Griffin Technology Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter with Auto Dock Connector Cable for iPod and iPhone (Silver/Black)

After many years of using this, I can say that it is one of the best little devices/accessories I have ever purchased!! I have used it absolutely everywhere, from big cities to small, and it always works!! Sure, there are times where there is some interference, such as when I'm driving through mountainous areas, but usually it only last for a short time. I frequently adjust it to find a radio station that works well. Locally, I have used the same radio station for the past few years. It still works well when I drive 70 miles out (which I do several times a month). We love road trips, having driving to about 35 states in the past few years, and it has worked well everywhere. I only wish they had one for my new iPhone. I am being forced to get a different one to use with that. But I will continue using this one with my iPod. The only negative I will say is over time and use the cord does eventually rip. As such, I have had to replace this twice. But it's still worth the money!! I can't imagine driving or going on all those wonderful road trips without this!!!

Overall this is a decent product with good sound quality and the smart scan feature is really nice. For some reason when I started using this it would work sometimes and not others. It would start charging my Ipod, but I couldn't get any sounds into my radio. After a good amount of trial and error I learned I needed to have my Ipod plugged into the transmitter, plug the transmitter into my car, and then turn my car on. When I didn't have it all connected first it usually would charge, but not transmit sounds. It was like the transmitter got confused if I connected my Ipod after starting my car. Since learning this trick it has worked really well and made my travel time much more pleasant!

I first tried my itrip in standard mode and the sound reminded me of a radio station I know broadcasts from two counties away; I could clearly hear the music, but it was not the clearest sound. Then, I found specific directions regarding an old itrip version from "Eric William" in Michigan (a link to his review is at the end of mine). If you modify his directions (as I did below) for the new version, then you can easily set it to international mode and the sound quality was nearly CD quality.1. Before buying the itrip, make sure your radio can tune lower than 88.1 (87.9 will work for the directions below).2. Buy it, then set it up in your car as described in the quick start guide (pretty easy - just plug everything in)3. After you have plugged everything in, hold down + and - at the same time for at least 10 seconds, until you see the LX/DX choice pass you by and then stop pushing + and - when you see the flashing "US". When you see the flashing "US", hit the + sign to select INTL instead. This just expands your signal options to go below 88.1 (88.1 is the lowest frequency upon which United States stations can broadcast). Give it a few seconds to go back to the normal screen and your setting is automatically saved.4. Manually tune your radio and the itrip to 87.9 (note: to manually tune itrip, just click the + or -). If you like the way 87.9 sounds, hold down "SmartScan" until you see P1 and then it is a preset. If 87.9 doesn't tickle your fancy, you could even try 87.7. 87.9 works best for me and the sound quality is markedly better than the 100.3 the SmartScan found automatically.Eric also suggested that you need to try to keep the transmitter as close to the radio as possible due to limited range. The manual and Eric also say you can switch to DX for stronger signal, but I left mine at LX (stereo) because the signal is great now that I went to international. I live in a very densely populated area with lots of radio stations and I am very happy with my purchase.I concur with Eric William who says that he is unsure why they do not include these directions in the manual (they would increase their level of satisfaction tenfold!) But, at least they helped me and might be able to help you too :)Note: if you have the older itrip (if it does not say "SmartScan" on your circular button), then refer to Eric's review for directions on how to put it in international mode: [...]

I bought this and use it with an ipod touch 2nd generation. It works great for me. I also live in a rural area and agree that the reception can be bad depending on the area you are at as I have taken it to various places in the NorthEast. However there are a couple things that other reviewers mentioned that may be an issue. There are also a couple of solutions. This device has a power on/off switch on the end of the plug. Your car may or may not power off the cig lighter each start and shut off. Check that it is turned on by either being red or yellow or green. Else with the speaker now built into the ipod you get the illusion that it is broadcasting, lots of static on the radio and yet you can hear something. Again, this may not be the case it is just something to look into if other solutions are not working. Here is a tip too. These transmitters come with US and International settings. What that means is in the US you can get 87.9 MHz to 107.9 MHz FM on the radio. Yet in Europe you can get 87.5MHz - 108MHz. Your car radio, like mine, may be able to tune in 87.7 but there is nothing on it here in the US. Hold down the plus and Minus buttons together for about 10 seconds and you will have the option to choose International or US settings. Choose International and tune it to 87.7 and you should not have an issue.I also looked at the roadtrip model and another family member has that unit. The only real issue I had with that is I like to keep my ipod in a case and it wouldn't fit in the mounting bracket with my case so I opted for this unit. The broadcast quality was the same with both and they both are set to the International settings as stated above, however it is a different key holding to enter the International settings.

If you're in the Los Angeles area, this transmitter works 99% perfectly in piping your iPhone/iPod music into your car stereo! While I can't confirm, I would think that this transmitter would work just as well in other crowded metropolitan areas.The trick is to follow what several of the other reviewers said in setting the Griffin iTrip into both DX and International mode. The reason to do the DX setting over the LX setting is because, as far as I've observed, the transmitter seems to transmit at more power when it is in DX mode. However, the frequency to use will depend on where you live in the area. The International mode is meant to unlock 87.9; but that may not work well because of interference from 88.1, which apparently has a powerful transmitter in Long Beach. The best way to find which frequency to use is to find the info online rather than use the SmartScan button. I'd recommend the frequency finder on Belkin's website (Search online for "Belkin Best FM Stations"). Personally, I commute daily between Irvine and Long Beach on the 405 freeway, and 88.7 has worked like a charm (since the 88.7 station has some weaker transmitters far in Pomona).I've already tried just about every transmitter out on the market (Belkin, Monster, Kensington, etc.) and only the Griffin, when set to DX mode at the least, actually works as intended. The sound quality is also amazing, but keep in mind that you'll probably need to tinker with the iPod/iPhone's EQ settings to get the best sound. (Try "Treble Booster")Final Note: If you have an iPhone, make sure you have the model 4056-TRPAUTO in order to have full iPhone functionality. There is another model (9501-TRIPCBL-2) that looks identical to this (and is five dollars cheaper on Amazon for non-iPhone owners *wink*), but will give you the "This accessory is not designed to work..." message when you use it.