Belkin TuneCast II FM Transmitter for MP3 Players (White)

• Product Type - FM Transmitter
• - Memorize up to 4 FM frequencies
• - Powers on and off automatically
• - Features low-battery LED indicator
• - Includes DC cable for optional battery-free operation - Only works with the Belkin Mobile Power Cord for 3G iPod

This thing has a range of about a foot, with really poor quality sound. It may be as good or better than other transmitters that are available, but it's still pretty lousy. Not really as good as standard FM, probably halfway between AM and FM, and interrupted by the occasional static. I modified it as described in the websites that describe how to do such things, but the sound is so crappy, that it's hardly worth the price. The modified range is about 50 feet.

I realize that it solves a problem of allowing an MP3 player to work in your car, and there aren't any good alternatives, but but this isn't going to make anyone really happy. It's just a barely passable solution. It does what it's supposed to, and if you modify it, it has much better range, but it's really not a great result.

UPDATE: I really wanted a product like this, so I bought the "whole house transmitter" right on Amazon and it works. Near FM quality sound, decent range (about 40 feet). It only broadcasts on one of 6 channels, but at least the quality is acceptable if you can find an open one, and it punches through weak stations so the channel doesn't really have to be completely clear. It's 3X the price, but that seems to be what it takes to get decent quality sound.

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I live in a fairly large metropolitan area and many of the lower FM frequencies that would be available in smaller towns are filled here. That being said, it's difficult to find a frequency to tune into with the Tunecast II. The second problem is sound quality...it's not terrible but it's less than cd-quality sound. Third is the Tunecast II's monstrous appetite for AAA batteries. On one car trip (a total of 6 hours of driving) I changed batteries twice. The secondary problem with this battery hog is that it loses its programmed memory when it loses battery power, forcing you to reprogram the frequencies over and over again. Don't waste your money, I'll be returning mine to the store.

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i purchased this product from the apple store for $40... the worst forty bucks i've ever spent! my friend and i were driving from houston to dallas, unfortunately my tape deck and cigarette lighter no longer works. i figured an 8 hour drive round trip with only the radio to listen to would be way too much torture so i dropped the forty bucks.

it took us at least ten minutes to find a station that it would play on without being interrupted... and every couple of hours we had to find a new station for it to play on. if the song playing on the nanowas too "soft" you would just hear staticor the weak signal being transmitted from the radio station. the ENTIRE time we used the transmitter with my nanowe had to keep moving both pieces aroundsort of like using bunny ears on a television set.

if i had been alone on this roadtripi most definately would have had a car accident trying to mess with the transmitter. it was frustrating enough just watching the passenger trying to mess around with it... not to mention having to move it around all the time to try and keep it from being staticy.

i haven't used the transmitter since that roadtripand don't plan on using it again. it's too much of a headache. i would never try and sell it on ebayi'd feel wayyyy too guilty about selling someone something that could potentially cause them to have a car accident. however i would very much like to have my forty bucks back!!!!

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After reading numerous reviews about the poor quality this Belkin wireless FM transmitter provides, I was amazed to find out how well this product works after a few minutes of finding the best configuration for me and my Corolla.

Admittedly, the process was frustrating at first, because I expected instant gratification--just tune the radio and Belkin to any "clear" frequency and get static-free reception. So the day I bought the Belkin, I turned it on and drove 70 miles on the highway, and really thought the Belkin was crap. I was getting terrible reception and constant static listening to my tunes on my iPod despite switching frequencies every few minutes. But before chucking the Belkin for another product, the next day I read some of the positive reviews and then sat in my car with the mind to try to get the Belkin to work for me.

After trying almost every frequency from 88.1 to 107.9, I found that 92.3 FM is the clearest frequency to use. I also pushed down my antenna, so that I would hopefully continue to get clear reception. Now after a week of commuting 45 minutes daily from Silver Spring, MD to Arlington, VA and driving through DC often, I can honestly say that I have never experienced any static using the Belkin tuned into 92.3. I seriously had expected some fuzz, as radio stations from Baltimore to Annapolis to Richmond have infiltrated just about every channel in the DC metro area.

I also drove from DC to Charleston, SC along I-95, and the Belkin worked fabulously. I kept the radio tuned to 92.3 the entire time and never had a problem. The only occasional static I received was from momentarily flipping the turn signal and from the batteries losing life. The standard equipped batteries lasted about 7 or 8 hours, but the Energizer batteries I popped in lasted over 12 hours.

I have experienced a couple downsides to the Belkin, which for me are relatively minor. When I insert new batteries, the Belkin loses the frequency I set in its memory. As I prefer only one frequency, this really isn't such a problem. It would be nice if the Belkin came with a power cord that connects to the cigarette lighter like some of the other wireless FM transmitters available.

As for the sound quality, if I raise the iPod volume to 100%, I hear static, but setting it at 90% and my car stereo at 50% has worked well. Sometimes I have to turn up the volume on my car stereos, but I don't know if that's because some of the tracks I downloaded are of poorer quality.

All in all, this was a terrific buy for me. Basically, I'm technically-challenged, so the fact that I had to spend a few minutes fiddling with the frequencies to get a perfectly static-free reception was more than okay with me. The auto on/off feature comes in handy, because that's one less button to press when I'm plugging in my radio faceplate and iPod. I definitely plan to buy a power cord so that I don't need to insert anymore batteries, but in the meantime, I'm satisfied with 12+ hours of battery life. My suggestion to you: Give it a try. Take a few minutes to figure out what works best for you (frequency, antenna, etc.). Hopefully you'll have the same positive experience as me.

I just purchased one from Fry's Electronics few days ago and it is the HP version of the TuneCast II. (Same spec. and the only difference is the HP packaging) It was on sale for only $14.99 prior the CA tax. I figure it's worth to try since it is so darn cheap! Here is the verdict based on my usage in Bay Area, California.

Well, I do hear lots of static just like people here who gave 1 or 2 stars in Amazon review no matter how I tune it to different frequency or FM channels. BUT... there is one easy way to make the Tunecast works the way it suppose to be and it is very easy.

Then I got back home and google the subject of "modify TuneCast II" and I found out some people has already found a way to improve the transmitter by adding a piece of speaker wire.

Well, instead of buying a new speaker wire which cost maybe another 5~10 bucks, I just decided to try out with my old mobile earplug. I cut out the earplug's connector and carefully remove the plastic shield to reveal the copper wires for approximately 1~2 inches then taped that copper metal wire into the TuneCast circuit board. Please follow the jiggybyte instruction. It is the first search result if you google "modify TuneCast II"

The bottom line: Do not buy this product if you are not willing to mod this tunecast because its original antenna is very weak for transmitting the signals. If you think you can mod it, then this TuneCast is made for you. I like mine very much after the modding.