PCS Electronics US

Below is a compiled list of the frequently asked questions with answers.

Please check them out before contacting us with your questions. Thank you!

1. TECHNICAL: I want to start a radio station, where do I start?

Q: I want to start a radio station, where do I start?

A: You should start your search here.

Q: Can you show me a few examples of complete configurations?

A: Of course, a number of pre-configured complete solutions with antenna and other accessories is available here.

Q: Are there any suitable books out there?

A: Definitely, we recommend the ARRL handbook especially. This is "The Holy Bible" for antennas, basics of electronics and radio - communications in general.

Q: I want to build everything myself, where do I look?

A: Check "Our Radio Guides" box on the left, they are a good source of various schematics, design ideas and solutions.

Q: I want to start a radio station, please send me all info!

A: We do get such requests occasionally. Of course this is impossible. The equivalent would be something like this: "I want to build my own house, please send me all info". Of course to cover a subject this complex would require several books at least. The only reasonable way to go about this is to check our website first, get familiar with the subject a bit (the suggested links above are great help) and than ask a more specific question.

2. Technical: Questions about PC based transmitters (PCI MAX cards)

Q: What is a PCI MAX card?

A: PCI MAX is a computer card, you install it into your PC just like a network or any other card. It contains a small FM stereo PLL controlled transmitter with optional RDS capability. It makes it possible to transmit sound from your PC to any radio receiver in your apartment or further away and can even form a small community radio station. A simple windows program lets you set the frequency, power and other parameters.

Q: What is the latest version of PCI MAX?

A: We're currently at version 2007+, which performs excellent and visibly outperforms all previous models with excellent sound quality and increased output power.

Q: What is this RDS thing?

A: Basically it displays station name, but carries also other info, such as country of origin, station type, radio text (64-characters of scrolling text), station id and others. This info can be displayed by any compatible radio receiver. Very popular in Europe, less so in the US. To enable RDS functionality you need to purchase and install RDS daughter board. It plugs into a socket on the PCI MAX 2007+ board and can be installed in seconds by anyone.

Q: Can it also be used without a PC?

A: Yes, you can take it out from your PC and install a LCD display unit which than makes it possible to set frequency and other parameters.

Q: If we want a big radio station with considerable range, is a PCI MAX 2007+ a good way to go about this?

A: Not really, PCI MAX cards were not designed for that kind of application. It is better to have a stand-alone solution, such as our Cyber Max series. You can still feed any of our Cyber Max series transmitters with audio from your computer.

Q: How does the sound from computer get inside PCI MAX and to my radio?

A: PCI MAX cards are shipped with a short audio jumper cable. You will plug one end of this cable into your sound card and the other into PCI MAX card. This means that the PCI MAX card transmits any audio from your PC to the tuned nearby radio receivers. They can therefore be used to transmit realaudio streams or internet radio station streams to your household receivers.

Q: Is PCI MAX stereo?

A:Yes, it is STEREO!

Q: Can PCI MAX transmit any PC audio including Internet radio, either Real Player or Windows Media, or is this strictly for use with MP3 files? Looks like a nice product.

A: Absolutely. It will transmit anything your sound card plays. You can transmit "Everything" audio. You can even connect it to an external MD player, CD player, cassette deck, turntable, audio mixer......The sky is the limit.

3. How much range can I expect?

Q: How much range can I expect realistically?

A: You really should read through this page, it explains everything here.

4. Questions about shipping, import tax, returns and warranty

Q: What shipping types are offered, what is your warranty and how are returns handled?

A: Information about shipping types, returns and warranty is available here.

Q: Do you ship to xyz country?

A: We ship worldwide. We've probably shipped to just about any country out there.

Q: Do you have a distributor in xyz country?

A: We cover most of the world directly from our EU office. However, we have a few distributors and whenever we receive a request for information from a region covered by our distributor we forward it directly to the appropriate distributor.

Q: How do I become your distributor?

A: Send an email to sales (use Contact-us link on the left) and include as much information as possible.

Q: I sent you an email but you never replied

A: Please check your e-mail settings. You would be surprised how many people mis-type their own e-mail address and how many have incorrectly set their e-mail reply-to addresses. We can't help you unless you provide a valid e-mail address and set your reply-to address correctly. It is extremely frustrating to write an extensive answer and see it bounce since e-mail is not valid. Lately, people are using SPAM filters. Quite often such a filter will delete a valid e-mail (ours). Sometimes your ISP installs such a filter without your prior knowledge. MSN is notorious for that. If you are using hotmail or yahoo/gmail, make sure to check the junk mail filtered folder and make sure it did not mislabel our mail as junk.

5. Payment types offered

Q: What payment options are available?

A: All major credit cards are accepted (VISA, Master Card, American Express), as well as bank transfer (wire transfer). Checks are accepted, but can take a long time to cash in and are discouraged for that reason. PayPal payments can be arranged as well.

Q: Is Western Union accepted?

A: Western Union transfers are NOT accepted.

Q: How do I pay/order?

A: Add the products you want to the shopping cart and check out. You will be presented with several payment options. Select preferred type and press continue. Follow instructions. The process does not differ from the usual process with other websites.

Q: In what currency will I be charged?

A: Our prices are fixed in US DOLLARS, all prices are converted to your currency (US$ or other currency) according to exchange rate on the day of credit card authorization. Exchange rates vary from day to day. Your credit card bill will appear in your local currency. If you want to check current exchange rates for any of the world currencies, visit this page.

6. Legal questions

Q: Do I need a license to operate a transmitter?

A: It is best that you check local regulations in your country. These regulations vary widely from country to country. Many countries have a certain maximum power level which can be used without a license. Others strictly require a license. It is up to the customer to ensure that they are operating in compliance with local laws and we cannot accept any liability for the use or misuse of our products.

Q: What is the maximum power that is allowed in my country?

A: It is best that you check local regulations in your country. These regulations vary widely from country to country. Many countries have a certain maximum power level which can be used without a license. Others strictly require a license. It is up to the customer to ensure that they are operating in compliance with local laws and we cannot accept any liability for the use or misuse of our products.

7. Interference problems

Q: If I use filters I can put my antenna right next to my neighbor's TV antenna without any problems right?

A: Wrong! The low pass filters only attenuate harmonics. If harmonics are not the cause of your problem (they almost never are - our exciters are very clean!) removing them won't help. What causes 99% of all radio interference problems? Too strong local fundamental signal! A high power fundamental signal in CLOSE PROXIMITY to ANY type of receiving equipment (TV, radio, telephone, PA system etc.) will blow right past any tuner or filtering on this equipment and enter the amplifier stage along with the intended signal where it will cause interference. This type of interference is called "fundamental overload". All the harmonic filters in the world won't help in this very common situation. What will help? Increase the standoff distance (vertical, horizontal or both) between your antenna and what you are interfering with. This is one of the many reasons high power FM radio station antennas are located on high towers. A 100 KW radio station would cause a lot of RFI even though the harmonic levels meet FCC requirements.

More questions?

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