FM transmitter for iPod...do they work?

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

09/04/2006 06:35:53 PM · #1

I have a 3yr old FM transmitter that I tried out today. It works but it is super staticy.

I have seen FM Transmitters, specifically Belkin brand, sold in the iPod accessories section.

Has anyone had any luck with any FM transmitters?

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

09/04/2006 06:37:21 PM · #2

I've used them. Depending on the size of the city you're in you may get very good results or very bad. I know I had lots of trouble in Dallas one time trying to get a clear station for it to work on but you being in Guam I'd say it would work splendidly for you.

Message edited by author 2006-09-04 18:38:07.

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

09/04/2006 06:39:01 PM · #3

I love mine, and it's a Belkin as well.

The closer the transmitter is to the radio, the less static you have. Additionally, you can just play with the radio stations to find one that has the right signal strength to transmit from the MP3 player. I'd start with 88.1 or 88.5 and go from there.

Also, as the batteries wear down, the static factor will increase. It's often the first sign of failing batteries.

HTH,

Laurie

kearock

Nikon D90

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

09/04/2006 06:39:39 PM · #4

I have a RoadTrip which is both an FM transmitter and cigarette lighter power adapter. I got it for my recent cross country drive and it worked great. The signal is strong enough that it overpowers weak station, so you don't even need a totally empty station to use it, plus it doubles as a sort of bracket thing to hold the ipod, making it really easy to control while driving.

LERtastic

Nikon D200

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D

09/04/2006 06:39:55 PM · #5

I have the Belkin TuneBase. Works awesome. I had to hunt to find it in my city, but it works the best out of any I've seen/heard. (I have a iPod video, although it works with most ipods with dock connector)

UNCLEBRO

Canon EOS-30D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

09/04/2006 06:40:44 PM · #6

used one for a year or so and it was perfect.
then it suddenly stopped working.
I guess that happens to stuff sometimes.
luckily the new car has a plug so the ipod can connect directly.
but even that goes "staticy" when the charger is plugged in at the same time.

digitalpins

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

09/04/2006 06:41:33 PM · #7

i heard from alot of people that they are horrible, my friend tried it here in nyc and hated it, not very clear reception at all. I have a aux input on my car stereo and use that, a simple wire which plugs into my car stereo and plugs into my ipod's headphone ear plug works out awesome.

boysetsfire

Canon EOS-5D

09/04/2006 06:43:01 PM · #8

Originally posted by kearock:

I also have a road trip and I have NEVER not got reception! and the fact that it charges at the same time is great. I highly recommend it.

slickchik

OM System OM-1

Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro

09/04/2006 06:45:17 PM · #9

I used a belkin one for my mp3 player and promptly returned it because the sound quality was bad...It sounded like I was listening to the radio, lol.

It was not bad quality I just did not like how it sounded like any radio station.

CDs sound better than the radio and I wanted the mp3 files to sound better than the radio as well so I used the stereo's rca jacks to hook up the player.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM

09/04/2006 06:48:38 PM · #10

Wow, thank you all for the replies. I think maybe I will buy it locally instead of online so it will be easier to return if it sucks! The Navy Exchange has the TuneBase and I'll have to check on the RoadTrip thing.

The fm transmitter I mentioned was only $20 several years ago, so it is most likely just a POS.

cools98

Canon EOS R5 Mark II

09/04/2006 06:51:08 PM · #11

I had a Monster cable for my iPod. It worked good some times, but others it was worthless, and others, although it worked, the stereo switched to mono. That was probably the most annoying. You can hear the music, but it sounds crappy! Just put out the money to upgrade the stereo to accept an aux imput device.

Sigma 28-105mm f/2.8-4.0 Aspherical for Canon

09/04/2006 06:57:01 PM · #12

Originally posted by traquino98:

I am not sure we can do that, but I may be wrong.

We have a Town & Country. The radio and GPS system is one unit. We couldn't replace the stereo without losing the GPS.

Rooster

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

09/04/2006 06:59:11 PM · #13

Yep, I have Belkin too but my sis has a monster that is the new & more advanced than the belkin I have. Both cost about the same.

Mulder

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

09/04/2006 07:05:10 PM · #14

There are devices at ABC Warehouse (and I'm sure at other appliance stores) that wire directly into your radio, and the ipod is connected through its usb port. This means it plays perfectly well over your car stereo. I haven't tried one myself, but imagine this would work just fine.

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

09/04/2006 07:09:47 PM · #15

I've had 3 of them.

All of them have broken within 2 mo.

The weak point on all 3 has been the cable that plugs into the headphone jack and serves as the FM antenna. In normal use, the cable gets moved back and forth. This has caused the wires to loosen at the solder joints, usually inside the connector. This makes the sound staticky or drop out completely on one or both channels. It's nearly impossible to repair if inside the connector.

I have not seen any that are reasonably priced without this design flaw.

Two of the 3 were Belkin Tunecast. The other was some other brand.

You'd be better off finding some way to directly connect the Ipod to whatever you want to use to listen to it with. The drop in sound quality with an FM transmitter is pretty bad.

alanfreed

Nikon Z9

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

09/04/2006 08:02:14 PM · #16

I've had a Belkin one for a couple years, and it has worked pretty well. If I'm on a long drive, sometimes I'll stick a movie in the laptop and use the car's speakers to listen to it (no, I'm not sitting there *watching* the movie while I'm driving :P )

The quality has always been acceptable, so long as I have the computer adjusted to a decent output volume. You can easily get it distorted if you don't watch the levels of the output device. In a big city, you are going to have to fiddle around for a bit in order to find a free frequency.

Bugzeye

Fisher Price Kid-Tough Digital

09/04/2006 08:11:56 PM · #17

i have a 4 channel transmitter I bought to use my creative zen in the car, but the darn thing only works about 5 feet or closer to the antenna which is in the back window of the car and I get static So I bought one of those tape deck converters which works about as well without the extra static.

Message edited by author 2006-09-04 21:41:45.

shamrock

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

09/04/2006 08:12:20 PM · #18

I've got a Belkin, and it works great here in the Austin area.

wimbello

Canon EOS-10D

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Canon

09/04/2006 08:13:50 PM · #19

You'll find that the ones that plug into your cigarette lighter will have less static and interference. The reason being is that they are not limited my your ipods battery. They can suck down much more juice from the car, and subsequently, produce a stronger broadcast field.

One thing to look out for as well: Some european cars (and i'm sure cars from other countries/regions) have metal meshing in the window glass, which can cause reception problems. Also most BMW's use those 'shark-fin' aerials at the back of the roof, which can also cause problems.

NOTE: Your car radio aerial is what picks up the radio signal, not the head unit in your dash.