Customer Reviews

Griffin iTrip Auto FM Transmitter and Auto Charger for iPod (Black)

5 star:		(403)
4 star:		(313)
3 star:		(145)
2 star:		(92)
1 star:		(122)

 

 

Griffin has made a ton of these little FM transmitters for various generations of iPod, and this is the best one to date. It is still not perfect, though.

Using a FM transmitter is the method of last resort. If your car has a tape deck, use a cassette adapter! The very newest car stereos have Bluetooth or even a line-in jack, even better. Save yourself a lot of frustration by using a direct connection, if possible. If you're considering a FM transmitter for home use, perhaps to connect to your stereo, don't. You'll be much happier with a real docking station.

That said, Griffin has made 3 huge improvements over their previous FM transmitters:

1) Plugs into the dock connector! No more volume hassles! The dock connector has a constant line-out volume level, and isn't affected by the volume dial setting of your iPod.

2) Instant on when car started, and auto-pause of iPod when car stopped. Other Griffin adapters had the nasty problem of needing to "warm up" before they would start working, but it seems Griffin has finally solved the problem here. And, as a nice bonus, it automatically pauses your iPod when powered off, so it remembers your place for next time!

3) Charges your iPod while in use! Another advantage of the dock connector is that it can charge your iPod from the unit's cigarette lighter connection. A real disadvantage of earlier FM transmitters is that they drained your iPod's battery like crazy, but this is solved by using your car's power instead.

The flipside of this is that the connector is wired to the LCD unit and then to the cigarette lighter plug. It isn't a standalone wireless unit. If you like to set up your iPod somewhere in your car where wires would get in the way, this could be a problem.

Now, some disadvantages:

1) FM transmitter power is very, very weak. It's a game of inches. Griffin claims they are hamstrung by FCC regulations, but even legal Part 15 devices are allowed to transmit for a few dozen feet or so! Griffin really needs to crank up the power to the maximum allowed by law. Now that they are powered by cigarette lighter power, instead of iPod battery power, there's no excuse anymore to use an underpowered transmitter.

2) Transmitted volume is very, very soft. You have to crank up your car radio up all the way, causing hiss in the background, and blown speakers if you forget to turn it back down before changing the radio channel! Griffin doesn't modulate the FM signal enough. Compared to other stations on the FM dial, the iPod volume is much too low.

This is an especially bad double whammy: not only is the transmitted FM signal too weak, it's also too quiet!

Don't forget about the 87.9 frequency. Contrary to Griffin's belief, this is still a legal frequency in the USA, even though it's right on the edge of the dial. Griffin doesn't allow you to use this frequency, though, unless you put the unit in "International" mode! So, remember to do this first, before you throw away the manual and forget how to do it. 87.9 is clear in many areas that don't have a TV channel 6, so this is usually the best choice for these FM transmitters!

Now, if only Griffin would boost their radio power, they'd have the perfect device....

I just got this a in Nov 2008. I will tell you the three secrets to getting the best results. First, over the years I have purchased a HUGE number of these type devices and they all sucked. Only the iTrip (both the version with the iPod connector and the one with the standard headphone jack) have this secret that makes them the BEST. Secret #1) because these devices are limited in power, make sure the transmitter part is close to the radio. Secret #2) Unless you need stereo, use the LX mode. Secret #3 ... and this is the biggie ... switch to International Mode. Here's how.

Before you buy, go to your car and make sure you can set your radio to 87.9 frequency or lower. If you can, they you can use this UNused setting. No US radio station is allowed to transmit on this frequency. If you can set your car radio to this, then BUY either the product on this page or the other Griffin iTrip (with the standard headphone connector). I have both, and they BOTH use the SAME instructions.

First, plug in the iTrip. You Have two buttons - a larger +/- button and a smaller button that will either have "Select" or "Preset" written on it.

Hold down the smaller button for 10-15 sec. At first the display will flash "2" or some other number. Ignore that. Just keep waiting. Then the display will flash "DX" or "LX". Use the +/- to change to LX (non stereo mode). Press the smaller button and the selection is saved.

Now for International Mode (to get the stations below 88.1).

Hold down the smaller button for 10-15 sec. At first the display will flash "2" or some other number. Ignore that. Just keep waiting. Then the display will flash "DX" or "LX". IGNORE THIS ALSO, JUST KEEP HOLDING DOWN THE SMALL BUTTON. The display will change to "US" Use the +/- to change to INTL mode. Press the smaller button and the selection is saved.

With my iTrip set to LX and INTL I now set both the car and the iTrip to 87.9. I use the iTrip instructions to save this as a preset. I also set one of the buttons on my car radio to the same.

When I use my iPod, the sound is crystal clear, I do NOT need to adjust the car radio to super-high volume. It is perfect. However, iTrip no longer comes with instructions to set to INTL mode, nor could I find these instructions on their website or on the web. So ... print this, get this and you will have a five star experience!

This is one of three Griffin iTrip adapters I have, it is probably the most convenient to use. The FCC requirements on these things limit the transmit power to something that is barely able to reach the car radio, but if you don't set this one to the higher power mode you'll be lucky to hear anything at all. I find more variation between vehicles than you might expect, I travel quite a bit and have used this in rental cars all over the US, Canada and the UK. It is especially useful that this can tune by 0.1MHz intervals which helps find a vacant frequency in other countries (where these may be illegal, as they are in the UK). Sound quality is usually OK, but if you find the noise level increasing you are probably conflicting with a local FM station and it's time to retune. The cassette interfaces provide much cleaner audio, but with more wires and sometimes with mechanical noise. This is in my travel kit now and I don't think there is a reasonable alternative.

This device works exactly as advertised: it charges your iPod and broadcasts the audio on an FM frequency at low power. If you have no other way to use your iPod in your car (cassette adapter, line in, etc) this is a good choice, especially at Amazon's price. The sound quality isn't fabulous, but it's as good as normal FM reception.

However, you need to be aware that this product works inconsistently between cars. I've had good luck with the iTrip in some cars (mostly American made rental cars), but couldn't get it to work in some other cars (like my Infiniti). Before you buy, I suggest that you take a look at the Griffin Technology web site to see if other users have gotten this to work in your car.

The Griffin iTrip Auto is car ipod charger with an FM transmitter built in. It allows you to listen to your iPod via the car radio while the iPod recharges.

I have been a great fan of Griffin's products. I believe that they are generally engineered well and the consumer gets a good quality product for a reasonable price. With that said, I was a bit disappointed with the iTrip Auto. I have been using a low-end FM transmitter (Belkin Tunecast II) for most of a year now, and use it as a baseline for comparison against Griffin's offering.

The Belkin product also plugs into a cigarette lighter for power, but does not charge the iPod. The Belkin gets signal via the headphone jack on the iPod. By contrast, the iTrip connects via an iPod dock connector and provides both power and signal connections simultaneously. The Belkin's power cable is an accessory and can derive power from two internal AAA batteries. The iTrip must be plugged into the car to work. The only benefit to the Belkin on this point is that my car's cigarette lighter is not powered when the engine is off or the key is on 'radio only'. The ignition must be at 'on'. The Belkin still provides FM transmitter function with the engine off. The AAA batteries also remember which station freq. is being used, when the unit is off. One of my first concerns about the iTrip was to reset the freq. every time I use it. Not so. It seems to have non-volitile memory for this. Once it was initially programmed, it seems to remember the station.

The iTrip's controls are simple. Plug one end into your car; the other into the iPod. There is a +/- button and a Select button, and a lit LCD display showing frequency. Simple tune to a station that is not being used in your area, and hit 'play' on the iPod. It's that simple. Griffin's build quality is of the usual high standards. The front of the iTrip control is a glossy plastic that matches my black iPod. The back is rubberized. As far as fit-and-finish, my only complaint is that the keys rattle when the unit is shaken. It makes the unit feel cheap, but didn't effect functionality.

In use, I find the iTrip's sound to be a bit crisp and lacking in base as compared to the Belkin. And the iTrip seems to pick up static 'pop's' and ignition noise when I use certain accessories (e.g. - windshield wipers). I could blame this on poor shielding in my car's wiring, but the Belkin doesn't pick any of this noise up. Just the music. A plus that I noticed with the iTrip is that the iPod's volume control is disabled. It seems to transmit signal to my car radio at one pre-set level and I use the car deck's volume knob when adjusting level. By contrast, the belkin unit (being plugged into the ipod's headphone jack) IS susceptible to the iPod's volume settings and the iPod must be set nearly to max in order for the Belkin to 'know' that there is signal. The Belkin has auto-on when signal is detected and auto-off after 60 sec of inactivity (after which I hear blasting loud static from a car radio with no station playing). The iTrip broadcasts quiet dead-air as long as it's plugged in. Nice!

My overall impression? Really too bad about the sound quality. I like it over the Belkin in almost every other respect. I will continue to test it in other vehicles; but listening to your audio is the REASON for having an FM transmitter, so the lack of sound quality weighs heavily in my score.

It's hard to understand how so many can find the iTrip so wonderful and some of us can find it so terrible. Either there is some significant variability in the manufacturing of the product or the location and design of the FM radio antenna in some cars is the problem. In any case, the signal from the unit I received was so weak that there was noticeable static regardless of where I placed the transmitter and how I positioned the cable. It didn't matter which station I chose - they were all bad. Worse, even when it was stationary the static hiss would increase, decrease, increase and so on. Also, as others have mentioned in reviews, the audio was considerably quieter than the car's built-in components.

Nice idea, but I second the review that voted for a stronger transmission signal. With Amazon's easy return process, and given the ratio of positive to negative reviews, you may want to give it a shot. But it's a shot in the dark.

This iPod transmitter works perfectly! I used to have a Belkin TuneCast for my old car, which worked ok although it did have a bit static here and there. Using this one, I've gotten a clear signal and no static at all! The volume is very loud; I've only had to set my iPod's volume to half. The bass also comes out well, although the treble is a bit low. But it's pretty good for an FM transmitter.

Btw, I tested this on a 2007 Volvo S40, 2000 Toyota Avalon, and a 2000 Chevy Cavalier. I used it on the frequency of 87.9 in the Washington D.C. Metro area. Worked great on all the cars. I highly recommend this!

EDIT:
One of my friends was able to improve upon the issue of the low treble: Just fool around with the iPod's equalizer. We found the "Treble Booster" setting to work fine.

This product works reasonably well for transmitting the audio signal but it does not charge (as advertised) the newer I-Pod Nano's. I bought it specifically because of the ability to charge while on the road and it does not do this. Very disappointing and it is not listed anywhere in the information from Amazon and only in the most obscure location at Griffin Technology. I'll be returning it to Amazon.

I've been skeptical about getting one of these devices because of the reviews people have been giving them but I finally took a chance and it was well worth it.

It just arrived today and I immediately ran some errands to test it out. Right out of the box, the unit plugs right in to your car cigarette adapter and right into the iPod. The default setting for the frequency is 87.9 which is perfect. Tuned the radio to that station and that was it. Simple and only took a few minutes to open the package.

Now, I know many people talk about static with these devices but think about it. I have AM, FM and XM satellite radio in my car. You know how AM stations are so I won't go there. FM has static periodically and XM cuts out in dead zones. I would say this has the performance of any FM station. After all, it's an FM transmitter!

The best thing about this device is that it saves you from having to juggle tens or hundreds of CDs in your car. I've been burning a lot of CDs lately but only have a 6 disc CD changer in my car. It's a real pain having to keep swapping CDs out which is why this device is soooo handy.

Comparing this to other models, such as Belkin (which my gf has), this is definitely the best. Most other brands have too many wires that you have to plug in, they don't support 87.9 and/or they have really poor performance.


Pros:

*Supports the 87.9 frequency unlike many other models. This is important as this is the best frequency to use with little or no static or disruption.
*Charges your iPod
*Very compact
*For the price, here at Amazon, it's a steal
*Saves you from having to juggle all those CDs. Hooray for consolidation!


Cons:

*The only Con is that the signal isn't that great and, as expected with any type of wireless device, there is going to be static. This is not a limitation of the device but a limitation of the FCC requirements.


I definitely recommend getting one of these. If you've been in the market and have been waiting for the technology to get better, it's here...

I think these FM transmitters work to varying degrees based on what car you're driving. This iTrip FM works *great* in my little Lexus SC430. It gets a superb, static-free signal that sounds better than using my old Sony casette adapter. There's less hi-end range, but the other parts of the audio spectrum sound better and there's less hiss.

That being said, however, it did not work very well in my friend's Inifity sports car that's about the same size as my Lexus. He got mediocre reception, and the sound quality was not all that great - it sounded much better with the casette adapter.

So, the bottom line is that for *me* this works fantastically! But for my friend, not so much. Plus, the fact that the cigarette power adapter is built in is a huge plus. I'm ditching the casette adapter and will be using this from now on.