PhotonStopper

All I wanted to do was get better sound quality from my favorite Internet radio source –and see just how good it really is– by patching sound output from my computer through my good old JVC RX-3 receiver. A couple of days ago I bought a nice little "Y-Adapter Audio Cable" at Radio Shack for the project. This morning, with a little time on my hands, I set about the connection task. After a few bad input connections I found I could play the computer output through one of the tape inputs on the receiver. Leo Laporte's netcast sounded great — like I had a direct feed to the studio. But to my surprise the backlit LCD panel on the receiver came back to life after a couple of years of darkness! There's a tiny light ("grain of wheat") that illuminates the panel and that has always been the weak point on the JVC — I personally replaced the lamp once or twice. Anyway, suddenly I could see the radio tuner. Hmmmm… I wonder if I hooked up an antenna, would I be able to receive radio in my subterranian lair?  I scounged and found another Radio Shack product, an "Indoor FM Dipole Antenna" that I had bought long ago for this very purpose! Connected it up and, whoo-hoo!, I could tune in the stronger local stations. And my original goal of listening to Internet radio? Achieved! Radio Paradise sounds great! It's at least as good as local FM stations and a big jump in quality from "computer speakers." The bonus was the RX-3's resurrection.

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