Ipods

[Anthony]

I've had no interest in the Ipod technology...until I used one

I've been thinking of getting a 16g Ipod mini...I might get a big chunk of my collection on that.

A big thing I would need to set up is something to play over my trucks stereo.  As far as I can tell, the only way to do that with my stock stereo is to buy a FM transmitter for the Ipod.  Has anyone ever used one?  Are they any good?  Doing a quick google search brings up a few different models...

Belive it or not I still use a portable CD player (haha, those were considered PORTABLE!) to listen to in bed with headphones...And that's only one album at a time! 

[silentio]

Oh, your stereo doesn't have an Aux-in? If it does, then it's simple, just plug in a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable.

As for the FM transmitters, I've tested a few models and most of them work well. Quality will be better if you are able to use a cable but in a moving vehicle, that doesn't really matter.

One fun thing you can do is to use a popular station's frequency. Your FM transmitter will overpower the airwaves in your truck and surroundings. Then watch as neighbouring drivers suddenly get rickrolled by your iPod. You do have Rick Astley in your collection right?

[silentio]

Oh, one more thing. There's another way to do it, a cassette adapter. I mean, if your stereo has a cassette deck, this lets you feed your iPod (or any music player) through it.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2599

Dirt cheap solution from Dealextreme. If you haven't ordered from them, don't worry. Fully reliable, though slow, I've bought many things from them. Ships from Hong Kong to anywhere in the world for free.

[Nikos]

That's how I do it as my car stereo only does am/fm and cassette...

[Benner]

Oh, one more thing. There's another way to do it, a cassette adapter. I mean, if your stereo has a cassette deck, this lets you feed your iPod (or any music player) through it.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2599

Dirt cheap solution from Dealextreme. If you haven't ordered from them, don't worry. Fully reliable, though slow, I've bought many things from them. Ships from Hong Kong to anywhere in the world for free.

I had a similar and far more expensive one and it was awful.  I now use a FM transmitter.

[Woz]

Get a Belkin brand FM transmitter, they´re pretty good quality and not too expensive. Used one before I got my new car, now I have an iPod dock installed 

[Neil]

I tried various FM transmitters and whilst its true you don't exactly need HiFi in a moving vehicle I found them to all be pretty horrid

So I tried the cassette adapter option, first a cheapy one made by Ross; it was an improvement over the FM transmitters but still not great.  Then I spent some real money on a Sony version.  To be honest I didn't expect it to be much different to the Ross but it was chalk and cheese, very good sound quality indeed.  At that point I stopped considering replacing the car stereo, no need and no one is going to bother breaking my windows to steal a factory fitted cassette player that doesn't even have a display

[Crouton]

The cassette adapters will usually give you higher quality audio in comparison the the FM transmitters.  The cassette adapters emulate a tape and transfer the audio signal directly to the head.  I use this option in my car for listening to audiobooks, the quality isn't the greatest but it's usable.  The downside top the tape adapters is that on most tape players the tape deck will actually turn the mechanism within the tape adapter so that the tape deck thinks it is advancing a tape.  On my deck I have to lube the adapter internally every month or so or it will start to squeak.

The FM transmitters are regulated to be low power devices so they often can't compete with over the air signals, and as you drive from place to place different channels will be transmitting at different levels so you may end up changing the transmitted frequency on the adapter.  I tried several of these and there was just too much interference for me to tolerate.

Another, more professional option might be to use an inline FM transmitter which actually disconnects the antenna to the radio and substitutes it's own while you use it.  I've tried one of these and wasn't happy with it.

You could also look into replacing the factory radio, usually even the cheaper models will have line-in or direct iPod connectivity.

BTW it's a 16GB iPod Nano, the iPod Mini was last sold in 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_Mini

[Crouton]

Here is a link for the inline antenna adapter I was referring to.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_108DPFMT/Harman-Kardon-DPFMT-1US.html?tp=1287&s=0

Not sure if this one is a true passthrough but they do sell units that are.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I used a Belkin Tunecast II transmitter for the longest time without a problem:



I have since "upgraded" the stereos in both my cars to units that accept SD cards and USB drives.  You can even plug some older MP3 players (like my RCA Lyras- I have three...) into the USB port and they play.



I use the term "upgraded" loosely as the deck I took out of the Jeep was a Pioneer unit, and the one I put in was this Freeway model from Canadian Tire, which I got on sale for about $80.  This week I think it's on sale for about $50.  It's a cheap, no name deck, and I have an older model of the same thing in the Sunfire- the only differences are the Sunfirte's one is silver while the Jeep's is black, and the Jeep's deck has a line in.  Bottom line is, you don't have to spend money on a high end deck to get something that will hook up to your iPod.

I have a 4gb Sansa e260 which has a MicroSD slot in the side for increasing the memory.  I stuck an 8g card in it, and I'll tell you that is an awful lot of bloody music...  figure the average mp3 is about 5megs, so roughly 200 songs/gig means that my 4g player alone (without card) holds roughly 800 songs, or 40-50 regular CD's worth of music.  16g would give you four times that.

5 minutes per song, 3200 songs means 16,000 minutes of music, which means 267 hours or just over 11 days straight before you hear a song twice....  Can anyone say ROAD TRIP! 

Def

[Flash]

Def,

You need to get out more 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Tell me something I don't know....   

Def

[Neil]

Tell me something I don't know....   

Def

Pharoh ants like it behind my fridge  

  ... little buggers 

[Anthony]

my 4g player alone (without card) holds roughly 800 songs, or 40-50 regular CD's worth of music.  16g would give you four times that.

That's a start!


My stock stereo in my Blazer is just a basic AM/FM CD player...no inputs.  I did see those a while back when I was shopping for a new CD player for my old car, there were decks with USB ports.  Replacing the deck is an absolute last option since after buying an Ipod and all the accessories, I won't want to spend anything for a while

I will however try to get my father to buy an FM transmitter for his new Ipod and see how it works for him before I buy one

[Grant Lamontagne]

Give me your address again and if I can find mine, you can have it.  I think I have the car adaptor for it too, but if not it works with batteries as well.

Def

[Pacu]

**cough**

Zune HD coming soon

http://www.zune.net/en-us/mp3players/zunehd/default.htm



sorry i'm a Zune fan

[Benner]

my 4g player alone (without card) holds roughly 800 songs, or 40-50 regular CD's worth of music.  16g would give you four times that.

That's a start!
(Image removed from quote.)

My stock stereo in my Blazer is just a basic AM/FM CD player...no inputs.  I did see those a while back when I was shopping for a new CD player for my old car, there were decks with USB ports.  Replacing the deck is an absolute last option since after buying an Ipod and all the accessories, I won't want to spend anything for a while

I will however try to get my father to buy an FM transmitter for his new Ipod and see how it works for him before I buy one

Damn! 

[eodtech]

My Avalanche has a AUX jack on the face plate which my iPod Nano plugs into - however the only control I have is volume, all other functions have to be accomplished from the iPod.

WE ( wife and I ) are looking at replacing her 2004 Honda Pilot with a 2009 Honda Pilot ( Honda certified used car ) with the iPod Music Link from Honda in the vehicle. Still waiting for a call when the dealer gets a used 2009 in on trade.

iPod Touch - 3rd generation models will be released in September ( built in Camera, larger screen, more enhancements are anticipated )