Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

if you can't or don't want to install nano for whatever reason you still can use vi which is preinstalled on every linux machine. Please note that vi is one of the oldest editors ever. it was written when computers still had smaller keyboards and were lacking arrow keys, number pads and the like. Because of this vi is a bit funky to use for beginners but very powerfull once you get used to it. Here is a small how to how to use it.

Open the file you want to edit (again, get superuser rights before that if you need to edit system files)
Now you can see the contets of the file bu you cannot edit it yet because vi is in navigation mode. Press "i" to switch to insert/edit mode. Now you can edit the contents. After you are done, press Esc to leave insert/edit mode. Now type ":" to enter command mode. Type "w" to write (save) your modifications and then "q" to quit vi. If you have messed up the file and dont want to save your mdifications type "!" instead of "w". The line on the bottom should show ":wq" if you want to save and quit or ":q!" to just exit without saving your changes. Hit enter to actually execute the command. You can also use only ":w" to write the changes without exiting. Google for vi reference list for a complete list of vi commands. They are also available in form of mouse pads or mugs :)

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

To avoid typos in linux terminals and write way faster make extensive use of the Tab key. It features a very powerfull autocompletion. But I warn you: Once you get used to it you will get sick every time you open a DOS command prompt :D

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

Now the million dollar question:

can a line be added to /sbin/fm-boost that will also enable the FM transmitter?

This way we can have one button to rule them all! :D

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

Strange behaviour testing this. I set it to 87.5 which works fine for the most part but sometimes I start picking up a black radio station apparently on that frequency. Now the odd thing is the station is fairly strong on that frequency but if I unplug the N900 charger from the car's cigarette lighter the station disappears.

It seems that the car cigarette charger is affecting the performance of the FM transmitter. Is there a specific type of charger that can be purchased that doesn't produce this sort of scenario?

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

Mine won't let me be plugged in to the cigarette charger and use the fm transmitter at the same time....it tells me "please remove from charger"...weird

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

Hey everyone,

first of all thanks for this thread, really helped me out to get normal sound out of my speakers in my car!

Secondly, I've tried to edit the fm-boost file to make it set the frequency to 87.5 automatically, but that didn't work for me. Now I've made 2 files, to start everything automatically;

- setfmfreq.desktop file inside /usr/share/applications/hildon for starting it via one single click. Content of that file is:

- StartFM.sh inside /home/user which contains:

I've created this to make everything set for 87.5( since I'm on the road alot that's the only frequency I can really use ). Now is my problem that I also want to start the mediaplayer and play a song automatically as well. When I try to start the media player via xterminal/script it just never comes up( only comes up when I press on "Mediaplayer" on my desktop or inside my menu for some reason ). Does anyone have experience with this?

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

I have done as I think you meant. I made two files containing the appropriate scripts and then placed them in the directories you specified and have rebooted.

I was expecting to find two FM Boost icons in my application manager. One for "FM Boost" proper and one for your "Set Frequency" or "StartFM".

Am I warm?

I only have the original FM Boost app showing and it behaves as it always did.

I know I'm slow like that so please straighten me out. :eek:

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

Does it say "Charger" or just USB?

Mine will sometimes say "FM Transmitter can not be used while the USB port is in use" or somesuch...
A reboot has fixed it the 2 or 3 times I encountered it.

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

Yeah, you're warm. The problem of my script is that it cant start mediaplayer automatically, when I try to start it via my script mediaplayer just crashes.

Re: FM Transmitter Mod
 

OK... baby steps then. :)

The problem with Media player may be that it needs to be up and running before FMTX is invoked.

If that command is removed, do you have a script capable of starting FMTX, invoking the power increase, and setting the frequency?

The reason I ask is that Quick Launch by Daniele Maio is available in testing. It puts 4 configurable buttons to launch apps from on the Status menu.

http://i.imagehost.org/0704/screenshot19.png

Now I don't have to go back to the desktop to launch FM Boost. :)

If you have a working script, we could eliminate one more step for now, and work on the media player problem later. Perhaps a just programed script pause is needed...

In fact my ideal set up would be to use 4 different copies of your script for different frequencies depending on where I am at.

Quick Launch could be like radio presets for me. :)

There are two problems I have found using the 87.5 ~ 87.9 frequencies.

The first is that in my city 87.5 is used by a local DTV station. Most of the time this isn't a problem but the stretch of road I sometimes drive runs right along the antenna farm. There is about a 7 mile length of road where I receive a "pulsed" kind of interference and a 1 mile length where everything is flooded with white noise.

The other problem is that the lower frequencies seem to be more suseptable to RF emitted by the cars various electric motors like the windshield wipers. On rainy days I kick it up to 106.5 to reduce this.

BTW, how come I didn't get another copy of the FM Boost icon on my desktop?