iTrip iPod FM Transmitter

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Julie

November 10, 2003

Product Requirements:
Device:
Versions available for original and current iPod models

Oh iPod, how do I love thee, let me count the ways... I listen to you in the morning, and I listen to you at night. I listen to you at my desk while working, the treadmill while exercising, and on an airplane while flying. But of all the places that I listen to you most, it's in my car that I wish I had a better method. Listening through headphones will give you the best iPod audio experience, but of course, a person shouldn't use headphones while driving. So, in order to listen to your tunes in a car, there are two popular methods. One way is with a cassette tape adapter, and the other method is with an FM transmitter. I've personally been using a ratty old cassette adapter since purchasing my 30gb iPod months ago. Although it works fine, it seems like I'm always getting the cord tangled up, which is annoying.

Enter the iTrip FM transmitter from Griffin Technology, which allows you to wirelessly transmit your music through your car stereo. The iTrip is small, light weight and looks more like a lipstick tube, then a product similar in functionality to the iRock! or Digiana. Using the earphone jack, it plugs securely into the top of the iPod. The iTrip has no buttons or switches, but does have a small red LED on the front. It also does not require a battery as it draws power directly from the iPod.

Hardware Specs

Size: 2.4" x .84"
Weight: 0.5oz
Built-in antenna
Power Requirement: None (it's powered by the iPod)
Modulation: FM Stereo
Frequencies: 87.7 - 107.9 MHz (other frequencies available through website)
High stability crystal oscillator, phase-lock loop control
Stereo separation: greater than 45 dB
Signal distortion: less than .5%
Frequency response: 50 Hz to 15 kHz
Operating range: 10-30 feet, depending on the quality of the FM radio receiver (limited by FCC regulations)
FCC compliant
International frequencies software selectable
 

Included in the packaging is the iTrip module, instruction manual, and a CD. Since the iTrip has no moving parts or a way to manually change the frequency that you want to transmit on, you have to electronically set it up. To do this, you pop the CD into your desktop, and run the setup program. For Mac users, it will copy the necessary frequency files (they are MP3's) into iTunes. For Windows users, it will copy them to MusicMatch. Right off the bat, this represented a problem for me, because although I'm a Windows user, I do not use MusicMatch. Instead, I am using the new iTunes for Windows. So, I had to manually create a folder and copy the files into it. Griffin assures me that a new Windows version of their setup software will be available in a couple of weeks.

Most other FM transmitters on the market only give you a few frequencies to select from. Having any station as a choice, is one great advantage to this product. You can also download additional frequency sets from Griffin's website.

After syncing the files to my iPod, I had a long list of FM frequencies (87.9 - 107.9MHz) that I could choose from.

[partial listing]

Now comes the part where you have to figure out which frequency to actually use... Depending on your location, it may take some experimentation before you can find the best channel in your area. The iTrip does not have enough power to override strong radio stations, so you have to search up and down the dial until you find a station that is pretty much only static. Once you find it, you note the station, and then plug the iTrip into the iPod. Then you navigate to the Griffin Technology folder and find the 'song' that matches the frequency that you want to transmit on. Play that 'song', and the LED on the front of the iTrip will start blinking rapidly. You can then press play again and it should start blinking slowly. This means that the frequency has been successfully set.

At this point, you are free to play music as you normally would. Doing so will cause the audio to start playing through your car's stereo. No more wires! Cool huh?

It's important to also note that the iTrip's transmitting range is pretty impressive. I was able to play music through my vehicle's stereo, while the iPod/iTrip were over 20-25 feet away! Wow! The iTrip also draws so little power from the iPod, that you won't notice your batteries draining any quicker while using it. It powers down after 60 seconds of inactivity, just like the iPod does.

Of course there are a couple of gotchas with this product... The biggest one is that the audio quality is a bit flat when compared to using a cassette adapter. For most, this is not a huge deal breaker, as any true audiophile will scoff at playing MP3s at all, let alone through an FM radio! Although audio quality is very important to me, convenience is also important. The iTrip gives me the ability to get in my vehicle, turn on the radio, pull the iPod out of my bag, press play, and start enjoying my music right away. Cassette adapters are bulkier, require a cassette tape player to use them, and let's face it, they just aren't as cool :o)

Another problem that I ran into was accidentally playing a frequency 'song' file when I didn't mean to. I tend to randomly play songs from my entire 3500+ collection. One day while I was driving home, I happened to hear a beep-boop-beep tone where I thought a new song would be playing, and all of a sudden static started coming out of the car stereo. Oops! If you don't travel very often, a work around to this problem would be to just delete all the frequency files from the iPod once the correct frequency has been set. That said, I realize that this isn't the best option. Another work around for those of you that like to randomly play songs from your library, is to make a playlist that includes all the songs except the iTrip files.

Despite these two issues, the iTrip makes an excellent iPod accessory, that is easy to use, takes up little space in a gear bag, and requires no batteries to power it. This is a product that almost every iPod owner will appreciate and have fun using.

 

Price: $35.00

Pros:
Easy to use
Doesn't require a battery
Can use all frequencies

Cons:
Sound is a bit flat
Can't use remote while using iTrip
Hard to see LED in full sunlight