I don’t know about you but when I purchased my iPod a few months ago I purchased it for a very specific reason and for very specific uses. My intentions were for it to become a one stop music source. Not just for when I am out on hikes or sitting in the doctor’s office or stuck someplace else with nothing to do but also for a large collection of music to play in my car, and for at home as a jukebox as well.
Well, when you buy the iPod the portable part is taken care of. You get the iPod, ear phones, battery and with your own music or music you buy from iTunes you are set. However, using the iPod in your car in place of a CD changer is another story. While some new cars come with iPod connectors installed most don’t. If you have a cassette player you can get a cassette adapter that will let you play your iPod through the cassette deck and speakers in your car. But, what if all that you have is a single CD player and an AM/FM radio? Well, then you are left with either using a set of speakers for the iPod like DLO’s iBoom or using an FM Transmitter which basically turns your iPod in to a mini short range FM radio station.
Well for my Toyota Sienna mini-van I decided that I want to keep the clutter to a minimum and so I went with an FM Transmitter and the one I chose was the DLO TransPod. This small device plug-ins in to either you cars cigarette lighter or an auxiliary power plug. You then put your iPod in it, tune your radio to an FM station that is blank, meaning when you tune it in you hear nothing. Tune the TransPod to that same FM station and start listening to your music.
The Transpod has a transmitting range of about 30 feet (9 Meters). Which means if someone pulls up next to you with their radio tuned to the same station they will also hear your music. Since you have to use an FM frequency that isn’t being used in your area the likely hood of that happening isn’t very good. I just can’t see someone driving around listening to an FM Station with nothing on it. However, the one area that remains a little fussy is what happens if you have two cars side by side with TransPods on the same radio frequency? I can see this happening, in my area we don’t have a lot of empty FM Frequencies and with the popularity of iPods... well, I would guess that they will just interfere with each other and you get a cross talk of the music. But that should clear up once you move away from each other. During the time I have used the TransPod this has never come up.
The TransPod also acts as a portable charger for your iPod. It fits all dockable iPods including the 5th generation video iPod and the iPod nano. It can use FM frequencies from 88.1 to 107.9. There are no holes to drill, not modification to your car is needed, simply plug it in to an outlet and you ready. It comes with 4 assignable presets so if you do a lot of travelling you can set up frequencies that you can access at the push of a button. It also has a backlight display and the TransPod is smart, it turns off when your car turns off so you don’t have to worry about it draining your battery (the cars battery). It also has an input on it so you can use it with any other MP3 player or portable game system.
The TransPod is small, easy to use, it looks good and I have to say after quite a lot of use I have had very few problems with it. Occasionally, the sound will fade out or I will get a little hiss, but it isn’t bad and it isn’t very often. The secret is to use an FM frequency that isn’t used at all. If you hear even a small amount of sound keep looking for another frequency. The sound quality is quite good considering it is basically a stereo FM transmission.
If you car doesn’t come with an iPod port and you don’t have a cassette deck or just want to go the easiest route possible the TransPod is a great choice. It is well worth the $99.99 price tag. It is available in three colors including White, Silver and Black so you can match it to your iPod. My only complaint and it is the same complaint I have with the DLO iBoom Boom Box is that there is no remote and given that this is something that is used while driving I think it would have been much safer if it had a small wireless remote so that you can change songs, albums, etc. without having to take your eyes off the road. On TransPod storage of the remote would be nice as well, you would be less likely to lose it when not in use.
Specifications:
FM Transmitter
Modulation: FM Stereo
RF Output Frequency Range: 88.1 - 107.9 MHz
Default Preset Frequencies (MHz): 87.9, 94.9, 100.9, and 107.9
Frequency Adjustment: 0.1 MHz per step
Frequency Response: 5Hz ~ 20KHz
Transmitter Power: 1.5 Watts
Transmitter Range: Up to 30 feet (9M)
Power
Input Voltage: 12 – 16 VDC
Input Current: <300mA @ DC12V~16V
Connectors
Direct Output: 3.5mm Stereo Mini jack
Direct Input: 3.5mm Stereo Mini jack
Temperature
Storage Temperature: -20° to 120° F (-29° to 49° C)
Operating Temperature: -4° to 113 ° F (-20° to 45 ° C) |
