ipod

[xort]

santa came a bit early with one gift; an ipod classic!!

Our boat stereo does not have an external input jack for easy use of this.
I've used the transmitters that send the ipod audio to the FM radio. What I've seen doesn't work that well. Anyone have good results using a certain brand? other ideas on getting our tunes into the stereo? Rather not spend the money & install time on a new stereo at this point, plenty of other stuff to deal with.

Thanks IA

[sailingdog]

Xort-

Does the stereo have a cassette tape player??? you can use the cassette adapters and they do a pretty good job....far better sound quality than the FM transmitters. If your stereo has a set of aux inputs on the back, you could always run a cable from there to someplace you can reach it to plug the iPod in as well.

[ckgreenman]

If your stereo does not have an aux input then you're pretty much limited to 2 or 3 options.

1. The FM Transmitter. Worst sound quality (regarless of brand) but easiest to use. Find an empty station and go. Griffin makes a product called the iTrip for pretty much every iPod model. It;s nice if you can find one because it will broadcast on any frequency. The frequency is changed by playing an mp3 file which has coded beeps that the iPod decodes. Good luck finding an older one tho. Also make sure you don't run the iPod volume any higher than about 75% to avoid overdriving the transmitter and creating distortion.

2. If your stereo is equipped with a tape player, you can use a tape adapter. The tape adapter will give you better sound quality than an FM transmitter but some can be finicky. They also require a wire from your iPod to the deck which might not be desirable.

3. Upgrade your stereo. Almost all newer stereos come with an aux input. I ended up installing a CMD4 in my boat and love it. I think the latest model is the CMD5. It's expensive but it's a Marine grade stereo, has great sound/power, and can be expanded with remote controls (i.e.transome mount), Sat radio (sirius) module, or an iPod control module. Just hook up the iPod and you can control the ipod from the stereo.

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by xort

santa came a bit early with one gift; an ipod classic!!

Our boat stereo does not have an external input jack for easy use of this.
I've used the transmitters that send the ipod audio to the FM radio. What I've seen doesn't work that well. Anyone have good results using a certain brand? other ideas on getting our tunes into the stereo? Rather not spend the money & install time on a new stereo at this point, plenty of other stuff to deal with.

Thanks IA

[N0NJY]

Originally Posted by xort

santa came a bit early with one gift; an ipod classic!!

Our boat stereo does not have an external input jack for easy use of this.
I've used the transmitters that send the ipod audio to the FM radio. What I've seen doesn't work that well. Anyone have good results using a certain brand? other ideas on getting our tunes into the stereo? Rather not spend the money & install time on a new stereo at this point, plenty of other stuff to deal with.

Thanks IA

I've tried a couple of those transmitters. I have had "ok luck" with them. You really have to have the antenna pretty close for some reason. Being a radio guy, I have looked it over and they are transmitting on the order of 25 milliwatts - not very much.

But if you have a cassette player, there are devices that allow you to plug in a cassette case that has a cable, plugging into the earphone jack on iPod. But this is a messy solution.

Your best bet is a good transmitter. Also, if your antenna is outside of the boat a good distance away from the stereo, you can actually disconnect that external antenna and simply run a wire from your stereo connector to near the iPod - this will get more signal into the receiver.

This is one that is supposed to be very good. I don't have personal experience with it, but my son-in-law uses this one for his car. He said it works very good in his car. It's about 40 bucks. Belkin : TuneCast™ II

For some reason I'm spacing the name and model of the one I use, but it plugs into the bottom port on an ipod (I've got an 80 gb video model) and has a small antenna on it. It's not very convenient sometimes, since you need to "vertically polarize" the antenna for cars (That means stand the ipod up) so it's not the best solution - though it works in my car fine. I use it at my hot tub too (yep, hot tub has a stereo, and I'll never buy one like that again!) haha

[travler37]

FM Transmitter,
Am sorry but do not know the brand name.Daughter bought it at Target store thought if it helps.Left it in the litterbox with a friend.

Biggest difference between the one she sent me and most others i have seen is this one had a charger built into it.Powered by a 12v outlet.Was wired not a docking station.Worked on any FM channel.Range was about 20 feet.

Hope This Helps
Mark

[xort]

Our unit has CD with external CD changer but no cassette player. The unit isn't that old, just before the ipod generation. I pulled it out and looked for extra jacks but found none. Thinking of using the CD changer jack. Possibly with an A/B switch so I could still use the changer.

[camaraderie]

FM transmission is ALWAYS the worst of the options.
You can get a brand new car radio with ipod compatability or aux jack for between $39 and $99 dollars. Go for it.
Crutchfield!

[Cruisingdad]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

FM transmission is ALWAYS the worst of the options.
You can get a brand new car radio with ipod compatability or aux jack for between $39 and $99 dollars. Go for it.
Crutchfield!

Agreed. Have used it and it is sucky. The ipod is close to required gear on a boat!!! You will fall in love with it!

- CD

[ckgreenman]

Originally Posted by xort

Our unit has CD with external CD changer but no cassette player. The unit isn't that old, just before the ipod generation. I pulled it out and looked for extra jacks but found none. Thinking of using the CD changer jack. Possibly with an A/B switch so I could still use the changer.

What's the model? There might be another option. There are several companies that make after market adapters that can connect to the CD-Changer bus of many different systems. Most are meant to interface with factory car stereos but some are available for major brand after market stereos as well.

[xort]

no doubt I want to use the ipod aboard. hate to toss a perfectly good stereo.
I think I'm going to look at an A/B switch instead of FM tx.