Wireless FM Transmitter/Modulator recommendation

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Dan - 29 Jun 2005 18:00 GMT

I am interested in buying one of these for two main reasons: first I
would like to use it as it is intended; to hookup to my PDA so I can
play MP3s in a car and listen to them through the car's FM radio.
Second, I would like to broadcast audio from my computer to the radio
in my kitchen about 20' away through a wall; I thought about wireless
speakers for this but the radio thing would be much less expensive and
it would kill two birds with one stone.

I've been looking online and was thinking about the Belkin TuneCast FM
Transmitter for iPod (I assume I don't need an iPod to use it) and I'm
looking for reviews/recommendations. I first thought about the
TuneCast II but reviews seem to indicate that it breaks easy/isn't very
sturdy, and I don't like its AutoOn feature since I feel that such a
feature would easily fail; I would prefer something that I can manually
turn on and off.

If you have the Belkin TuneCast or any wireless FM modulator you would
like to recommend/review, please let me know. Clarity is not TOO
important to me; I will probably mostly use it for talk radio podcasts
or something. I'd prefer to have at least 30 feet or so for a
broadcast range but that isn't a requirement.

Thanks,
Dan

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Spike - 29 Jun 2005 19:02 GMT

I use one for my portable dvd player which is connected to a 13" LCD
tv, and the sound channeled through the car stereo system's fm band.

There are several available. The first one I used is called "the Bug".
It's battery operated and plugs into the headphone jack of the player.
Worked ok as long as batteries were fresh. Once it started down hill,
it went faster.

I switched to a hard wired one I got from Crutchfield
(www.crutchfield.com)
Scosche FM-MOD01 RF Modulator
and I am very happy with it's performance.
It slips in between the antenna and the HU, has an on/off switch which
can be located anywhere the wire will reach, and RCA jacks (which can
go from RCA to mini with an adapter) to connect to the player.

Another one was posted in a thread about doing what you intend, which
plugs directly into a cigarette lighter socket and has a USB slot.
Unfortunately, I can't recall what that one was.

When I am shopping for electronics, be it digital camera, mp3 player,
or whatever, I like to run a check through C/Net's reviews where I
get:
-editor's review of specs
-editor's reviews of pros and cons
-editor's rating (4 star, 5 star, etc)
-price range with list of sources and links
-shipping costs and tax (if required)
-availability
-customer reviews

I can also do the search based on:
-editor's picks
-hottest selling
-brand
-price range
-more

Quite often, it has been hard to beat the prices available, even with
shipping (and some of those are free shipping).

Hope this is of some help

>I am interested in buying one of these for two main reasons: first I
>would like to use it as it is intended; to hookup to my PDA so I can
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>Thanks,
>Dan

Spike
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Dan - 30 Jun 2005 14:14 GMT

Thanks,
What you have doesn't sound like what I want (I don't have my own car &
don't plan on only using this in the car so I definately don't want
hard-wired and I'd prefer a device that plugs in to the cigarette
lighter in a car and preferably also has an option for in-the-home
power. I will check out cnet to see what I can find but I welcome any
other reviews/recommendations.

Dan

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Dan - 30 Jun 2005 18:02 GMT

Now I'm looking at the iRiver AFT 100 Mobile FM Transmitter. All the
reviews seem to indicate that it's a great product, but I would prefer
something I don't need a cigarette lighter outlet for. They say "no
batteries required" which is a good feature but I don't really think
they should list it as a feature if it CAN'T take batteries.. Most of
the devices I've looked at can use both, batteries and a cigarette
lighter adapter. Anyway is there anything as good as the iRiver that
can also use batteries? Also, does any one know the broadcast range of
the iRiver?

Thanks,
Dan

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