Car Stereo Adapter

[Deauxx]

I just purchased a new Treo 650 and am looking for the best quailty way to be able to use my MP3s with my car stero system. Anyone have any ideas on where to find these types of products?
Thanks,
S. Burgess
Dallas Texas

[kabeyun]

You can use any gadget that an iPod can use (direct line-in, cassette adapter, FM transmitter, etc.). Just pick up an adapter for Treo's 2.5mm headphone jack. For cassette adapters I've read that Sony's is very good. For FM transmitters, Kensington's is probably the best sounding, but there are a zillion other solutions (you can read reviews over at the iLounge. Of course, the best quality is to plug the Treo in directly to your car's head unit's AUX line in. If you've got one, you'll need either 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male or 3.5mm male to RCAs.

-K

P.S. If you're going to go with direct-in, you may want to see if Radio Shack has a 2.5mm male to 3.5mm male cable or a 2.5mm male to RCA cable. You wouldn't then need the adapter dongle.

[plunker]

I am going to try out an fm converter that plugs into the headphone jack tonight. I will let you know how it sounds. Cost is around $15.00 (per my son the Ipod guru)

[deewana65]

Try this Gadget, MULTIPLE usage ... walmart has it for 30 bucks and costco has it for 25 bucks, u can use the same device to plug in USB Key to play mp3 directly to the FM. very versatile and handy device, worthed 25 bucks.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3579125

can't find it on the costco website, but it's in the automative section of the store. ask for MP3 FM Cigarette Lighter adapter. for 24.99. i use that one, works out great for me. I can use the SD Cards that i have with the USB reader and can play all the mp3' i want.

you can even hook up your LAPTOP or any device that has AUDIO output and play audio thru your FM.

Best of all, this device, works with most of the MP3 players.

Good Luck.

[kabeyun]

Try this Gadget, MULTIPLE usage ... walmart has it for 30 bucks and costco has it for 25 bucks, u can use the same device to plug in USB Key to play mp3 directly to the FM. very versatile and handy device, worthed 25 bucks.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=3579125

can't find it on the costco website, but it's in the automative section of the store. ask for MP3 FM Cigarette Lighter adapter. for 24.99. i use that one, works out great for me. I can use the SD Cards that i have with the USB reader and can play all the mp3' i want.

you can even hook up your LAPTOP or any device that has AUDIO output and play audio thru your FM.

Best of all, this device, works with most of the MP3 players.

Good Luck.

Advantage: can use the transmitter's buttons to nevigate tunes.
Disadvantage (and, imo, it's a biggie): there are only 7 presets. If your radio can't get a clear signal on one of them, you're out of luck.

-K

[deewana65]

Advantage: can use the transmitter's buttons to nevigate tunes.
Disadvantage (and, imo, it's a biggie): there are only 7 presets. If your radio can't get a clear signal on one of them, you're out of luck.

-K

it's not really a big device, to me it's perfect size, though it will occupy one Cig. lighter plug. so u might have to buy two in one adapter for cig. lighter. other than that it's a nice device. also, it offers, multiple frequency, should work in any town. One that i bought from Costco, suppresses any radio station broadcasting. Much better than Belkin or any other FM Transmitter in the market.!!!

[rouxster]

I ahve a Dell DJ that I love to listen to in my truck. The best way to get the best quality out of your Treo is to connect it directly to your stereo. I have an FM transmitter and it is really a pain finding a station that is clear everywhere in a city. Then to make matters worse, when you go on a road trip, it gets even worse. I have an aftermarket Kenwood in my Tahoe. On the rear of the unit is an auxialliary input that is suppoed to be used for a CD changer. I went to Radio Shack and purchased an RCA to 3.5 mm headphone cable.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family

To use with a Treo, you will need an adapter that will step it down from 3.5 to 2.5mm

http://store.everythingtreo.com/cont...12-45--337.htm

I ran it very neatly so that it comes out right by my cup holders, which is perfect becasue that is where I put my Dell. I put my stereo on the Aux input and never have to worry about a thing - perfect sound (at least as good as the quality of the song). When I'm not using it, it cant even be seen. When I am using it, the cable will reach all the way to the back seat so I don't have to worry about controlling the music - not everyone likes 80's metal

[kabeyun]

it's not really a big device, to me it's perfect size, though it will occupy one Cig. lighter plug. so u might have to buy two in one adapter for cig. lighter. other than that it's a nice device. also, it offers, multiple frequency, should work in any town. One that i bought from Costco, suppresses any radio station broadcasting. Much better than Belkin or any other FM Transmitter in the market.!!!

By "biggie" I meant "a big disadvantage" not "a big device," but if it can overpower a radio station on the same frequency, terrific! The limited tuning choices may not be a problem.

-K

[rouxster]

FM transmitter cannot "over power" a radio station. I think it may be against FCC laws to do that. In order to use a frequency, no other station can be using it. But, that can be decieving becasue just because you get an empty frequency doesn't mean that you will get good reception from your transmitter. I know quite a few poeple that have them, including the Ipod type. I don't know of anyone that really likes them. It get me through when I am in a bind, like in a rental, but overall, they are not very good.

[kabeyun]

FM transmitter cannot "over power" a radio station. I think it may be against FCC laws to do that. In order to use a frequency, no other station can be using it. But, that can be decieving becasue just because you get an empty frequency doesn't mean that you will get good reception from your transmitter. I know quite a few poeple that have them, including the Ipod type. I don't know of anyone that really likes them. It get me through when I am in a bind, like in a rental, but overall, they are not very good.

Every time you use an FM trasmitter, even on an "empty frequency," you're overpowering a radio station. When you get mostly static, the residual signal is either from "bleed" from an adjacent frequency or from an FM radiator (radio station) too far away for the signal to be recieved clearly, usually about 50 miles for a strong transmitter. As such, it's easy for your in-car tranmitter to out-compete it. As far as I know, illegally overpowering a licensed transmitter involves radiating a signal on the same (or adjacent) frequency with equal or greater field strength than the competing source, when measured at a standard distance.

According to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 47, Subpart C, Section 15.239 (source), (I'm no expert, but I assume iPod FM transmitters are home-use devices covered under this section of the C.F.R.) the maximum allowable signal field strength in the 88-216 MHz band is 250 µv/m at 3 meters for a Class B (non-industrial/non-commercial) device. By contrast, your standard CB walkie-talkie, is limited to a field strength of 10,000 µV/m at 3 meters, and commercial radio stations are significantly higher. All of these in-car FM transmitters for iPod radiate orders of magnitude less than that (imagine putting a Belkin TuneCast II next to a local rock & roll radio station's emitter array and setting it to the same frequency!). The only reason they work is that your in-car device's far weaker radiator is much closer to your car's antenna than any stronger radiator on that same frequency.

In other words, "overpowering" in your car is legal, and a far cry from "overpowering" at the competing antenna. When you buy an in-car (or, for that matter, an at-home) radio transmitter it comes with an FCC disclaimer which includes the device class (B), that it may cause interference with other signals, and, to rouxster's point, that it's fully compliant with all FCC regulations (including the infamous Section 15 of Title 47 which regulates output frequency & field strength).

That's for logistics & semantics. Practically speaking, rouxster is completely right: a "vacant" (i.e. too-far-away-from-its-radio-station-antenna-to-pick-up-much-of-anything) frequency doesn't necessarily mean that your little transmitter will yield a satisfactory output. There are several factors, not the least of which is the field strength of the transmitter itself. Some are better than others. I've had good luck with the Kingston line, but experiences vary.

Cheers,

-K

P.S. I invite corrections. I was interested, so I did a bit of poking around. Any ham radio enthusiasts out there?