Griffin iTrip Auto FM Transmitter and Auto Charger for iPod (Black) | 
| Brand: Griffin Technology
List Price: $69.99
Buy New: $18.99
You Save: $51.00 (73%)
New (58) Used (2) Refurbished (1) from $18.99
Rating:  448 reviews
Format: Cd
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: See Description
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 1.4 x 8
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: 9501-TRIPCBL
Model: 9501-TRIPCBL
UPC: 685387060573
EAN: 0685387095018
ASIN: B000BWACX2
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Combines a powerful FM transmitter with an integrated charger in order to recharge your iPod | | • | Transmits clear music through your car stereo | | • | Features selectable LX and DX modes for best-quality audio under real-world conditions, best-possible RF technology, and Griffin's world-class industrial design | | • | Can operate anywhere from the 88.1 to 107.9 MHz frequencies; range of 10 to 30 feet | | • | Compatibility: iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G; iPod mini; iPod 3G, 4G, 5G, 5.5G, 6G; iPod touch |
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Product Description
The iTrip was specially made for the iPod, to make your music a lot more enjoyable and convenient. Just connector the iTrip FM transmitter to your iPod and you'll play your favorite music through any FM radio. Listen on on you car's FM radio, or anywhere else the mood strikes you. The elegant design matches the top of your iPod perfectly. Frequency response - 50 Hz to 15 KHz Operating range - 10-30 feet, depending on the quality of the FM radio Receiver (limited by FCC regulations) FCC compliant
Amazon.com Product Description
The Griffin 9501-TRIPCB iTrip Auto FM Transmitter and Auto Charger for iPod combines Griffin's renowned FM transmitter technology with an integrated charger. Designed specifically for use in the car, the iTrip Auto powerfully transmits clear music from your iPod through your car stereo, while the large, easy-to-read backlit LCD screen affords quick, precise station selection and status at a glance. The Griffin 9501-TRIPCB is the most versatile iTrip to date, accommodating every dock connector iPod, including the iPod Nano and 5th-generation iPods videos. The iTrip Auto uses the audio line out from the iPod's dock connector and optimizes the output volume, allowing speaker volume to be controlled solely from the car stereo controls, without having to adjust the iPod's volume level. This unit features all the innovations of its predecessors, including selectable LX and DX modes for best-quality audio under real-world conditions, best-possible RF technology, and Griffin's world-class industrial design. The Griffin iTrip Auto is constructed with a built-in FM stereo antenna and a high-stability crystal oscillator with phase-lock loop control. This unit can operate anywhere from the 88.1 to 107.9 MHz frequencies, with a frequency response ranging from 50 Hz to 15 KHz, at a range from 10 to 30 feet. The 9501-TRIPCB is powered by an included 12-volt cigarette lighter power adapter that features an easily replaceable fuse through which it also charges your iPod. This unit comes in black, weighs 0.6 ounces, measures 0.49 x 2.84 inches (W x D) with a total length of 33.47 inches including the cord, and it's backed by a manufacturer's limited 1-year warranty. iPod Compatibility
iPod nano 1G, iPod nano 2G, iPod mini, iPod 3G, iPod 4G (Clickwheel), iPod Color, iPod 5G/5.5G Video
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| Customer Reviews: Read 443 more reviews...
Best Griffin FM transmitter to date February 27, 2006
Josh Lehan (Castro Valley, CA USA)
377 out of 378 found this review helpful
Griffin has made a ton of these little FM transmitters for various generations of iPod, and this is the best one to date. It is still not perfect, though.
Using a FM transmitter is the method of last resort. If your car has a tape deck, use a cassette adapter! The very newest car stereos have Bluetooth or even a line-in jack, even better. Save yourself a lot of frustration by using a direct connection, if possible. If you're considering a FM transmitter for home use, perhaps to connect to your stereo, don't. You'll be much happier with a real docking station.
That said, Griffin has made 3 huge improvements over their previous FM transmitters:
1) Plugs into the dock connector! No more volume hassles! The dock connector has a constant line-out volume level, and isn't affected by the volume dial setting of your iPod.
2) Instant on when car started, and auto-pause of iPod when car stopped. Other Griffin adapters had the nasty problem of needing to "warm up" before they would start working, but it seems Griffin has finally solved the problem here. And, as a nice bonus, it automatically pauses your iPod when powered off, so it remembers your place for next time!
3) Charges your iPod while in use! Another advantage of the dock connector is that it can charge your iPod from the unit's cigarette lighter connection. A real disadvantage of earlier FM transmitters is that they drained your iPod's battery like crazy, but this is solved by using your car's power instead.
The flipside of this is that the connector is wired to the LCD unit and then to the cigarette lighter plug. It isn't a standalone wireless unit. If you like to set up your iPod somewhere in your car where wires would get in the way, this could be a problem.
Now, some disadvantages:
1) FM transmitter power is very, very weak. It's a game of inches. Griffin claims they are hamstrung by FCC regulations, but even legal Part 15 devices are allowed to transmit for a few dozen feet or so! Griffin really needs to crank up the power to the maximum allowed by law. Now that they are powered by cigarette lighter power, instead of iPod battery power, there's no excuse anymore to use an underpowered transmitter.
2) Transmitted volume is very, very soft. You have to crank up your car radio up all the way, causing hiss in the background, and blown speakers if you forget to turn it back down before changing the radio channel! Griffin doesn't modulate the FM signal enough. Compared to other stations on the FM dial, the iPod volume is much too low.
This is an especially bad double whammy: not only is the transmitted FM signal too weak, it's also too quiet!
Don't forget about the 87.9 frequency. Contrary to Griffin's belief, this is still a legal frequency in the USA, even though it's right on the edge of the dial. Griffin doesn't allow you to use this frequency, though, unless you put the unit in "International" mode! So, remember to do this first, before you throw away the manual and forget how to do it. 87.9 is clear in many areas that don't have a TV channel 6, so this is usually the best choice for these FM transmitters!
Now, if only Griffin would boost their radio power, they'd have the perfect device....
 good value; works as advertised July 9, 2006
J.A. (Mountain View, CA)
73 out of 75 found this review helpful
This device works exactly as advertised: it charges your iPod and broadcasts the audio on an FM frequency at low power. If you have no other way to use your iPod in your car (cassette adapter, line in, etc) this is a good choice, especially at Amazon's price. The sound quality isn't fabulous, but it's as good as normal FM reception.
However, you need to be aware that this product works inconsistently between cars. I've had good luck with the iTrip in some cars (mostly American made rental cars), but couldn't get it to work in some other cars (like my Infiniti). Before you buy, I suggest that you take a look at the Griffin Technology web site to see if other users have gotten this to work in your car.
 Average for the type October 27, 2006
Chris Hann (Alameda, CA United States)
59 out of 59 found this review helpful
This is one of three Griffin iTrip adapters I have, it is probably the most convenient to use. The FCC requirements on these things limit the transmit power to something that is barely able to reach the car radio, but if you don't set this one to the higher power mode you'll be lucky to hear anything at all. I find more variation between vehicles than you might expect, I travel quite a bit and have used this in rental cars all over the US, Canada and the UK. It is especially useful that this can tune by 0.1MHz intervals which helps find a vacant frequency in other countries (where these may be illegal, as they are in the UK). Sound quality is usually OK, but if you find the noise level increasing you are probably conflicting with a local FM station and it's time to retune. The cassette interfaces provide much cleaner audio, but with more wires and sometimes with mechanical noise. This is in my travel kit now and I don't think there is a reasonable alternative.
Missed it by that much... July 30, 2006
S. Nigl (Anchorage, AK USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
The Griffin iTrip Auto is car ipod charger with an FM transmitter built in. It allows you to listen to your iPod via the car radio while the iPod recharges.
I have been a great fan of Griffin's products. I believe that they are generally engineered well and the consumer gets a good quality product for a reasonable price. With that said, I was a bit disappointed with the iTrip Auto. I have been using a low-end FM transmitter (Belkin Tunecast II) for most of a year now, and use it as a baseline for comparison against Griffin's offering.
The Belkin product also plugs into a cigarette lighter for power, but does not charge the iPod. The Belkin gets signal via the headphone jack on the iPod. By contrast, the iTrip connects via an iPod dock connector and provides both power and signal connections simultaneously. The Belkin's power cable is an accessory and can derive power from two internal AAA batteries. The iTrip must be plugged into the car to work. The only benefit to the Belkin on this point is that my car's cigarette lighter is not powered when the engine is off or the key is on 'radio only'. The ignition must be at 'on'. The Belkin still provides FM transmitter function with the engine off. The AAA batteries also remember which station freq. is being used, when the unit is off. One of my first concerns about the iTrip was to reset the freq. every time I use it. Not so. It seems to have non-volitile memory for this. Once it was initially programmed, it seems to remember the station.
The iTrip's controls are simple. Plug one end into your car; the other into the iPod. There is a +/- button and a Select button, and a lit LCD display showing frequency. Simple tune to a station that is not being used in your area, and hit 'play' on the iPod. It's that simple. Griffin's build quality is of the usual high standards. The front of the iTrip control is a glossy plastic that matches my black iPod. The back is rubberized. As far as fit-and-finish, my only complaint is that the keys rattle when the unit is shaken. It makes the unit feel cheap, but didn't effect functionality.
In use, I find the iTrip's sound to be a bit crisp and lacking in base as compared to the Belkin. And the iTrip seems to pick up static 'pop's' and ignition noise when I use certain accessories (e.g. - windshield wipers). I could blame this on poor shielding in my car's wiring, but the Belkin doesn't pick any of this noise up. Just the music. A plus that I noticed with the iTrip is that the iPod's volume control is disabled. It seems to transmit signal to my car radio at one pre-set level and I use the car deck's volume knob when adjusting level. By contrast, the belkin unit (being plugged into the ipod's headphone jack) IS susceptible to the iPod's volume settings and the iPod must be set nearly to max in order for the Belkin to 'know' that there is signal. The Belkin has auto-on when signal is detected and auto-off after 60 sec of inactivity (after which I hear blasting loud static from a car radio with no station playing). The iTrip broadcasts quiet dead-air as long as it's plugged in. Nice!
My overall impression? Really too bad about the sound quality. I like it over the Belkin in almost every other respect. I will continue to test it in other vehicles; but listening to your audio is the REASON for having an FM transmitter, so the lack of sound quality weighs heavily in my score.
Works perfect! May 21, 2007
D. Bezboruah (Los Angeles, CA United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This iPod transmitter works perfectly! I used to have a Belkin TuneCast for my old car, which worked ok although it did have a bit static here and there. Using this one, I've gotten a clear signal and no static at all! The volume is very loud; I've only had to set my iPod's volume to half. The bass also comes out well, although the treble is a bit low. But it's pretty good for an FM transmitter.
Btw, I tested this on a 2007 Volvo S40, 2000 Toyota Avalon, and a 2000 Chevy Cavalier. I used it on the frequency of 87.9 in the Washington D.C. Metro area. Worked great on all the cars. I highly recommend this!
EDIT:
One of my friends was able to improve upon the issue of the low treble: Just fool around with the iPod's equalizer. We found the "Treble Booster" setting to work fine.
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