FM transmitter for mp3 player

[T2urtle]

Hey guys i'm looking for a FM transmitter something like the itrip from griffin made for the ipod's. My girlfriend just saw my friend with it and now she wants it. She has a creative labs mp3 player. I've been looking around. I found one made by Belkin, but couldn't find reviews on it. Plus it ran on 2 AAA batteries. I'm looking for a non-battery one but i don't think its aviable. Let me know what you guys are using for the car. I've heard that it gets bad and static once in a while but it doesn't matter. I have a budget of $50 and i want to get her one of these. since she is in the car a lot.

 

[WackyDan]

I have the Belkin TuneCast - the one that lets you select any frequency for broadcast. I plug it in primarily, but having the battery option is nice - though I run it without batteries in it when in the car.

It works very well. I've been waiting for someone to come up with a hack to boost these thing's output so you get less static now and then... I use mine while travelling... sometime you have to adjust the frquency every 50 miles to keep it on an open frequency.... sometimes not for 200 miles though.

 

[T2urtle]

that sounds good. I didn't know it has a cig adapter for it as well. That might be a selling point for me. I thought it was only 2 AAA. As for setup goes how was that like. My g/f isn't the best with gadgets. Is it pretty much close to plug and play. Or is changing eht frequency a little harder to do?

The output and static is a issue that is very understandable, she knows of it and i do as well. Its FM waves and almost everything is FM waves.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: T2urtle
that sounds good. I didn't know it has a cig adapter for it as well. That might be a selling point for me. I thought it was only 2 AAA. As for setup goes how was that like. My g/f isn't the best with gadgets. Is it pretty much close to plug and play. Or is changing eht frequency a little harder to do?

The output and static is a issue that is very understandable, she knows of it and i do as well. Its FM waves and almost everything is FM waves.

Using it is quite easy... and if she's using it around town, then you'd want to keep a battery in it to maintain the presets..... but it's real easy to adjust the Belkin up or down in frequency.

 

[theslickvik]

Hello there. Because of your extensive budget you have many options

"First of all, all FM transmitters cause noise on the receiving end, if you turn volume up enough. And don't expect the sound quality to be better than your FM radio itself. It will be worse. If possible, use a wired option such as a "cassette connector" for car. That said, wireless transmitters do offer convenience, and some are better, while others are worse, depend mostly on unit's output power, range, and station selections. After trying out 4 of them personally, I found station selections to be the most important in getting good quality sound on your radio. Hence, the Belkin TuneCast II is the best out there. As far as I know (in the price range I search), it is the only one on the market that offers full frequency digital tuning (Arkon offers transmitters with full frequency analog tuning - SoundFeeder 150x).

Here is a summary of my review on the four transmitters I tried.

Belkin TuneCast II:
+ full frequency digital tuning with 0.05 stepping
+ 4-station memory
+ dual power (battery and DC)
+ auto on/off
+ good output and range
+ LCD display
+ cord storage on unit
- USB power will be nicer, as I have my own USB2DC adapter
- LCD not lighted

iRock 400FM
+ dual power (battery and DC)
+ good output and range
- only 4 preset stations
- dangling cord
- kind of ugly

Arkon SoundFeeder 250
+ good output and range
+ cord storage on unit
- only 8 preset stations
- battery power only (spec claimes 60hr, but I seriously doubt it as others with similar battery could only last 10-13hr)

SIIG Music Adapter Pro
+ dual power (battery and USB, could be tripple if you have your own USB2DC adapter)
+ ok output and range (volume is kind of low)
+ lighted LCD
+ cord storage on unit
- claimed to have 9 preset stations with autoscan, but it was so hard to operate that I could only verify 5 stations through manual stepping, and autoscan does NOT pick up the best station
- battery compartment very hard to open
- DO NOT BUY THIS, even though it looks good, and has good spec

Here are some personal tips on any FM transmitter setup:
1) If your radio and transmitter allows 0.1 stepping, choose an even frequency station such as 88.40, since very very few stations broadcast on even frequecies.
2) Make sure your MP3 files have loud enough volume, so you don't have to boost your MP3 unit or radio's volume too much. High volume magnifies noise. There are many software out there that fine tunes MP3, including volume.
3) If you have to boost volume, boost MP3 unit's volume instead of radio's. High radio volume causes more noise.
4) Always make sure you have new battery or are using DC adapter. Low power forces you to turn up volume, and it in turn causes noise.
5) In general, songs fair better with these transmitters than solo instruments, as noise could become more obvious on the later."

Bottom line:
Go for a tunecast II- It runs about 29.00 bucks retail but you can find it for much less

 

[WackyDan]

Funny... My Belkin tunecast II is backlit.

 

[T2urtle]

Thanks i just picked up a Tunecast 2 at walmart for $33 it has great reception at 88.9, it has a green backlit as well.