Tips on Car and iPod

Using an iPod with a home or car stereo is easy to do and lets you listen to your iPod’s music in many situations. Perhaps the best way to do this is to use an FM transmitter so you can tune in your iPod’s music on your car radio or receiver’s tuner. If you do this, check out the following pointers:

• Don’t worry about other people being able to listen to your music when you use an FM transmitter. These devices have very limited range. If you are in a vehicle, someone might be able to pick up your iPod station if their vehicle is right next to yours; however, as soon as you separate even a few feet, they will lose the signal.
• Because you move around a lot when you drive, finding a good (meaning never used) FM frequency to use while you are on the road can be a challenge, especially if you are in a large metropolitan area. If a frequency isn’t being used directly, it still might suffer bleed over from stations on other frequencies. If you choose a frequency that is being used or has bleed over, your iPod’s music might be interrupted occasionally. For best results, select a station that you think is unused and listen to it for a while as you drive around. (Yes, you will feel kind of silly listening to static, but hey, it will help in the long run.)
• When you find a good candidate for unused frequency, set one of your radio’s buttons to that frequency so that you can easily return to it. If you use an FM transmitter in more than one car, you might want to set it on the radio in each one.
• Don’t be terribly surprised if you still have occasional static while using FM, even if you find a good unused station. Hopefully, you will be able to find a station where this is a rare occurrence, but it is likely to happen once in a while. If you can’t find a frequency/transmitter combination that works satisfactorily, try using wires or the cassette adapter method instead.
• Remember that as you move among different areas, there are different radio frequencies being used. You might have to use different frequencies in the different areas in which you drive.
• iPod can be a dangerous when you are driving, just be careful. Your life and your car is more valuable than your iPod. If you ignore this last advice, the all my condolences to you.