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How does one get a mp3 player to work through the car stereo

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KindofBlue
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17 Mar 2008, 5:43 pm

Hi:

I have a CD player in the car, and changing CDs while driving is annoying and more importantly ,not safe. I would like to get a portable mp3 player and get it to work through the car speakers. That would be the cheaper route. Installing a mp3 player into the car would be too expensive. Has anyone attached a portable mp3 player to their car, and if so, what kind of cables do I need. I'll have to check if there is even a port on the car Cd player to plug in a cable.

Thanks



mikebw
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17 Mar 2008, 6:07 pm

How To Play an iPod or Other Portable MP3 Player Through a Car Stereo


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spudnik
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18 Mar 2008, 1:03 am

KindofBlue wrote:
Hi:

I have a CD player in the car, and changing CDs while driving is annoying and more importantly ,not safe. I would like to get a portable mp3 player and get it to work through the car speakers. That would be the cheaper route. Installing a mp3 player into the car would be too expensive. Has anyone attached a portable mp3 player to their car, and if so, what kind of cables do I need. I'll have to check if there is even a port on the car Cd player to plug in a cable.

Thanks

You can use an FM transmitter that just plugs into your mp3 player, I have a one for my ipod. there is no need to rewire your cars CD player.



wsmac
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18 Mar 2008, 1:38 am

I have a couple of FM transmitters but it's difficult with my stereo to move to a particular channel unless the receiver picks up a signal.. even a weak one.

I also use a cassette adapter. It looks like a cassette tape and has a wire protruding from it.
You pop it into the tape player, then plug the wire into your mp3 player and listen away.

Either way works.


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Enigmatic_Oddity
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18 Mar 2008, 2:06 am

You have two options, a cassette adaptor and an FM transmitter. Cassette adaptors have better sound quality, although I would advise you go for a decent branded adaptor as the quality can vary. I would recommend one made by Sony, I've bought a cheaper one that sounded awful and another that wouldn't loop properly (basically it didn't work).

An FM transmitter uses a battery or has to have some other power source such as via your car's cigarette lighter via a special adaptor. If you decide to get one of these make sure you get one where you can set the frequency the signal is sent over. Some cheaper ones come with only one or a few preset frequencies, which may also be frequencies that radio shows in your area broadcast over.



Compiku
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18 Mar 2008, 1:43 pm

I don't really have anything new to add, but here goes:

  • If you have a newer car or car stereo, many of them include a "line in" jack that you can just plug your MP3 player right into, but this appears to be a fairly recent thing.
  • If your car has a tape player, you can use a cassette adapter--basically a tape that has a cord connecting to your player.
  • You can buy an FM transmitter. You plug your MP3 player into the transmitter and you can listen to it over any FM radio. Probably the best option if you don't have a line-in or a tape player.