On Jul 12, 2004, at 12:10 PM, Scott Warren wrote: > I am interested in the range of the FM transmitter... let us know how > far it will go! While you are dancing around your house in glee, > grab a tape measure for at least the 1st lap... It's a fairly strong signal in all directions. I generally put the iPod with iTrip attached on the main level of a two-story house. The signal is strong enough to be picked up by even cheap radios on the second story and the basement. I once backed the car out of the garage while tuned to the iTrip in the house and got down the street about 50 feet before the signal crapped out. I tried the Belkin FM transmitter before the iTrip, but I like the iTrip because it's powered by the iPod. That drains the iPod battery faster, of course, but when I'm in the car, I have an adapter powering it and when I'm in the house, I generally leave it plugged in. The Belkin went through AAA batteries like crazy. Whenever the batteries would start to weaken, then so would the signal. Also, I got the low-end Belkin that only had four preset transmitting frequencies. Unfortunately, one of the towns I frequently drive through is "blessed" with an abundance of religious radio stations that crowd that end of the spectrum. Those radio stations would interfere with the iPod signal to the point of annoyance. The iTrip uses software to "tune" the signal. It comes with a CD that is used to download the FM frequencies to the iPod. They come in the form of a playlist, so you first have to import them to iTunes. To tune a different signal, you have to go to playlists, find the iTrip "playlist" and select the frequency you desire. Then hit "play" and "stop" while some lights on the iTrip flash. It usually takes me a couple of attempts to do it. That's one of the things I don't like about the iTrip. If you want to change frequencies while driving, then you're probably going to have a wreck and die. This necessitates pulling over and fiddling with it. Also, you have to stop whatever you're playing at the time and navigate back to the playlists. A friend has the high-end Belkin that has all of the FM frequencies and it has a button that you push that cycles UP through the spectrum in increments of two/tenths (89.3, 89.5, 89.7, etc.). He tells me that the problem with it, is that it only goes up until it gets to the end and then it starts at the bottom. And, it also uses AAA batteries like crazy. That's a fairly lengthy review of the FM adapters for iPods. Oh, by the way, lest anyone criticize this for being off topic--all but the iTrip may be used with an iBook to do the same thing. In fact, before I got my iPod, I traveled with my iBook and broadcast it to my car radio. I bought a DC to AC converter at Wal-Mart to power it on long trips. Since it plugs into the headphone jack on the iBook, if someone in the backseat is watching a DVD, you can "broadcast" the audio portion through the car radio.