FM Transmitter or new stereo?
Discussion
I've just bought a car with a cd player, and I want to play music from a phone with a 3.5mm jack. I used to use a cassette adapter in the cassette player in my old car, and I can't decide whether to replace my stereo with one with a cassette player, or buy an fm transmitter.
Can anyone recommend a reliable no-frills fm transmitter? I was thinking of the Griffin i-trip.
Can anyone recommend a reliable no-frills fm transmitter? I was thinking of the Griffin i-trip.
My mate just bought FM transmitter from ebay for princely sum of around £3 and swears it's the best thing he's ever bought! (think they have them at north Weald market for £4) It has 4 definable frequency memories and runs on a couple of AAs I think.
Not only does it work in the car you've also got the potential to use anywhere out and about.
Not only does it work in the car you've also got the potential to use anywhere out and about.
Edited by smash on Tuesday 5th February 14:13
Thanks for the suggestions. I'd like a stereo with an aux in, but I've got n Astra with a seperate display, and the slightly older versions of the stereo with a cassette are only about £20 on ebay.
If I go for the transmitter, I was hoping for one that didn't have to have its own batteries, ie powered from the car.
If I go for the transmitter, I was hoping for one that didn't have to have its own batteries, ie powered from the car.
andy625 said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I'd like a stereo with an aux in, but I've got n Astra with a seperate display, and the slightly older versions of the stereo with a cassette are only about £20 on ebay.
If I go for the transmitter, I was hoping for one that didn't have to have its own batteries, ie powered from the car.
If that is your budget then I would go for the casette player as FM transmitters can be flaky at the best of times.If I go for the transmitter, I was hoping for one that didn't have to have its own batteries, ie powered from the car.
andy625 said:
Can anyone recommend a reliable no-frills fm transmitter? I was thinking of the Griffin i-trip.
I've got a Griffin i-trip.Bought it years ago and use it on an old i-pod mini.
Still works great, though it can sometimes take a couple of tries to get it to broadcast on the waveband I want.
But it has always done that, but that only happens when it's not been used for a while.
Once connected and working I've never had any problems with it.
JM said:
I've got a Griffin i-trip.
Bought it years ago and use it on an old i-pod mini.
Still works great, though it can sometimes take a couple of tries to get it to broadcast on the waveband I want.
But it has always done that, but that only happens when it's not been used for a while.
Once connected and working I've never had any problems with it.
If you knew that one particular band was ok, and set (?) it to use that, and used it daily, do you think it would be reliable? I don't want something that I'm going to have to set up every time I use it..Bought it years ago and use it on an old i-pod mini.
Still works great, though it can sometimes take a couple of tries to get it to broadcast on the waveband I want.
But it has always done that, but that only happens when it's not been used for a while.
Once connected and working I've never had any problems with it.
andy625 said:
If you knew that one particular band was ok, and set (?) it to use that, and used it daily, do you think it would be reliable? I don't want something that I'm going to have to set up every time I use it..
Yes, as I said it's just sometimes that I experience an issue if I've not used it for a while.Normally if I'm going on a long(ish) trip. It normally connects again e.g after stopping for a break/fuel/night no problem. Just if it's been off for a few weeks then there can sometimes be a slight problem.
I just set it to one frequency (108fm) and leave it on that all the time. I've deleted the other stations from the settings menu.
A cassette player? In 2013?! 
I'd just get a new head unit with aux and/or usb in. You can get decent (pioneer, sony etc) cd mp3 head units for £50 these days. Then you have the option of a cd player too with mp3 capability and you don't have to fanny about with FM transmitters and batteries.
I'd just get a new head unit with aux and/or usb in. You can get decent (pioneer, sony etc) cd mp3 head units for £50 these days. Then you have the option of a cd player too with mp3 capability and you don't have to fanny about with FM transmitters and batteries.andy625 said:
juan king said:
If that is your budget then I would go for the casette player as FM transmitters can be flaky at the best of times.
Thats what I was worried about. Do you speak from experience? I just want something that I can plug into and it will work.I think the key with them is to persevere and find a FM band that isn't being used locally (obviously trickier in the city/more built-up areas), but at £7 it's is definitely worth a punt. Mine was 107.5.
I got an FM transmitter from Maplins for about £15/20. It has a 3.5mm jack and will take an SD card and a (max 16Gb) mem stick.
I've been using it in the Jag since xmas and not had any issues with it. You can program it to use any frequency and it just plugs into aq 12v aux socket. It also comes with a remote control that can clip onto the steering wheel.
The only downside I've found is the display is small and it's hard work if you want to skip to a specific folder/track. I just leave mine on random play.
I've been using it in the Jag since xmas and not had any issues with it. You can program it to use any frequency and it just plugs into aq 12v aux socket. It also comes with a remote control that can clip onto the steering wheel.
The only downside I've found is the display is small and it's hard work if you want to skip to a specific folder/track. I just leave mine on random play.
I used to use FM transmitters many years ago (Griffin), in the desert it was perfect, in the UK always found myself struggling to keep a good reception. Something I couldn't be bothered with.
So I upgraded to an Alpine/ipod compatible head unit which fully functions with Ipod/iphone. This is perfect as it is fully controllable from the head unit and also charges it. It's a little out of the budget though.
Another of our cars has the powered transmitter which, (with Apple connection) also powers the idevice but not controllable from the head unit. (£60 odd quid).
The third we have in the gay car is the Aux in. This is great but the draw back is you have a wire coming out of the head unit. As I now use a Samsung I wish I'd put this in all the cars. The Aux-in is the best option without a doubt.
An FM transmitter, unless hard wired (powered) in the car directly into the head unit I would not go near.
Get a cheap head unit with Aux-in, buy a cable.
So I upgraded to an Alpine/ipod compatible head unit which fully functions with Ipod/iphone. This is perfect as it is fully controllable from the head unit and also charges it. It's a little out of the budget though.
Another of our cars has the powered transmitter which, (with Apple connection) also powers the idevice but not controllable from the head unit. (£60 odd quid).
The third we have in the gay car is the Aux in. This is great but the draw back is you have a wire coming out of the head unit. As I now use a Samsung I wish I'd put this in all the cars. The Aux-in is the best option without a doubt.
An FM transmitter, unless hard wired (powered) in the car directly into the head unit I would not go near.
Get a cheap head unit with Aux-in, buy a cable.
juan king said:
FM transmitters can be flaky at the best of times.
Yep. If you want anything resembling reasonable sound quality, you'll need to replace the head unit with a modern aftermarket one with a 3.5mm aux-in. These can be made to integrate with the auxilliary display on the dashboard and work with any steering wheel controls. Some OEM head units can be retro-fitted with an input (hard wired into the back) but usually this is not the case.
HustleRussell said:
Yep. If you want anything resembling reasonable sound quality, you'll need to replace the head unit with a modern aftermarket one with a 3.5mm aux-in.
Sound quality is generally better than normal FM stations as these little transmitters don't use hoofing great amounts of compression and hard limiting like commercial stations do. I use a 1 watt TX for doing drive ins with mates - sound is brilliant.Take a risk for a couple of quid and if you really don't like it resell on fleabay....
andy625 said:
juan king said:
If that is your budget then I would go for the casette player as FM transmitters can be flaky at the best of times.
Thats what I was worried about. Do you speak from experience? I just want something that I can plug into and it will work.It has bluetooth calls and playback, ipod control and plays from a pen drive. All for 75 quid! One of my better purchases!
http://www.fitcaraudio.co.uk/jvc-kdx50bt-less-blue...
HTH
Edited by juan king on Tuesday 5th February 17:18
Have had several FM transmitters, all hopeless including Griffin iTrip, unless you're in the Outer Hebrides. They're interrupted by the slightest thing, including other cars going by, any mobile phone within 3 miles, probably your own thought waves as you become increasingly irritated with listening to a combination of static, and two-second blasts of local radio stations. Just get the tape-in, much better.
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