I have found that a Rio 800 MP3 player makes a perfect MOH source. They're
inexpensive now -- refurbished ones are going for about $40. The output level is
perfect for the KX-T's. I have used them on KX-TA624's and a KX-TD308. The
output is stereo so you might want to make a cable to combine the 2 outputs into
a single mono channel.

The players have 32 Mb of memory. I loaded them with over an hour's worth of
music by converting the source to mono
and then using a 24-bit/sample and a 24 kHz sample rate. The resulting file size
is about 220 kB per minute of audio. The frequency response rolls off at around
6 kHz, but that's more than adequate for telephone quality-- An hour's worth of
music takes up 15 MB, so there still enough memory to load about another 45
minutes' worth.

The player runs from a single AA cell, and I stole the power from the KX-T using
a LM317 3-terminal adjustable voltage regulator. Understandably many installers
are reluctant to dig into customers' KX-T's, so a wall wart power supply could
be used instead. You need only a few milliamps. I've never seen a 1.5 volt wall
wart, although I'm sure they exist. 3-volt units are easy to get; you'd just
need to put a dropping resistor or regulator in the line.

The RIO 800 is perfect for this use. It's all solid state so there's nothing to
wear out, the power requirement is miniscule, and it can be set to play
continuously, either sequentially or random. You can even lock the controls. The
hardest part is loading it up with the program material. You need a PC with a
USB port and software that can create MP3 files. I used Ahead NeroMix,
(http://www.ahead.de) which lets you copy tracks digitally from an audio CD and
convert them to MP3. However there are plenty of other MP3 programs available.

Have fun!


_________________________________________________________________
KX-T Mailing list --- http://kxthelp.com/
Subscription changes: http://kxthelp.com/mailman/listinfo/kxt

Reply via email to