[X4U] [SUMMARY] iTrip usage in the DFW metroplex area (long)

[Jon Marett]

Dare to take a Dremell to your iTrip? Check out the link to the 
schematics for the 'iTrip Amp'. A funny pick of an iPod FM bumper 
sticker.

jon

On Jul 28, 2004, at 9:27 PM, mac2 wrote:

> Hello,
>
> This is a summary of my experiences with my iTrip FM radio 
> transmitter.  Thanks to everyone who responded to me. My original 
> question to the list is at the bottom of this email.  A special thanks 
> to Kevin Mantooth who replied to me multiple times and also pointed me 
> to the forums at:
>
> http://www.ipodlounge.com
>
> where I discovered I was not alone with my iTrip problems.  Why 
> occasionally it would work OK, the transmitter could not be any 
> further than a foot away from my car radio.  I had one suggestion to 
> remove the antenna from my car.  That was not an acceptable solution.  
> I also spoke with a sales rep from my local Apple store at the Willow 
> Bend mall and discussed my problem.  Normally I get great service and 
> support from the Apple store.  In this case, the sales rep just looked 
> at me like I was an idiot and all but called me a liar.
>
> Anyway, after much Internet searching, I came across this link:
>
> http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/diy-itrip-amplifier-016317.php
>
> which describes the building an amplifier for my iTrip.  As I have an 
> high end head unit (factory) in my car that I had no intentions of 
> swapping it out, this appeared to be my only solution.  The first step 
> was to open up my iTrip.  As I had no idea what type of circuitry was 
> inside, I (very carefully) used a file to open it up.  There is just 1 
> flat circuit board inside.  If I had to open another one, I would go 
> after it with a Dremel tool.  I filed through the top and the bottom 
> welded seams.  The plastic case is ~2 mm thick.
>
> To get to the punchline, I did NOT end up building the amplifier.  In 
> my case, I discovered that the transmitter antenna, which is a piece 
> of copper cable roughly 4 cm long, was fully bent over and was 
> touching/shorting out on the internal circuit board, which in turn, 
> was causing my problems.
>
> After opening the case on the iTrip and discovering the short, I have 
> bent the transmitter antenna in 2 positions.  First, straight up.  In 
> this position I can now put my iPod any where in my vehicle, and it 
> works great.  No static, no bleed over.  I can take over just about 
> any station.  Second, is bending the antenna transmitter over, into 
> the top seam where I opened the iTrip.  In this position, 
> characteristics are similar to having the transmitter antenna straight 
> up, but during dead/silent time between songs, I have static.
>
> Its great to now have my iPod work in all my vehicles, and now, 
> quality wise, my iTrip works approximately as well as any incoming FM 
> radio station.  And it didn't cost me any additional money.  Also, I 
> believe that I am still legal.  I don't believe that it would have 
> been legal to use the amplifier, as shown in the url above.
>
> The only downside is that I have somewhat ruined the aesthetics of my 
> iTrip. And I now have a concern that If I keep moving the iTrip 
> transmitter antenna (copper wire) around, that I will break it off.
>
> I hope this summary can help someone else.  In addition to input from 
> list members, I spent a lot of time searching the Internet, as there 
> was not very much RTFM'ing that I could do from Griffin's web site, or 
> the documentation that shipped with the iTrip.
>
> Thank to everyone who replied to me, both online and off,
>
> Jerry K
>
> Also, if there is any interest, I can put together a short web page 
> documenting  my experiences with pictures of my iTrip's innards.
>
>
>
> mac2 wrote:
>> I have just purchased my first iPod (3rd gen), and with it, an iTrip 
>> FM transmitter as my vehicle only has a radio + CD player.  I 
>> live/work in the DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) metroplex area.  As I would 
>> suspect in any large urban area, there is not a lot of unused 
>> frequencies in the FM radio area.
>> Currently, I have found a couple of places to tune my iTrip to that 
>> works ok, but nothing exceptionally well.  Short of spending the 
>> night out in my car driving around to find the perfect place to tune 
>> my iTrip too, I am hoping for some feedback from DFW area iTrip users 
>> in hopes that I won't have to 'reinvent the wheel'.
>> TIA for any feedback,
>> Jerry K