Skeptical Questions Raised About the Whole House FM Transmitter 2.0

Addressing the Herculodge post about the new Whole House FM Transmitter 2.0, Hobby Broadcaster raises some important questions:

Members of my site's forum community expressed a desire to see this transmitter reviewed. After many attempts I was finally able to talk with the president of the company. He stated that his "company policy" was they do not send out units for any evaluation purposes. To me this was a major red flag as I've had no problem securing evaluation units from other manufacturers, many bigger than Whole House. Also, FCC regulations (specifically Part 15.239) dictate an absolute maximum field strength of 250 µV/m at 3 meters for Part 15 compliant FM band transmitters. Most "decent" Part 15 certified FM transmitters can equal the range touted on the WH web site (FYI: certification is required for any manufactured FM transmitter to be sold in the United States). 

The thing that was really over the top was when I was told that even the certification facility had to purchase a unit to perform the FCC tests - I'm sorry, this just doesn't wash. To me, this just adds another layer of doubt to the firm's credibility. If this transmitter was as good as the marketing hype suggests why would he not want free public exposure as well as free lab evaluation and real world testing? It suggests to me that the unit may not live up to the sales hype. While I can't share the information as of yet due to a non-disclosure agreement, there is a firm coming out with a transmitter that will top this unit on both price and quality and you can bet it will be put through its paces in a detailed review on my site when it's ready for the public.

Comments

[Bill DeFelice]

While things have been quite hectic around the evaluation labs we finally posted the written review of the Whole House FM Transmitter 2 in our product review section. The transmitter itself appears to operate as expected even with a few shortcomings, Questions remain about the ethics of the company when you factor in various aspects ranging from advertising / marketing hype to a suppliled "accessory" which would be considered a gray area if not outright non-compliant if the FCC were aware of its inclusion to US-based purchasers of the product. Our review of the new C. Crane FM Transmitter 2 proves superior fidelity and modulation at one-half the list price of the Whole House 2.

[HobbyBroadcaster.net]

Forgot to mention that both the Whole House FM Transmitter 2 as well as the C. Crane FM Transmitter 2 reviews are now in the product reviews section of HobbyBroadcaster.net.

[Amelia]

I must say I have a Whole House FM Transmitter 2.0 and love it. I read that review on Hobbybroadcaster and that was hardly an impartial review. It is clear throughout the "review" that Bill does not like the company or the product by taking unnecessary jabs that make if very clear this is anything but objective. How can anyone garner any useful information when it is clear that he was offended by not getting a free transmitter? Has to be one of the most unprofessional "reviews" I have ever read.