How to play music from your iPhone / iPod through your car radio

Last time I checked, I had around 500 songs on my iPhone and that number keeps growing on everyday as I find new songs to add to my playlist. I must admit I always carry my smartphone everywhere I go because it has all the functionalities I use – calling, texting, camera, music, internet browser and other amazing apps. However the only caveat was I couldn’t listen to the songs when I was driving because my car has only a basic sound system which supports only CDs or radio.

It would be too much hassle to burn CDs of my favourite music every time, so I tried to look for an auxiliary input jack on my car stereo but unfortunately there was none. For those lucky to have this jack, you just need to buy an aux cable (costs around £1) and connect one end to your car stereo and the other end to your iPhone where you plug in the headphones. However for me it wasn’t looking promising and the thought of having to buy an expensive audio system for my car was very discouraging. I could choose between these 2 below:

• Sony CDX-GT565 (£80) – This would support music from MP3 files connected through a USB or those from an iPhone or iPod as well as the CD plus radio option.
• Pioneer Tuner with Front Aux-in (£55) – I could use the aux connection on this one but it also has a USB jack as well as 2 RCA Pre-Outs and direct control for iPod and iPhone.
  However I wanted a cheaper alternative and that’s when I stumbled upon the idea of a device called the FM Transmitter. The great thing about this gadget is that it’s very cheap; you can get one from as little as £4 from eBay. The kit consists of an FM Transmitter device, a car charger and a remote control.

Listening to your songs through the FM Transmitter

It’s very simple and here are the steps:

1. Plug the FM Transmitter into your iPhone / iPod dock connector.
2. Select a song or playlist to listen to.
3. Find a radio frequency on your car stereo which is not being used, that is, a radio station must not be broadcasting to that frequency.
4. Look at the digital display on the FM Transmitter and set the frequency the same as the one on your car stereo.
5. Enjoy!

As you can see, it’s very easy to use and you can also charge your iPhone by connecting one end of the car charger to the FM Transmitter and the other end in your car lighter. Rear passengers can use the remote control to skip songs if they want and this ensures the driver does not get distracted in operating the gadget in his attempt to keep the passengers entertained.

Some people have complained the sound quality is not good but in my experience, I find the quality not bad at all. Sometimes the sound gets muffled but that usually due to interference and the best way to tackle this is to find another frequency. Remember when driving from one place to another, what frequency was good to use initially may not still apply afterwards as other radio stations may be broadcasting to that particular frequency or something close to that.

All in all, I find this gadget excellent not only for the price but also because it’s convenient and does not get in the way of the driver as aux cables would do.