The QN8066 is a fun little FM transmitter chip. It covers the full FM broadcast band and has built-in DSP. You would find this sort of part in car cell phone adapters before every vehicle included Bluetooth or an AUX port. [Ricardo] has created an Arduino library to bring the QN8066 to the masses.
The chip is rather easy to use – control is handled with a common I2C interface. All the complex parts – Phase Locked Loop (PLL), RF front end, power management, and audio processing are all hidden inside. [Ricardo’s] library makes it even easier to use. One of the awesome features of the 8066 is the fact that it handles Radio Data System (RDS). RDS is the subcarrier datastream that allows FM stations to inject information like song title and artist into the signal. The data is then displayed on your radio screen.
You can find the source to [Ricardo’s] library on GitHub. Using it is as simple as picking it up from the Arduino IDE.
If you are looking for an RDS-enabled radio to test out your QN8066 design, you wouldn’t do too bad with this Gameboy cartridge receiver.
Click through the break for a video from [Ricardo] explaining his QN8066 design.
The QN8066 has quite good specifications both as transmitter and receiver, although as a receiver the -40 dB alternate channel rejection is not impressive.
Just make sure if it’s over 1/4 watt or 1/2 watt with antenna fcc might ask for a permit especially if erp is higher than arp
Start jamming fm radio near other people
Especially in they car
Used to do that with my Bluetooth car aux
With no antenna and line of sight it can Jam up to a half mile with a 1/4 lambda or 5/8lambda 2 meter easily can go a few miles
But fm station can increase transmission power so don’t think your car fm station knocking em out
73 w4tia
That’s half mile radius not diameter
Yeah… Does not really counts if miles or km, radius or diagonal, because it is anyway ilegal to transmit on commercial frequencies.
Real transmitters are authorized, except PMR and CB.
Or, is there a country with FTA / CB in ANY frequency band, especially interfeering with commercial stations?