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View Full Version : FM Transmitter and IPod


whowhat78
2004-12-20, 02:52 PM
can anyone suggest the best FM transmitter for an Ipod that Santa is bringing me.............

from what i have read, the tape adapter is the best route to go for sound and as we all know that is what is most important!!!!!

thanks in advance for your replies

jaguaracer
2004-12-20, 05:10 PM
If you have a tape player in your auto, then yeah, a tape adapter would be better than an FM transmitter. Zellers, Wal*Mart, Best Buy, etc all have a generic 'car kit'. They all should be pretty decent.

RainDawg
2004-12-20, 05:18 PM
Look into whether or not your car player has an auxilary input, because that will be by far the best sound. Mine has to plugin through an adapter into the multi-cd player control, but it works great and beats the pants of any tape/fm adapter.

rherron
2004-12-21, 04:57 AM
Get the new BMW. It's the ultimate iPod accessory. Isn't that their new motto?

Just kidding. It is cool as hell however that there is a firewire plug in the glovebox, and you can control your iPod via the audio control on the steering wheel and everything is out of sight. Just plug it in and go.

Before I got the new BMW (not for the iPod), I first tried the FM transmitter. It sucked. Especially on road trips as you will frequently drive through areas where you'll get bleedover from a nearby FM signal. I then used the tape for about a year and a half. That was great. Really easy to use and the quality of the audio was superior to anything I got via FM.

RainDawg is correct. The BEST thing to do would be to hook it up via an AUX input. There may be one on the back of the deck. Or you can buy a new deck with AUX inputs right on the front.

BTW, the new Honda Element has AUX jacks up front and you can just plug the iPod right in.

Rob

RainDawg
2004-12-21, 07:46 AM
AUX jacks up front is AWESOME. But even if it's around back or if you need an adaptor to convert a master CD player control or something to an AUX jack in the read of the headunit, it's well-worth it. Dig around the documentation, if you bought it within the past 3-4 years, chances are that there is some way to get an AUX jack on there ;).

Karst
2004-12-21, 08:56 AM
Thought most people use the iTrip? Not sure how good it is and it is apparently illegal here in the UK.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/07/31/uk_bans_ipod_radio_addon/

bigtyke66
2004-12-21, 10:22 AM
I use the iTrip and it's OK but not great. I understand that the Belkin transmitter has a limited number of frequency choices. With iTrip, if you live in a big metro area, as I do, it's not that easy to find a frequency space in which to fit. I have to use 87.9 kHz and often have "bleed through" through from the nearest station (88.1). And yes, I hear from my bro in London that it is illegal in the UK. So if there is an AUX jack in the car that is definitely the way to go.

Cruzweb
2004-12-21, 10:33 AM
The belkin one sucks, only 4 choices. Where I live you pickup detroit radio and windsor radio, so the iTrip was my only option.

I reccomend the BMW M3 :)

scotto
2004-12-21, 10:36 AM
I had the belkin and it was not good. I used the one with only 4 freq's.
it stopped working after a couple of weeks so I returned it.
got the itrip and it was way better. uses all freq.
still waiting for a direct connection thru my factory cd changer plug then I'll use the itrip for other vehicles.

scotto

rherron
2004-12-21, 01:16 PM
I reccomend the BMW M3 :)

I the M5 -- soon to be available agian. But for $90,000, there are a lot more afforadable ways to hook your iPod up to your car stereo! :D

Rob

WTSHNN
2004-12-21, 06:11 PM
Go buy an Alpine AInet Reciever. They make an adpt that will not only convert the Changer cord into an aux into, but it will also serve as a power station and allows all the alpine controls (both on the face and on the remote) to control the iPod.
It's only a 100 bucks and you can get a decent Alpine AiNet Reciever for about 250 right now.
It's by far the best (next to get a beamer) option.
Thanks
-Tim

diggrd
2004-12-21, 10:17 PM
http://www.ccrane.com/Images/holiday/christmas/fm-transmitter.jpg

http://www.ccrane.com/fm-transmitter.aspx

I want santa to bring me one of these
http://www.ccrane.com/Images/icom-IC-R3-scanner.jpg

http://www.ccrane.com/icom-ic-r3-handheld-scanner.aspx

RainDawg
2004-12-22, 11:47 AM
I the M5 -- soon to be available agian. But for $90,000, there are a lot more afforadable ways to hook your iPod up to your car stereo! :D
Geez...for $90,000 I could design a headunit that docks an iPod, manufacture a prototype, copyright, and begin marketing it. If you've got that kind of money to put into something, contact me privately and we'll go into business!

I'll put in the knowhow, you put up the capital ;).

farmstar
2004-12-22, 07:16 PM
How hard would it be to boost the fm signal coming from the fm transmitter? I have one that has no brand name on it but seems like very basic circuitry.
any ideas?

Farmstar

RainDawg
2004-12-22, 07:53 PM
It would be impossible to boost the signal to anything significant.....I assume you're wanting to turn the thing into a broadast device? I know that some people have modded them to go 20-30 feet (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4107312), but to create a real "radio station" you would need a completely different design.

Honestly, it really isn't that hard to make a radio station that would broadcast a reasonable distance, but if you start streaming copyrighted music over it, the FCC might have something to say about it....

willndmb
2004-12-23, 11:26 AM
i have iTrip
works great 99% of the time BUT it kills your battery, goes thru the battery in like 3 hrs because it runs off the iPod battery
Belkins has its own battery so the iPod battery lasts much longer however they only give you like 5 channel options

tape adaptors suck in my car, my player is sensitive and will eject the adaptor

RainDawg
2004-12-23, 11:35 AM
tape adaptors suck in my car, my player is sensitive and will eject the adaptor
This is a common problem...there is a tension sensor on the drive motors that detects the tension that should be present when a tape has been inserted. Since there is no tape inside those adaptors, it doesn't have the right amount of resistance on the drive wheel, and it spits the thing back out. Some tape adapters have some enough resistance to simulate the presence of a tape, but many don't and most are hit or miss.

irishcrazy2005
2004-12-23, 06:29 PM
I got my brother the new Belkin FM transmitter for Christmas (for the iPod that my parents got him). It can be set to any frequency in the FM range in 0.1 increments. It is also a digital display. It is supposed to be much better than its predecessor.

-Phil