This would mean the initial theory is correct, that the transmitter is still on, but the power has been reduced to a very low number. echo'ing 118 into that file (cant recall the location) would have the same effect then (as that is was fmboost essentially does)

So that's good to know. Easy to fix.

I have an Official Nokia Car Charger for the N900 and the FM transmitter works fine when plugged in.

I thought FCC was US only (Wikipedia agrees), so does this only happen in the US? Is it international? Is the charger really used as an antenna? Shouldn't that bother USB data stream?

Wouldn't is be easier to simply use a lookup table and just lower volume if nmatch() finds 'spears'? Or simply reboot the phone.

That would be nice; to see the threads "My N900 reboots while playing .. uhmm.. some random MP3".

I have several issues related to car charging:

1. I have the DC-6 car charger; the first one I had stopped working after a week - literally went up in smoke. I got a replacement, but note that it is running very hot - not usual for a car charger. If anyone else has the official DC-6 12v car charger from Nokia, check to see if the round portion that plugs into the car is running warm or hot.

2. Not all 3rd party chargers will work with the N900. I tried a clever, tiny USB jack that barely protrudes from the cigarette lighter jack in the car. Using a known good USB cable, the N900 refuses to charge. This is the Beljkin Micro Auto Charger for the iPod, F8Z446.

Using another generic micro USB car adapter however did seem to work.

3. My Nook and Kindle readers use the same micro-USB connection. Their AC chargers will charge the N900.

4. The N900 doesn't always recognize the Nokia AC charger. Unplug/replug is sometimes necessary.

My conclusion: I did read the other thread concerning the need for smart chargers. I'm just a little concerned that the official DC-6 from Nokia runs very hot, and I already had my first one go up in smoke. I have yet to try the Nokia CA-146C converter; I did see another note about one of these going up in smoke, too.

As for the FM transmitter - I have not had much success using it in the car, so I have been using the 3.5mm headphone jack to connect to the car audio system. I know the FM transmitter is working, since I tested it with another desktop radio. The signal is simply not strong enough in my car - whether using the charger, or not.

Read the Output mA (on the label) of the AC (wall) charger. You will notice that it is 1500 mA, which = 1.5 amps. most, if not, all aftermarket chargers are only, wait for it... 500 mA. This is only one THIRD of what is required to charge and operate the N900. That is probably what smoked your charger.

as an electrician, I recommend, using a DC to AC inverter. Then plug the AC charger into that.

The FM transmitter is programmed to reduce power when a car charger is plugged in to, I believe to stop the charger cable acting as a antenna and so boarding casting the signal outside of the vehicle.

However there is a script on either this forum or Nokia's own which overrides the power reduction and I have been using it without any issues for the last 6 months or more.

Found the link now but only do this if you are confident you know what you are doing as there is a danger you could mess up your transmitter


http://discussions.nokia.co.uk/t5/Ma.../755743#M18280