Decent FM Transmitter, maximum price of 40 dollars

July 9, 2013 6:12 AM

I'd like to get an FM transmitter to go between my Samsung Galaxy Stellar playing Spotify and my car's radio. The last time I tried to buy one on Amazon it was total junk (this one) and provided terrible sound quality. I'd also like to move away from something that plugs in to the car's battery, since I only have one of those plugs, and I'd like to have it available to charge my phone or my GPS if necessary. My price range goes up to 40 dollars, but cheaper is better of course. I'd also prefer something from Amazon, but if you know of a brand sold at a large national chain, I'd fine with that too.
posted by codacorolla to Technology (10 answers total)

If you have an older car with a tape deck, I've found the cassette adapters (even the cheapies on eBay) to be a much better solution. We had a fairly pricey FM transmitter for my wife's old iPod, and it sucked.

Also on eBay, you can get adapters for your 12V power outlet that allow you to charge multiple devices at the same time. If you're tight on space, there are multiple-outlet USB adapters. Pick up one of those and some cheap aftermarket USB charging cables matched to your devices, and you're in business.
posted by jon1270 at 6:22 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

I have had this Coby adapter for about 6 months and it's worked well so far. I don't know what level of sound quality you're looking for, but I'm generally able to listen without any static, though I do have to turn the volume on the car radio up much higher than I do for standard radio stations. It plugs in to the car battery/cigarette lighter, but the socket setup is such that you can plug another device into the adapter and use both things at the same time.
posted by josyphine at 6:56 AM on July 9, 2013

Sorry, that adapter cost $17 when I bought it back in December but the price appears to have jumped waaay up.
posted by josyphine at 6:59 AM on July 9, 2013

Get one that allows you to use 87.5 and 87.7, which are not used in the US. It's often called international mode. I bought one on Amazon a few years ago and being able to use frequencies not used by any radio station in the US makes a huge difference, especially if you live in a major town. I don't remember the brand on the one I bought, but if you search Amazon it should be one of the most popular, and you'll see the undocumented instructions for getting into International mode in the most popular review for the product.

For the power outlet, you can get a splitter for a couple of bucks at Radio Shack that will allow you to plug two devices at once into the cigarette lighter / power outlet.
posted by COD at 7:27 AM on July 9, 2013

Depending on your car, you may have an aux-in port hidden behind the dash - it will cost as much to hire a car audio guy to run out an extension as it will to buy a nice FM x-mitter. Here's one anyway.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:38 AM on July 9, 2013

Response by poster: I'm asking because I have a non-modular head unit that I can't take out and replace with something better, but I'd be willing to pay a little bit to get an aux-in. Is there any way to tell if my car has one hidden away somewhere?
posted by codacorolla at 8:11 AM on July 9, 2013

The Jabra Cruiser 2 is $50 from Amazon. It is an FM transmitter that connects to audio devices via bluetooth, has a usb-rechargeable battery and works on any US FM frequency. It gives better sound than a cassette adaptor. But like all car FM transmitters, has limited power output (FCC regs) so cannot always punch through to my radio here in the SF Bay Area, where there seems to be a strong signal on nearly every frequency.
posted by zippy at 8:16 AM on July 9, 2013

I've had one of these for years - it's a tank, and produces great sound. Not only that, but you can use pretty much any FM frequency; you're not limited to just a few at the bottom of the band.

Think of it as a long-term investment. $55, but worth it IMHO
posted by DandyRandy at 8:34 AM on July 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

A second vote for the c crane. Plus, you can open it up and turn a potentiometer and boost the signal.

Things I like:
- takes regular batteries
- has good battery life
- can tune to any channel
- has an extendae antenna that can really improve the signal
- has an auto off if there's nothing playing through it

Things I don't like about it:
- power button is easy to hit if it's floating around loose
- it has it's own volume dial on the side that's easy to hit if it's floating around loose

To combat these items, I attached it to my dash with Velcro.
posted by reddot at 5:30 AM on July 10, 2013

Is there any way to tell if my car has one hidden away somewhere?

It depends on the make and model. I'd run the idea past a pro audio installer: they'd know for certain what your options are, and can quote you on how much it would cost. (I had one install a satellite antenna and power for a Sirius unit in my wife's car - the hookups at the dash look like they were installed at the factory, and only cost $50)
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:06 PM on July 11, 2013