Looked at several topics and wasn't sure where to drop this question. I want to be able to monitor my station via the transmitter vs the board for nostalgic reasons and to be able to play on the home system when friends are over. Feed for transmitter will come from my Stereo Tool (like Optimod) processing which will be on the other side of the house near the stream server and music server. Any suggestions on models and power would be appreciated and I look forward to learning more from this group.
David
Do you want AM or FM? Assume since it's your home stereo it's FM
With FM, if legal all will be operating at the same power if at the max allowed.
I assume you are in the USA. The legal(certified) FM transmitters are the CCrane(a little underpowered out of the box), Wholehouse 3, ACC-100 from Progressive Concepts, Broadcastvision FMT, and the king of them all Decade MS-100. Lots of Broadcastvisions on ebay all the time. There are others like the EDM but not certified so you have operate it just at enough power to get from one side of the house to the other.
All things considered, given your requirements, I would go with a Part 15 certified FM transmitter, such as the Decade MS-100. It costs more, but is built like a tank, and is the highest quality. You're better off avoiding non-certified transmitters, as most that are advertised as 'compliant' really aren't. With all the current fuss over FM pirates, I'd be safe, particularly since you're looking to cover your house only. The MS-100 will do that nicely, as well as your immediate neighbours.
You could go AM for much greater range, but that only would make sense for such programming as Old Time Radio, vintage jazz, etc. (i.e., where sound quality isn't the most important requirement). You could probably get away with a Talking House (sound enhanced version if necessary) for that, at a much lower cost.