Anyone used a Belkin FM transmitter with i-pod

[marc777]

Has anyone used one of these (apparantly transmits wirelessly to the cars audio system) and is it any good?

For £30 + it seems too good to be true in terms of the alternative wiring setups i've seen.

Marc

 

[Mambo]

Not got one, but I hear that the sound quality is not that good...

 

[BTB 500]

seems too good to be true

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to use them in the UK, if you're bothered by that sort of thing. On the practical side, you'd be bound to get some small amount of interference etc. compared to a wired setup.

 

[Rose Chap]

I've got one of these, bought both it and the iPod on a recent trip to Hong Kong.

I find the quality to be very good, like listening to a very clear FM radio station (which is essentially what it is), however the problems I have with it are...

1) Through no fault of the unit, finding a completely clear FM frequency is pretty hard where I live, especially a frequency that stays clear on a long journey.

2) It also seemed to run out of batteries pretty quickly. You can power it from the cigar lighter socket, but on a long journey that's exactly where my radar detector is powered.

Consequently, I've begrudgingly bought a Belkin tape adaptor to nullify both the above problems which works pretty well, but isn't a very elegant solution.

Hope this helps.

Andy

 

[Thmsshaun]

A friend has a similar fm transmitter when he initially set up his dvd in the car. The headunit had Video in but no sound so he went through an FM transmitter. It worked ok but there was a noticeable loss in the quality of sound.

Again as mentioned you will have the problem with local radio stations on the same frequency. The transmitters have a range of about 2 car lengths so anyone on the frequency in that proximity will be able to listen to the same.

I would personally go for a hard wired solution and use this if there is no other alternative.

 

[RichardM]

I've never been very impressed with mine, its a good idea but as soon as you drive around you pick up a lot of interference. I switched to using a cassette adapter which sounds much better.

 

[Lazarus]

I have a Griffin Technology iTrip FM transmitter.

The biggest problem is interference from other radio stations, plus the location of the iPod in the car, as the aerial is integrated into the rear window on my C-Class (guessing it is on all newish MBs), I find moving the iPod around inside the car can improve the sound quality/reduce interference.

Best bet is to go for a iPod -> CD changer interconnect IMHO.

 

[C240Sport97]

but then you lose the CD changer

Best bet is to go for a iPod -> CD changer interconnect IMHO.

 

[marc777]

From the feedback I'm glad I didn't buy it.

It would have been for the wife, and if it hadn't worked properly then it would be me getting the ear bashing. Not worth the grief I think.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Marc

 

[chrisp]

Hi.
I bought both the Belkin one and an i-trip.

the Belkin one was a fairly big item that connects to the i-pod via a short piece of cable to the headphone jack.

the i-trip as everybody knows conencts straights to the i-pod and does look quite cool.

I think that in practice the Belkin one worked a better as i wonder if it uses the short piece of cable (about 150mm) as a mini antenna. also it didn't drain the i-pod batteries as it was self powered (by a couple of AAA's I think). I also found it slightly easier to use as setting the frequency is a bit easier.

c

 

[Lazarus]

but then you lose the CD changer

Not on a Kenwood system, you can buy a head unit that supports multiple changers, used to have a 10 disc CD and a minidisc changer connected to the same head unit in my Impreza (minidisc, what was I thinking )

 

[Shude]

Not on a Kenwood system, you can buy a head unit that supports multiple changers, used to have a 10 disc CD and a minidisc changer connected to the same head unit in my Impreza (minidisc, what was I thinking )

You stand a chance of busting the £30 budget then though don't you?

 

[C240Sport97]

Understand.

But I really like the OEM look of the Audio 10 CD headunit.

Not on a Kenwood system, you can buy a head unit that supports multiple changers, used to have a 10 disc CD and a minidisc changer connected to the same head unit in my Impreza (minidisc, what was I thinking )

 

[Thmsshaun]

Understand.

But I really like the OEM look of the Audio 10 CD headunit.

Nah get the Audio 10 Out its rubbish IMO. I cant wait to get it out just trying to find something.

If you are going to have an Ipod get something that can handle it properly.


Just IMO though I hate the audio 10 with a passion. Doesnt seem to like playing CDr's too much at the minute either

 

[Madferrit]

SportsCoupeRich was recommending an Alpine unit which you can install into a MB that also links to your steering wheel controls AND allows you to link an IPOD to the unit!

Link to thread

If i remember rightly the unit will even display artist and title on your display.