Be Excellent To Each Other

Dear beteo posters,

I have a new car, this car has a cd player. I don't like listening to cds, I like listening to compilations of stuff, but I can't be bothered to get another mp3 car stereo, so I was looking at getting an iPod FM transmitter. Can anyone recommend one that works decently. I have an iPod classic and a 3rd gen Nano (so both the same connector).

Thanks,

Joans (age 31 and a quarter)

PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER PLAYER!

On a serious note, I bought the one that Chinny advised, and it was ace. What was it, Chinny?

I have one of those. An iTrip or something? Works okay until you get within twenty miles of London, where there are no free FM frequencies.

I just use a tape adapter thingy out of the headphone socket. I like having a car old enough to have a tape player in it.

What car is it, Joans? Year, make and model.

2003 Vauxhall Astra.

I have one of those. The sound quality is really nasty though, even though I'm starting with the audio quality of a 10 year old French peasant's van.

Are there better adaptors? Actually I suppose much of the limitation is in the tape head and amplifier of the cassette player. Maybe I should hack the radio up and add a "line in" socket.

fun thing is that with those pseudo casses in car radios aold carradios do this actually better, and shame the iphone doesn't support ad2 or what is it called, over bluetooth, to use my car kit

I can imagine Kalmar's car works a lot like the junker from Gears of War. It only has enough power to operate the engine or the tape deck at any one time.

I thought all cars had to work like this? Guns are amazingly powerful but transport can only do one function at a time. This also works with the advice that you run quicker with a knife in your hand.

I think I've got one if you want it, not sure if it will work, I tried it on my itouch and it recognised an attachment in its socket but didnt bring the pick the frequency bit. Might be that its an iphone/itouch ipod though. Verycheap but it looks alright.

Which junker? I missed that.
But yes. I can have the radio on if I'm going downhill though as it recharges the battery.

Y'know, the one with the UV turret.

"KRILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

Like this but black.

http://www.focalprice.com/FM_Transmitter_for_3rd_iPod_Gen_with_Three_Button_Blue_EF003L_1185.html

I'll give it a go. How much do you want for it?

Oh that thing! The highly futuristic and advanced battlefield vehicle which stalls when it suffers a small drop and then sounds suspiciously like a diesel ford escort turning over on the starter.

nothing, just pm your address and Ill send it off tomorrow.

A2DP, "Advanced Audio Distribution Profile". The iPhone not having this is one of my peeves. Cocking thing. It's only software, so there's always the chance Apple will add it one day.

Ta. PM sent. I'll let you know how it goes.

Came off Ebay. It's output is far higher than the measly UK units.

This looks like the one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/205-CHANNEL-LCD-FM-TRANSMITTER-IPOD-NANO-CLASSIC-MP3_W0QQitemZ110316996978QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_AudioVideoElectronics_PortableAudio_MP3PlayerCarKits?hash=item110316996978&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1690%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1317

The UK legal ones are like a sparrow farting into a hurricane. The ones imported from the Far East tend to have a little more beef on the output.

The design of that one looks the same as mine but I make no guarentee that the output is the same.

If your stock head unit has a CD changer port on the back, then it's probably made by Blaupunkt and you can get a Blaupunkt adapter for it that'll let you control the iPod from the head unit.

Better sound quality than FM, too.

Ooh, could you work your magic on a 2005 Honda Civic, also?

That is intersting! Seeing as i've been lumbered with my 07 avensis from work for the foreseeable future, instead of the new motor i was promised, that would be ideal

It's a Honda, you probably have a Gramophone input somewhere. Thus enabling you to listen to the latest Vera Lynn tune or the comedy stylings of Max Miller.

Meanwhile:

That's the one I have. It is powerful enough for other people to pick in their own cars, even in London, where it merrily out-powers the pirate radio stations.

It's a vdo cdr500.
Runcle is kindly sending me his FM transmitter, so I'll see how well that works. If it's crap, I'll take a look at where to go from there.

Can you take a photo of, or otherwise find a picture of, your head unit?

I recommended one to someone who looked after four or five proper radio transmitters. He loved it and there's no way on gods earth the output is what is permitted in the UK. But since those crazy Chinese have stamped the device "CE" if you ever get asked (which you won't) you can just feign ignorance. "CE marked so thought it was fine guv".

That's rockingly illegal, and as such, hellish nifty.

Looks like that's a Siemens model which means you're shit outta luck. FM transmitter (or alternatively an FM modulator, which will give better sound quality, just) is the way to go.

Although it's really no hassle to swap head units around. You can pick them up cheaply enough and the sound quality will outstrip the stock unit by miles, even on the cheapest ones.

Hell, I'll even put it in for you for the price of a pint. All you'll need is a wiring harness and a facia adapter, shouldn't run you more than about £70 in total, including the price of the head unit.

I want to buy about 40 of them, all tuned to different frequencies. Then when someone cuts me up I can reach for a microphone and go "Oy, you there, stop being a cunt".

Wouldn't work if he didn't have the radio on. Better yet, buy the truck you just posted a pic of, pull infront of them, power up the speakers, and public address the world.

It's very similar to this:

I always wanted to buy a little LED message board to stick somewhere on my bike, with a few different messages and a handy control on the handlbars to select which to display.

So many times I've wanted to tell the person I've just overtaken that they're going half the speed-limit.

Of course I'd have to be quite succinct to fit the swearing in.

That's the route I've taken for the last few years, but I decided I couldn't be bothered this time. It's a rare occurence that I have to drive anywhere for more than an hour, so most of the time I can just leave a cd in there and get away with it (although it doesn't seem to read CDRWs ). I was just hoping to be able to chuck my iPod in there for a bit of variety or if I was off on a longer journey.

I'll look into it if these transmitters aren't up to scratch, so you might get a free pint out of it after all .

And the one in my hideous car looks like this.Think its a ws8830

Any hints welcome, i've been meaning to sort this for ages....

Did you say it was a 2007 Avensis? You should be able to use a Dension ice>Link Gateway 100 (or 300) Car Kit, it lists compatibility with Avensises up to 2006, but these are often out of date and the 2007 stereo is unlikely to differ.

Not cheap though, about £140. Can't guarantee it'd work either, Toyotas can sometimes be a bit of a bitch to get working with the stock stereos.

Cheers, Once i nail down how long i'm going to be stuck with this thing i might give it a try. Aux ports should ruddy well be compulsory on any car made after about 2004!

TBH, if it's a work motor I'd just stick to an FM Transmitter, I wouldn't want to risk any damage to the car being blamed on me by the company.

True, although i was promised i could pick a new motor of my choosing, which would have had an aux port, but got lumbered with this which was supposed to only be a 2 month deal, so i am considering getting them to pay for it!

I have a feeling that iPhones/Touch didn't like external accessories such as docks until there was a patch quite recently. I couldn't get mine to work with the dock in my hotel room on honeymoon, but am sure that I've seen an update since then.

MUST RESIST............

She certainly did

IT'S 2009. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH A CUNTING AUX IN, CAR STEREO MAKERS? EH? ASSHOLES.

Noted, Proposed, Seconded, Thirded, Minuted and passed.

What? There are hundreds out there with aux in.

Clearly none of us own one, or we wouldn't be debating the merits of an iTrip or similar.

Actually if you've fitted your own head unit, they do quite often have an aux channel, usually via phono connectors on the break-out. My latest wireless and the last one (which must have dated from 1998) both have them.

So from there you could run a cable out under the dash.

Clearly you haven't bought one in 2009

But seriously, I had a stereo with aux in years ago, I plugged my CD-playing MP3 player (ie. a Discman-type thing that read MP3s from CDs) into it. The one I had in my Range Rover had aux in and USB in (for thumb drives) and cost about £40 from eBuyer (now discontinued, unfortunately). And the Mondeo is going to have one built in.

But that's what I mean - why aren't they common as muck? Tons of people have portable music players, and those cassette adapter things have existed since the first portable CD players - an aux in as standard takes up fuck all room on the head unit and would make all that unnecessary.

Tell you what I wanht, what I really really want:

I would pay a subscription based fee for something like Spotify or last.fm that streams to my car.

Sort it out 21st century.