| Article Index |
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| Belkin Tunecast 3 FM Transmitter |
| Page 2 - The TuneCast 3 |
| Page 3 - In Use |
| Page 4 - Conclusion |
| All Pages |
Belkin’s Tunecast range of FM transmitters have been the market leaders since their introduction in late 2003. Belkin are again raising the bar for
their competitors with the introduction of the Tunecast 3, so we’re going to have a detailed look at this new offering and see if it lives up to its predecessors name.
What is it and what does it do?
The Tunecast range is small, mobile FM Radio transmitters, able to broadcast your iPod, CD player, PSP etc... Through any FM radio receiver, such as your car or home stereo system.
What’s New?
Starting with the retail box, it has been nicely improved. Unlike the Tunecast 2, you don’t need to hack at this one with a knife just to get it open, and is far more attractive than the old packaging, which we’re sure will be popular with retailers putting it on their shelves.
When everything is out of the box, we see that Belkin have continued to include a car power adapter as standard rather than trying to flog it off as an accessory, as well as that we now get a holder clip with a sticky pad on the back, so there will now be a semi-permanent way to clip it to your car’s dashboard, rather than having it float around like its older brother. Available in online stores for AU$69.45, it’s a value packed little package, far better than some competitors who include nothing but the transmitter itself.
On to the Tunecast 3 itself,
We can see that its looks have been greatly improved, it now boasts a much sleeker design, as well as a relatively high-res, and very clear OLED display, a big improvement on the old screen from the Tunecast 2. The Tunecast 3 includes a total of 6 control buttons, to control power, stereo/mono output, tuning and memory presets. The controls are very straight forward and easy to use.
The audio connection cable has almost tripled in length over the old Tunecast 2, making it around 20” long (~51cm), this is a big improvement as the cable on the Tunecast 2 was way too short.
The Tunecast 3 can be set on any FM frequency from 88.1Mhz to 107.9Mhz, in increments of 0.1Mhz,
so you’re sure to be able to find a clear channel, and 2 presets can be put into memory. The presets even remember if you had it set on mono or stereo output, which is toggled by a button on the top of the unit. The mono/stereo switch is a useful inclusion, because if your signal is a bit weak when using stereo, switching to mono will help to clear it up, at the loss of stereo playback of course, but at least it gives you the option.
The Tunecast 3 also uses a 2-second progress bar for powering on/off, changing mono/stereo output, and storing presets. If you release the button before the progress bar reaches the end, the action is cancelled, which means you can’t accidently bump the unit and turn it off. You can however accidently change the station, as there is no ‘key lock’ function, which is a bit of a disappointment.
The Status Bar
In Use:
While the Tunecast 3 is very easy to use and looks great, at the end of the day all that stuff really doesn’t matter if the transmission quality is poor. So we had to give it a quick test.
As I’d be using it in my car if I bought one, it seemed the best place to test it out, and I compared it to my old Tunecast 2 that’s served me well over the years. One thing I always noticed with the Tunecast 2 is that it’s transmission power was quite average when it’s on battery power, unfortunately the same is true for the Tunecast 3, it can be easily distorted, even by a hand moving around inside the car, no worse than the Tunecast 2 though.
When powered by the included car power adapter things get much better, distortion is next to nothing, and it can be placed almost anywhere in the car and still have the same signal strength. Whether plugging it into the car adapter boosts its output, or it uses the adapter lead as an antenna, I don’t know, but it certainly works a lot better and is how I would be using it anyway, so I'd certainly be happy to upgrade from my Tunecast 2.
Audio quality seems to have improved with the Tunecast 3. The old Tunecast 2 seemed to distort easily if the song contained heavy bass, but the Tunecast 3 handles it far better, with all notes, no matter high or low coming through crisp and clear. Belkin don’t list the Tunecast 3’s audio frequency range, but I’d expect it to be a wider range than its predecessor, as it certainly sounds better.
Conclusion:
A good looking, well featured unit with free extras included, good sound quality and transmission power, but lacks Power when using batteries.
Pros:
· Looks good
· Easy to read screen
· Easy to use controls
· Free accessories included
· Good transmission power when using car adapter
· Good sound quality
· Long connection cable
· Progress bar for changes means you can’t accidently turn it off
· Long battery life (20hours – manufacturer claim)
Cons:
· Average transmission power when using batteries
· No key lock function
· Only 2 presets
Rating – 8.5/10
This product can be purchased online at www.techbuy.com.au
