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iPod FM transmitters

Foxer

Foxer

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 22, 2003
1,274
30
Washington, DC
Anyone else have experience with these? I've tried the iRock tansmitter and the newer transpod thing. I'm not real satisfied with either - too much static and I always have to tune to a new frequency is actual commercial signals fade in and out. Does anyone with more technical know-how have tips on how to increase signal strength? Other solutions (besides a casette adapter, which just sounds awful)?
 
Originally posted by Kwyjibo
griffin technolgoy will be introducing the itrip sometime this spring. its got the style and hopefully complimentary funcitonality to the ipod. I've preordered one because i'm hoping it will be better that the rest. It will be a little wait tho.


http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/itrip/
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hey once you get it, give us a nice review of what you think of it, i dont have an iPod yet (waiting till the 28th) but if this iTrip works clearly with any station then it should be pretty cool.

Tyler
 
Yeah. I've seen the iTrip. I just don't want to drop anymore dimes on transmitters until I know that I won't be met by more dissappointment. The other disad with the iTrip is that it feeds off of the ipod's battery, and I know from the iRock that these things do love the juice...

Anyone out there use an iTrip yet?
 
Originally posted by Foxer
The other disad with the iTrip is that it feeds off of the ipod's battery, and I know from the iRock that these things do love the juice...

Anyone out there use an iTrip yet?
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well in a way that Could be good... plug the ipod into the plug in the car and it powers both... i hate running out of batteries for my transmitter mid trip.

as for anyone trying it... i think it's not out yet?

i just wish i had a tape player in my car and then i could run in through the tape adapter without a problem... blah
 
I will defiantely review the itrip when get mine if someone else hasn't already. I pre-ordered in March and 'm hoping they wil start shipping soon enouhg ( I guess they take cues from apple on releasing products and not shipping thme for 6 months). I figure when i get mine if i don't like it , I wil lbe able to sell it on eBay especially if it is still kinda new.
 
I share your disappointment of with the iRock. Its too static-y and it alters the tone of the music.

The thing about this is that its not a complex problem to solve. FM transmitters are not that complicated of devices. What I'm thinking of doing is making my own based off of circuit diagrams. You should be able to find some small board this would work with and you could control the strength of the signal, frequency, and tonal quality.

I'm going to brush up on my soldering skills and give this a shot. I'll let you know how it goes.

Taft
 
Originally posted by jelloshotsrule

i just wish i had a tape player in my car and then i could run in through the tape adapter without a problem... blah
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I've got a tape player and loss in fidelity is intolerble. Beleive it or not, the static rich tone of the FM transmitters is much preferable to the casette adapter.
 
Originally posted by Taft
I'm going to brush up on my soldering skills and give this a shot. I'll let you know how it goes.
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WAY beyond anything I could do. I assume there is some damn FCC reg that prevents over-the-counter transmitters from haveing any real signal strength. Does anyone make a car stereo with RCA inputs on the face? Being able to jsut plug the ipod in would probably be the best solution.
 
Originally posted by Foxer
WAY beyond anything I could do. I assume there is some damn FCC reg that prevents over-the-counter transmitters from haveing any real signal strength. Does anyone make a car stereo with RCA inputs on the face? Being able to jsut plug the ipod in would probably be the best solution.
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I've had a few that have RCA plugs in the back. You can always run a wire to the front through the dash.

And the FCC does have regulations preventing the signal strength from being too big. In fact, making an FM transmitter too strong is probably against regulations as well. Oh well. :D

Taft
 
i just wish i had a tape player in my car
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Oh My God!

Thats like saying i Wish my PowerMac had a Floppy drive.


If you "really" want a tape player, you can find one for under $30.00 at target or at wallmart.

What you people really want is a reciever in your car that has an audio in port on it somewhere. A couple brands have them on the front in the form of a mini stereo plug port. Just get a male to male cord, a BAM you have a direct connection from your iPod to your car stereo.
 
well i didn't screw around with other transmitters, i preordered an iTrip, right before they put the "june 20th or few weeks sooner" message up :rolleyes: ... I hope it will be worth the wait, i don't generally preorder things. It does have a better featureset than any of the others, i'll review it as well when it comes... which won't be for at least a month :(

deadhead, i totally agree, i had a tapedeck once that had minijack input on it... it was handy as hell... don't know why more companies don't put it on... my current car's tapedeck will eject any tapedeck adaptor you throw at it (i've tried everything), so that wasn't an option for me. damn chevy!

pnw
 
I too have looked into the iTrip and am waiting until i see a review of how well it works not just how it looks, i've seen quite a few of those. I had a soundfeeder brand transmitter that plugged into the cigarette lighter. Frankly the thing is horrible. The funny thing is that i have a tape deck and the lossy nature of the cassette adapters isn't a problem for me. The problem is right around the time my i got my ipod, my deck decided crap the bed. It's a premium sound oldsmobile factory deck but i am having trouble justifying getting a new head unit with an aux in for my 1992 Oldsmobile. The last time i put something expensive into a car it literally nearly blew up 6 months later, Nothing like lifting your hood and seeing flames.
 
Originally posted by Foxer
I've got a tape player and loss in fidelity is intolerble. Beleive it or not, the static rich tone of the FM transmitters is much preferable to the casette adapter.
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ehh. i've used both and much prefer the no static route


as for tape players in the car.... i'm not worrying about my car stereo til i have the cash that makes it worthwhile. at this point, i don't care much. ;)
 
I have ordered the iTrip. Although they haven't shipped yet I just received an email today from customer service at griffin tech. that they expect them to start shipping April 25th. They are incredibly popular and are shipping everyone they make. They look incredible by the fact you can program the station and it looks as if it should be part of the ipod. plus, there are no wires unlike the other adapters. The whole idea is to get away from wires. It is only like 30 bucks.
 
Originally posted by jelloshotsrule
well in a way that Could be good... plug the ipod into the plug in the car and it powers both... i hate running out of batteries for my transmitter mid trip.
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The problem with that idea is that the iTrip is powered through the firwire port on the top of the iPod, which would not allow you to plug it in with a car adapter or a wall adapter at the same time as you are using the iTrip.
 
Actually the part that engages the firewire port is just there to stabilize the thing. If you actually read the website it says it is powered by the ring around the headphone jack. The same way the apple remote is powered.
 
Originally posted by stoid
The problem with that idea is that the iTrip is powered through the firwire port on the top of the iPod, which would not allow you to plug it in with a car adapter or a wall adapter at the same time as you are using the iTrip.
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The iTrip is designed to be able to move around once it is placed on the iPod. The power comes from the headphone jack (just like the iPod remote) and not the FireWire port, and Griffin says that when the iTrip is placed on the iPod you can move it to the side so you can plug in a power adaptor while the iTrip is still functioning.

I pre-ordered mine today, and I'm really looking forward to getting it. A friend of mine checked it out while he was at MWSF, and he said it worked great. So far, I've only heard good things about it.
 
Originally posted by RBMaraman
The iTrip is designed to be able to move around once it is placed on the iPod. The power comes from the headphone jack (just like the iPod remote) and not the FireWire port, and Griffin says that when the iTrip is placed on the iPod you can move it to the side so you can plug in a power adaptor while the iTrip is still functioning.
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unfortunately from what i've heard you have to disconnect it, separate it from the iPod, and then turn it to one side. kind of disappointing, they should have included a pass-through or something...

pnw
 
Jesus Christ. Your moaning about the fact that you have to expend the absolute slightest amount of energy to turn this thing. I love it when people on these boards praise something and then say that it isn't perfect because of some asinine reason. For all you know this is the best quality transmitter on the market, and your going to complain about the fact that you have to take it off of the ipod to turn it. Well la di fricken da, This isn't a perfect world, since when is your time worth so much that you can't spare that extra fraction of a second during the day.
 
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