Thread: Audio monitors

The most common monitors for babies simply involve two boxes: one that listens to the baby and the other that relays the sound to the parent. Some baby monitors communicate over power lines, but most are wireless, allowing for flexibility in placement.

What could be simpler? Well, call it bad luck, but I tried three audio monitors and found none of them offered what I'd describe as acceptable quality. Two were analogue wireless systems that transmitted more noise than signal and managed to bring my existing Wifi system to its knees - and believe me, I tried multiple channel combinations on both the monitor and the Wifi.

My third unit shunned wireless for communication over mains power lines. Almost unbelievably, this one made the first two sound good in comparison. There were no drills, hairdryers or any other electrically 'noisy' devices running, but again all I heard was noise - this time without any perceptible signal at all.



Some recent pricier wireless models use the same Dect technology as digital cordless phones to avoid interference, but that got me thinking: why bring additional and potentially conflicting technology into the home, when most PC enthusiasts already have everything they need?

I decided that working with my existing network, rather than against it, was the way forward, and being Hands On Hardware, I went one step further to see if I could create a satisfactory monitoring solution using only my existing PC setup with no extra cost or even downloads.