hooking mp3 player up to a car.

[steelcmg]

So i got a new car and i dont want to put my cdplayer in there because it would be a pain in the butt. The whole dash is one piece and it has a cd player already in the car. But i want to have my mp3 player work again in my car. Is there a simple way for me to do this. Since the car does not have any inputs on the radio and it doesnt have a tape player.

[diebitter]

I've got a little braodcasting unit that goes in any mp3 player/walkman etc, and sends a radio signal a very short distance. You get one of these, and you can pick up your player via the radio.

It's not excellent quality (a bit like AM radio, if you merkins had that), but it's convenient.

I think it's called something like a Belkin Tunecast or something similar.

[imported_The Vibesman]

[ QUOTE ]
I've got a little braodcasting unit that goes in any mp3 player/walkman etc, and sends a radio signal a very short distance. You get one of these, and you can pick up your player via the radio.

It's not excellent quality (a bit like AM radio, if you merkins had that), but it's convenient.

I think it's called something like a Belkin Tunecast or something similar.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got one of these too. They range from 20-50$ and work well for me. I've got a buddy who has one too.

If your radio isn't MP3 player ready, it's probably your best option.

[steelcmg]

Cool i thought they might have something like this out there but wasnt sure. Ill have to pick one up

[steelcmg]

Does the frequencies that these things use fade in and out like the radio stations do. Or does it work like once it is plugged in it will work on a station the whole time.

[diebitter]

If a signal comes in from another station on that frequency it will interfere. It's a question of experimenting and finding a blank area you can use that cuts this out.

[imported_The Vibesman]

Once you find a frequency with nothing on it you should be able to leave it on that frequency indefinitely and have no problems. The broadcast unit doesn't move in relation to the antenna so there's usually not a problem. Sometimes if it falls between the seats or is low on batteries I get some static, or if the frequency I'm on is a little "busy." But I have a cheap one with only 4 pre-set FM frequencies I can use. It was $20. When you get up to the $50 range you can tune just about any frequency on it. If you have a lot of radio stations in your area it might be worth it to go to the $50, I don't know. I live in the Boston area and have been thinking of upgrading, as there are a ton of radio stations up here, and no real clean stations on the presets of my unit, (only broadcasts to 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, and 88.7 or something like that.) But even with that, I still usually get fine reception.

[steelcmg]

http://images.belkin.com/F8V3080-APL/STD1_F8V3080-APL.jpg

Is this one decent it seems to be what im looking for?

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=2 01526&pcount=&Product_Id=166893#

[diebitter]

Yeah, Steel,

that's the one I got. Comes with a power cord for the lighter, so no batteries needed.

Let us know how it sounds if you get it.

[bugstud]

just don't live in a large city with the whole fm band accounted for. then these don't work very well.

[steelcmg]

yea i was thinking that but i live where outside the city enough that it should be fine.

[LSUfan1]

Back around 90 I had an old POS. I hooked a walkman to an amp and would blast it out. People would freak when they saw the walkman. Of course it was hooked to an amp and 2 10" woofers! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

Dude, just get a BMW and hook your iPod straight to it. I think someone on here has an M3 and really likes it. You should get one.

[steelcmg]

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, Steel,

that's the one I got. Comes with a power cord for the lighter, so no batteries needed.

Let us know how it sounds if you get it.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.beachaudio.com/images/products/aft-100.jpg

Well this is the FM Transmitter i got and it works pretty well. I did some research and found out this one got the best reviews and it was about the same as the others. (35$) It was very easy to set up the only issues are that the quality isnt perfect which i expected. It really only has static when the songs are not really playing that loud. (I.E. Tools The Patient about the first 1-1/2 mins you can here some static but then it gets decent after he starts singing louder.) To get it to sound the best i found it all has to do with the volume level u set ur MP3 player at which happens to be halfway on my Dell. But this is the best way to get an MP3 player to work in a car with only a cd player. And overall im very happy with this.

[diebitter]

Nice one! Glad it worked out, and we got to hear about it.

Gah - just noticed I've popped 2K without realising! I'll have to get some real hot chick pics for 3K

[steelcmg]

[ QUOTE ]
Nice one! Glad it worked out, and we got to hear about it.

Gah - just noticed I've popped 2K without realising! I'll have to get some real hot chick pics for 3K

[/ QUOTE ]


HAHA yea u will have to make up for the Granny pics

[diebitter]

You remember that sneaky trick I pulled, huh /images/graemlins/blush.gif

OOT is like an elephant, it never forgets /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[jaydub]

[ QUOTE ]
I've got a little braodcasting unit that goes in any mp3 player/walkman etc, and sends a radio signal a very short distance. You get one of these, and you can pick up your player via the radio.

It's not excellent quality (a bit like AM radio, if you merkins had that), but it's convenient.

I think it's called something like a Belkin Tunecast or something similar.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfortunately this is about the best way to go unless your car has built in support for MP3's or bluetooth. The quality problem briefly mentioned is however significant. This is especially the case if you have a relatively high quality stereo and expectations of comparable quality to CDs. For me, it has gotten to the point where I simply burn CDs because the quality drop is a bigger problem to me than the convenience offered by just hooking up my ipod, which is really damn convenient.

What pisses me off of course is my car is a 2003 which was just before the whole auto industry reacted to mp3 players.

[steelcmg]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I've got a little braodcasting unit that goes in any mp3 player/walkman etc, and sends a radio signal a very short distance. You get one of these, and you can pick up your player via the radio.

It's not excellent quality (a bit like AM radio, if you merkins had that), but it's convenient.

I think it's called something like a Belkin Tunecast or something similar.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfortunately this is about the best way to go unless your car has built in support for MP3's or bluetooth. The quality problem briefly mentioned is however significant. This is especially the case if you have a relatively high quality stereo and expectations of comparable quality to CDs. For me, it has gotten to the point where I simply burn CDs because the quality drop is a bigger problem to me than the convenience offered by just hooking up my ipod, which is really damn convenient.

What pisses me off of course is my car is a 2003 which was just before the whole auto industry reacted to mp3 players.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea i had the same probablem i got a 2003 and it only has a cd player in it. The 2001 i was looking at had the cd and tape. I have used the tape hookup before and the quality was better then the Transmitter but still not great. Im just glad i was able to do it this way. I hate bringing my cds with me since i take alot of long trips

[swede123]

[ QUOTE ]
Dude, just get a BMW and hook your iPod straight to it. I think someone on here has an M3 and really likes it. You should get one.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's actually refreshing to see more carmakers jump on the bandwagon regarding MP3 input on the factory head-units. Right after my car accident this Monday I rented a Chrysler 300M for a couple of days and it had an input for a player right there on the dash. Hopefully by like 2008 every car stereo will feature this.

Swede

[Notorious G.O.B.]

You can attach it via your cd changer hookup, if you have one. Here's a link, for a civic:
http://sprinkleofcocoa.blogspot.com/2005/07/adding-auxiliary-inputs-for-my-ipod-in.html