warm -- $15 FM car transmitter for mp3 players like ipod

[AG73]

Title says it all. not sure about how well it works, has anyone used this in a car with ipod?

link

 

[Anami]

I bought something like this at Costco for $25. But the Costco one was only as big as a cigarette lighter adapter, and had several nice features. It had a standard mini-stereo input, to accept audio from any device and transmit it to your choice of about 5 stations on the FM, plus it had a USB port on the adapter, so you could plug any USB flash drive into that and, with play/pause, forward, and back buttons on the adapter, could play any MP3s found in the root of the flash drive. I don't see this device at Costco.com website.

 

[Ze]

I got a FM modulator that reads off my usb drive, and it works pretty well in my car. Only trouble you'll get is if there's a strong signal interfering with the frequency you're on.

 

[gorcorps]

Don't bother with it unless you absolutely need to hear your mp3 player over the radio. The radio stations interfere with the device, so you can't hear it. When you can hear it, the sound is bad. Get a tape adapter for the same money and get a good signal and slightly better quality.

Lowest price ive seen for an fm transmitter though, so nice find there!

 

[mattocs]

Target has them for $17. Worked pretty good...but eats batteries.

 

[nealr]

I got this one, or one that looks just like this last year, and it worked in areas with no radio stations, but in cities, it just didn't do very well. maybe i had it too far from my antenna (back window), but it wasn't great.

 

[EpOxY]

I know this isn't pertaining specifically to this deal...

But has anyone ever found something like this that is USB powered? I always thought it'd be cool to have my laptop in my backpack and then just be able to throw my bag in the car and just turn on the radio...

 

[Netgeek]

Originally posted by: EpOxY
I know this isn't pertaining specifically to this deal...

But has anyone ever found something like this that is USB powered? I always thought it'd be cool to have my laptop in my backpack and then just be able to throw my bag in the car and just turn on the radio...

Different approach, but iRiver makes something called the AFT 100 that plugs into the car cigarette adapter. I don't have it (yet) but it is supposed to be able to broadcast on any FM frequency. It also auto powers off after 30 seconds of no signal from the headphone jack. If you have a power jack in your trunk you could leave it there and then just connect the laptop when you toss it into the trunk.

Pricey though,... online looks like ~$40 delivered.

 

[bossanov]

I tried the Radio Shack model and I am returning it tomorrow. Too much static and interference in DC area.

B.

 

[Mugwumper]

EpOxy: But has anyone ever found something like this that is USB powered?

Not a hot deal but there is this, its a SIIG Wireless Audio Link FM transmitter. It can use either USB or a car's 12 Volt power. Price (Buy.com) $24.13

 

[JonathanYoung]

Originally posted by: Anami
I bought something like this at Costco for $25. But the Costco one was only as big as a cigarette lighter adapter, and had several nice features. It had a standard mini-stereo input, to accept audio from any device and transmit it to your choice of about 5 stations on the FM, plus it had a USB port on the adapter, so you could plug any USB flash drive into that and, with play/pause, forward, and back buttons on the adapter, could play any MP3s found in the root of the flash drive. I don't see this device at Costco.com website.

I bought the same one from Costco. It's made by a company called Virtual Reality Sound Labs. You can pick a bunch of frequencies to find one that works. In San Francisco, 87.7 seems to work well. Since my car doesn't have a tape deck, I can't use a tape adapter and this device works well for that purpose. My only gripe is that the sound quality is noticeably lower than CD, but then again, what can you expect from FM?

It was cool using my car speakers to watch my ST: Voyager DVDs though!

 

[gnef]

i know this is off topic - but is there anything akin to this that would be able to power a laptop hard drive in an external usb enclosure, and read mp3s off of them?

-Gnef

 

[jamautosound]

Originally posted by: JonathanYoung

Originally posted by: Anami
I bought something like this at Costco for $25. But the Costco one was only as big as a cigarette lighter adapter, and had several nice features. It had a standard mini-stereo input, to accept audio from any device and transmit it to your choice of about 5 stations on the FM, plus it had a USB port on the adapter, so you could plug any USB flash drive into that and, with play/pause, forward, and back buttons on the adapter, could play any MP3s found in the root of the flash drive. I don't see this device at Costco.com website.

I bought the same one from Costco. It's made by a company called Virtual Reality Sound Labs. You can pick a bunch of frequencies to find one that works. In San Francisco, 87.7 seems to work well. Since my car doesn't have a tape deck, I can't use a tape adapter and this device works well for that purpose. My only gripe is that the sound quality is noticeably lower than CD, but then again, what can you expect from FM?

It was cool using my car speakers to watch my ST: Voyager DVDs though!

This?

That thing looks pretty cool.

 

[JonathanYoung]

That's the one!

 

[Netgeek]

Originally posted by: jamautosound

Originally posted by: JonathanYoung

Originally posted by: Anami
I bought something like this at Costco for $25. But the Costco one was only as big as a cigarette lighter adapter, and had several nice features. It had a standard mini-stereo input, to accept audio from any device and transmit it to your choice of about 5 stations on the FM, plus it had a USB port on the adapter, so you could plug any USB flash drive into that and, with play/pause, forward, and back buttons on the adapter, could play any MP3s found in the root of the flash drive. I don't see this device at Costco.com website.

I bought the same one from Costco. It's made by a company called Virtual Reality Sound Labs. You can pick a bunch of frequencies to find one that works. In San Francisco, 87.7 seems to work well. Since my car doesn't have a tape deck, I can't use a tape adapter and this device works well for that purpose. My only gripe is that the sound quality is noticeably lower than CD, but then again, what can you expect from FM?

It was cool using my car speakers to watch my ST: Voyager DVDs though!

This?

That thing looks pretty cool.

Arghh, so who carries it? Tried searching and can't find it. I have a nice USB-powered drive I could stick on it (assuming it supplies power via USB).

 

[jamautosound]

Originally posted by: Netgeek

Originally posted by: jamautosound
This?

That thing looks pretty cool.

Arghh, so who carries it? Tried searching and can't find it. I have a nice USB-powered drive I could stick on it (assuming it supplies power via USB).

I just got three of them from Kragen Auto Parts @ $29 ea. Should be at Checker's for the midwest/east coast.

Also available at Costco (as stated), Walmart and Wallyworld (whatever that is. ) and something similar at NewEgg.

 

[jamautosound]

Just got this reply from the VR3 website:

Hello Frank and thank you for your interest in our products. The FM Modulator is available at Costco (Model # VFM1880) at CSK Auto (Checker, Schucks, & Kragen) (Model # VRFM7) and at Wal-Mart (Model #VRFM7).
Please feel free to call me if I can assist you further. Thank you and have a good day

Steven Sofer
Inside Sales
Roadmaster (USA)
www.roadmasterusa.com

 

[AMD K9]

I obught one of these to use with the San Disk Micro Cruzer I bought from Radio Shak. Works ok only thing is the reception isn;t the best and at time annoying as it gives the sound of a radio station not tuned in clearly and that can bug alot of people. It does have 7 presets and I only found 2 of the 7 to be acceptable, the others have too strong a signal to be hear clearly. For $29.99 it's a warm deal I think.

 

[TronX]

Sorry to kickup an old thread, but I have a question. They sell one of these VR3 MP3 FM Modulator, VRFM7 at Wal-mart.
My brother raved on about how cool it was and what channels worked best here in town. My only question is will this thing auto turn off after a while? My brother said he didn't trust it and just pulled it out every night.

Do they make a tape adapter with an MP3 players?

 

[nomadh]

I bought the fm xmitter and pwr adaptor from Fry's for $20 or so. It gets power from cig lighter and puts out most std voltages so no messing with batteries. One time I forgot my player had a rechargable in the player and at the end of the trip it was recharged. Nice bonus in the Rio player. Has a mini headphone jack so it can xfer signal though its built in fm xmitter. It can xmit on any fm freq.
cons:
hard to find a free freq in town but usually works. The freq drifts a little sometimes. Sound quality is a little weak. But hey my mp3-cd player holds enough music for an 8hour drive so its still great if you don't have a cassette or input. It will hold you over until you get the $80 in dash mp3-cd player installed.

 

[JafCo]

Had to run out to Costco and get one of those VR3's... the USB stick concept is excellent!