IPod FM Transmitter for In Car Use?

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

Basically what the title says, can anyone recomend a FM transmitter to work with the IPod Classic (latest 120gig model).

There are dirt cheap ones out there, which I suspect are awful, but I want something half decent to avoid taking a stack of CDs on holiday with us.

Thanks,

Col

 

[Andrew Everard]

Good timing - see today's news story...

 

[Anonymous]

Griffin do a good transmitter (Griffin iTrip Auto SmartScan FM Transmitter & Car Charger) that scans for blank frequencies and has 3 available preset memory places. It will transmit in mono/stereo which is handy if you get a lot in interference. It plugs into the dock connector rather than the headphone socket. It also charges whilst playing.

If you have a aux jack in your car then a Griffin Auto pilot is good. It has controls for skip and play/pause on the cig lighter adapter so you don't have to mess around with the iPod. it also sends the signal at line level so it is nice and loud and you don't have to adjust the volume on the iPod. This also charges whilst playing.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys. The monster one looks great, but could it really be worth over twice the price of the other ones on the market?

I don't have an aux-in on my car stereo, so it does need to be an FM transmitter.

I've got a 6 disc CD changer in the car which does me fine going to and from work each day (about an hour and a half a day), but we're going on holiday in a couple of weeks so we'll be drving around a fair bit and it'd be good to have the flexability of my IPod (and the genius playlist function that I think's great)

Anyone use the Belkin Tunebase? That seems to be the other common one along with the Griffin recomended above.

Col

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Col,

I have a Belkin transmitter which costs £70 that i heardÿrecommendedÿÿand whilst it does the job i dont think the quality is great and for about £50 quid more you can go to Halfords and get an ipod radio with a jack fitted free.The thing i have found with the Belkin is that you are forever having to retune the frequency and on nearly every track it will cut out for 2 or 3 secondsÿpresumablyÿbecause of loss of frequency,so all in all i would spend a little more and get the job done properly.

Murrayÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Something to consider is the connects2 range of boxes. they plug into the back of your car radio and provide an AUX in. Then you plug your line out dock cable into the RCA sockets on the connects2 boxes. There are also more expensive versions by Denison too, which offer better integration.

If your car could take a cd changer then you probably have the right connections in the back of your stock radio,

I'm thinking of doing this for my Renault Scenic and disconnecting the cd changer.

Search for connects2 and aux in plus the model of your car and you'll find them for sale.

You don't get charging, nor integration with radio or car controls with the cheaper ones, but at 30 quid for the one for my scenic I'm not to worried about that.

 

[Ant8519]

I have a Dension Icelink which Halfords sell for £70 with free fitting, but you'll need to stump up an extra £20 for a car specific bracket (it comes with an air vent bracket for free, but it was too wobbly for my tastes).

It plugs directly into the fm socket on your stereo so interference is a much smaller probelm, that said it is still technically an issue, but there are a choice of 5 (or maybe 7 can't remember) frequencies, which can be selected by an unobtrusive buton under the cradle, so once in awhile you'll get interference which requires one button press on the cradle and one on your car stereo preset to overcome, so no real bother.

It also charges the ipod.I use mine with a classic, although I believe it fits other types too, but possibly not the iphone...I am very happy with it as I get to keep my very nice sounding Audi headunit and it is much better than the wireless transmitters which I do not think work well in cars at all.