[SMacTech]

After trying 3 different iTrips for the iPod, I would say to anyone considering purchasing one to ' STAY AWAY ' from it.
In each of the units I could not receive the signal after moving more than a foot away from the receiver. Even when sitting right next to the antenna, there is a weak signal. There is no other signal interfering with it either.
I am disappointed and am sending them all back for a refund.

[Shaddim]

Mine works perfectly at 6-8 ft from my stereo in my house, and within 5 ft of my stereo in my car. It produces crystal-clear sound.

Did you try different stations? Sometimes you have to change the station to get the best reception too.

[mrfoxxman]

The iTrip works like a charm for me....and i live in radio saturated california..... not sure what was going on with yours

[slider]

Don't know what you're talking about. Mine works great. Perhaps, if you have tried three different iTrips, it's your radio receiver. I couldn't be happier with mine.

[dampeoples]

I'm digging mine as well. I also retract all statements previously made by me that the iRock was an 'OK' product. I keep my iPod in the console between the seats of the Blazer, works great, the iRock wouldn'd stand a chance there.

[Dubloseven]

i will second the opinion to not buy it. i also live in "radio saturated" california, and it hardly works at all. the best i have gotten it to sound is like a really bad radio station with horrible sound, which it basically is. maybe some of them work, but mine is horrible!

[SMacTech]

Well I am glad to hear that the 3 I have tried, 1 from MacMall and 2 from Griffin are just no good. It is not as though I don't know what I am doing as I have a 1st class FCC license and all. But seriously, my car radio and home stereo can pickup stations just fine. I even have a clear channel, so interference is not the issue.
It is obviously a quality control issue and there are some defective units being distributed and I batted 3 for 3.

Dubloseven : turn the volume down on the iPod. If you turn the volume too high it produces intermodulation distortion of the FM signal and makes it spew garbage all over the FM band.

[GORDYmac]

In Atlanta, where there is no clear FM frequency, iTrip does fine hijacking the weaker ones. My iTrip is at least 5 feet away from the antenna built into my car's rear window. If I set it in the seat, it weakens, but I hardly ever do that. It is in a Phone mount attached to my windshield.

No problems here.

[JB72]

Originally posted by Dubloseven:
i will second the opinion to not buy it. i also live in "radio saturated" california, and it hardly works at all. the best i have gotten it to sound is like a really bad radio station with horrible sound, which it basically is. maybe some of them work, but mine is horrible!

That's been my experience as well so far.

[hefalumps]

Hi!

I bought an iTrip and live in the Baltimore/Washington area. It was working great on 87.9 (the default) up and down the I-95 corridor. Good reception, hardly any static. I went down to southwest Florida and it didn't perform as well, but still - not bad.

I did, however, have a problem with my iTrip cutting out for no apparent reason. I was riding up to Connecticut this past weekend when it just died, and never came back on.

So, I sent it back and received my replacement today. Driving down to DC on the same station, I noticed a lot of static interference. The 87.9 station is by far the clearest in the area, and the static noise level on the station hadn't changed - so I assume my new iTrip isn't performing as well as my old one. I found that no matter where in the car I put my iPod, I had to keep my hand on it just to keep the reception from fading in and out. Kinda ridiculous.

Now, I don't know anything about radio signals, but I've had to put my hand on antennas before to get a clearer signal on both TVs and radios. Does anyone have any ideas or have similar problems with their iTrip? I hate to send it back again - but I can't drive around with the iPod in my hand all the time - it's unsafe!!

Thanks for any input!

[SMacTech]

I can only imagine that the RF output of the iTrip varies greatly. A 10ft range in the 100mhz band would require so little power it is rediculous. They may have a problem with limiting the amount of power going into a very non-efficient antenna.

[hefalumps]

An update on my iTrip experience...

Well, I tried again on the 87.9 frequency - and had even more trouble as I headed up toward Baltimore. This is the exact same trip I made with my old iTrip (even the weather was similar!) and this time the reception was horrible. If I turned on the air conditioning, it made the reception even worse!

Getting fed up, I tried another frequency - 90.7. At first, this worked beautifully, and I thought maybe my problems were solved. But on the way home, I encountered more static problems and had to change back to 87.9.

Changing stations back and forth while driving is a bit of a pain. That, and it interrupts your playlist.

Short of the FCC "reserving" a radio frequency for uses of this manner, I'm not sure the general problems with a product like this will ever be solved.

Sigh... time to go price car stereos with mini-RCA inputs on the front...

[mc786030]

I just ordered my iTrip and I'm kinda scared after reading this thread (I haven't recieved it yet). So do I need to be near an antenna to use my iTrip?? On another note, where is the headphone port on the iTrip?? Thanks!

[SMacTech]

Originally posted by mc786030:
So do I need to be near an antenna to use my iTrip?? On another note, where is the headphone port on the iTrip?? Thanks!

The three iTrips I had would only work when placed within a foot of the antenna. There is no headphone port on the iTrip.

[mc786030]

Originally posted by SMacTech:
There is no headphone port on the iTrip.

so where do i plug my headphones in??

[billybob128]

quite simple mc786 you dont.
its not somethin that recieves radio for the iPod it sends the signal out so there is wirless listenin when at home or in the car and when there y would you need your headphones plugged in when you arent usin the iTrip just unplug it

[iBorg]

Originally posted by mc786030:
I just ordered my iTrip and I'm kinda scared after reading this thread (I haven't recieved it yet). So do I need to be near an antenna to use my iTrip?? On another note, where is the headphone port on the iTrip?? Thanks!

I wouldn't worry - I ordered 2 iTrips from MacMall, and they both work flawlessly, giving great feed to my car stereo, as well as home stereo. You DO have to do some "trial-and-error" to find which stations work best for you - pick a frequency that doesn't have a station feed, but you may have to try a couple to get the best reception without static sound. Also, turn the iPod's volume down to about half, and use your radio volume to control listening volume.

Certainly there will be defective units, as with any electronics devices, but everyone I've talked to who has one, loves it.

As high as demand is for this, you can always sell it on eBay if you're not happy. And the thing is only $35, so not alot of cost.

I'm VERY happy with the iTrip!



iBorg

[JasonBourne]

Make sure that the station your using is a non working station, even though this station got a weak signal in your radio it will interfere. Mine works just fine I change station all the time, if I travel the non-working station shows up. I work in the OR and no radio station is working inside and my iPod with iTrip works perfecly fine.

Originally posted by SMacTech:
After trying 3 different iTrips for the iPod, I would say to anyone considering purchasing one to ' STAY AWAY ' from it.
In each of the units I could not receive the signal after moving more than a foot away from the receiver. Even when sitting right next to the antenna, there is a weak signal. There is no other signal interfering with it either.
I am disappointed and am sending them all back for a refund.

[MilkmanDan]

Hey, I've been using the iTrip for several weeks throughout Minnesota and have not had any problems. The only thing I've noticed is the drain on battery life that the iTrip produces. No big deal.

[SMacTech]

Originally posted by JasonBourne:
Make sure that the station your using is a non working station, even though this station got a weak signal in your radio it will interfere.

As I stated, there is no intefering station on the frequency I am using, nada, nothing, and still these work only when within 1-2 feet of the radio.

[itai195]

I finally got my iTrip yesterday and have been using it in the SF Bay Area today with no problems. I'm not even using a very clear frequency (104.1, for those who are curious) and I get a good signal in my car with the ipod about 5-6 feet from my antenna. There is some quiet static in the background and a quiet, high pitched whine, so it's not ideal for quieter music. Curiously, I found that turning the volume up on the iPod and down on my stereo made the whine less noticeable, I'd have thought it would be the other way around. Either way, I'm very satisfied so far!

[jmatero]

First, you'll need the FM antenna connected to a home stereo (even a simple 'wire' will do) in order to hear the iTrip signal... without one attached you will only be able to stand a couple feet away on many home systems. I found this out this weekend. HOWEVER.... I had mine installed on my 1st gen 5gig ipod and my friend driving 2 car lengths BEHIND ME on the parkway could pick up my signal.. strange... but WOW!!!!

[SMacTech]

Since I started this thread, I wanted to end it on a better note.

My 4th iTrip finally would transmit across the room. Haven't tried it in my car, where I think I am going to have some problems.
The iTrip sounds good only when you turn the audio output level down, or it will distort and bleed into other channels.
This 4th one, however doesn't set the frequency correctly. I set it to 105.9 and it outputs on 106.5, go figure.
The signal is also very broad and can be heard on several adjacent channels, so ensure you have :
1) the volume about 50%
2) a clear channel
3) the correct center frequency tuned in.

It actually sounds good.

[GORDYmac]

Originally posted by mc786030:
so where do i plug my headphones in??

Dude, are you kidding us?

[SciFrog]

Apple didn't make a second headphone port at the bottom of the case? fvvfvffvfvvffv (sound of iPod flying though the window.