I’ve used several FM transmitters, and they were all total and complete garbage. None of them worked worth a damn and they were annoying to use.
Depending on your car/CD player, you may have AUX input, either right on the front or you may have to dig around in the back to get to it. That’s a good solution.
My CD player didn’t have that, but it did have a port for a CD changer. I bought an adapter on eBay that allowed me to plug a little unit into the CD changer port, then plug my iPod into that. I LOVE it. It allows me to change songs, fast forward, rewind, change playlists, etc., all on the head unit while my iPod is stowed safely away in my glove box. It also charges while its plugged in. It was pricey… around $100, but so much better than my other options.
I agree with wasson. I like my FM dongle okay, but it doesn’t sound nearly as good as a direct connection and possibly more importantly, the iPod’s lack of tactile feedback makes it very hard to adjust while driving.
If I had some extra money laying around, I’d get a new stereo with a direct wired connection (or a dock) and controls for the iPod on the faceplate (or remote, or steering wheel). Yeah, we all do unsafe stuff while driving, but trying to select a song or playlist on an iPod while driving is probably among the worst, especially if it’s docked down by the charger port.
Also remember that the iPod condom might prevent it from fitting into a dock. I have to take my iPod case off every time I use it in the car (and at work, for that matter).
Save the money you’d spend on the transmitter, and save up for a new car radio with an auxiliary input. Then, you just run a 1/8" to 1/8" connector.
You can (probably) get them for under $100.
Oh, if you’re current radio has a tape deck, iPod might have a connector with a tape. That’s cheaper than a radio and sounds better than the transmitter.
Disclaimer: I don’t have an iPod, but I had an XM radio that I spent a lot of time fooling with this. I’ve heard iPods in the car that sound like junk with the transmitter (and the 128 bit rate, but that’s another issue).
As the voice of dissent, I have an FM transmitter for my Sansa (so, not an iPod) and it works just swimmingly for me. No, it’s not as clear as a CD but it’s certainly listenable and no worse than the radio is. This is in the Chicago area so I occassionally have to go station switching if I drive far enough in one direction to pick up interference from bona fide broadcast stations (usually college radio or the like).
My run-around vehicle is a 2000 Chevy Blazer with a stock CD player in it. There’s an AUX button on it. Does that mean it would be fairly easy to hook up with whatever it is that I’d need to take advantage of that feature?
Oh… and whatever is it do I need if that’s the case?
Sorry, I can’t give a certain answer, because it depends. Some car steres have this because they are designed to control other components that haven’t been installed, like maybe a cassette or MP3 player. The good news is that your is actually designed to accept another audio input, and the bad news is that the input might be in a form that is of no real use to you. My car had the same thing, but the connector on the back of the radio was this odd 8-pin matrix that was no use for some other piece of gear like an iPod. Because Presumably 2 pins were for left and right channels, but the other 6 pins were to let the radio actually control the device through the radio dial and buttons.
Yes, I tried 2 FM transmitter things for my iPod and they both sucked. So I bit the bullet and bought an Alpine car stereo designed to dock and control an ipod.
The radio has a little shelf under the radio face where you can put the iPod, and a loose cable with with a dock connector on one end coming out of the shelf. So, you don’t have to take the iPod out of it’s condom to get it to fit. Connect the wire, put it loosely on the shelf, and run the iPods controls through the radio face plate.
Basically it plugs into the strange proprietary plug Boyo Jim spoke of, then connects to your iPod. You’ll have control over your iPod through the car stereo itself and also through the iPod. You also won’t have the sound quality loss you’ll have with FM transmitters or cassette adapters.
It’s pricey though. I love mine. I did have to remove my car stereo to hook it up, and I imagine yours will also need to be removed. I’m not sure how comfortable you are with that, but its an option.
I found mine on eBay for closer to $100, but still, it is expensive.
It’s better than replacing the stereo for a couple reasons though… this solution lets you control your iPod through the standard control deck, rather than having to do it through the iPod itself. It also charges your iPod when its connected. And it gives you better audio quality.
But yeah, definitely not the cheapest solution. I got one for my VW because any after market stereo would have looked ridiculous in it, otherwise I think I probably would have gone with one of those Alpine units that also has full control over the iPod.
