

 

Radio apps for mobile devices only work with radio stations that rebroadcast over the internet. They cannot pick up local frequencies because the mobile devices usually do not have FM radios built into them.

 

[MM9106]

Bringing this topic back. Since the arena we’re having our special convention in is extremely large, I’ve been looking for a good fm radio that can also record directly from the radio. Any suggestions? We’re having some great teachers give talks and I would like to record since I’ll be handling a few assignments. Plus the recordings are also a memento for me for this special occasion. 
 

I think it’ll be in the lower FM frequencies. I have to check the letter they sent us about that. 

Edited May 29 by MM9106

[foghorn]

56 minutes ago, MM9106 said:

We’re having some great teachers give talks and I would like to record

Look at the specs carefully. Last year I searched for an FM radio that could receive the lower-band FM and also record the FM audio. i could only find one. There are some great, low-cost receivers in the $15-$20 range. They will record audio, but not FM.

[jwhess]

One of the recommended devices was a Zhiwhis unit.  I purchased one that had recording capability.  It is ModelZWS-603.  It cost less than $30.  It work with FM frequencies from 64-108Mhz.  It has an earphone connection, it records to an SD flas card (user supplied). Our convention announced to the audience that they could not use FM radio apps on their smart devices.  Our organization reminded us that many of the convention venues would be using frequencies lower than older FM radios could receive.  Our convention used 72.9 Mhz.

 

It has Bluetooth capabilities but I have never used them.  The recordings on the SD card were clear.

[MM9106]

1 hour ago, jwhess said:

One of the recommended devices was a Zhiwhis unit.  I purchased one that had recording capability.  It is ModelZWS-603.  It cost less than $30.  It work with FM frequencies from 64-108Mhz.  It has an earphone connection, it records to an SD flas card (user supplied). Our convention announced to the audience that they could not use FM radio apps on their smart devices.  Our organization reminded us that many of the convention venues would be using frequencies lower than older FM radios could receive.  Our convention used 72.9 Mhz.

 

It has Bluetooth capabilities but I have never used them.  The recordings on the SD card were clear.

Thank you! I’ll look into this. 
 

Edit: is this same one. I just want to be sure before I purchase it https://www.amazon.com/ZHIWHIS-Portable-Shortwave-Bluetooth-Rechargeable/dp/B08BJPDXWJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1UO6I5QJA15WA&keywords=zhiwis+ModelZWS-603&qid=1717043950&sprefix=zhiwis+modelzws-603%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfbXRm&psc=1

Edited May 30 by MM9106

[foghorn]

2 hours ago, jwhess said:

It is ModelZWS-603. 

Yep, that's the one I bought, also. Outstanding performance. uses rechargeable cell phone battery pack. You can buy extra batteries cheap. Can also buy a charger, or charge through USB port. My battery lasted about 4 hrs, so needed a swap at lunchtime. 

[jwhess]

9 hours ago, MM9106 said:

Thank you! I’ll look into this. 
 

Edit: is this same one. I just want to be sure before I purchase it https://www.amazon.com/ZHIWHIS-Portable-Shortwave-Bluetooth-Rechargeable/dp/B08BJPDXWJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=1UO6I5QJA15WA&keywords=zhiwis+ModelZWS-603&qid=1717043950&sprefix=zhiwis+modelzws-603%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfbXRm&psc=1

The looks and description seem to match.  I has the same model number.  Enjoy.