question: iPod through radio?

[ssbeagle]

Does anyone use an iPod in their jeep? Are you able to play it through your jeep's stereo? I tried one of those products that you plug into the lighter. The lighter happens to be located at such an odd angle under the whole dash area that I had to use the extension pieces included with the iPod product in order to have it come out and upright. It worked for about 3 minutes, if that long. I set it up, had great sound from the iPod, pulled out of the parking space at the shopping center, and immediately lost the radio frequency to static and other stations breaking in. The extension pieces were also insecure to the point that it kept spinning upside down or sideways. I got home, packed it back up, and took it back to the store. That was $90 worth of junk. I won't be trying anything else like it for now, but I just wondered if anyone else had better luck with something else. Even if I went without the mousetrap contraption and just set the iPod in the cup holder space, there's still the problem with the radio frequency. Does it work for anyone? Mine jeep has the Sirius radio, which I never even listen to. I just keep the console filled with CDs.

[Belfast]

I have an Aux-Pod (I can recommend LogJam electronics). It plugs in to the CD-changer hookup on the back of the stock stereo and both powers and controls the iPod through the radio. One wire runs from under the dash, under the center console and up to the cup holders. The wire hooks up to the data port at the bottom of the iPod.

This thing is great - I have had it for 2 years now. It not only powers your iPod (whether the radio is on or off), but if you turn off the radio or ignition, it puts the iPod to sleep while still charging it. When you turn on the radio / ignition, the iPod jumps back to life and picks up where you left off. The same thing happens if you switch from radio to CD changer (it appears as a CD changer to the radio). The audio quality is better than the Jeep sound system is capable of producing (I recommend upgrading your speakers too). Plus, you don't have to adjust the volume on the iPod - the volume is purely controlled from the radio.

It is supposed to have track up/down and album up/down control from the radio, but from my experience these features are spotty at best. That's OK for me tho - the iPod sits in the cup holder and its much easier to control directly.

It is a bit pricey, but I think it is worth every penny. The best thing is that with the iPod out, all you see is a little cable (which is easy to tuck in between the seat and center console) - everything else looks stock. So I don't have to spend any time stashing electronics every time I stop - just throw the iPod in my pocket.

Here's a quick photo: www.flickr.com/photos/05ltj/168619320/

[AXejeep]

I use the Monster FM transmitter/charger. I love it. You just plug it into your lighter port and select one of the 3 FM presettings. Real simple to operate while driving. The only drawback is using it in major downtown area (Chicago, New York, LA etc). You will recieve some interference. But as you drive away...it will began to clear up. Its great for traveling on the open roads.

I hope this helps.

[ssbeagle]

Thanks for the suggestions! Maybe being in town is also part of my problem. I had a "free" station setting at first, but lost it within a few minutes to what sounded like smaller, local broadcasters. After that, I couldn't find another "free" station. Next time I'm ready to try to set this up again with a better product, I'll look into the ones you've both mentioned. My husband is really in favor of beefing up the sound system in the jeep anyway.

[wilcav]

I am looking for something similar as well. I have a Dell DJ so I don't know if all the products will work the same as the ones do for an IPOD.

I gotta say though, if you have not given the Sirius radio a try yet, go for it. I don't remember the last time I listened to "terrestial radio" anymore. Plus moving from Colorado to Kentucky, I now have kept all of my favorite stations and I don't have to relearn any of them. If you go to the Sirius website, you can print out a list of all the stations they have available. News channels and comedy are some of the big ones and "Hair nation" (80s glam rock) is a new one I found that I love. And no I don't work for Sirius, I am just a fan now.

[04unlimited]

I have a Kensington iPod car charger / FM Tuner in my wife's car, and a tunecast II in the Jeep with a separate charger that i picked up at marshall's for a song. There are quite a few good products out there, most of which broadcast on FM. We are limited to the FM Transmitter option (which has worked wuite well for me for more than a year) unless you upgrade to a stereo that has an audio in jack.

I will post up a couple of pics of how I set my Jeep up to have the iPod secure, and still have the controls very handy.

[04unlimited]

wilcav said:

I am looking for something similar as well. I have a Dell DJ so I don't know if all the products will work the same as the ones do for an IPOD.

I bought the Tunecast II at Best Buy for a Samsung flash MP3 player that I had before I got my iPod. As long as whatever you are using plugs into the headphone jack of your Dell DJ, it will work fine.

[ssbeagle]

I've listened to the Sirius satellite stations, and it just wasn't what I had expected. The membership came free for a year with the jeep purchase, so I can't really complain. I subscribe to Live365Radio.com, and there are just so many choices of stations. Granted, it's not satellite, and I realize that's still a new market, so that's likely to pick up more broadcasters in the future.

One thing just seems to lead to another. I got the jeep and felt like a kid again. so I had to have some great music from the past. I had some cds of things I had been listening to over the last few years, but I started picking up cds of The Who, and got hooked all over again. Downloading a few things and searching online, I found out there were also podcasts, so that led to the iPod purchase. Now it's the search for what will make it work in the jeep. (They really mean it when they say Just Empty Every Pocket!)

[ssbeagle]

(FYI That online radio station was: live365.com internet radio. I typed it wrong the first time, and that turned out to be someone else's website. I don't think you could get that in the car or jeep anyway.) I checked my Sirius radio, though, and I don't have a connection for sound input. I don't have a casette player, either, so I guess that limits me to the old lighter-type product, unless I get a different sound system or new wiring.

[04unlimited]

The little FM transmitters (ie. Tunecast, etc.) run about $50 and work quite well for any mp3 player.

The ones with a charger built in are a bonus.

[surfnsnow]

I just saw quadratec's new catalog and on the first page there's a sony deck that you can plug in an ipod to listen to. I don't know if you can recharge the ipod or control it but for under $200, it's not a bad deal. In my wife's cherokee she has a kenwood deck with the aux hook up to plug in an ipod. This one does charge the batteries and you can control it with the stereos remote control

[ssbeagle]

I finally got this taken care of. We took out the very basic Sirius radio and replaced it with a little Sony cd player/radio that has an auxiliary jack. I love the new radio, which we got at Best Buy for around $100 with free installation. I tucked my cord from the ipod to the jack around the bottom of the dash so it's barely visible and stuck an ipod/cell phone holder next to the radio. After looking at all the other choices that were out there, this didn't really cost anymore than they did, and I like this radio's sound much more than the other one. (I don't have Sirius playing, but I wasn't using it anyway. I either use cds or the ipod. However, now that I gave away the other radio, I'll have to part with this one, if I ever trade in my jeep for a new one.)

[rmadillo]

I have a Pioneer head unit installed with adapters for both my XM radio and IPod. The IPod plugs in to cable in the glove box. It goes directly through the tuner so you don't have to worry about the FM modulator fading in and out... I had a unit similar to what you describe, as well as my XM Roady, but got tired of all the wires and velcro. I have been very happy with the new system.