Customer Reviews

Belkin F8M010 Tunecast III FM Transmitter - Universal

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I had a lot of optimism for this because my girlfriend has a
Griffin FM transmitter for her ipod and it works great. I liked the awesome display and that it could operate on batteries. The only problem is that it doesn't work. I tried it in both of my cars (a truck and a car) and I held it all over the interior of both cars trying to find the "sweet spot" but I couldn't. I also tried going up the whole FM frequency and couldn't find anything that would work. In frustration I picked up the Sony cassette adapter and it works perfectly and sounds great. Oh well.

The range of this product is very very short. The radio frecuency it's clear if I stand in front of the antena, but inside the car, I hear a lot of noise and the volume it's low.

Transmitter is no improvement over the Belkin Tunecast 2. The stereo option is a nice idea, but it is not strong enough to provide a clear stereo signal. I also own the Tunecast 2 and it has a stronger mono signal then the Tunecast 3 in mono mode. So, I would avoid buying this product.

This may be the most disappointing, dysfunctional electronic item i have ever purchased. Doesn't work at all, not even a little bit. The static is so loud that the music cabn't be heard. Forget it!!!

I liked the new display....but that's about it. Ive had my Tunecast II for 2 years and have been pretty happy with it(always hated the auto shut off feature on it!)until the wire broke off........So I decided to plunk down the extra cash to try out the newer model. All I can say is it feels flimsy and the wire is thinner then the Tunecast II. But I was most disappointed with the performance of it, the older one has a stronger signal....and you can forget about the stereo feature, it's utterly useless!! I returned it and decided to try the Monster Radioplay 300 because of all the good reviews and I must say that I couldnt be any happier with it!

the quality of the audio sucks, while you're driving the sounds fades awfully, and even when your car is parked you have to keep low the volume because of the distorting audio.

I tried it in the car, I tried it at home, I tried it with the auto power cord, I tried it using batteries...it just doesn't work. The transmitter strength seems so weak that it hardly broadcasts anything. If you do get a transmission (at a very close range)...there is so much static that you can barely hear the music. It really sucks and I'm going to return it. Belkin ought to be embarrased to put this product on the market. Everyone should return theirs and teach them!

I know most of the reviews are pretty negative but it works half-decently for me. I drive a 2005 Ford Focus with the standard Ford issued radio. Since I don't drive on a daily basis, I did not want to spend the big bucks for a state-of-the-art car radio.

I live in the Montreal (Quebec) area and so far the transmitter works OK on 81.1 FM. I drove a bit around the city and outside without the need to change FM channels (so far). The sound is decent but don't expect CD quality. On some songs I do get the occasionnal "hiss" while other songs are crystal clear. I found that to work well the transmitter has to be as close to te radio has possible, for that purpose the included dashboard clip is very handy.

All in all I'm happy with the thing. Found it on sale at a great price. So far haven't experienced any "shutdown" issue described in other reviews.

PS. One reason why it (might) work OK is that my car antenna is external and mounted on my car roof and can be unscrewed easily, which I do everytime I use the transmitter. That possibly helps a bit.

I had a Belkin Tunecast II that I wore out after three years (it turns out that you really are supposed to pull the phono jack out of your iPod by the plug and not the jack's cord if you want the two to stay connected). So, I bought the Tunecast III thinking that it would be an improvement over the older version. Before buying, I determined that the III did not have the recharging capabilities of the II but I was hopeful that I could use the II's power cord on the III.

After two months of having the III, I regret my purchase and wish I had bought another II. You would think that a newer version of a product would be better than the older one, but in this case, the III is a step backward. I got a much stronger signal out of the II, which is the main reason for a transmitter, right?

Another way that the II was better was that it would automatically turn on when I started my iPod, and it would power off when I stopped my iPod. With the III, you have to turn it on and off manually.

I was correct in my guess that the III would not recharge my iPod. However, the cord from my II works on the III, so that is not a problem for me.

Overall, if I were you I would buy the Tunecast II.

They have dumped a lot of transmission power out of these. If you are not close, try to find an older one of the same model. Outherwisw it functions great.