I got a iPod (normal one, not a shuffle) as a present this year, and i'd like to use it in the car.
I have a Sony radio cassette c.1997/1998 with 6CD stacker hardwired in the boot. Car is R reg and the R/C is manufacturer standard fit.
I was looking for the simplest solution, which is apparently an adaptor that you insert into the cassette slot. They are also radio / wireless transmitters.
Can anyone please recommend a cheap, simple and effective solution to the above. Cheap and simple because I'm tight and thick!
TIA
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SWMBO uses a Sony device which plugs into the cassette slot. It works very well, although it can get quite hot on a long journey.
Being a bit thick, I didn't bother reading the instructions properly, and for a while it sounded *really* awful. Then, having read the instructions, I turned the dolby sound reduction off on the car stereo, and it sounded much better.
IIRC, the adaptor was about £11. SWMBO, who has much better hearing than I do (I just like it LOUD!), says that the adaptor is fine for listening to in the car. After all, it is fairly pointless obtaining concert hall quality, and then switching on the engine!
If required, I can find out the model number from SWMBO.
I hope that is helpful.
Number_Cruncher
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NC, thanks, that sounds (sorry) about right - £11 and easy to operate. The Model Number would be helpful thanks.
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I?ve got the cassette thingy. It ejects it about 5 times before it takes it in and the sound level is very quiet so you have to turn the stereo right up to hear it which gives a bit of background hiss. I?m gonna try the FM transmitter, I just think it?ll be tidier.
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>>have to turn the stereo right up to hear it which gives a bit of background hiss
Yes, we had that to begin with. But we found that by turning up the sound on the ipod, you could get a better signal into the stereo. Then not having turned the car stereo up as loud, the hiss was gone.
I think it's something to do with the different impedance between a typical pair of headphones, which the mp3 players are designed for, and the cassette adaptor, which is a bit of an afterthought. However, I'm not an electronics design engineer, so my thoughts don't count for much!
I will wait until this evening, to find out the model number, when we are both back from work.
Number_Cruncher
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Probably best getting a cassette adaptor, you can get them cheap on eBay but get a branded one.
I have an iTrip FM transmitter which has better sound quality, but not an ideal solution by any means. Mine cost £24 on eBay (from Canada) with an iPod car charger included.
iPods dont have great battery life, and the iTrip saps the power quicker, so I keep mine plugged in all the time now.
You can occasionally get a bit of interference if not plugged in to the cig. lighter socket.
You have to set it to a blank FM frequency, so if you drive a long distance, you sometimes drive into range of a local radio station which drowns out the iTrip signal.
You can now get a lead which plugs into the CD changer socket on the head unit, but they can be expensive but not available for all makes of stereo.
www.caraudioplus.co.uk/scp/iPod_Car_Adapters/iPod_...l
www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/category.asp?category=546
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I have had 2 iTrips and have not been impressed with either (sound quality or ease of use). The last one broke after a couple of months and I binned it. The other thing to consider is that iTrips are illegal in the UK, you are efectively broadcasting a pirate radio station.
Halfords offer two iPod solutions....£99 gets you a Denison(?)iPod cradle that connects up to OEM headunits. Also a £150 Harmon Kardon solution that has built in ipod navigation, not sure what the requirements are for this. Might be worth popping down to your local halfords and taking a look.
Personally I bought an Alpine headunit which is ipod compatible and with the necessary alpine adaptor you can access your ipod via the headunit. I just have to find the £70 for the adaptor!
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Forgot to mention, if it's a 5G ipod (video capable) then I'm not sure if there's an iTrip available for those yet.
Take a look at:
www.griffintechnology.com/products/itrip/
Dension Cradle:
www.dension.com/main.htm
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I've used a cheap FM transmitter successfully in other cars but I can't get my car to tune to the frequency at all (and I don't seem able to manually tune the radio, although the device can be tuned to any frequency). Downside was that it required it's own power source so I needed to get a two-way adapter for the cigar lighter (actually 3 way - phone, iPod and transmitter).
So I actually use a tape device as mentioned. Mine has developed a problem where it thinks it's reached the end of the tape and tries to turn it over...not sure if it's a player or tape issue, seems to be worse when it's got pretty warm (few hours).
As mentioned, I have to turn up the radio fairly loud but sound is good enough for me.
The other problem is having somewhere to dock the iPod. I'm too mean to buy a holder so it sits either on the passenger seat, or under the hand brake, neither of which are very conveneient as one of the features I love and use heavily is skipping to the next track when I've heard enough of one...
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Mine hasdeveloped a problem where it thinks it's reached the end of the tape and tries to turn it over...not sure if it's a player or tape issue, seems to be worse when it's got pretty warm (few hours).
Mine did that until i gave it a violent bashing on the dash. That loosened up the little wheels nicely, so it never flips unnecessarily any more. Sounds ok too!
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These adaptors can be had off eBay for about £3. I use one in my car. Big problem is they pick up interferance. To keep the interferance to tollerable levels compared to the music volume needs the player on near max volume, so it chews through batteries.
I've since bought an FM Modulator which will mimick an FM station via the aerial lead (though you can get plug in ones that actually transmit an FM radio signal too). I've heard one of these in operation and consider it to be a superior solution to the adaptor.
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I spent some time looking into this a while ago and the only product at the time that offered a complete solution was dension. Works great if you have a compatible head unit. Uses the CD interface so the CD changer becomes redundant. It's not that cheap and wasn't quite "plug and play" although the newer versions are probably better by now.
I did try a tape adaptor beforehand which was a waste of a tenner!
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You want one of these, guv. Ipod sits in glove box and track titles are displayed on the head unit screen, and can be controlled from your steering wheel controls. Disadvantage is that you lose your CD changer.
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Oops. Forgot the link. And it seems for a bit more cash you can keep your CD changer.
www.incarexpress.co.uk/view_product.php?partno=ASO...1
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The Denison units are the best, since it goes in through the CD input on the car stereo - on some, it can remote the iPod using the controls in your car, which is nice ... but it isn't cheap.
Two other cheaper alternatives:
www.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProduct.action?product=CPA...n
CPA-9C Car cassette adaptor from Sony, generally reckoned the best of this type
catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Mercha...3
The Belkin version of the iTrip - haven't tried it, but some people reckon it better then the iTrip ....
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Sony CPA-9C - that's the one I was thinking of, and SWMBO uses, but I couldn't remember the part code.
Number_Cruncher
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Sony CPA-9C
That looks just the thing.
For clarification, and because i didn't appreciate just how many types of iPod they are, mine is the 5th generation 30GB video model. Although obviously Black Hawk Down will be no good on the car stereo!
One other thing, i binned iTunes as it was rubbish and use Anapod. Apologies if i'm preaching to the converted, but it's a lot easier, turns the iPod into a memory stick cum MP3, so you can take stuff OFF the iPod, and far more usable. Cost £15 over t'internet.
Thanks all
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At last i got round to buying something. I have bought a Philips PU52050 CD to cassette adaptor, which works for iPods as well. Good quality sound and less than £8 from ASDA. Plus it's not white, it's black and is bearly noticable from outside of the car, so no "Ipod in here, please smash window and rummage" signs.
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Tesco does an adapter for the cassette tape slot at £3.97.
Bit late now though...:-(
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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