Best way to play Iphone music on a car stereo..

Ricardo Kuhn · 03-01-2013, 10:15 PM

With out a "MP3" connection..

Car, H6 2002 Subaru outback with a pretty decent stereo but to old to have a Iphone connector..

We don't want to change the stereo at the moment, so what other choices do we have..?

dlearl476 · 03-01-2013, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricardo Kuhn

With out a "MP3" connection..

Car, H6 2002 Subaru outback with a pretty decent stereo but to old to have a Iphone connector..

We don't want to change the stereo at the moment, so what other choices do we have..?

Two choices, neither very good:
If your stereo has a cassette player, you can get a cassette to 1/8th" mini TRS connector adapter or you can find mini 1/8th to FM transmitter that broadcasts the iPhone audio to one of several FM bands on your radio. The latter requires a power source, the former does not.
My personal experience is that the hard-wire cassette adapters work better. My son, OTOH, has an FM band one that works great.

BigIron · 03-01-2013, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlearl476

My personal experience is that the hard-wire cassette adapters work better.

That's my experience too. I never did find an FM solution that worked very well. YMMV,

Ricardo Kuhn · 03-01-2013, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlearl476

Two choices, neither very good:
If your stereo has a cassette player, you can get a cassette to 1/8th" mini TRS connector adapter

Oh sorry I forgot to say, No Cassette player

Quote:

or you can find mini 1/8th to FM transmitter that broadcasts the iPhone audio to one of several FM bands on your radio. The latter requires a power source, the former does not.
My personal experience is that the hard-wire cassette adapters work better. My son, OTOH, has an FM band one that works great.

Power source for what, the Iphone...??

Sorry I'm pretty clueless about this stuff (my second car, first one with a radio).

Ricardo Kuhn · 03-01-2013, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigIron

That's my experience too. I never did find an FM solution that worked very well. YMMV,

I was afraid of that..

dlearl476 · 03-01-2013, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigIron

That's my experience too. I never did find an FM solution that worked very well. YMMV,

It depends on how saturated your FM band is in a particular market, and how strong a Tx the unit has. The cheap ones are very weak in order to get around FCC compliance I'm sure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricardo Kuhn

I was afraid of that..

RK, my son lives in Provo, so you may just get one and see what happens. Most of them are only about $25 or so. His is kind of a "dock" that plugs into the cig lighter, as opposed to a unit with a wire, plug, and power/Tx module. The wire thing was always what drove me nuts about the cassette adaptor I had.

dlearl476 · 03-01-2013, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricardo Kuhn

Oh sorry I forgot to say, No Cassette player
Power source for what, the Iphone...??

Sorry I'm pretty clueless about this stuff (my second car, first one with a radio).

No, a power source for the internal Tx. (Transmitter). Basically they are a very weak mini radio station that broadcasts a signal that your radio receives. Unfortunately, being very weak any real radio station in close proximity frequency-wise, will interfere.
The cheap ones will have 4-5 frequencies you can select. The better ones have a adjustment (much like an older, pre-seek/scan, radio) that you dial in a frequency. The secret is to find a wide open freq that no outside stations will interfere with. Like I say, in heavily saturated markets that's a tall order.

dlearl476 · 03-01-2013, 11:03 PM

Another avenue you may want to explore is scouring junkyards for an upgraded radio with an aux input. Since the mid-90's they've pretty much been plug-n-play so any one from a model similar to yours would probably go right in, with wiring already in place.
If you can't do it yourself any car audio shop could swap it out in a few minutes for (hopefully) a small fee.

spagthorpe · 03-02-2013, 12:17 AM

I didn't want to spend on a new stereo either, but ~$125 at Walmart got me a nice Pioneer that streams Bluetooth from the iDevice if you have it, has a USB on the port for everything else, and even an aux in jack. I've even gotten a lot of mileage out of the Bluetooth phone stuff on the stereo instead of using a handsfree type of cord/device. It was probably the best $125 I've spent on the cage. Should have done it years ago.

Dave in Wi · 03-02-2013, 05:14 AM

My kids got me a Griffin ITrip Hands Free outfit for Christmas. (My Accord doesn't have an input or cassette player). It broadcasts on FM and it lets you select the frequency. It works fairly well, I've found a frequency that works well locally. When traveling, I've found that I sometimes have to change the frequency to avoid interference. It also has a hands- free device for the phone. I've only used that while the car is stationary, but it worked well for that.

The transmitter plugs into the a cigarette lighter socket to get its power. But there is a USB socket on the plug that will allow you to charge your phone, so you don't necessarily "lose" the plug.

I love being able to listen to Pandora or TuneIn Radio in the car. Funny how you get used to technology, when I bought this car I thought I had the world by the balls because it had a CD changer. :-)

Gimpinator · 03-02-2013, 08:51 AM

I spent $270 on a touchscreen radio with Bluetooth and navigation for my '97 Ranger. That was money very well spent!

The Bluetooth streams good quality audio from my iPhone and I get full speakerphone functionality as well. I'd never go back to that crappy cassette adapter. Ugh!

MrBob · 03-02-2013, 09:14 AM

I have an Aux out jack on the back of my elderly Alpine unit. One end of the cable connects there and the other directly into my iPhone 4.
I also have an iPhone charger that uses the cigarette lighter.
Simple and absolutely reliable setup that cost me less than 20 bucks.
I tried the FM connection and it sucked.
Listening to podcasts while traveling really helps the time go by.

Going_Commando · 03-02-2013, 10:24 AM

ISimple. Splices your antenna between the antenna connector and the stereo, so you don't get interference from other radio stations. Then again, its probably cheaper and easier to install a head unit with an mp3 in.

Ricardo Kuhn · 03-02-2013, 11:01 AM

I correct my self, we Do have a cassette player, so any brand to look for or are they all generic clones of each other..

WVhillbilly · 03-02-2013, 11:41 AM

I've used a couple versions of these for several years, they work as well as anything else like this.
They start at about $19.99 on ebay.
http://www.monstercable.com/mp3/ipod/transmitters.asp

03-01-2013, 10:15 PM	#1
Ricardo Kuhn ^OP a.k.a. Mr Rico Suave Joined: Sep 2001 Location: Salt lake city, Utah Oddometer: 11,581	Best way to play Iphone music on a car stereo.. With out a "MP3" connection.. Car, H6 2002 Subaru outback with a pretty decent stereo but to old to have a Iphone connector.. We don't want to change the stereo at the moment, so what other choices do we have..? __________________ I'm really Sorry but I'm "Out" of Rickybars, Actually I have a bunch of bars and a Ton of end pieces but Not that many clamps to offer them as a product anymore.

03-01-2013, 11:03 PM	#8
dlearl476 Two-bit Throttle Bum Joined: Oct 2005 Location: Upstate Manhattan Oddometer: 22,059	Another avenue you may want to explore is scouring junkyards for an upgraded radio with an aux input. Since the mid-90's they've pretty much been plug-n-play so any one from a model similar to yours would probably go right in, with wiring already in place. If you can't do it yourself any car audio shop could swap it out in a few minutes for (hopefully) a small fee. __________________ "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace" - Jimi Hendrix Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich by promising to protect each from the other. -- Oscar Ameringer

03-02-2013, 05:14 AM	#10
Dave in Wi Beastly Adventurer Joined: Feb 2007 Location: 40 Square Miles Surrounded By Reality (Madison Wi) Oddometer: 1,462	My kids got me a Griffin ITrip Hands Free outfit for Christmas. (My Accord doesn't have an input or cassette player). It broadcasts on FM and it lets you select the frequency. It works fairly well, I've found a frequency that works well locally. When traveling, I've found that I sometimes have to change the frequency to avoid interference. It also has a hands- free device for the phone. I've only used that while the car is stationary, but it worked well for that. The transmitter plugs into the a cigarette lighter socket to get its power. But there is a USB socket on the plug that will allow you to charge your phone, so you don't necessarily "lose" the plug. I love being able to listen to Pandora or TuneIn Radio in the car. Funny how you get used to technology, when I bought this car I thought I had the world by the balls because it had a CD changer. :-) __________________ Dave in WI 2002 ZRX1200R 1975 XL100 1988 DT50 "Daddy, it's five o'clock sometime!"

03-02-2013, 08:51 AM	#11
Gimpinator Minister Funny Walks Joined: Sep 2004 Location: Chillin' in da LB Oddometer: 1,014	I spent $270 on a touchscreen radio with Bluetooth and navigation for my '97 Ranger. That was money very well spent! The Bluetooth streams good quality audio from my iPhone and I get full speakerphone functionality as well. I'd never go back to that crappy cassette adapter. Ugh! __________________ "Son, I thought by now you would have run out of stupid."

03-02-2013, 09:14 AM	#12
MrBob Careening forward Joined: Oct 2005 Location: Santa Fe, N.M. Oddometer: 5,657	I have an Aux out jack on the back of my elderly Alpine unit. One end of the cable connects there and the other directly into my iPhone 4. I also have an iPhone charger that uses the cigarette lighter. Simple and absolutely reliable setup that cost me less than 20 bucks. I tried the FM connection and it sucked. Listening to podcasts while traveling really helps the time go by. __________________ KLX 400 dual sport Tune in, turn on, drop out.

03-02-2013, 12:17 AM	#9
spagthorpe Beastly Adventurer Joined: Aug 2002 Location: homeless Oddometer: 13,675	I didn't want to spend on a new stereo either, but ~$125 at Walmart got me a nice Pioneer that streams Bluetooth from the iDevice if you have it, has a USB on the port for everything else, and even an aux in jack. I've even gotten a lot of mileage out of the Bluetooth phone stuff on the stereo instead of using a handsfree type of cord/device. It was probably the best $125 I've spent on the cage. Should have done it years ago.

03-02-2013, 10:24 AM	#13
Going_Commando Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jan 2008 Location: Sunny So Cal Oddometer: 486	ISimple. Splices your antenna between the antenna connector and the stereo, so you don't get interference from other radio stations. Then again, its probably cheaper and easier to install a head unit with an mp3 in.

03-02-2013, 11:01 AM	#14
Ricardo Kuhn ^OP a.k.a. Mr Rico Suave Joined: Sep 2001 Location: Salt lake city, Utah Oddometer: 11,581	I correct my self, we Do have a cassette player, so any brand to look for or are they all generic clones of each other.. __________________ I'm really Sorry but I'm "Out" of Rickybars, Actually I have a bunch of bars and a Ton of end pieces but Not that many clamps to offer them as a product anymore.

03-02-2013, 11:41 AM	#15
WVhillbilly Beastly Adventurer Joined: Oct 2010 Oddometer: 4,553	I've used a couple versions of these for several years, they work as well as anything else like this. They start at about $19.99 on ebay. http://www.monstercable.com/mp3/ipod/transmitters.asp

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