Customer Reviews

Sony DCC-FMT3 Car FM Stereo Transmitter

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

 

 

I actually picked this up at target, because it was $10 cheaper than the rest of the universals I had seen at Radio Shack and Best Buy. I didn't try it on the one preset (106.7) that is one of the strong radio stations here (it has 6 at the low and 6 at the high and I tried all the lows), but of the ones that I did try, 2 stations are normally decently strong with a little static, and I had no problems with hearing my music when I plugged this in. No static or overlap at all. And no need to adjust the volume.

Edit - after traveling, I found that I did have to have the magnetic antenna very close to my car's antenna, which frustrated me some, since it worked so well while parked. But once I did that, no problems on signals. Would probably lower the star rating to 4 if I could at this point simply for that reason. But I'm not disappointed to have purchased this.

....you travel outside the city. I tried it in Newport, NJ which is next door to NYC. The sound quality was bad on station 88.1 which was the only one i could find with no transmission. But as soon as i went into interior NJ, the sound quality improved and was quite impressive. So if you don't drive in the city, this is a good buy. I'm going to keep it for my cross country drives where i usually exhaust my CD collection. Good luck to you...

Pros:
Good sound quality in suburbia & rural places
Doesn't drain your ipod's power
Better sound than the Griffin itrip
Cons:
Bad sound quality in the city
Doesn't charge your ipod
Not compact like the Griffin itrip which sits on your ipod

First off, I've had one of these for nearly two years [perhaps longer, I'm not sure...I've had it almost as long as my car!]. In fact, the only reason that I'm replacing mine now [with an identical one], is because I accidentally left the windows open a month or so ago and the darned thing got wet. Amazingly it still mostly works, the sound is just quite a bit softer.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I've yet to have a problem with static. Sure, you get a problem if you have it set to one specific preset and then drive into a new area that happens to have a very strong radio station on that specific frequency. However, if it's not strong, more often than not, the transmitter will drown out the new station. When I lived near Dallas, I used 106.7 all the time, and that's an actual legitimate station there!

In my experiences, I've found that the available stations tend to be empty air stations in most of Texas and parts of Oklahoma. I've put this thing to the test in hilly regions, stormy weather, sitting in the hot sun all day, etc, with never any problems [until I left the darned windows down].

Oh, and as far as the magnet goes, just attach it to the little screw that holds up your rear-view mirror. I've found that to be the best location for it. I don't understand what all this bollocks is about it having to be close to your physical antenna. I've got an old Oldsmobile, so my "antennas" are pretty much at opposite ends of the car, and they've always worked fine.

Oh, and about the other transmitters interfering? My mum and I both drove on a four hour trip last August. They listened to my mp3 player the whole way there by tuning their radio into my "station." Not once have I experienced interference from other passer-by's transmitters or supposedly stronger radio signals. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I am pointing out that never once in two years of frequent driving have I had that situation occur.

I wrote a 4 star review some time ago, however I'd demote it a couple of stars now. I've actually owned two of these and both broke in a short period of time. The internal wiring is very sensitive, and the case splits open easily. Both units lasted about 6-8 weeks. Walmart now sells a no-name unit for around $10 which is far superior to this.

It's good on the road and in small cities, but even close to big cities, the signal is not strong enough to fight the official - and pirate - fm signals. The antenna works better closer to the roof. It has some default frequencies. I know there is another one like this from sony that is digital and you can select all frequencies you want... but I doubt will fix the problem in big cities and cost you at least double price.

After all, to travel, it's a good option.

I live in Boston area traveling to South frequently. I have bought this to replace the wired transmitter I had owned before. The choice is the disaster.

I had paid the full price from Target unlike the other user who paid 10 dollars less. And, unlike the sleek design and the Brand name-Sony, the transmitter could not locate the siganals in Boston/Cambridge areas and even in the countryside south to Cape either.

The 12 sinal ranges seem to be all used in New England areas and it simply would not find my MP3.

So, my guess is that the users should be really lucky to find a free FM signal to have this transmitter work with their MP3 players.

Think about it ; what good is that if we should change the signals every 10-20 min. on the road while driving across the different FM station signal areas? Or, how about it simply would not find the right signal like my case?

I would not recommend this to all users. Or try to buy it from your local shop and hook it up to your stereo while you are still at the store area to see if it works.

I did not expect to have difficulty finding a decent FM transmitter while MP3 players are easy to operate. Can anyone recomment what could be the alternative choice?

Transmitter is too weak. Transmission can be easily overcome by transmitters in vehicles passing by.
Ugly long antenna line.

Went out and bought a Griffin transmitter which has much more power.

Sony DCC-FMT3 Car FM Stereo Transmitter
I am using this transmitter currently for my walkman and it works fine. At firsts I thought it may have been too cheap for it to be any good, but it is not so. It's really a great little gadget and works very well. I get good reception. No complaints so far.

I thought it was gonna work because of the Brand Name (Sony), so I bought one from Sear just a few days ago. But, It just couldn't find any FM Stations to tune to. When it did, the sound was extremely terrible! I returned it and got my money back. I don't think you should bother buying it.

It arrived as ordered and on time. It works Great and we live in a very hilly area. I would suggest this to anyone. It's very ecnomical. I love something inexpensive that does the job just as good a something more expensive.