Is it possible to listen to MP3s in your car like you can with an IPOD, or am I having a case of WISHFUL thinking? lol:D
Printable View
Is it possible to listen to MP3s in your car like you can with an IPOD, or am I having a case of WISHFUL thinking? lol:D
This may be what your looking for, best option I was able to find.
Yes you can, I ever leave my ipod @ home I have enough music on my bb to just plug it directly into my car system. If you have a cassette player in your car you can use a car kit and it sounds great. Your bb will still receive calls as usual. Hope this helps
ok, thanks....but it saids IPODS...can I use this with anyphone?
Thanks! But unfortunately I only have CD....so I guess I'm out of luck:(
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/pro...UW-f_mt-1.jpeg
I have a radio similar to this that has a USB connection on the front, so I just use the data cable and plug my BB to my radio and listen to commercial free music...ive even dropped my sirius acct since i listen to what I have on my BB so much.
BigRob, looks like I need to upgrade my radio to one with a usb connection. Thanks.
Well that's a very nice radio, but ummm lol that's not gonna help me:D
A) Does your current Radio support an iPOD?
.... If yes... A1) does it support it through the bottom of the ipod ?
.......... A2)or is it through the headphones jack?
If A1 is Yes..... That cable won't work with your Curve
If A2 is Yes..... Then you can plug that cable into the headphone jack
B) Is there an AUX input on your radio?
...... Yes - Plug a stereo to stereo cable from that port to your headphone jack
...... No? One final option...
Use a FM transmitter - This device plugs into your headphone jack and then broadcasts to your FM radio. Normally on something like 88.5 FM or something similar. Some are limited to 5 stations... some have many more. Choose the adapter with the most stations so you don't get interference from local stations.
lol you mean like the one I posted, but everyone ignored cause they saw the word IPOD in the description and didn't look at the part that said :p
any audio source including your PDA, MP3, CD, or cassette player; or connect it to your PC or laptop computer
No AUX my car is not old but but not new, so it dosen't have all the fancy smancy stuff, lol. Thank you for the advice!
Blaze, i'm sorry I wasn't ignoring you, I promise...is that the best one available? I was looking at the reviews and they didn't seem so hot!
i think any fm trans would work as long as it can work with a pda or has a 3.5mm jack to stick in the port....I use my cheap Fm trans sometimes when my CDS bore me to death..and thats when the BB comes in...
Actually I used to connect my FM transmitter for my iPod to my stereo in my truck but living and driving in this town it is difficult to maintain an empty station. I live in the boonies so when I'm out there it works great but when I get into the city I can hang up listening to it clearly.
I actually ended up getting the install kit put in to connect where my CD changer would go (this was done 2yrs ago.) It sounds way better. Until I can get a new vehicle w/ the built in jack!
so lets say we use the FM transmitter route... for one..ever since i got my car tinted i have lost significant amount of radio signal (antenna is on the rear window) would this affect the FM transmitter? since its trasnmitting from within the inside of the car at short distance? also, is the quality clear? or staticky will i be getting the full quality of a 256kbs mp3? im tired of burning cd's and i dont want to change my factory radio if i can slam 1,000 songs in the BB and play them without quality issues or any other issues then ill be golden and stay loyal to my BB :o
Not all these FM transmitters are created equal. Many of them have very weak transmit signals. A few of the better ones will allow you to go into the back of your radio and slip a little dongle between your radio and it's antenna. This is typically done by plugging the FM transmitter into the radio's antenna jack and then plug the antenna into that dongle. The dongle then acts as a pass through for the antenna. What this does in effect is allow the FM transmitter to broadcast directly into your radio. This signal will be the strongest. But it will require some mechanical ability to open up your dash and slip the radio out temporarily to be able to access the antenna jack.
EtherealLover also pointed out a very real problem with FM transmitters if you are in a larger city. It can be very difficult to find an open frequency in some locations. These transmitters tend to operate at both ends of the FM dial. Either in the 88-89 mhz spectrum or in 107-108 mhz. The lower end tends to be where a lot of Public Radio stations broadcast. Look for a FM transmitter that will allow you to broadcast over the entire FM band.
The higher quality FM transmitters tend to have both of these features. And tend to cost from $50-$75. The little $19.95 units don't.
Just to follow up on the new radio aspect of this issue. I can completely recommend Crutchfield: Car Audio, Home Theater, Speakers, Home Electronics . I have used this company for YEARS for replacement radios in my vehicles. The thing I like is you tell them the make, model & year of your vehicle and they will tell you exactly what to do to replace your factory radio. They include a new wiring harness to match your vehicle. And will give you screw by screw directions on how to open the dash of your vehicle to remove the factory radio. And their pricing is excellent. Customer service will walk you through any issues you may have installing your new music system. I'll never buy another high priced factory radio again. I can get more entertainment features for less money through Crutchfield. I don't have any association with them. I'm just a 15 year satisfied customer.
thats good to know, thanks for the helpful information =)
I know some XM radio users (couple co-workers) use their XM through a tunning band which i would think is the same as a Transmitter. I never heard the quality so i cant say how it is. But i will see what type of Transmitters are out there. i would hate to open up my BMW and start splicing wires =(
Those XM/Sirus headends work exactly like I was describing... they plug into the FM antenna jack of the radio.
FWIW, you shouldn't have to splice into anything in your car. I must have replaced 20 different factory radios with after market units. The vehicle specific wiring harness allows you to do all the splicing between the new radio and the harness before you ever take a screwdriver out to your car. The color coded diagrams are VERY simple and easy to understand. Once the harnes is mated to your new radio, you unplug the factory radio from the car's harness and plug your new radio in it's place. Most installations I have done have taken less than 30 minutes from the time I open the car door till I hear music playing. :)
And THAT'S the main reason I love Crutchfield. :)
I have an aux jack in my car for hooking up an ipod. What cable do I need in order to plug my BB 8300 into it?
Thanks
The 8300 has a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. The issue will be what your AUX jack is. Most commonly, if the jack is on the front of the radio, those are 3.5 mm as well. So you should be able to go to Radio Shack and pick up a male 3.5 mm Stereo to male 3.5 mm Stereo cable. Typically they have 3 foot, 5 foot and maybe even 10 foot long cables. Should run from 5-10 bucks.
If you radio has the AUX in the back, then that jack most likely is a dual RCA female jack; one for L & one for R. So in that case you will need a Stereo RCA male to male 3.5 mm Stereo cable. I would get at least a 6 foot version of this cable. 10 foot will be even better. You are going to have to snake this cable from the back of your radio out somewhere you can plug your curve into it. So you will need the extra length. These should run from 10-15 bucks at Radio Shack.
All of that is ONLY for Blackberry phones that have a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack like the 8300. The 8800 series Blackberry only has the 2.5 mm headphone jack. For those you will need the STANDARD AUDIO ADAPTOR FOR 8100/8800/8830 - ADA-BB8100M35FST adapter as well as the cable.
I used one of these transmitters (relativey cheapo one) with my IPOD for about a year before I got a new head unit with a direct connect.:D
I had mixed results with the reception. The most annoying occurrence was when I was following someone who apparently was using a transmitter for the kid's Sponge Bob DVD in the back seat, and for about 1/2 mile, that's all i could get. :eek:
Actually, if you have to crack open the dash, the BMWs are the BEST! When I was an automotive audio installer, we called them "Break My Window" - BMWs are often targets for thieves, because they often have high-end systems installed, and the dash is designed to swap radios and other in-dash components easily.
And now that I'm not in that business any more, I also recommend Crutchfield. Don't tell my former clients, but that's where I bought a LOT of my harnesses and mount kits.
In my opinion and experience piping your tunes through the FM radio is the least desireable was to do this. The transmitters are hit and miss, especially since the FCC started cracking down on the manufacturers because the were putiting out more signal than a Part 15 device is allowed to. The FM modulators (the devices that pipe the signal directly into the antena input) are better but not by much. Most FM radios don't have near the fidelity of your typical MP3 player, or even as good as that of a decent car stereo cassette player for that matter.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
oooh, i do have an AUX input.
Totally. I do it everyday.
I drive a BMW and all new BMWs have a jack connector to their stereo system. I picked up a male-to-male cord at Staples and plugged in my BlackBerry and was amazed at the great sound quality. I have about 100 MP3s on my Curve and enjoy just listening to the music I want to hear.
okay that guy's right about fm transmitters being iffy in Urban areas. I live in L.A. and 88.3 works great in most parts of the city, though. face it, we wouldn't be considering fm if we had usb or aux jacks! my Monster device works great with my old iPod. but an iPod is so two years ago. here is my plan... a car mount for the Berry. second, i already have a BlueAnt Bluetooth Portable Handsfree Supertooth II device clipped to my visor so i don't have wear a lame bt headset. now a Monster RadioPlay 300 Universal Full Spectrum FM Transmitter, which plugs into the cigarette lighter. and last a AUDIO ADAPTOR (3.5 MM MALE JACK TO 2.5 MM FEMALE ADAPTOR) from seidioonline.com. adaptors from other vendors don't always work with the BB. that'll give me handsfree BT calls, and make the BB my music player. so now i can drag and drop music in and out of my micro sd card on the bb, instead of the whole lame iTunes rigmarole, where they have their self-serving software between you and your music. oh yeah... good site for checking out media players is anythingbutipod.com. i've come to hate my iPod and Apple's business model... who'd of thunk it? BB does it all!