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FM Transmitters

C

chorb

Golden Member
My car's stock head unit does not have any auxiliary inputs (front or back), and I'm looking to buy an FM transmitter for my Iphone 3GS to listen to music over my car's speakers.

I've read quite a few reviews on newegg and amazon, but reviews are all over the place. Obviously different cars will yield different results, but if you've personally had one that worked well please let me know!

(note: my car's antennae is built into the rear window)
 
I'm interested as well..I have two Zune transmitters and one will work pretty well for a little while and then it goes to shit. The other is usually pretty good. I bought one from Newegg on sale and that was a little better, but with all of those I find myself needing to move the wires around to get good reception.

The only ones I've had good luck with (strong signal) have been the really cheap dealextreme-style Chinese junk that I usually break in some fashion (snap the 3.5mm plug or something), but while they work they have a nice strong signal.
 
I've had pretty bad experiences with them. I ended getting a tape deck converter thingy. My speakers are pretty much busted, so the quality sucks either way. 😛
 
Buy a shitty one off eBay/Amazon/DealExtreme...worked perfect for me. Cost like $3, worked absolutely fine. Audio was a bit low, but that is expected.
 
nkgreen said:
I've had pretty bad experiences with them. I ended getting a tape deck converter thingy. My speakers are pretty much busted, so the quality sucks either way. 😛
Click to expand...

I'd go the tape deck route if I had a tape deck, but I dont. My car is a 2004 model, technology wise it was caught between cars having tape a tape deck and aux in. So it only has Radio and CD player.
 
chorb said:
I'd go the tape deck route if I had a tape deck, but I dont. My car is a 2004 model, technology wise it was caught between cars having tape a tape deck and aux in. So it only has Radio and CD player.
Click to expand...

Yep, mine too.
 
RichieZ said:
find something that is a hard wired fm transmitter, I had one before I put in a double-din nav that has ipod integration. this solution worked much butter than a regular fm transmitter.

The one I had was the Alpine RDS1:
http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/dpr-rds1
Click to expand...
That's a good idea, but it's entirely too expensive. This Scosche FM-MOD02 Universal Audio Input FM Modulator is only $30 instead of $99. It's probably a little more complex to set up because you'll have to remove your stereo to plug the FM Modulator into the antenna jack, and you'll also have to power it, but it's way cheaper and should provide the same functionality.
 
i tried fm transmitters for a while, i then gave up and got a 3rd party line in box that hooks up to the xm connecters behind my radio. there are versions that hook up to cd-changer connections as well. ipod support, aux-in, great quality. you can find them for around $150 for most cars.
 
Had one of those years ago, it sucked.

Now I'm using a tape deck hidden underneath the center console with a 3.5 audio jack to cassette converter, and spliced into the back of the headunit. Works wonderfully.
 
I have an FM transmitter for my car, it works different in different surroundings. In the city if I'm around a radio station tower the transmitter craps out, when I'm on the highway or out in the middle of nowhere, it works great! It's ok, I don't like the audio quality so I usually still burn disks and I really only use it on long trips.
 
I've used a few cheap transmitters. The ones that run off batteries or have only a few hardwired frequencies have all sucked, IMO. I do have one like this one that actually works okay, and can tune to just about any channel. It can be found under a few different brands and I think I got mine for $20.

All the ones I've tried worked, but when I say the other ones "sucked" I mean the volume was super low, or there was static even on unused channels.
 
aleckz said:
I have an FM transmitter for my car, it works different in different surroundings. In the city if I'm around a radio station tower the transmitter craps out, when I'm on the highway or out in the middle of nowhere, it works great! It's ok, I don't like the audio quality so I usually still burn disks and I really only use it on long trips.
Click to expand...

I've resorted to burning discs as well since my winter car doesn't have an auxiliary input...but I have a Zunepass account so most music is restricted from burning and I have to play it back on a PC/360 or Zune. :/
 
jlee said:
I've resorted to burning discs as well since my winter car doesn't have an auxiliary input...but I have a Zunepass account so most music is restricted from burning and I have to play it back on a PC/360 or Zune. :/
Click to expand...

Did your Forester have a factory option for something like a six-disc CD changer elsewhere in the car?
 
Zap said:
I've used a few cheap transmitters. The ones that run off batteries or have only a few hardwired frequencies have all sucked, IMO. I do have one like this one that actually works okay, and can tune to just about any channel. It can be found under a few different brands and I think I got mine for $20.

All the ones I've tried worked, but when I say the other ones "sucked" I mean the volume was super low, or there was static even on unused channels.
Click to expand...

Used three of these in three different cars, worked without issue every time. Sound quality wasn't so bad, either.

If you're willing to spend ~$100 and some of your time, you could just get an aftermarket headunit from Crutchfield.com, as they also include accurate instructions and have mounting brackets/wiring harnesses available for around $20 total to fit the stereo to your car. Got the install on a '99 Grand Caravan done in like an hour thanks to those instructions, and the new headunit is solidly mounted with no rattles or squeaks.

I used this headunit in that installation, and it has a very clear sound to it:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158GT250MP/Sony-Xplod-CDX-GT250MP.html?tp=5684
 
I use this one from Griffin with my iPod. It works pretty well. It has worked as a transmitter with three different types of iPods I tried it with (two generations of Nanos and an iPod Classic) but doesn't charge all models.

With some cars I have to move it around a bit to find clear reception but it works fine.
 
I've tried several, and while I'm not an audiophile I found them all to have unacceptable sound quality. The best ones plug in between the antenna and the stereo at the back of the stereo but it's obviously a much harder install. Even though your antenna is built into the window it should still plug into the back of your stereo.

As mentioned, if you're willing to spend $100 and your dash will accommodate it, you'll get much better bang-for-the-buck with a new head unit.
 
SQ on the wireless FM transmitters is crap. They work but if you crank it up static becomes apparent. Especially if there's any FM stations close to the frequency you're using. That Alpine unit looks like a pretty good solution to that problem. I might have to pick one up.

Edit: One thing to watch out for is you may need an adapter for that antenna jack. A lot of the newer cars don't use the standard antenna jack. I know Ford's don't and I think my GM might not either.

Edit2: Well crap. It's got no aux jack on it. What would that cost? An extra $3 dollars to put that in it? It ONLY works for iPods. Craptastic.
 
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RichieZ said:
find something that is a hard wired fm transmitter, I had one before I put in a double-din nav that has ipod integration. this solution worked much butter than a regular fm transmitter.

The one I had was the Alpine RDS1:
http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/dpr-rds1
Click to expand...

I have one of these (don't remember the brand name on it). The stereo in my car is mounted in the trunk, which made it easy to install the modulator.
 
jlee said:
The only ones I've had good luck with (strong signal) have been the really cheap dealextreme-style Chinese junk that I usually break in some fashion (snap the 3.5mm plug or something), but while they work they have a nice strong signal.
Click to expand...

Same here. I suspect that those Chinese transmitters exceed FCC requirements. I think the dynamic range sucks though. I've tried a Belkin and that was worthless.
 
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