Audio Guide Index

General Audio

Troubleshooting
Guide

Home System
Components

Home Players and
Recorders

Portable Players and
Recorders

Public Address and DJ
Equipment

Audio Accessories

Car Audio

Help & How-to's

General Audio FAQ

General Home and Car Audio Equipment

Does RadioShack sell a 1/8" or 3/32" stereo switchbox?

Is it all right to stack the components in my home audio system?

Will my AC audio equipment work in Europe (or other areas outside of the United States)?

One of the buttons or dials is sticking; how do I clean it?

How can I use my car audio equipment on AC power?

How do I wire my car audio equipment and what are the pinouts?

Amplifiers

Can I use an amplifier which provides less power than my speakers call for?

Where do I connect access and b+ on my car amplifier?

What does bridgeable mean?

Audio Meters

What is "A" weighting and "C" weighting, and what is the difference?

Is this sound-level meter ANSI certified or IEC compliant?

Cables and Cable Management

What's the difference between the different cable types?

What does the _________ cable term mean?

What is a plenum cable?

What cables can I run through the wall, a dropped ceiling or a raised floor?

What cables can I run underground?

Cassette Players and Recorders

I recently purchased a device which requires a cassette recorder with both a remote and microphone jack. Does RadioShack sell these?

What is the "azimuth" hole on my cassette deck used for?

What is the difference between rim drive and capstan drive?

CD Players, Changers and Recorders

What does ADLC mean?

Connectors and Plates

What's the difference between the different connector types?

What does the _________ connector term mean?

How do I identify what connector I have (or need)?

How do I connect a particular connector to a cable?

Equalizers

How do I hook up an equalizer?

Headphones

What is the maximum distance between a radio wireless headphone and the receiver?

How do I get replacement earpads for my headphones?

How do I connect my 1/4" plug headphones to a 1/8" jack?

What is frequency response, and why is it important?

What is active noise canceling, and why is it important?

What is passive noise canceling, and why is it important?

Lighting and Effects Equipment

Lighting

What is "candle power"?

What does "rpm" mean?

Why does my black light set off my fire/smoke detector?

Fog Machines

What does "cfm" mean?

How can I make the fog smell better?

How do I change the fog's color?

Will the fog machine set off my fire alarm?

Why does the fog machine take several minutes to start working?

Why does the fog machine work for a while and then stop?

If it won't work continuously, how do I get the fog machine to maintain a continuous fog level?

Why doesn't the fog machine put out as much fog as it used to?

Microphones

What is phantom power?

What is impedance and why is impedance matching for microphones necessary?

What is the difference between a balanced and unbalanced line?

Can I use a telephone headset as a microphone headset with my computer?

Why does one wireless microphone cut out when two microphones are used close to each other?

What is the maximum distance between the microphone and the receiver?

Do 170 MHz wireless microphone and PA systems require an FCC license?

Do 49 MHz wireless microphone and PA systems require an FCC license?

What is an omnidirectional microphone?

What is an unidirectional microphone?

What is a boundary or surface microphone?

What is a pressure zone microphone (PZMT)?

What's the difference between cardioid, hyper-cardioid and ultra-cardioid?

When I record using my microphone I hear "pops" and 'hissing" when listening to the playback. What can I do to prevent this?

MP3 Players

How do I get CompactFlash modules for my MP3 player?

Receivers

How do I get the 5.1 button to work?

What is the difference between DTS^® and AC-3^®?

Why do I get one radio station clearly in the car or on a portable radio outside, but not indoors?

Can a VCR with no output jacks be connected to a receiver with AV inputs?

Speakers

What's the difference between parallel and series speaker connections?

What are the holes in the back of the speaker for?

What size enclosure should I use for my speaker?

What are thiele-small specifications, and how do I get them?

What's the difference between sensitivity, SPL and sound-pressure level?

Can you explain what the ______ speaker specification means?

How do I connect automotive (4-ohm) speakers to a home stereo system (8-ohm)?

How do I cut out high-frequency sound for a bandpass tube or woofer?

Speaker Controls, Grilles and Mounting

What is a resistive L-pad?

How do I mount RadioShack's bookshelf and/or diecast speakers?

What bracket do I need to wall-mount my speaker?

Turntables

How do I get a replacement needle, cartridge or belt for my turntable?

How do I connect my turntable to my audio system?

What's the difference between a magnetic and a ceramic cartridge?

What is a ....? (list of Turntable terms and definitions)