FM Range for Car Stereo

I am using a Model MA450LL iPod v1.2.1 with a Belkin adapter to tune with my factory-installed stereo in my Cadillac auto. Is there a way to "expand" the range of the FM options in the iPod? A clearly "unused" FM frequency at the low end does not seem to be accessible via the iPod now.

I took my FM Receiver back to Future Shop and bought the cassette attachment one. You put it into your car casette player and plug in your IPOD and it works just great. I could never get the FM station to give me good reception. This casette was only $25-$30. Just amazing. I have a Lexus and have a casette player but some of the new cars do not have one, so it wouldn't work. The FM receiver was really frustrating for me. Good luck!!!!

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Looking for car stereo recommendation

I would like to buy a new car stereo (budget $200) to connect to my iPod. I will use my existing speakers.
My #1 priority is ease of use.
My #2 priority is display of full info (track name, artist, and, less importantly, album).
Does anyone have any recommendations?
I thought I would ask here because I'm assuming folks that hang out here are more likely to be sympathetic to the need for ease of use (as opposed to feature lists, power, etc.).

I have pretty much the same question as the OP, so I'll bump this thread.
Two specifics that I want:
1. For ease of use, I want to be able to manually adjust radio station (90.1->90.3->90.5, etc). Many of the stereos I see now only seem to have presets and scan.
2. I normally pick a playlist on my iPod and have it play in shuffle mode. I understand that some car stereos don't support this. I would like one that does.
Double DIN would be cool--direct replacement for what I've got. But they aren't as common as single DIN, and they seem to cost more.

Ipod adaptor for car stereo with cd player not tape

If my car stereo has just got a front loading cd player does anyone know an adaptor - preferable in apple store - that i can use? The only ones i have seen use the tape player.
Thanks

b Various Methods to Connect to a Car Stereo System, or Listen to Your iPod in the Vehicle
b Best:
Direct connection via the dock connector or headphone jack of your iPod, to the mini-jack input (or AUX RCA input jacks) of your car stereo. Not many low/moderate-end cars have this feature yet, but it is becoming more popular. Some aftermarket auto stereo units may have this feature.
There are also some after-market, moderate to fairly expensive direct interfaces, that hook into your existing car stereo to provide a high-quality, direct connection. Most will also power/charge the iPod. Pretty slick, but can be pricey ($80-$300). If money is no object, a clean way to go. Not very portable from car to car if at all.
http://logjamelectronics.com/ipodproducts.html
http://www.myradiostore.us/auxadapters/blitzsafe/blitzsafe-m-link-ipod-interface .html
http://www.theistore.com/ipod2car.html
http://www.mp3yourcar.com/
b Better:
Connect your iPod to a cassette adaptor and play your tunes through your car's cassette player. Some new cars no longer come with a cassette player, so it may not be an option. It will provide even better audio quality if you can run the audio feed out of the dock connector (see the SendStation link below). Can be portable between cars that have a cassette player and also be used in your home cassette system.
b Good:
Attach an FM transmitter to your iPod and play the tunes through an unused FM station. Convenient, but wireless FM transmitter signals are susceptible to static and outside interference, and can vary in strength and quality depending on your location. Some noticeable degradation and distortion, depending on the quality of the transmitter, the sensitivity of your ears and the airwave congestion in your area. Highly portable between cars, and may be used in a home system. FM transmitters that need to be plugged into a DC auto jack may not work in a home environment (without some sort of adaptor).
b Marginal:
Attach an external speaker system to the iPod and play it in the car. Workable, but not too good - unless you spring for a $300+ Bose (or similar) system. But why? Only if your vehicle has no Stereo system, perhaps.
b Brave Techno-Geek:
This site gives some direction on adapting your own car stereo by yourself: http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/ . Risky, but it has been successful: Seanski, "silent track" #2, 11:59pm Jul 15, 2005 CDT
Whichever you choose, power the iPod through your cars DC power -- either from a power adapter, or as part of the combined audio adaptor. Have a method to secure the iPod to the dash/console/etc. See the reviews for all the various accessories at the iLounge
You will also get better audio output if the dock connection plug is used, rather than the headphone jack. See this URL for a novel adaptor: https://www.sendstation.com/us/products/pd_lousb.html. Others types are also available via this site.
I have read positive and negative reviews of each method, and within method there are great variations in performance of different manufacture's systems and peoples opinions of their performance. Some cassette adaptors/FM transmitters work poorly, some better.
FWIW: I have the iTrip Mini & the Newer Technology RoadTrip!+ FM transmitters, a Belkin cassette adaptor (used both with & w/out the PocketDock) and two vehicles with the BlitzSafe direct interface. Using the same song in the same car, I found that the FM transmitters worked, but not as good as the cassette adapter via the headphone jack. Using the PocketDock on the cassette adapter resulted in a significant audio quality improvement. As expected, the Blitzsafe direct connect was exceptionally better than everything else: less tinny, a more warmer/richer sound, and close to true CD quality.

Export to SD card for car stereo - use lower bitrate?

Okay, so my fancy new car stereo has an SD card slot, and the stereo reads a file structure so I can have folders for each Artist, and in that a flofer for each album, with MP3 files inside. I can see tha ther easiest way to populate an SD card is to copy the artist folders directly from the itunes music folder in Finder.
But... all my MP3s in iTunes are ripped at 192kbs, and to fit more on an SD card I'd like to use smaller versions.
Can't work out a way to do this easily. I can create lower bitrate verions using "create new version" but there are then stored in the same folders so I get two copies of each song. Can anyone sugegst a way of exporting a whole batch of songs (several thousand) to a new folder at a reduced bitrate?
Or converting a batch?
Or suggest some other idea to create a reduced bitrate SD card without having to look at each MP3 file idividually (which all the solutions I've considered so far seem to need).

Still not quite achieving what I'm aiming at. I've found scripts to batch-convert an export, but the newly created files are then just 'loose' in folders and not nested as artists and albums. I've found other scripts to export with the file strucure intact. But not both.

Enabling Disk Use For Car Stereo

Hi there,
I'm wanting to connect my iPod via my Car Stereo's USB port, and control the ipod still so I can choose which songs to play.
I was told if I enabled disk use AND manually manage songs, it would allow me to do this, but so far, after a few seconds of reading the ipod, songs are played in a random order through my car stereo and I have no control from the iPod.
Please explain what I need to do.
Message was edited by: slippydrew

slippydrew wrote:
I was told if I enabled disk use AND manually manage songs, it would allow me to do this,
I don't think so. Disk use allows you to use the iPod as a storage device - as far as I know you cannot play music while it's in Disk mode, nor can you take audio from the USB port on the iPod. (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!). Manually managing songs is the method for adding or removing content from the iPod, not a means of controlling it from a head unit.
Whether you can connect your iPod to your car and how it will work depends upon the car, model and year of manufacture. I used a Dension adaptor that plugs from the Dock connector on the iPod to the back of the stereo in my Mazda 3. I can choose any album, genre or playlist but usually I set the ipod to "shuffle all songs" mode and then plug it into the adaptor. Once connected, I can control track skip and track back from the steering column but I cannot see track information on the car's display. The iPod turns off and back on with the car ignition.
However, my sister-in-law has a Mazda MX-5, but her (Bose) stereo will only play from the first five playlists and that's it! Quite who thought that was a good idea, I cannot imagine! I believe this issue has been corrected on newer models.
So you see, two models from the same company give different results. Oh, and by the way, when I had the adaptor fitted, my supplier tried to sell me an FM transmitter type adaptor and I recall having a very heated discussion with them about this as they had already fitted the wired adaptor I wanted to a friend's Mazda 3.
My advice is that you see a car audio specialist who can then advise you (properly, I hope) on what options are available to you and your car. Look up Dension though, but treat with caution their claim about using USB. I've noticed that you and Kenichi have exchanged a few more comments while I'm writing this, so I now know you have a Sony head unit. It may not be able to display the iPod screens, but I'm sure Sony make iPod adaptors for their head units..
I still think you need to consult a car audio specialist, who knows what they are talking about. I think even your local Halfords may be able to help. It can't help to try them.
Phil.

Make an MP3 CD for car stereo

In reviewing a number of postings here and elsewhere, I've had no luck in making such a CD. I have a playlist that I'd like to burn to a CD for the car. I've changed Preferences/Import Settings to mp3. I've selected the tracks in the playlist using Cmd-A. From the menu, I selected Advanced/Create MP3 and the mp3 file is located in the same folder as the original. But selecting File/Burn playlist to disk reports most of the files can not be burned to an MP3 CD. I then tried holding down the Option key and selecting Advanced/Convert to MP3. I select a folder and get another error: "none of the selected files could be converted"!
This really shouldn't be this tough. Anyone see what I am missing or doing wrong?
Thanks.

I see what you are doing wrong.
Your steps are not correct.
In case I am missing something obvious, here are the steps I am following:
1. Set Import preferences to mp3
2. Select (highlight) a track in a playlist whose "kind" indicates AAC audio file.
3. With the track highlighted and holding down the option key, select from the menu Advanced/Convert to mp3...
And a dialog box pops up asking you for songs you want to add to iTunes and convert in one single step.
You already have the songs in iTunes.
Don't hold Option.
Just right click > Create MP3 version.
4. Make a new folder to theoretically receive the converted file. Select that folder.
This is incorrect. By holding Option and select Convert to MP3, iTunes is asking you for songs add to iTunes.
It tells you nothing was converted because you did not select any songs in the dialog box.
It does indeed addd an mp3 file to the same folder that the origianl track was in. But the mp3 file is not visible in iTunes. (I am working on an 89 track playlist
These songs will not get added to this playlist (unless it is a smart playlist and the rules will include the new files).
Do this...
Create a playlist with the songs you want to convert.
Select all these songs.
Right click > Create MP3 version.
Now there should be 89 new mp3 files.
Create a new smart playlist.
Match rule;
Kind is MPEG audio file
Sort by Date added.
This will show all MP3 files. The most recent 89 will be the MP3 files (copies from the playlist you made earlier0.

IPod compatibility for a car stereo system

Hello,
I am searching for car stereo system that has ipod compatability for my teacher's birthday. Do you have any auggestions? I'm kinda clueless on this stuff.

You need to be more specific. If you're just looking for some kind of interface to work with a radio he/she already has, then I would need to know what kind of radio it is, or if it is a factory radio, I would need to know Make, model and year of the vehicle to give you some ideas. If you are looking for a new radio, then most of your aftermarket radio manufacturers make iPod compatible radios that simply need to have a cable added and you can plug an iPod directly into the new radio and control it with the radio. This allows text to be shown on the radio display as well as charges the iPod. I currently work with Alpine and Kenwood and both of them offer a full speed interface. Full speed is kind of important as some of the older interfaces were slow and cumbersome to operate.
Give me a little more info. and I'm sure I can help you out.
Windows XP
Windows XP

3.1 upgrade confuses Alpine car stereo

I realize this is not the place for car stereo tech support, but the new iPod Touch 3.1 upgrade has had a weird side effect on my iPod-ready Alpine CDA-9883. Now, upon power-up, the display reads "NO SONG" and refuses to play, search or do anything until I physically unplug and re-plug the iPod.
In case I can't figure this out, is there a place to downgrade to the previous iPod software?

Cliff: Thanks, that seems to work.
I've noticed a couple of tracks' information will stay up on the display after the next song has started... no biggie, but it seems the Alpine doesn't like something about the file organization on the new OS 3.1.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could update the Alpine's OS with a file on a CD-R? Alpine, are you listening?

Car stereo - iPod hookup help

I just bought a new car and I'm wanting to put a new stereo in it. I want to make sure I get the right one for me. I want to be able to hook up my iPod to the stereo. But there's so many different choices like: 1.) aux outlet 2.) direct hook up (where you put the iPod directly into a iPod slot on the stereo) 3.) USB port...And I'm sure there are many others. Could someone help and really explain in detail all the different types of iPod hook ups for car stereos? And which do you recommend? Thank You!
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Here are the differences:
Aux - not digital sound, doesn't charge iPod, can't control iPod on the stereo.
USB - not only can use iPod, but other USB storage devices (thumb drive, portable hard drives). Usually gives you full control of the player on the unit and can charge the unit. Some units have a USB jack in the front of the unit.
iPod direct hook up - similar to USB but only for iPod. Only found from the back of any unit that needs to be run out from somewhere else.
Best thing to do with the units that do USB is take your iPod with you and plug them into the units that have front USB jacks and see the controls.
Keep in mind, this around the time that new models start to come out, so you may want to wait for a month or so to see the new units that will be available. A lot of the new units that will be coming out will be less expensive for USB and/or iPod controls.
Hope this helps.

BB Q10 is troublesome for my bluetooth car stereo due to too many contacts

In the past my various blackberrys have had no problem connecting via bluetooth to my car stereos or various hands free units. I do have 9,000+ contacts on my blackberry. Typically a car hands free unit will only take the fist few hundred or thousand. This has never bothered me as i dial manually from my backberry phone. However on the Q10 it seems to keep feeding contacts to my Kenwood car stereo, result being that my stereo displays continuously the message "downloading" over any other display - which is frustrating to say the least. I have spoken at length with Kenwood support, and they seem unable to help, but keep leading back to trying to find a way for the Q10 to connect on the bluetooth for voice / calls, but turn off sharing of contacts or data. The kenwood product does not have any control on this unfortunately. The Q10 also seems to support phone book auto synchronisation. I know others have had issues on the bluetooth car connection for the Q 10, but no one seem to have the same issue i do - of too many contacts, or not that i have seen. The phone works fine via the bluetooth connection, it is simply a pain that i cannot see my tracks or radio station on the stereo because it is "downloading". Does anyone have a solution for this issue from the blackberry side, if not is there likely to be one in the future? I have been impressed by the fact that blackberry have made other changes recently such as resolution size of photographs etc, wonder if we can expect other tweaks.

In Italy we have some Radio Sender which can be connected to the iPhone and send the music to the FM receiver.
They are practically useless. Even if you can tune in to find a range free from Radio sender it is stable only for 1 Mile. Then you get a strong radio over your music.
BT should be more stable but I do not believe it will give you a stronger signal compared to a direct cable connection.
You really need an amplifier.

HT1369 I have an Alpine car stereo with USB port for my iPod, most recently an error message apperared. Now I am having a problem connecting to iTunes via my computer, with windows 7. The screen on my iPod still shows the Alpine logo and "Ok to Disconne

Please help. My iPod froze up after playing in Alpine car stereo. The screen shows the "Alpine" logo and the message "ok to disconnect" I have tried to connect to my PC with little success. Windows 7 does not recognize the iPod with the error message "device error". I have run the iTunes Diagnostics but it still does not recognize device as "connected"

See my reply to "Transferring Tunes" . Suggestion: From what you said, it sounds like you could easily connect this iPod to a Windows computer. Go back to the computer where you have the 3600 songs. Get the files out of the folder where they reside and put them on the iPod as data (your iPod has to be set up for disc use. So you will then have your music on there as the iTunes music AND the data files. Take that iPod to your Mac. Drag those files from the Finder, where you will see them on your iPod, which will mount like an external disc. (It was set up for disc use). Drag those files to your iTunes Library in the Source List (on the left) in iTunes. You might have to drag them into some interim folder on your harddrive first, like the Music folder within your User.
eMac iPod2G iPodPhoto3G Shuffle Mac OS X (10.4.5) MacPlus,SE30,PB520,PB5300,iMacSE 10.3.9,PBG4 10.3.9

How do I fix the compatibility issue between my iPhone 4S with iOS 7 and my Pioneer car stereo? There was no problem with iOS 6, but now I get a message saying "this device is not compatible" and so I can't use Netflix for example. How do I fix it?

How do I fix the compatibility issue between my iPhone 4S with iOS 7 and my Pioneer car stereo? There was no problem with iOS 6, but now I get a message saying "this device is not compatible" and so I can't use Netflix for example. How do I fix it?

This is a typical response from the manufacturer. Did you try the fix that Lawrence mentioned. When Apple or any other phone manufacturer update phone software, they have the latest Bluetooth installed. It is usually the problem with the radio manufacturer that they devices are using the older Bluetooth protocols. You can try this support document http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3581 and see if anything there helps, but generally it requires the radio manufacturer to update their firmware.

Ios 4.2.1 won't connect to 'made for iPod' car stereo

I wish I'd NOT updated from ios 3.1.3. Then I could listen to music on my iPod (touch, 2nd gen, 8gb) in my car via the car stereo (Kenwood KDC-W6541U) USB port with not problems.
Ever since I updated to ios 4.0 (and 4.1 which didn't solve the problem either) whenever I plug my iPod the car stereo display flashes 'reading'. I've checked the Kenwood website, but there are no updates for the stereo.
I'd hoped the 4.2.1 update would've resolve the problem, but it didn't. The main reason I'd bought an iPod was to listen music in the car!
Recently I've not bought anything from iTunes, whats the point as I can't listen to it.
I'm getting disillusioned. I've tried plugging/unplugging, switching on/off, resetting, etc, etc with no success. Anyone got any ideas?
Apple, get this sorted, please! ios 3.1.3 worked fine.

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. i have a kenwood kvt-514 head unit. once i updated my ipod touch to v4.2.1 some songs didn't play, no album artwork was displayed, ect. i tried doing all of the above and nothing. hopefully apple is working this out.

Nano for Alpine Car Stereo

I have the Alpine KCA-4201 Interface Adapter For Ipod installed with the proper head unit. Ipods and Ipod mini's seem to work fine, but when I plug in my Nano the head unit reads the song files, and you can tell the song is playing on the head unit, but no sound comes out. This seems to happen ONLY with the Nano. Is there some sort of software update? Or does this Alpine unit not support the Nano? Anyone...??

I've had my nano for over three months now, and I'm beginning to realize that, after meeting a few other nano owners, each nano behaves differently, as if it has its own personality?
I had an iPod interface connected to my car stereo a month ago. My nano has no problems hooking up. When my friend plugs her nano in my car, it needs to be reset, every single time. She did a full restore, using the latest updater, and the same thing happens. To test things, I did a full restore on my nano, using the same updater, and no problems.
So, it appears that no two nanos are created equally...
Hopefully, someone may have an answer.
Gary

Car stereo for Vision M via U

I see a lot of car stereo's coming out with usb for mp3 players.
So does anyone know if any of them work with the Vision M?

If but some really lame reason you have a can play tapes xD
You could buy that stupid iPod Tape accesoroy :P

FM Range for Car Stereo

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