iTrip..... Good or Bad

[timbogray]

Please could anyone tell me a little more about the itrips and are they worth getting?

Cheers,

Tim

[mnewman]

I can only tell you my experience with an iTrip and a 15MB iPod.

Works poorly in my 1994 Toyota Paseo, the radio antenna of which is right above the driver's seat. No matter how we position the iPod the sound is only OK, not great. Works fine with the home stereo and in many other vehicles we've tried.

The method by which you change the broadcast frequency of the iTrip is slightly awkward. But, maybe I'm just a klutz. I often end up a few channels higher than my target frequency. Usually this doesn't matter unless you're in a locale crowded with stations.

If you get everything right, the performance is impressive. It was a real pleasure to have on the long drive from Mae Hong Son to Chiangmai.

One caveat: it does accelerate battery discharge significantly as it uses the iPod battery for power.

YMMV

[timbogray]

cool. many thanks. has anyone got any exp of using one in the uk as we have such a crowded band?

Tim

[dhough]

I have a 1st gen iPod and 3rd gen iPod, both with their respective iTrips. While play quality is better with wired connections, I wouldn't be without iTrip. I used iRock prior to iTrip and thought it was great but the dangling cord was a real hassle. I drive many different commercial vehicles and iTrip allows me to jump in and out with my music ready to go as long as there is a radio. I find that road noise distracts from quality anyway.

I did prefer a cassette adapter in my personal auto for long trips but when the cassette player bit the dust, iTrip came to the rescue. My next auto will have a stereo device with an audio input jack on the faceplate; until then, I'm happy with iTrip. BTW, I have found that the 97.7 frequency works best everywhere I have been. Seems that frequency has been reserved for low power transmitters.

[schneb]

I agree with dhough. I bought my iTrip MINI for a trip to Maui when I found out the rental car only had an AM/FM. It worked great! I also live 60 miles east of L.A. so I have alot of radio stations (y estaciones de radio) and I agree that the 90s tuning works the best. A little tricky learning how to program in the stations, but once in, it stays. The other thing to remember is that when you pause it, after a while it will go to standby resulting in a very loud white noise (no more RF lock). Could scare you silly if you aren't ready for it. I hear it is a battery hog, but that did not matter to me since I got a cigarette lighter adapter off of eBay. I also like the way it streamlined with the look of the MINI.

[CAlvarez]

We found it was complete junk and returned it.

[mnewman]

We found it was complete junk and returned it.That's amazing. Based on the posts here, yours was a fairly unique experience. Perhaps the unit you got was faulty?

Granted, it does have some usability flaws, but otherwise works as advertised. Certainly not "complete junk" in my experience.

[djhayn]

if i can find a good station it works pretty good but most of the time has to sit on the passenger side of the dashboard or there is static. on a 20 min ride to work i have to change stations or turn it off.

pretty weak signal at least in the one for the 4G.

[bizark]

When I first got my iTrip I had a lot of problems with it, however once you find a good position in the car it works great.

[rusto]

Loving mine: 3Gen 20gig iPod/'91 Civic/iTrip

[funkycfunkydo]

My iTrip works fine. Its not the best sound in the world but it's fairly convenient. What i do is just choose a station like 87.9 or something. Once you set it there, you don't have to reset it every time you use it.i have noticed a huge amount of bass but that can be fixed with the equalizer. a cassette deck probably has slightly better sound and is a bit more convenient but i don' think its as versitile as the iTrip and lets face it, the iTrip looks pretty cool. ;)

[silentrage]

I have it and it works fine. I have a 20gig 3rd gen iPod. I use it my car and in my home. I use 87.9 and the sound is great.

It took me awhile to get the hang of actually programming the station. Once I did, no problems. :)

[G4Man]

We bought the iTrip last March, same time we got the 15 Gig iPod. We've used it on a couple of long road trips. What can I tell you...

-The interface is slightly clunky, but is workable as long as someone other than the driver is fiddling with it.

-Sound is fine in our Jetta Wagon. For what the Monsoon stereo in the car cost it BETTER sound fine.

-We always run the pod plugged into a car charger so power draw is no issue.

-Enjoyment depends a lot on where you are. Driving across northern Ontario and then northern Minnesota a frequency would be useful for hours, and an alternate could always be found immediately. Near any larger city there was almost nowhere on the dial where a frequency would stay available for more than a few minutes. That includes the nether regions inhabited by NPR and Christian radio stations.

Bottom line: It's OK, but iTrip is just a stop-gap measure, just like those fake cassettes. Someday I"m going to find a modern car stereo that has a plug-in for my little white cigar case of music....

[Macaholic G5]

I've had a very pleasant experience with iTrip. Use one with my 2nd Gen 20GB iPod and one with my new 60GB iPod Photo. I too had an iRock at one point, but found it clumsy and cumbersome with only 4 stations to choose from. Made the switch to the iTrip and have been a very happy iPodder. Pod on! :)

[GregDunn]

I've only used a friend's unit on a trip with his 3G pod, and it left me with ambivalent feelings. Even though we were in an area with few radio stations, it seemed to have trouble delivering a strong signal to the car radio. The hotel room el cheapo radio could barely pick it up when the pod was lying on top of it. I suspect there is some unit-to-unit variability in these items. Also, as noted, the sound quality is average (tested with a quality receiver). It's not bad for the price, but I'd investigate alternatives -- and certainly make sure you can return it in case it doesn't work as you expect it to.

[schneb]

A little known secret with the iTrip (in my case the Mini) is that your transmission strength depends alot on your volume. Not enough volume and your RF signal is weak. Too much volume and you get distortion. Set at 75% gives you a pretty good balance. Do not set it at 11 as the guitarist in Spinal Tap would do.

[lowfokus]

I've only used a friend's unit on a trip with his 3G pod, and it left me with ambivalent feelings. Even though we were in an area with few radio stations, it seemed to have trouble delivering a strong signal to the car radio. The hotel room el cheapo radio could barely pick it up when the pod was lying on top of it. I suspect there is some unit-to-unit variability in these items. Also, as noted, the sound quality is average (tested with a quality receiver). It's not bad for the price, but I'd investigate alternatives -- and certainly make sure you can return it in case it doesn't work as you expect it to.
You cannot put the volume to max and get a good signal, nor can you have the volume too low...I found that about 80% works great, and living near NYC I have found two or three stations that work well. Sometimes there is a lot of static though, but if you dont have the cassette option, iPods with static are ALWAYS better than commercial radio with static. ;)

[fat elvis]

You should test this with your particular car if possible. In my '02 GTI it sucked, in my roommate's '85 Accord it was crystal clear...loved it.

[fotomat]

Works good for some thing the size Chapstick


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