Zune FM Transmitter Review

[LPD]

If anyone has the Zune FM Transmitter would you please post a review of that accessory. Many of these types of devices do not work well so I'm really interested to hear how this one works. If you live near a big city with lots of FM stations that would be even better. Thanks.

[Aaron Roma]

I do have this accessory (FINALLY!), and it works quite well for me. One feature that this unit has that none of my previous FM tranmitters had, is an seek feature. The unit will automatically scan and find a clear channel for you.

[rzanology]

how far does this thing work? can a car behind me tune into that radio station and pick up my zune?? that would be cool.

[Aaron Roma]

I honestly don't know about the range, but I would be shocked if another car would be able to tune in.

[Darius Wey]

Actually, from my experiences with FM transmitters, adjacent cars can tune in fine, though not without a bit of noise. Of course, I can't speak for the Zune FM transmitter, since I don't have one.

[Aaron Roma]

Actually, from my experiences with FM transmitters, adjacent cars can tune in fine, though not without a bit of noise. Of course, I can't speak for the Zune FM transmitter, since I don't have one.

Possibly an adjacent car, but I doubt a trailing car could... unless they were tailgating quite bad.

[Darius Wey]

Possibly an adjacent car, but I doubt a trailing car could... unless they were tailgating quite bad.

Oooooh yeah. That's how it's done in the city streets. :D

[rzanology]

wel one more question. i use those tape thingies for the car...the ones that has the aux cable top plug into the zune. i use that....how is the quality of the fm transmitter comparied to the tape converter?

[Aaron Roma]

Well, I've not used one of those adapters in a long, long time so I couldn't really compare the two. Best I can say is that the radio transmitter gives you basically radio quality audio.

[ale_ers]

wel one more question. i use those tape thingies for the car...the ones that has the aux cable top plug into the zune. i use that....how is the quality of the fm transmitter comparied to the tape converter?

Tape coverters generally work much better than FM transmitters.

[kevinha]

I purchased the Zune FM transmitter last night as a precursor to a drive from Chicago to Milwaukee. Sad to say, I'm very disappointed and its going back to the store today.

Living in Chicago, our FM band is pretty heavily used, though there are some frequencies that have nothing broadcasting. My radio is the stock radio you'll find in a 2004 BMW 325i.

I allowed the transmitter to auto search for an appropriate channel. It picked 106.9. A good choice, given there's nothing broadcasting at that frequency. However, upon tuning to 106.9, I received nothing from the transmitter.

I know from experience with my iPod FM transmitter that I had some luck down around 87-89. I manually set the Zune FM transmitter to that range and, while I was able to finally hear the Zune through the car stereo, it was pretty much unbearable. Too much ambient static for it to be usable.

It is almost as if the FM transmitter is simply underpowered.

I'm going to hold out for some sort of "Zune your Ride" effort similiar to the iPod your BMW effort that was originally launched a few years back and not try the FM transmitter route again.

Once Zune meets my criteria for an in-car device, I'll hold a public "Burn My iPod" event here in Chicago and film it for your enjoyment. If you're interested in my "what I want my Zune to do" thoughts, you can read them at http://www.casadehambone.com/AllYouCanEatMusicFor1499EachMonth.aspx.

[Levda]

I purchased the Zune FM transmitter last night as a precursor to a drive from Chicago to Milwaukee. Sad to say, I'm very disappointed and its going back to the store today.

These are my thoughts exactly. I received mine yesterday and while I live in the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1>:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1>:place></st1:city> area, I had the same experience. I manually tried many frequencies and had no luck getting clear reception. There were points in the drive where I would lose the signal completely and had to try and change the frequency again. I have a 2003 Jeep Wrangler and the Zune fits right above the stereo where it is located only about 1 ½ feet from the antenna and still had many problems. <o>:p></o>:p>
<o>:p> </o>:p>
I figure at this point I will return the transmitter and invest that money into a stereo that I can plug the Zune directly into. Does anyone have any good stereo recommendations?<o>:p></o>:p>

***long quote edited down by mod JD***

[NPrtmn4evr]

I am personally not a fan of FM Transmitters for this reason. They are very unreliable and overpriced. My wife had one for her iPod, and it was a complete waste of money. Fortunately (or unfortunately- depending on how you look at it;) ), my car still has a cassette player, so I just use a $10 cassette adapter from Wal-Mart and it works like a charm :)

[irish]

Does anyone know which fm transmitters get the lower frequencies (87.3-87.9)? i noticed my civic stock radio gets those frequencies and there are no actual radio stations currently using them. I live in chicago and my current fm transmitter can't get that low so i have been switching between a few channels (one for downtown and one for up north) to get mediocre reception.

Also for some of you flipping to empty radio stations and not being able to recieve your own transmission, have you tried messing with your zune's volume? i noticed my zune transmits best when i have the volume up to 15, although i need to put it down to 14 to avoid distortion at higher volumes.

[Talyn]

Anyone have tips for actually using the FM transmitter? It seems to work fine (or at least ok) if I'm physically touching the Zune but if I set it down in the console (just inches from the radio) it's full of static, often more static than audio.

Edit: I played a bit yesterday and found I had better luck if I stuck the Zune in the storage bin thing between the front seats. Maybe being on the console is too close to the radio? Kinda annoying having the cable stretch from the lighter jack to the bin though but it gets the job done. The next vehicle I lease or buy will have an audio input jack, that's all there is to it...

[Ron Hostetter]

I don't understand why it's so difficult to make a good FM Transmitter. I have a two different XM Radios that have a built in FM trasmitter, and I always get perfect, crystal clear audio through FM. I've tried it in 3 different cars, and it's always worked great.

If they can do it so well in a device whose main purpose is to be a satellite receiver, why can't they make a dedicated FM transmitter device that performs as well???

I'm still looking for a good Zune solution for my car (I wish I had bought the one with a cassette player after all!).