Hi,
I am due to start a new job soon and am looking to buy a device which will play all my MP3's that will work with my company car. Being a demonstrator, we are not allowed to put anything aftermarket in them - i.e. handsfree kits, aftermarket radios etc.. so it puts me in a dilema
A friend of mine has an IPOD with something called an ITRIP - which plugs into the IPOD. This thing then transmits a radio signal which can then be tuned in on your car's radio so you can listen to the music.
It seems like a good idea - has anyone used one? or are there any alternatives I have overlooked? i.e. non IPOD which will do the same thing, if not better?
Any advice greatly appreciated!
Chris
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iTrip - These work fine (I should imagine, ahem), but are illegal - because they transmit on FM frequency they are effectively pirate radio stations.
Quite how they'd catch you I don't know given the small range of the broadcast signal.
The easy alternative would be a tape adapter (assuming you've got a tape player in the car), or if you have a BMW you can connect the iPod directly and control it from the MFSW.
Good luck!
-- Lee Having a Fabialous time.
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I have an ipaq pocket pc with a 1gb secure digital card installed,plays mp3s with windows media player.These can be mounted on a sucker/arm arrangement on the screen,or a vent clip.As a bonus you have a pc with many other uses,mine also gives me sat.nav capabilities.Mine runs into the radio thru a cassette adaptor,I think C.D.players have a jack to plug into.
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I have an ipaq and to be honest i find it a total pain in the pink fluffy dice
It never holds its charges, its annoying to use in the car, it always falls out of its cradle and when the battery fails the SD card wipes.
So I want something more music orientated. Im still tempted to risk an itrip - didnt realise they were illegal. But at the end of the day - you have to ask yourself what is the likelyhood of being caught and prosecuted.
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Some cd players with cd-changers can use an iPod instead of the cd-changer. That would be more elegant because you could presumably then control the iPod with the car's remote controls:
www.ghc.co.uk/acatalog/ice_Link_Plus_Car_Connector...l
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I use an iPod with a lookalike iTrip which is very effective in all cars except my own, which I cannot tune to the frequency! So I also have a tape adapter which is fine too. Also needed a cigar lighter socket tripler cos of the technology I now have charging whenever I'm on the move... free electricity :-)
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You don't say which car. For example my Mondeo Ghia (2004 model year) has a 3.5mm aux in socket at the back of the glove box. Plug an iPod or similar via 3.5mm lead and it just works.... not in the manual of course!
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new VW Golf if that helps
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I don't rate ipod as an mp3 player. One of the iriver hard-disk based players - I've got an ihp120 - would be a far better choice.
Only a few quid cheaper than an ipod, but better built, better battery life, better sound quality, easier to use with a PC, has a built in radio, plays Ogg files, can record, has a proper optical and jack line-in and out as well as headphone sockets, comes with a remote, comes with a good quality leather case, etc.
I've had mine nearly 18 months, it gets used EVERY day I go anywhere by car, train, or on foot. The original battery still works well - if it broke, I'd get another one tomorrow.
You can get itrip-type devices (basically low-power FM radio transmitters) to work with any portable mp3 player, not just ipod.
Annoyingly, very few car stereos seem to have line-in these days. After a lot of thought, I bought a Blaunpunkt DAB52 and line-in cable (connects round the back). It's excellent - but of course this doesn't help you.
As other people have said, the chance of being caught using itrip or similar is negligible.
It's worth taking the time to set up playlists properly so that you minimize the amount of faffing with the thing you have to do while driving.
The tragically ill-designed interior of my rusty chariot is short of places to put things like mobile phone, mp3 player, etc, so I've ended up supergluing a bit of velcro to everything, and a load of velcro to suitable pieces of the dashboard.
I'd be interested to hear what you end up getting, and how you get on with it.
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>> You can get itrip-type devices (basically low-power FM radio transmitters) to work with any portable mp3 player, not just ipod.
Really? Where from? I use a tape adapter at the moment whcih works well, but whenever I'm in a hire car I'm a bit stuck as they all seem to have CD & radio only.
My mp3 player isn't an ipod, and I know their transmitters have 2 plugs so they won't fit other mp3 players.
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From eBay. For instance tinyurl.com/45fng or tinyurl.com/4u34m , I can't find the one I got, but mine was bundled with a spare iPod style data cable and a cigar lighter charger for the iPod.
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> My mp3 player isn't an ipod, and I know their transmitters have
> 2 plugs so they won't fit other mp3 players.
irock is single-plug and meant to be good.
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My iPod has one std jack socket which happily drives headphones or transmitter, I think the second outlet must be for power, as I have to plug my transmitter into the cigar lighter separately or it doesn't work.
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I think the second outlet must be for power>>
Yes, you're right which is why the transmitters for ipods don't work on other mp3 players - they don't have the power jack in the right place
Thanks for the links above! Very helpful
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Does the golf CD player not play MP3 cd's?
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no it doesnt but then again a lot of them dont
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Not sure where you live, but the I-trip set up (and I would presume other FM transmitters) do not work as well around London. Congestion of the FM wave band is such that it is tricky to find a frequency for the I-Pod to broadcast at that does not already have a radio station near that frequency.
Not-withstanding, a very neat set-up, easy to take from car to car and no wires.
Jono
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If you want to see if the idea will work first, 7dayshop is selling an iPod style aluiminium boded MP3 player complete with LCD display, graphic equaliser, headphones, USB lead, battery and drivers (if needed) for just £12.99 - it uses Secure Digital or MultiMedia Cards (SD/MMC). It can also be used as a card reader...:-)
Ordered one but not arrived yet; I reckoned at that price you can't be done...:-)
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products...8
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I'm sure you realise that you have to buy the SD card(s) separately...www.ebuyer.com are cheap for these usually
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>>that you have to buy the SD card(s) separately..>>
Of course!
In fact I use SD and MMC cards with my digital camera and recently added a 256MB SD card from 7Dayshop for under £20 including p and p - that's why buying the MP3 player was a usable proposition...:-)
I also use the SD/MMC cards with a card reader/writer to transport files, programs, utilities etc for use/install on other systems. They really earn their keep.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Finally got the £13 MP3 player today - stuck some Shania Twain numbers on it and was, to put it mildly, rather surprised and delighted by the sound quality of the supplied headphones.
The player is very tiny - 5.5 x 4.5 x 1 cm - but the built-in LCD screen is very clear and carries quite a lot of information.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I don't rate ipod as an mp3 player. One of the iriver hard-disk based players - I've got an ihp120 - would be a far better choice.
the iPod is Apple's No 1 product for good reason - they are by far the best MP3 players on the market ....
Anyway, what you need is:
www.dension.com/icelink_info.htm
The ice>Link Plus basically enables you to play your iPod through the aux-in or CD input on your current in-car hi-fi - the Radio based ones and the cassette adaptors don't sound too nice...
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Although I'm not sure if it needs 'fitting', so might not fit your bill ... headphones ?!
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>>Although I'm not sure if it needs 'fitting', so might not fit your bill ... headphones ?!>>
As far as I am aware this is completely illegal.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I have a Belkin Tunecast 2 FM transmitter that works very well with my Archos AV420.
Go for the Archos or I-River instead of an Ipod. They have much better features. You can record directly from your tv onto an Archos and can also choose between 20Gb 40Gb 80Gb and 100Gb hard drives.
Ipod is a good quality player, but way too much ££££ for what it does.
The Belkin Tunecast 2 transmits at a frequency of your choice and can be located anywhere in your car. My mate picked up the signal in his car about 10 metres away.
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Another thing about the iPod, gorgeous though it is, is that when the rechargeable battery finally expires, you can't replace it other than with an external version....
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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No, you can replace the battery on an ipod, it takes about 20 minutes though and voids the warranty. There are battery kits available with full instructions
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