Bluetooth input through RCA phono plug in 1950s radios

[texaspast]

I want to transmit a web-based oldies radio station (Radio Dismuke, for example) from my computer to a 1950s Crosley dashboard radio using a bluetooth receiver plugged into the RCA 'phono' jack in the back panel of the radio. Does anyone have any experience with this? If so, what transmitter do you use? I've seen everything from $10 dongles to $80 'long range' transmitters - I want something that works, but don't want to spend more than I have to! I already can transmit from my computer on AM frequency using one of those 'talking house' transmitters used by real estate companies, but the quality is pretty bad. Bluetooth should be better quality, I would think. Comments and suggestions appreciated.

[init4fun]

My following suggestion should only be considered if your willing to use an Isolation transformer with your Crosley , which is a "Hot Chassis" design ;

I would think the best possible sound would come from getting an RCA to 1/8" adapter cable and plugging the line level output of your computer into the Crosley's input. Of course it'd have to combine the L and R stereo output of your computer to the mono input of the Crosley. As in anything else, the less times the audio signal is electronically transferred, the cleaner that signal will be.

If the Crosley is to be placed too far from the computer for an interconnecting cable to be practical, then yeah, generally speaking I've found that with the sound quality of bluetooth devices it's pretty much the same as most other products; ya get what ya pay for......

[Electronic M]

I remember my Wild Planet Radio DJ having good audio on the AM band. Personally I rather have a RF link all my radios can tune in stock form.
How does the radio perform on broadcast stations? It's possible the audio quality is limited by the audio circuit design of the radio.

I haven't powered up my Crosley dashboard radio yet so I have no clue how bad or good it is.

[texaspast]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I remember my Wild Planet Radio DJ having good audio on the AM band. Personally I rather have a RF link all my radios can tune in stock form.
How does the radio perform on broadcast stations? It's possible the audio quality is limited by the audio circuit design of the radio.

I haven't powered up my Crosley dashboard radio yet so I have no clue how bad or good it is.

The Crosley dashboard is a great set - fine reception and good sound. The fault with my AM transmitter is - the transmitter. Low level hum that is OK if all you are doing is telling the wonderful attributes of a house for sale to people parked in the driveway, but not high (or even decent) quality sound. I only used the Crosley as an example. There are actually quite a few 1950s radio models that had the RCA jack in the back.

[MadMan]

If you're using a bluetooth connection, you don't need to use an isolation transformer for the radio... you just need a power supply for the bluetooth receiver that's isolated. Which, pretty much any good usb charger should be already. Even if you don't, worst case is you fry the bluetooth thingy. I used a $10 one from ebay that looks like a thumb drive, for my hot chassis radio, plugged into a samsung usb charger.

[vortalexfan]

i have a Pioneer SX-727 Stereo Receiver that I used the Mic Jack on the front panel to run a bluetooth transmitter through via an 1/8" to 1/4" headphone jack adaptor, and I get really good sounding audio that is stereo through that method.

If you have a bluetooth transmitter that has a rechargeable battery in it to power it (you charge it via a micro-USB jack) then you really don't need an isolation transformer, just a Stereo RCA jack to stereo 1/8" headphone jack adaptor, which you can take and combine the stereo RCA signal into a mono RCA signal by using a Stereo RCA Jack to a single Mono RCA Jack adaptor, and I've done that before on several of my old tube radios that had a single Mono RCA Phono Jack on the back of the radio and the audio quality was quite decent.