FM Transmitter w/ BT (optional) - Galaxy S I9000 Accessories

Hey everyone. I have tried a few FM transmitters with my SGS so I can listen to music/podcasts in the car and they all suck. Seems like the only ones available to me are on frequencies that are in use. Either that or they are full of static or just sound horrible.
Can anyone point me to a good FM transmitter that can pair to my phone using bluetooth? If not bluetooth a simple headphone plug would be fine.
Sorry if this has been asked before.

The one from this thread seems to look ok, connected via headphone jack. Has adjustable frequency, and charging port for your device.
I'm not sure about the quality of it though. Best to ask the op.

I tried three different brands. None worked well. My car radio antenna is in the rear window glass. I checked alternative installed devices that hook directly into the car antenna. I went to Best Buy to see what installation would cost. They said it wouldn't work well. Installation was too much. So I'm still using a tape casette adaptor. I have to turn the Android volume high to keep thr AMS from skipping and reversing. I gave away one of the FM adaptors to someone working in a third world country with only a few FM stations. She lovrs it.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I bought the Motorola T505 a while back and love it! Battery life, sound quality, specs, all great!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

Related

FM transmitter

Anyone got a good one for N1?
I want to listen to music while driving. I have been using FM transmitter for my Tilt2 and iPod touch. Wondering if there's a good one for N1 too.
MY car stereo doesn't have BT so that's not an option for me :/
Unfortunately there is no FM radio yet for Nexus One as it's not supported
Anything that plugs in to your 3.5 mm jack will work just fine, differing quality depending upon price. There are no limitations when it comes to external devices, meaning you can plug anything into your 3.5 mm jack so long as the dongle is not expected to be managed by the device.
i'm still holding out hope that the chip inside our nexus that is capable of transmmiting and receiving gets enabled by update eventually
wesbalmer said:
Anything that plugs in to your 3.5 mm jack will work just fine, differing quality depending upon price. There are no limitations when it comes to external devices, meaning you can plug anything into your 3.5 mm jack so long as the dongle is not expected to be managed by the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had bad experiences with fm transmitters that take audio from the headphone jack...so I would prefer something else
malicious85 said:
i'm still holding out hope that the chip inside our nexus that is capable of transmmiting and receiving gets enabled by update eventually
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what I'm hoping for
I just use a universal FM transmitter that you plug in the 3.5mm jack, works like a charm. Tried a couple of cheap ones first, but they had seriously lousy range, so I decided to kick it up a notch and bought a Whole House FM transmitter. Works over 50m/150feet away and sound quality is very good, it does cost a bit more than the cheap and lousy ones though. Use it in my car all the time since it doesn't have BT or AUX input.
edit:
Just to add a couple of things which I like about it: It runs on batteries/car charger/normal outlet and is one of the first products I've ever owned that works as good as advertised. I was quite shocked
Motorokr T505
Works awesome.
I bought a cheap FM transmitter to use while I was in Italy, as my rental didn't have the Aux Input functionality that I've grown so used to... Of course, it sounded like ****, so I fixed it. The antenna wire ran the length of the audio input cable... I cut that ***** open and spliced about 12 feet of solid-core wire pulled from a bit of CAT5 onto it, wrapped that around the interior of the car. Works damn well - so well, that I continued to use it after returning home just because it was easier to use than the Aux Input on my head unit :-D
http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Syst...2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1276618259&sr=1-2
i bought this and it works flawlessly
GldRush98 said:
Motorokr T505
Works awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks promising...I need to save some bucks for it though
codesplice said:
I bought a cheap FM transmitter to use while I was in Italy, as my rental didn't have the Aux Input functionality that I've grown so used to... Of course, it sounded like ****, so I fixed it. The antenna wire ran the length of the audio input cable... I cut that ***** open and spliced about 12 feet of solid-core wire pulled from a bit of CAT5 onto it, wrapped that around the interior of the car. Works damn well - so well, that I continued to use it after returning home just because it was easier to use than the Aux Input on my head unit :-D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow Sadly Im not that of a mechanical guy
Zephyron said:
http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Syst...2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1276618259&sr=1-2
i bought this and it works flawlessly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up
I've been using some Belkin one for a few years.. Full FM band in half-channel increments, and pretty easy to modify.. I added a 3.5mm jack to the thing so I can plug in an antenna to it easily. There's also some modification to increase the output, but I did not do that.
And yeah, they still suck.. SNR is low, volume is low, easy to clip the audio going into the transmitter even though it needs the volume almost all the way up because it's not very sensitive, etc...
And you STILL have to change channels on trips, because they're too weak to overpower other stations. This is especially fun on mine since I accidentally broke the LCD adding the antenna wire a few years ago, so I gotta tune the thing blindly.
Aux input is really the only way to have any quality audio... Why this isn't a standard on ALL decks, OEM included, is beyond me. I could buy a $80 CD attachment for my radio which is intended to use with the optional CD player which installs in the trunk but the input is just Aux-in so you can use it with mp3 players etc, but $80 + taking out the radio and installing this thing in a car I don't plan on keeping much longer doesn't seem like a good idea.
I'll be stomping puppies if my next car doesn't have Aux-in though.
I've been using some Belkin one for a few years.. Full FM band in half-channel increments, and pretty easy to modify.. I added a 3.5mm jack to the thing so I can plug in an antenna to it easily. There's also some modification to increase the output, but I did not do that.
And yeah, they still suck.. SNR is low, volume is low, easy to clip the audio going into the transmitter even though it needs the volume almost all the way up because it's not very sensitive, etc...
And you STILL have to change channels on trips, because they're too weak to overpower other stations. This is especially fun on mine since I accidentally broke the LCD adding the antenna wire a few years ago, so I gotta tune the thing blindly.
Aux input is really the only way to have any quality audio... Why this isn't a standard on ALL decks, OEM included, is beyond me. I could buy a $80 CD attachment for my radio which is intended to use with the optional CD player which installs in the trunk but the input is just Aux-in so you can use it with mp3 players etc, but $80 + taking out the radio and installing this thing in a car I don't plan on keeping much longer doesn't seem like a good idea.
I'll be stomping puppies if my next car doesn't have Aux-in though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should've tried the Whole House FM transmitter I mentioned. You can keep it on the same channel all the time as it easily overpowers other stations. The sound quality is also good.

Best car dock for nexus one ?

Hello,
I know Google made a care dock, in fact I have the Desktop Dock.
But I read a couple of reviews and the results were not satisfying.
So I need your advice !
What is the best Care Dock for the Nexus One ?
I want to use it as GPS/phone but not media player.
Best regards,
rXp>!<
None. Theres only one that's from google or htc. Same thing anyways.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I have the google car dock (and the Google desk dock), and it is superb. That's what you want.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
rXpCH said:
Hello,
I know Google made a care dock, in fact I have the Desktop Dock.
But I read a couple of reviews and the results were not satisfying.
So I need your advice !
What is the best Care Dock for the Nexus One ?
I want to use it as GPS/phone but not media player.
Best regards,
rXp>!<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Nexus Dock that was sold by Google. It's great for GPS and I have to say it is OK at best for hands free phone. Maybe in a quieter car (Chevy Blazer here) but I have a hard time hearing people even at maximum volume. My car is a little loud though so maybe someone else may have better input for that issue I have. It seems with some of the older roms on my phone I had a few connection issues(random bluetooth connection drops) but on some of the newer roms I haven't had that problem at all. As far as a media player.. meh If you like listening to your music through a CB radio speaker then this is the dock for you! It is very well made as far as construction. I've had mine almost a year now and it still works with no issues. In all reality the music player doesn't sound terrible through the speaker but it doesn't sound great, the phone feature is OK and navigation is great. It is a good product but just like any other product it is not perfect.
flappjaxxx said:
I have the Nexus Dock that was sold by Google. It's great for GPS and I have to say it is OK at best for hands free phone. Maybe in a quieter car (Chevy Blazer here) but I have a hard time hearing people even at maximum volume. My car is a little loud though so maybe someone else may have better input for that issue I have. It seems with some of the older roms on my phone I had a few connection issues(random bluetooth connection drops) but on some of the newer roms I haven't had that problem at all. As far as a media player.. meh If you like listening to your music through a CB radio speaker then this is the dock for you! It is very well made as far as construction. I've had mine almost a year now and it still works with no issues. In all reality the music player doesn't sound terrible through the speaker but it doesn't sound great, the phone feature is OK and navigation is great. It is a good product but just like any other product it is not perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct me if I'm wrong (I don't have a car dock, and the htc website is out of stock now),
but can't you set your phone to use bluetooth A2DP to connect to a bluetooth capable car stereo automatically when you put it in the dock? Or is that the situation you have where you talk about bad audio quality?
Also, can't you get car stereos/kits that give you handsfree speakerphone using your stereo and an external mic?
For me, the dock is little better than a car charger if it doesn't auto connect to such newfangled wizardry to solve these problems automagically (the dock does actually CHARGE the phone too, right?).
tonyx3 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong (I don't have a car dock, and the htc website is out of stock now),
but can't you set your phone to use bluetooth A2DP to connect to a bluetooth capable car stereo automatically when you put it in the dock? Or is that the situation you have where you talk about bad audio quality?
Also, can't you get car stereos/kits that give you handsfree speakerphone using your stereo and an external mic?
For me, the dock is little better than a car charger if it doesn't auto connect to such newfangled wizardry to solve these problems automagically (the dock does actually CHARGE the phone too, right?).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The dock's built-in speaker has not so great audio. You can connect it to a bluetooth capable stereo, I just happen to not have one of those. I am sure there are kits out there that do all of the above. Yes it does charge the phone as well. The phone connects to the dock's speaker via Bluetooth and that's what I meant about the previous random bluetooth drops. For what I use it for, mostly navigation and charging it serves it's purpose.
flappjaxxx said:
The dock's built-in speaker has not so great audio. You can connect it to a bluetooth capable stereo, I just happen to not have one of those. I am sure there are kits out there that do all of the above. Yes it does charge the phone as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, the car dock has an extra built in speaker? I kinda assumed you were talking about audio coming from the phone's built in speaker. I see. Thanks for the heads up, in any case.
Arkon has good universal car mounts. The good thing is that it is future proof assuming that phones don't get super wide.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
gonna try out one of these
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-car-windshield-swivel-mount-for-htc-g5-39882
please know that if you order it, it ships from China. With all the Chinese New Year festivities going on there it will probably take 4 weeks to get here.
From Amazon
I bought this dock: http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-K3...h-Compatible/dp/B003Y3BEV4/ref=dp_ob_title_ce
And although is supposedly for the iPhone, it works great with the N1. I modded the base, so it will hold the tip of this charger: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S5Q9CA/ref=oss_product?ie=UTF8&redirect=true
The dock you can either put it in the windshield or in one of the vents. I put mine in a vent, because it is closer to my hand and I don't have to reach to the windshield to operate the phone, when I am using the car home.
I hope that this info helps.
I've had no issues with the Google car dock.
Happily rockin' the Google Car Dock as well. I love the docks with this phone!
I used this tutorial
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=744728&highlight=diy
did the job nice! and cheap too!
I have been looking for a dock and the google dock is no longer being sold by google and is only available on ebayor amazon, there is a buy now on ebay for $79, and it costs $185 on amazon! It looks really nice though, it original sold for $55, so I may shell out the premium to get the only really nice dock i have seen
If I didn't already have the google car dock, I'd probably give this a go:
http://lifehacker.com/#!5747897/how-to-build-a-car-mount-for-your-cellphone-from-office-supplies
I'm usually a cheap bastard.
DumbUglyDragon said:
Happily rockin' the Google Car Dock as well. I love the docks with this phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It rocks until it breaks.
Check out proclip usa.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I'd love to hack an audio out port directly only my official N1 car dock....other than that, it's fantastic.
I have the official Google/HTC car dock, and am satisfied with it. The speaker in it is OK, but not great if you have a loud vehicle. Communication between the dock and phone is via Bluetooth, despite it being physically clipped in. I had a small issue where I found that music would play via the dock speaker, but phone calls would only play on the phone's speaker, oddly.
Also, after taking a road trip with my N1 as a GPS unit before I got the dock, I found that a standard car 12v --> USB adapter with a microUSB cable did not provide enough juice to power the phone while using Google Nav with GPS. It would slowly discharge the battery over time. This happened with 3 different 12v--> USB adapters, so maybe most of them out there don't put out enough amps.
Anyways, I got mine last fall from HTC's site, which was (and still is) backordered. I did eventually get it, though.
Because I'm an xda forum noob, it won't let me post the URL... but just Google "shopamerica" and "HTC" and find accessories for the Nexus One from the HTC America site.
the only problem with non Google Car Dock/Car Mount is that phone dialer never show in landscape
is there any trick to emulate google car dock to allow dialer to be in landscape ?
thanks
CTMechE said:
I have the official Google/HTC car dock, and am satisfied with it. The speaker in it is OK, but not great if you have a loud vehicle. Communication between the dock and phone is via Bluetooth, despite it being physically clipped in. I had a small issue where I found that music would play via the dock speaker, but phone calls would only play on the phone's speaker, oddly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is a little workaround for that - the MOTOROLA T505 (google it) hands-free device works miracles..it has a decent, loud, inbuilt speaker, communicates via bluetooth with the N1, and transmits via FM to your car-stereo. it searches for "least used/weakest signal" on the entire FM frequency band, announces verbally the FM frequency you need to set your radio to, and off you go. as a bonus, it has an inbuilt rechargeable battery so you can take it anywhere.Works for making calls and music 'broadcasts'

In car bluetooth - fm transmitter

Hi, I am turning 16 this week, and I am looking for a way to get music from my thunderbolt to play in my impala, which does not have a 3.5 headphone jack. Does anyone know/recommend a good bluetooth-fm audio transmitter?
Sent from my rooted s-off Thunderbolt
I use a Jabra Cruiser in my work van. It works fine, but you definitely lose some sound quality when playing music. It sounds kinda like AM radio. I use it mostly for talk radio podcasts and I really don't notice any quality difference there.
Motorola T505 works pretty good.
Sent from Zeus' Thunderbolt
Zomb!e said:
Motorola T505 works pretty good.
Sent from Zeus' Thunderbolt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have a MotorolaT505 MotoRokr which works fine. Like the first poster I generally am listening to podcasts, so the sound quality is not as critical as for music. I would tend to buy from a local retailer and try it out, so it is easy to return if it doesn't meet your sound needs.
I'll send a dittos to the above-mentioned Moto T-505. I used to play my music with this same set-up in a tractor-trailer and my BlackBerry 8320.
As with any wireless connection, you would have 2 wireless connections here by the way, one from phone to BT unit & another into car's stereo, so there's the possibility of interference and sound degradation. IMO, it worked fine. And the connection does work. The real question is whether or not it is of good enough listening quality for you.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Just buy a deck and hook up a rca to 3.5 mm
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
+1 for the t505
cheap ($50) and works decent. its an easy way to get bluetooth music and calls on your stereo without installing an adapter or new headunit. Suprisingly the FM transmitter even works decently in DFW area where there are no free frequencies... now you ar4e not going to get CD quality sound but it is better than nothing.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_142FMMOD02/Scosche-FM-MOD02.html?tp=1701
Installed that in my car, works pretty damn well. Gives you an aux input jack, but instead of transmitting OTA to FM, it plugs directly into your antenna on the car stereo, so it's much more clear.

Finally fixed bluetooth in the car while using the AUX IN jack

Tonight I made my first accessory purchase at the local Verizon store... as their prices have always been pretty bad, but I have a military discount of 15%, so I bit the bullet and purchased an iBolt cradle system. If you haven't seen it, there is a review in the accessory section, it's pretty spot on, but this important update is for those of us who don't have A2DP streaming in the car, and are forced to use the AUX IN jack.
Long story short, when using this dock, you have the option of sending the sound thru your micro USB port or out the phones speaker in back. This dock comes with a nine foot long cable that has micro USB at one end, and regular USB and a 3.5mm audio jack at the other. This beautiful setup allows you to not touch the evil headphone jack (trump card) on the phone, but rather it lets you the phone play music out the USB connection while retaining Bluetooth phone connectivity thru your cars Bluetooth connection! (while charging)
Silly that I had to buy a $32 device to get functionality that the AT&T version of our phone has natively... but at least it's fixed!
Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but what is the advantage of playing music through the USB instead of bluetooth? I actually like the BT option - plays music but pauses when a call come in and lowers the volume for GPS directions. Works great all at the same time...
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
OnceAMatrixMan said:
Not trying to be a jerk or anything, but what is the advantage of playing music through the USB instead of bluetooth? I actually like the BT option - plays music but pauses when a call come in and lowers the volume for GPS directions. Works great all at the same time...
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a large portion of G3 owners who do not have bluetooth streaming (A2DP). Just because you have bluetooth phone connectivity does not mean you have bluetooth streaming. We are forced to use the aux in jack in the car to listen to music. I think a large portion of S3 owners simply tried to use the headphones jack on the phone... But if you do that, you cannot use bluetooth. Every sound is routed thru the headphones jack. You cannot toggle this.
So, using the iBolt cradle, witch ports the sound out via usb instead of the headphones jack, I am able to retain my cars bluetooth functionality.
Side note, not sure if you know this, but the sound quality of bluetooth streamed music is pretty bad compared to a cabled connection.
Sent from my big red Samsung Galaxy S3 using XDA Premium.
mdt73 said:
There's a large portion of G3 owners who do not have bluetooth streaming (A2DP). Just because you have bluetooth phone connectivity does not mean you have bluetooth streaming. We are forced to use the aux in jack in the car to listen to music. I think a large portion of S3 owners simply tried to use the headphones jack on the phone... But if you do that, you cannot use bluetooth. Every sound is routed thru the headphones jack. You cannot toggle this.
So, using the iBolt cradle, witch ports the sound out via usb instead of the headphones jack, I am able to retain my cars bluetooth functionality.
Side note, not sure if you know this, but the sound quality of bluetooth streamed music is pretty bad compared to a cabled connection.
Sent from my big red Samsung Galaxy S3 using XDA Premium.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd recommend this if you don't have BT streaming: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10827&cs_id=1082704&p_id=9472&seq=1&format=2
That combined with a USB car charger to keep it charged at all times would maybe be a nice way to solve your issue for ~$30
Note: I don't own the product, but the reviews are good and it seems it would just be nice to have.
con247 said:
I'd recommend this if you don't have BT streaming: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10827&cs_id=1082704&p_id=9472&seq=1&format=2
That combined with a USB car charger to keep it charged at all times would maybe be a nice way to solve your issue for ~$30
Note: I don't own the product, but the reviews are good and it seems it would just be nice to have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A day after I purchased the iBolt I received this little gadget in the mail from ebay.
USB Bluetooth Adapter
For under $10 it gives you the same A2DP bluetooth audio streaming. But, the difference is it doesn't sound nearly as good for the lower end of the spectrum. But, in a pinch it's awesome, and for the price, you can't beat it. I have it as a backup for now.
I took about 30 min and hid the iBolt cabling today. I like the fact that I moved the cradle to the top left of the windshield, away from the center console. Will post some pics later today of the install.
I am surprised at how easy the phone is to use with my left hand, from the steering wheel. Retaining the bluetooth functionality, specificallly my integrated microphone, really makes this work around worth every penny. Hope it helps someone else!
Oh well now I understand. Thanks for clarifying. Of course I didn't mean any offense.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
OnceAMatrixMan said:
Oh well now I understand. Thanks for clarifying. Of course I didn't mean any offense.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries, none taken. I am just ecstatic to be playing music via S3 thru my car stereo and still be able to use the cars bluetooth for phone calls! Now if we could come up with a fix for this damn NO SIM error, I would be in heaven. LOL!
Can you post the dock and where you got it?
tu3218 said:
Can you post the dock and where you got it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The OP mentioned they bought it from the Verizon store and that it was discussed in the Accessories thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1806888&highlight=ibolt
- ooofest
Sweet, I was contemplating a bluetooth to 3.5mm for my car because of this issue, but this might be a better solution. Looks like we might have the same exact setup soon including the mini cooper :good:
I-bolt rocks. Bought one the other day. Search for best price. Down in the low to mid $30 range now depending on shipping and coupons.
Could anybody solve my problem? My car doesn't have a usb port so I cant use the iBolt to play music through it. I use the cassette player to audio jack and use bluetooth talk through my car speakers. Is there a solution to use bluetooth while using the audio jack?
rlatjs17 said:
Could anybody solve my problem? My car doesn't have a usb port so I cant use the iBolt to play music through it. I use the cassette player to audio jack and use bluetooth talk through my car speakers. Is there a solution to use bluetooth while using the audio jack?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, but on anther board, someone brought this up and it works, albeit ghetto'ish.
Mount the phone somewhere in the car where you can speak towards the mic. Plug the cassette tape adapter into the headphones jack. When a call comes in, just answer the phone keeping the headphone jack in use, and the sound will come thru your stereo, but the mic you will be using is the one on the phone. Talked to multiple people who all heard me just fine. (even with the mic pointed downwards!)
tb311 said:
Sweet, I was contemplating a bluetooth to 3.5mm for my car because of this issue, but this might be a better solution. Looks like we might have the same exact setup soon including the mini cooper :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cable is exactly the right length to mount the ibolt anywhere in the car, hell I think we could mount it on the rear window, lol! There is space behind the base of the center console where you can tuck away any extra cable you have before you route the cable to the jacks. I decided to use an add on 2.1a USB car charger (cig lighter adapter) vs the cars internal USB as I don't think the MINI USB pumps out anything more than 450 mA (1\4 what the adapter puts out I bought seperately)
PowerGen Dual USB Port 2A 10w (fast) Heavy Duty Ouput Car Charger - White
Guys great news rls8 hybrid fixed this issue. Instead of buying a $ 40 accessory , donate a 20 to the dev
jmichaels1982 said:
Guys great news rls8 hybrid fixed this issue. Instead of buying a $ 40 accessory , donate a 20 to the dev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does that require a custom Recovery and/or ROM, perhaps? I'd like to keep things relatively stock for now, though am OK with tweaks. Plus, the iBolt looks convenient to use in my car.
- ooofest
mdt73 said:
There's a large portion of G3 owners who do not have bluetooth streaming (A2DP). Just because you have bluetooth phone connectivity does not mean you have bluetooth streaming. We are forced to use the aux in jack in the car to listen to music. I think a large portion of S3 owners simply tried to use the headphones jack on the phone... But if you do that, you cannot use bluetooth. Every sound is routed thru the headphones jack. You cannot toggle this.
So, using the iBolt cradle, witch ports the sound out via usb instead of the headphones jack, I am able to retain my cars bluetooth functionality.
Side note, not sure if you know this, but the sound quality of bluetooth streamed music is pretty bad compared to a cabled connection.
Sent from my big red Samsung Galaxy S3 using XDA Premium.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how do you know if you have bluetooth streaming? aren't all the G3's the same in that respect? Or is it up to what your car can do?
Yes and unlcked bootloader
mdt73 said:
Yes. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner, but on anther board, someone brought this up and it works, albeit ghetto'ish.
Mount the phone somewhere in the car where you can speak towards the mic. Plug the cassette tape adapter into the headphones jack. When a call comes in, just answer the phone keeping the headphone jack in use, and the sound will come thru your stereo, but the mic you will be using is the one on the phone. Talked to multiple people who all heard me just fine. (even with the mic pointed downwards!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know I can do that but I want to use the bluetooth in my car to make calls(my car doesn't have bluetooth audio only calls). When I use the headphone jack to make calls people say their voice echoes back but if I use the cars bluetooth its fine.

FM Transmitter

This is a multi part question. First of all, does our phone have an FM Transmitter? I'm looking to play songs off my phone to an older car without Bluetooth by broadcasting an FM signal. I don't want to buy a piece of hardware for it. This should be doable if our phone has the transmitter.
Second, if it does have these capabilities, what apps can handle doing this? I haven't found anything yet.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
PsiPhiDan said:
This is a multi part question. First of all, does our phone have an FM Transmitter? I'm looking to play songs off my phone to an older car without Bluetooth by broadcasting an FM signal. I don't want to buy a piece of hardware for it. This should be doable if our phone has the transmitter.
Second, if it does have these capabilities, what apps can handle doing this? I haven't found anything yet.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No i dont believe it has a transmitter just receive if you plug in headphones :/
As for apps, I dont know of any that do what you're looking for
PsiPhiDan said:
This is a multi part question. First of all, does our phone have an FM Transmitter? I'm looking to play songs off my phone to an older car without Bluetooth by broadcasting an FM signal. I don't want to buy a piece of hardware for it. This should be doable if our phone has the transmitter.
Second, if it does have these capabilities, what apps can handle doing this? I haven't found anything yet.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Click to collapse
No, it does not have an FM "transmitter." It does have an FM receiver built-in to the chipset, however Verizon doesn't supply the apk to listen (as the other poster said, once you find the apk, which is available on xda, you need to plug in headphones which act as an antenna. BT earphones won't do the trick.)
If your older car has a cassette player, that's an option (although I suppose the adapter is a piece of hardware).
PsiPhiDan said:
This is a multi part question. First of all, does our phone have an FM Transmitter? I'm looking to play songs off my phone to an older car without Bluetooth by broadcasting an FM signal. I don't want to buy a piece of hardware for it. This should be doable if our phone has the transmitter.
Second, if it does have these capabilities, what apps can handle doing this? I haven't found anything yet.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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Found this in another thread. Works perfect if you want to listen to local radio stations using your phone. I just installed it on my VZW M8.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=51629962&postcount=25
Wow, so no FM transmitter on our phone? Just a receiver? I'm surprised. Oh well, that about closes this thread up.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
PsiPhiDan said:
Wow, so no FM transmitter on our phone? Just a receiver? I'm surprised. Oh well, that about closes this thread up.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
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I recommend Motorola Roadster 2 (if there's not a 3 already available.)
It acts in a manner very similar to a factory hands-free systems you get with newer cars -
it turns itself on and off with your car, so you only need to charge it like once every 3-4 weeks,
It does the basic voice dialing and answering pretty well,
It can output to an FM frequency so you can do stuff over the car speakers, and it has a dedicated play music button.
nabbed said:
I recommend Motorola Roadster 2 (if there's not a 3 already available.)
It acts in a manner very similar to a factory hands-free systems you get with newer cars -
it turns itself on and off with your car, so you only need to charge it like once every 3-4 weeks,
It does the basic voice dialing and answering pretty well,
It can output to an FM frequency so you can do stuff over the car speakers, and it has a dedicated play music button.
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Click to collapse
I have a Roadster 2, and the sound quality over FM is pretty bad. Also, automatically turning on/off is based on motion sensing, and isn't as reliable as it should be; I've gotten into the habit of turning it off/on manually when I need it since I can't count on it to automatically be on.
If you want the best sound quality through an older audio system, look into a line-input adapter. They're usually $60-$80 and require that you remove the radio from the dashboard temporarily to install. I've installed one in my Chevy Silverado 2500HD and wired it to a 3.5mm jack I mounted in my dashboard; I can use a regular 3.5mm M-M stereo cable to listen to music from my M8 (and previously my Droid RAZR MAXX).
This is the unit I purchased. It's for GM radios, but unfortunately is discontinued. Crutchfield has a "wizard" for searching for units compatible with your vehicle, though.
You can also get a wired FM modulator from WalMart for like $30.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Scosche-FMMOD02-Universal-FM-Modulator/19407742
It needs to get 12V+ and GND from your car (easily done by splicing it into the power leads to your stereo, really you can pull the pin out of the header and just wrap the leads and stuff it back in - no need for tape or sharp objects. It then physically plugs into the antenna input (and you plug your antenna into it), and when its switched on it cuts off the car's antenna and gets its signal directly from the device plugged into it. Since your car's actual antenna is disabled, you will get no interference, no matter what station you set it to, and the sound quality will be the closest to a direct line as you could get. I used to have one in an old Ford Explorer with the stock head unit, sounded great with my iPod back in the day.
Dodge DeBoulet said:
I have a Roadster 2, and the sound quality over FM is pretty bad. Also, automatically turning on/off is based on motion sensing, and isn't as reliable as it should be; I've gotten into the habit of turning it off/on manually when I need it since I can't count on it to automatically be on.
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I'm sorry, but I have to disagree.
I too have a Roadster 2.
1) The sound quality over FM is very good. There seems to be a certain set of frequencies that the unit itself picks with its dedicated function, and those are usually free of interference from the existing stations.
Hey, Dodge DeBoulet, you need to increase the Bluetooth volume on your phone to maximum, not your car stereo volume, to get good sound.
2) The motion sensing (really sound sensing, if you want to be accurate) is very good on my unit. It turns on when I open the car door without fail. It seems to turn off when the BT signal is out of range. In other words, it works perfectly.
Dodge DeBoulet, you probably have a defective unit. You need to exchange it.
nabbed said:
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree.
I too have a Roadster 2.
1) The sound quality over FM is very good. There seems to be a certain set of frequencies that the unit itself picks with its dedicated function, and those are usually free of interference from the existing stations.
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Well, that hasn't been my experience. May be related to the fact I'm using it in a full-size truck rather than a sedan.
Hey, Dodge DeBoulet, you need to increase the Bluetooth volume on your phone to maximum, not your car stereo volume, to get good sound.
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Umm, yeah. I tried every combination of volume control on the phone, on the Roadster 2 itself, and on the radio. Volume wasn't the issue; it was interference no matter what frequency was selected, static, and overall poor fidelity
2) The motion sensing (really sound sensing, if you want to be accurate) is very good on my unit. It turns on when I open the car door without fail. It seems to turn off when the BT signal is out of range. In other words, it works perfectly.
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I never really looked into the technology used to turn it off/on without hitting the switch, but I do know that it was too undependable for me. Part of the problem may have been that in my usual parking locations, I would often find that my phone was still connected to the Roadster 2 even when I was inside my home (or camp). I'd go to answer the phone and discover that, even though I was in my office, the other end of the conversation was happening inside my truck.
It works OK for hands-free calls, as long as I don't have the windows open or the heat/AC cranked up high. I've given up on getting it to work with the radio, though.
Dodge DeBoulet, you probably have a defective unit. You need to exchange it.
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Well, I've had it for almost 2 years. I don't think it's under warranty any more. That said, I'll probably replace it shortly with an Audi A6 or BMW 535i. I understand both of those devices are great for hands-free smartphone use

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