Home >> MP3 Player Accessories
Swiss Gear Universal FM transmitter | List Price: $34.99
|
Brand: Wenger
Binding: Electronics
Very good for the money! And not just for ipods! [Posted on 2007-10-04]
I had been looking for an FM transmitter for a while, as I live in a locale where my music tastes were being quite ignored (down in the south, specifically central GA, you can have country, rap, or stuff over 20 years old). I wanted something to be able to listen to while driving, specifically my mp3 player, and this Swiss Gear FM transmitter gets the job done. To the person who gave this a 3-star rating because this 'only works in the car', you should note that this is its purpose - to make mp3 players playable in the car. I'm not sure what other feats you were expecting from this.
As other reviewers have mentioned, this works on many mp3 players - not just ipods. I personally have a Creative Zen Jukebox Xtra Ultra Etc. and it worked just fine on this. I tried all 3 pre-programmed stations on the transmitter and my mp3 player worked on all of them, so I didn't have to bother with channel surfing, though it allows you to change stations if needed.
The only thing keeping me from giving this a 5-star rating was how high I needed to turn the volume on both my mp3 player and car stereo to get decent sound. This isn't really a problem for me, as I don't drive hours on end regularly, so my mp3 player's battery will survive several trips without needing recharging. Those who drive hours each day back and forth to work might have a dead mp3 player battery before they get home at the end of the day. Just something to be aware of.
Still, for the price of this transmitter compared to others, it's a great deal. Many others are more expensive and only work for certain mp3 player models, and some of those transmitters have poorer ratings.
Edit: I'm editing this review because the product doesn't last as long as I would hope. My first try with this product did well for about 4 months before sound started dulling out and finally went caput. At first I thought it was my car's sound system, but jiggling the transmitter would bring the sound back if the wire hit the right spot. Since I have cats, I thought maybe they had chewed on this, so I bought a second one since it was decently cheap. The same thing happened with the second one and I know cats aren't to blame for this because I kept the thing in the car all the time. Product doesn't last even 6 months, so my renewed rating would be 1.5 out of 5 stars.
Good Value for under $30 - needs an off switch [Posted on 2008-01-22]
I paid under $30 for this product which works well with my Creative ZEN:Vision M. Just make sure your mp3 player has a 3.5 mm jack (I wasn't sure, but found the info in my owner's manual.)
I gave it four rather than 5 stars because of two minor quibbles.
First, you have to turn the volume WAY up on both the radio and the player, which could be startling if you forget to turn the volume down again before you use your headphones.
Second, there is no off switch, so you have to unplug the transmitter from the car's cigarette lighter after you use it each time or risk running your battery down. You have to weigh this inconvenience against the price of other units.
I notice the price went up from $27 to $35 since I bought it a month ago for Christmas 2007.
Knowing what I know now, I might buy the same unit again anyway, because it does work well, but I might shell out the extra bucks for a unit that doesn't have the limitations noted above.
Decent device [Posted on 2008-04-14]
I have used this device in the city and out on the expressway. I have had good luck in both places. Every once in a while, the device will go static for a flash and then the music is back. When using the device for an hour on the drive to work downtown, it only went static for a second, did not have any problems in downtown Philadelphia. Good device for the price, love that I can use it with a CD player, tape recorder, or any device that has a headphone jack. Better then the Monster device that I had for my ipod which only worked on the ipod.
Difficult to program new stations [Posted on 2008-06-26]
I bought this based on reviews from others. The preprogramed stations don't work in my area (SF Bay Area). Depending on where I am in traveling, I need to change stations to reduce static. It is not easy to program or dial in a new station on the fly.
Useless item [Posted on 2008-12-01]
Lot's of static. Music is barely audible...
Too late to return - so it's just laying around :-(
NOT recommended.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}