Need a little help finding something

[Q]

I'm looking for some kind of device I can buy so that my brother can listen to an iPod Touch in his car (his Christmas gift)

I guess an FM transmitter is something I might need, but would this work? Is there anything else any cheaper?

thanks

 

[CalvinHobbes]

Does his stereo/head unit support Bluetooth? That's required for that device. Does he have an auxiliary input on his head unit?

 

[Gibson486]

Does his car have bluetooth? If not, you need a radio transmitter....

Also, ipod touch gen 2 is not compatible with gen 1 stuff.

 

[TheInternet1980]

Install a cat in the vehicle. Tell your brother to use the earbuds anyway. The cat will jump onto his face, while he is distracted by the earbud's noise. This will cause him to lose control of the vehicle, hitting a dog, killing it instantly. The cat will walk away from the wreck unscathed.

 

[pontifex]

I think Belkin makes some, and I'm sure there are other companies. just google FM transmitter. I think the belkin ones are like $30. I haven't really had much luck with those things though.

i ended up buying a deck that had an aux port and i just run a cable between my Zen X-fi and the deck.

 

[adairusmc]

I know most monster products suck, but their FM tuners they made for ipod (and with a generic headphone jack) are the best I have seen as far as quality. Every single FM transmitter I have used besides the monster cable one has been scratchy and not quite powerful enough, but the monster icarplay or whatever it is called works great.

 

[Ramma2]

I have used 3 different brands of FM transmitters, and they all failed to output a clean, reliable signal 100% of the time with no static.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cas...&qid=1229706190&sr=8-1

I now use one of these, and it works great. If he doesn't have a taple deck anymore, then look into the posibility of the radio having an aux in. Most do, even something for a disc changer would work, and you can probably find an adapter cable that will give you a connection to the radio.

 

[Q]

He has no bluetooth so I guess Belkin FM is probably what I need, though amazon has them for like $45 which is kind of high. Maybe walmart has them for cheaper

 

[effowe]

Originally posted by: Quintox
He has no bluetooth so I guess Belkin FM is probably what I need, though amazon has them for like $45 which is kind of high. Maybe walmart has them for cheaper

Well no bluetooth, but what about aux input?

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: Ramma2
I have used 3 different brands of FM transmitters, and they all failed to output a clean, reliable signal 100% of the time with no static.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cas...&qid=1229706190&sr=8-1

I now use one of these, and it works great. If he doesn't have a taple deck anymore, then look into the posibility of the radio having an aux in. Most do, even something for a disc changer would work, and you can probably find an adapter cable that will give you a connection to the radio.

He does have a tape deck, so I will check that out. Just have to make sure it works for the Touch

 

[torpid]

Tape deck is going to sound infinitely better than an FM transmitter. My GF got a pioneer stereo that had an ipod cable and an aux port as well and it was under $150 installed. I guess that's out of your price range...

 

[BassBomb]

Sound quality
fm transmitter <<< tape deck <<<<< aux port

Price
tape deck << fm transmitter <<<<<<< aux port (if your car didnt come with one)

 

[DrFuNk328]

Originally posted by: TheInternet1980
Install a cat in the vehicle. Tell your brother to use the earbuds anyway. The cat will jump onto his face, while he is distracted by the earbud's noise. This will cause him to lose control of the vehicle, hitting a dog, killing it instantly. The cat will walk away from the wreck unscathed.

WTF!?!?!? LMAO

IMO...try to go direct connection before the FM transmitter.

As for the direct connection...the options that I know are going old school and using the tape player and buying the tape adapter (which I rock!!)...I got mine at Wal-Mart...maybe buy it on amazon.com? HERE. I think they have a special shipping thing right now.


but I don't know if the car is that old. Also, if the car has the Auxiliary Input then go that route. All you would have to buy is a small cable to connect the IPOD to the Aux Input.

As CalvinHobbes said...it needs Bluetooth. That might work well if the car supports Bluetooth.

If neither, I would go with the FM transmitter. I just feel in my own experience, FM transmitter's get a little "staticy" at times and the audio quality is not prime. But they do the job.

I would stay away from Griffin. I have had bad experience with that brand.

I have many friends with the Monster transmitter. It not only transmits the audio, but charges the IPOD as well.

CHECK IT OUT

Hopes this helps!

 

[PepePeru]

the FM transmitter I bought was a POS that never worked right.

Ive been using a tape adapter for a few years. Sounds fine to me.

 

[Tiamat]

Tape deck if possible. Just get the one with headphone out to casette. They should be universal and cost like 5-10$ at most. These are much better than the FM transmitters.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Tape deck if possible. Just get the one with headphone out to casette. They should be universal and cost like 5-10$ at most. These are much better than the FM transmitters.

Yup will look at Walmart today, thanks all

 

[AkumaX]

Cassette Adapter -> 3.5mm if possible.

Otherwise, I'd recommend the Harman Kardon Drive+Play (the older model, since it's on clearance) + FM Antenna Attachment Adapter <-- very important!!!

 

[vshah]

what kind of car does he have, and what is his budget? does his head unit support XM radio? if so, there's probably a ~$100 attachment that will let him control the ipod from his head unit.

 

[jagec]

FWIW:
FM transmitters are teh suck.

"iPod specific" products are a waste of everyone's time and money.

It's criminal that all cars don't come with aux in. It's such an easy way to make their decks 100% future proof, and yet no one does it!

 

[venkman]

i gots the aux in although it seems to cut out every now and then all of a sudden. I think the cable may be fragged, gotta get a new one.

 

[drum]

my girlfriend has a new ford escape with the AUX input, what adapter dies she need to plug in an ipod?

 

[IronWing]

Transmitters work okay if you're not in the big city where all the frequencies are taken.

 

[syee]

Like vshah asked - what kind of car does he have? You can use something like this (http://www.usaspec.com/ipod.html) that allows integration into the factory HU. If the car has steering wheel controls, you can use them to change tracks rather than looking at the Touch to change tracks (especially when it locks itself after a few minutes of inactivity or dims the screen).

This unit also charges the iPod and gives you an aux input in the event you don't have an iPod or want to hook it up to your laptop. I use this in my car (05 TSX) and it works great.

BTW, 1st Gen Touch doesn't support BT. 2nd Gen I'm not sure - I've heard the chipset has the ability but it's just not enabled.

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: drum
my girlfriend has a new ford escape with the AUX input, what adapter dies she need to plug in an ipod?

She doesn't need an adapter if she already has an AUX input jack, just a 1/8" Male to Male audio cable.

 

[ivan2]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob

Originally posted by: drum
my girlfriend has a new ford escape with the AUX input, what adapter dies she need to plug in an ipod?

She doesn't need an adapter if she already has an AUX input jack, just a 1/8" Male to Male audio cable.

that's if she's using the headphone jack as line out, the official ipot line out is at the proprietary plug that you need to convert.