Finding a good spot to place your iPod in your car is probably the most difficult part of using an iPod in a car. You need the iPod within arm’s reach, but you don’t want it sliding around or falling off the dash. So, you want it close to you, but you want it held firmly too. Let’s see, what is designed to keep something in place, but needs to be close enough to reach? Yep, you got it. A cup holder. It is likely that you have one or more of these near your radio and within your arm’s reach. The odds are that one of these is the best place to keep your iPod while you are driving. You can just drop the iPod in a cup holder.
Depending on the size and configuration of the cup holder and the size of your iPod, this might work just fine. However, in most cases, you should put your iPod in a holder or case before doing this to protect it from scratches and to keep it from bouncing around.
If you want to have the ultimate in carrying an iPod in a car, check out the Belkin TuneDok Car Holder for iPod. This outstanding gadget holds your iPod securely, enables you to change its height for better visibility, has wire clips to keep your wires out of the way, and works in almost any type of cup holder. The $29.95 investment is well worth it if you use an iPod in your car regularly (or even infrequently).
If you want to use an iPod mini in your car, it is a bit more difficult to hold it securely. The cup holder method is still your best bet, but it is likely you will need to add something else to keep it from moving around.
You can also power and charge your iPod while you are on the road by obtaining and using an auto power adapter. These devices plug into the 12-volt power outlet that is available in all cars (in the old days, this used to be where the cigarette lighter was installed). There are many of these devices available, and as you learned earlier in this chapter, some connection kits include them.
You can also use an FM transmitter to broadcast your iPod’s output. Then, you use your car’s tuner to tune into the frequency you are broadcasting on. At that point, you can play your iPod and listen to its output over your car radio.
A couple of the connection kits described are especially useful because they include a cassette adapter. These devices look like a standard cassette, but they also have a wire coming from them that ends in a mini-jack. You connect this plug into the iPod’s Headphones port. You then insert the cassette into a standard cassette player that is installed in many cars and use the car stereo’s controls to play it.
When that is done, you can control the music from the iPod, just as if you were listening to it with headphones.
After you have installed or connected the components necessary to send your iPod’s output to a home receiver, listening to your iPod’s music is as simple as simple gets (however simple that is). On the receiver, select the iPod source, such as an Aux input or the FM tuner tuned to the frequency on which you are broadcasting your iPod’s output. Then use the iPod controls to play the music and use the receiver’s controls to set the volume level. Typically, you should leave the iPod’s volume set at a mid-range point when using it with a home receiver. That prevents any distortion that might occur when the iPod is using its maximum output level.
Using an iPod in this way is no different than other sources, such as a standard CD player.
You can use an FM transmitter to broadcast your iPod’s music on standard FM radio frequencies. Then, you can tune in the frequency on which you are broadcasting on any receiver, such as the tuner in your stereo system’s receiver, to listen to your music.
Choosing an FM Transmitter
In order to broadcast an iPod’s output over FM, you need an FM transmitter. For help choosing, configuring, and using an FM transmitter.
Broadcasting iPod Music
Depending on the type of FM transmitter you use, setting up an iPod and FM transmitter so you can tune in your iPod’s music requires from little to no work. You simply plug the transmitter into your iPod’s Headphones port and play your iPod. Then, you set the tuner you are going to use to listen to the same frequency over which you are broadcasting your iPod’s output.
Pros: Easy to use an iPod with any audio device that can receive FM; simple setup and use; no messy wires.
Cons: Subject to interference; it can be difficult to find an unused FM station in a metropolitan area.
The best way to connect an iPod to a home stereo is to first use a Mini-jack to RCA cable to connect a Dock to the stereo and then use the FireWire cable to connect the Dock to the power adapter. Then, you can connect the iPod to the stereo by simply placing it in the Dock. When connected, your iPod also charges, so you don’t have to worry about running out of battery power.
Pros: Easy setup; clean installation because you don’t have loose wires—once it’s set up, you only need to have the Dock exposed; easiest to use because you connect the iPod to the stereo by placing it in the Dock.
Cons: Relatively expensive because to be practical, you need to have a Dock and power adapter dedicated to this purpose, which means buying at least one more Dock and power adapter or purchasing Apple’s Connection Kit.
