Pat_in_Mich

We are going on a road trip next week and we thought it would be nice to get one of those things that you can use to play your ipod through your car speakers.

Do they work reasonably well? Can I get a decent one for around $50? Can anyone recommend a specific brand? Since we're leaving a week from today I'll need to be able to pick it up locally rather than order online. Thanks!

SusanM

I'm hoping someone will answer this for you, because I was wondering the same thing. From my (very brief) research into the matter, it seems as though you can only do this if you have a car that is pre-equipped to handle it. Is that true?

kelliebellie

The fm transmitters work, but if you are driving on a road trip it will drive you insane with readjusting it every few miles. Even at best there will be static.

Other options would be one of those things that go in your tape player (if you have one) and connects into your ipod. They are the same old ones that used to work with walkmans and cd players so you might even have one of those lying around. Another option is bluetooth if your car is ready for that.

Honestly the best option is to take your car in and have a new radio installed with an auxilery port. My husband took his car to Mickey Shorre and $100 later, he can just plug his ipod in to his stereo with a cord. The good fm transmitters cost about that and don't work nearly as well. I think Best Buy might install radios as well.

Jed

We went through this a few months ago. I googled 'ipod to car radio' and found a few sites that sold a unit that looked like a regular cassette tape that you put into the tape slot in your car radio. There was a line from that tape that you plugged into your ipod.

The prices varied from $5 to $15 with shipping. I bought one for $7 and it works very well. We use it regularly.

About a month ago I went to a dollar store and found the same unit for $1.00. Believe it or not.

longhorn55

I have to second Kellie's comments. My son has one of those devices and it works OK, but not great. (There always seems to be a little bit of static.) But, as Kellie pointed out, the worst part would be constantly trying to find a frequency to tune the device to as you drive from area to area on your road trip.

Jed

This is what the cassette adapter looks like. It works!

http://tinyurl.com/4mkcs3

Pat_in_Mich

I got all excited at the thought of the cassette adapter because I have one of those that I used to use with a CD player. Then I remembered that my current car doesn't have cassette, only CD.

I think we may just end up taking CDs with us.

kelliebellie

Circuit City: $99 installed.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/JVC-H...oductDetail.do


Then you need a cord from Radio Shack for probably $10. And some places make you buy a kit so that your radio will fit the old hole.


If playing your ipod in the car is something you really want to do, I would look into a new stereo. If not, then taking your cds with you is the free and easy choice.

Sucks about no tape player. But I can't even remember the last time I had a tape with music on it. I think it was the early 90's so I guess I see why they are taking them out.

Pat_in_Mich

Thanks for the info, kelliebellie! It'll be the free and easy option for us. We are trying to keep the budget for this trip low since we're taking a big European trip in the spring.

kelliebellie

You saying you were heading to Europe reminded me of another option!

http://www.myisymphony.com/products_rspkr1b.htm

I picked this up at Radio Shack for around $40 and it sounds great. I had forgotten that we took some little portable Sony speakers with us and the ipod when we went to Europe. This way you have music in your hotel also. In the car you can put it on the dash or console and listen to it that way.

Hey, it is even on sale right now for $30:

http://tinyurl.com/3kptqz

tekwriter

I second the recommendation for a portable speaker unit for the iPod. I use mine in the car and hotels when we're on the road. I don't have mine handy to tell you the brand, but I paid about $75 for it and feel the sound quality is quite good for a small unit.

Pat_in_Mich

Wow, that looks great and it fits my budget! The Radio Shack website says that the stores near me have it in stock. Thanks a lot, kelliebellie!

kelliebellie

Cool! Take your ipod to the store with you and test it out personally.

Have fun on your road trip! Those two words make me queasy. I'm a barfer if I'm in the car too long.

hpeabody

Look into air play or griffin itrip. I have both, prefer airplay. It works fine for me. Be sure to get the RIGHT ONE for YOUR IPOD.

Suzie

I got my son the griffin iTrip and it works great. All his friends make him bring it along if he's driving with them. Paid $99 at Best buy last January but see they are $69 at amazon now. The one I got is the one that recharges too:

Griffin iTrip AutoPilot MP3 Player Car Charger with SmartScan

txgirlinbda

I just picked up an iTrip at Radio Shack - it was about $60 and we haven't had any trouble with static, just need to keep the iPod on the dash or nearby. (I put it in my drink holder). We also set it to a frequency that's at the bottoom of the dial, so we almost never get interference from an actual station. We do forget to shut it all down and unplug it from the iPod though, and it has a tendency to drain the iPod's battery, so don't forget about that.

azusa_street

My Garmin GPS plays MP3 through the auto speakers.

sallyjane3

I just got the Griffin iTrip and LOVE it. Sounds great! I got it at Besy Buy for about 50 bucks.

CSalberg

I have also been exploring this issue... I have an 06 Subaru Outback, and it appears as though the stereo has been built right in to the console, so it's pretty much impossible to replace it! The designers of this system were evidently so out of touch that they didn't even include an aux port to plug in an IPOD. And rightly so, there is no tape deck.

Has anyone out there solved this problem? I simply refuse to use portable speakers in my car. And I have tried the FM transmitters only to find them extremely annoying and full of static. Please help!

follow_your_bliss

If you have a newer vehicle, you will have an auxiliary input. It is usually on the dash by the radio or sometimes in the glovebox.

If you have this, you can buy an ipod accessory (I got mine at Target) called an auxiliary cable. Mine looks like this:

http://www.utekpc.com/bigpic.php?id=UTPCAPLIPHONEAUX

This is MUCH better than the Griffin itrip (I had one before this).

Good luck!