Ipod's and FM Transmitter/Reciever

[rubberdinghy]

Anybody use one? Reviews?

[larry_llama]

It's never going to sound as good as a direct connection. Use as a last resort!

[AD]

i used the griffin itrip (it sucked) and the extreme mac airplay (sucked a bit less). both sucked. i now have an direct connection into my car stereo and it sounds great.

[rubberdinghy]

Where did you get this direct connection doodad?

[AD]

it's a direct line-in to my car stereo, ie my car stereo has a front aux-in input jack.

[rubberdinghy]

I see....so I'd have to get a new deck if I don't want to go the FM way.

Edited May 16, 2007 by Guest

[AD]

there are kits for older decks, but you'll probably spend the same cash on a whole fancy new deck that is more feature-rich and 'ready' for more digital music.

[Alexis]

i use a tape adapter. it was $15. price wise, it can't be beat. it sounds like you're listening to a tape, so the sound isn't THE BEST. but, if you live in/travel through major metropolitan areas, you don't have to worry about the interference that you do with the radio ones.

the sound quality might be less than perfect, but at least it's consistantly less than perfect and you don't have to fiddle with radio stations etc. the only way to achieve perfection is the line in to your deck AD mentioned. my mum has an iTrip (i think) adapter she got at the price club (79 for radio and tv adapters that charge your pod) and she never has issues with it unless in TO, but...she lives in the sticks.

edit to add: the other thing i like about the tape adapter, is that i can use it in my car, on my 6th grade ghettoblaster i use in the backyard, and on my $200 sony soundsystem that doesn't have an aux line in option. if you get a radio adapter for your car, your car's the only place you'll be using it.

Edited May 16, 2007 by Guest

[rubberdinghy]

well.......

[phishtaper]

we have satellite radios that have FM transmitters built in. the signal can easily be picked up by the FM tuner in the car ... except when you are in a city that happens to have an FM station transmitting on the same frequency (i.e, we tune to 88.1 or 87.9), or when someone else with an FM transmitter (closely tuned) drives by. i know that for some modular satellite radios, they make a device that connects from the base directly to the FM-in on the car radio tuner and temporarily turns off the car's FM antenna to avoid picking up (being overpowered by) local radio stations. when the satellite radio is off, the bypass is inactive and the car's FM antenna works as normal.

your issue is different in that your iPod will probably power the transmitter (possible big drain) and it really cannot be directly wired to your car's radio. also, check to see that you can tune the FM frequency, so oyu can "broadcast" on one that is not already used in your area.

most FM transmitters of this sort will work at distances between 50 and 300ft. or, buy a new car that has an input jack in the dash or console for your iPod. the new corvette has it

[CyberHippie]

I've tried 3 different ones for the car and they all sucked big time!!

Now I have this thing called IceLink which is like a controller that plugs into my car stereo's changer input. It's the shiznit! I love turning my car on and having the iPod fire up automatically, playing what I want to hear! If you have a changer input, that's definitley the way to go!

[bouche]

I've got an iTrip that you can have for cheap!

Since we got the Sony xplode with the line in, we haven't had more than 1 cd in the car. iPod and Sirius Radio gets plugged in for non-stop music action!

[phishtaper]

iPod and Sirius Radio gets plugged in for non-stop music action!

i'm loving the new cbc3 - 94. some really cool stuff.

[larry_llama]

Future shop has a car deck with front aux-in for $99 in today's flyer. At the price of an itrip (what are they, $30? $40?) I'd just bite the bullet and upgrade your deck... especially if you have a car with a din (or close to it) sized opening.

[AD]

at the expense of sounding like I'm from the 80s, new car decks don't receive AM signals well at all. Not a big deal when you consider the pros and cons of a new stereo, but that was my experieince.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

sometimes those golden oldies stations sound more authentic with the static fading in and out though, AD

[larry_llama]

With a line in you can plug anything at all into it. Including a high end AM radio if you like ;-)

[rubberdinghy]

It's a pain to put anaftermarket stereo in Honda's, it's such a big hole.

[Davey Boy 2.0]

that could mean so many things

[bradm]

It's a pain to put anaftermarket stereo in Honda's...

That's it, 'dinghy, you must learn: you never, never, never use an apostrophe for plurals.

One car, two (or more) cars.

One Ipod, two (or more) Ipods.

One Honda, two (or more) Hondas.

Apostrophes can be used for indicating dropped letters (e.g., "cannot" -> "can't"), or for indicating possession/ownership (e.g., "The Ipod owned by rubberdinghy" -> "rubberdinghy's Ipod"), but not for indicating plularity.

Aloha,

Brad

Edited May 18, 2007 by Guest

[AD]

[Schwa.]

Here's my deal Scotty.

I got the iTrip and i blew bigtime and then just shut down after i parked it one day, done. didn't disappoint me too much.

then i got the smaller, much more effective teeny tiny new form of iTrip and it works better but only outside of urban centers, otherwise i need 3 or 4 pre-set stations so i can flip around while in the city. BOOOO.

now i'm looking at getting a new deck in the 200$ range because mine is fucked (VW stock) I'm gonna get the aux input one. then i can keep my FM broadcaster plugged in to keep the ipod charged and then run a line out into the deck for perfect reception. done and done.

long story short, aux is far superior for sound quality but the battery will die after about 3 or 4 hours because it wont charge the thing.

Aloha'

Schwa.

[rubberdinghy]

Well...

That's it then....

This thread has teached me;

a) how to spell wrong

use incorrect apostrophe's

c) I have wicked poor grammer and spelling.

d) FM may not be the way to go.

But I will still take bouche up on his offer!

[artmastertilt]

You can get cheap ($10-$12) first quality name brand (Monster & Speck) iPod car chargers at KW Surplus and XS Cargo here in Kitchener to charge your iPod regardless of how you interface with your car's stereo...

If you do a google search for iTrip modification you'll find all kinds of tutorials on how to boost the signal quality...However, my brother tried it with his iTrip and he broke it...My iTrip makes a "pop" noise between tracks which is somewhat irritating and the sound quality is less than stellar...

www.ilounge.com is the place to go to find out about all your ipod/car interface options and their relative benefits...Their testing is beyond anal.

[AD]

Both Bouche and I bought the same radio around the same time. It's worked great for me so far, except for the AM thing but it's rare the Sens are playing and I'm in my car these days. Moreso in the winter.

Sony 510