transPod

Posted Sat Jan 11, 2003 in

Before the trip, I purchased a transPod for my iPod. I want to be able to play my MP3’s through my truck system. If you want to know about the transPod, click here. In a nutshell, it didn’t work for me. It mounted just fine, but the FM transmitter doesn’t have enough power to drive my trucks stereo system. So I returned it. If you buy one, be sure that you get it from somewhere that will let you return it if it doesn’t work.

For my opinion, the transPod gets a thumbs down. Don’t waste your money. It’s a great idea that falls short.

  1. The TransPod works great for me! I live in the U.S. Virgin Islands, our radio dial is pretty crowded with stations, not all of them from our island. I found the TransPod works best (loudest) at the higher end of the FM spectrum, but since we have some pretty powerful stations at those frequencies, I keep it in the middle setting around 100.3 FM, and adjust the TransPod accordingly. I drive a Suzuki SideKick with a Pioneer Cassette car stereo. The Radio (and the car) are about 8-10 years old. The radio LED doesn't light up anymore (I can only see it when direct sunlight or a very bright flashlight shines on the display), the tape player doesn't work right (eats tapes instantly!) and sometimes the buttons stop working (can't tell you how frustrating it is to NOT be able to change the station or even the volume because the pothole you just hit jiggled something and now you can't push any buttons). I am really happy with it! 4,000 Songs in my car, all my favorites, all commercial free, I love it! One recommendation that works for me, I've retracted my external car anntenna so what my car stereo picks up is limited to only the strongest stations. And since my TransPod is mounted right in front of my radio, by only an inch away, the TransPod comes in loud and clear. Well, maybe not so clear... Due to how old my car is, and the accidents I've had, I don't think it's grounded too well. I can hear static fluctuations in the silent parts of my music. It's more noticable when I have my A/C on, but hey, it's a radio transmitting device, not a direct cabled input to your stereo, and that is good enough for me. Other things I've noticed is that sometimes, maybe do to the internal heat of my car (I live in a tropical/warm environment, year round) that I have to adjust the little fine tuning wheel on the TransPod every so often. Daily errands, jumping in and out of my car I never have to adjust it, but letting my car sit for a few hours in the hot caribbean sun, I'll have to adjust it, just slightly, to hear my music loud and clear again. If you haven't returned your TransPod, I hope you will try again and have better luck with it. Last few words of advice. Unplug the TransPod, then find a FM station setting that doesn't have anything broadcasting. Look for one that seems alone. Like for me here 100.3 is great because the next station below is 99.5 and the next station up is 101.3 so my choice is virtually alone. Then plug in the TransPod, put your iPod in and play a song and turn your iPod Volume all the way up, preferably something loud (not something like a quiet movie soundtrack or Enya). Adjust the fine tuning wheel until you hear a noticable loud click from the stereo. That means you just passed up the TransPod broadcast real quick. Tune it back down to to that click and then slowly adjust it through out the range of that pop and your music should come in loud and clear! If all this still doesn't work for you, then I will suggest taking a look at Griffin's website (http://www.griffintechnology.com/) and look at the "iTrip". It doesn't charge your iPod, but it also isn't mounted in your car. You could use this anyplace where there is a radio. Good Luck! K Patrick U.S. Virgin Islands — K Patrick    15 January 2003, 03:38    #

  2. I was just about to purchase one of these online. I am glad I found you, not just for the info on transpod, your site is a nice refresher. That sound is me adding it to my favorites. thanks drew — Drew    15 January 2003, 09:46    #

  3. One of the reasons I decided to buy locally was that I wasn't sure if it would work. I'm glad I bought locally because the return policy of CompUSA is very forgiving. I'm thankful for that. I should also mention that CompUSA treats me right. I had a problem with them one time and a talk with the manager got it straightened out. It isn't my intent to malign the transpod, just report my experience with it. Your mileage may vary, of course. — ruminator    17 January 2003, 01:47    #

  4. Hey, this thing works great, I give it 5 stars out of 5. — Bill    27 January 2003, 05:20    #

  5. Good for you! :) — ruminator    27 January 2003, 06:40    #

  6. Did compusa charge you the 15% restocking fee for the open box return? they did the last time I purchased an airport base station from them and it was very frustrating since it didn't work in our house (hubby's pc not happy with the airport but my macs loved it). just curious. — spud    30 April 2003, 09:57    #