cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30700991
I still have an old ipod. So old it has no wireless ability. I want to use it in my car which doesn’t have a cassette or cd player. It plugs into the car’s usb port but the car radio “doesn’t see it”. Any tips on how to get it to work?
We used FM transmitters for those guys back in the day. Plug it in the headphone port and tune the stations.
It was always fun to be driving down the highway and suddenly picking up somebody’s stream, then annoying when you realize you’re in traffic with them and now they’ve hijacked the station you were listening to
Lol. Some of these devices gives you have a choice of different frequencies. Mine had 4.
Even cheap ones now allow you to go to any FM frequency.
They aren’t great especially if you live in a big city, but out of all the options this would get you the truest classic iPod experience.
Sorry I don’t understand your response. This old ipod is loaded with music down loaded from itunes. If I plug head phones into it (it has not bluetooth) it works fine. If I plug it into my stereo receiver in the house it works great. But if I plug it into the usb port in my car - it is not recognized. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
USB won’t work. This is long before car play.
You’ll need something like this: https://a.co/d/aY6HQ9I
(Sorry, couldn’t clean the link. My ride arrived.)
Clean(er - still Amazon) link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004NEUK86
Hey, I’ve had a car as new as 2017 support an ipod through usb!
2024 model here, supports ipods, wired and wireless CarPlay/ android auto, 3.5mm aux, Bluetooth. Only thing it doesn’t have is physical media (cd, dvd, cassette). If you plug in an iPhone that supports CarPlay, but turn off / disallow CarPlay from the phone settings, it just shows up as “iPod” too, so any downloaded music works fine.
And as old as 2010 for me
There are little devices that take the “headphone” cable and transmit a tiny FM radio station just for your car.
There are low powered FM transmitters you can get for your car
FM transmitter plugs into cigarette lighter for power
iPod connects to FM transmitter via AUX cord
You tune your cars radio to whatever frequency the transmitter is set to, and it plays whatever your iPod is playing
Had this for old portable CD players (the kind that would skip when the car hit a bump). They don’t work all that well. Even if you find a frequency not in use, it gets interrupted from time to time as you’re driving around.
But the alternative is nothing.
I used one all the time in my last work van. Drove it over a good chunk of the US and interference was rarely a problem. You just need to pick a couple unpopular frequencies right next to eat other and set those as two of your radio station defaults. It’s slightly annoying but it rarely even happens.
I think I can clear up your confusion.
By headphone jack there’s a transmission of simple analog audio.
By USB however there are endless possibilities.
Ipods (and other apple devices) usually spoke a different protocol than simply providing file access as your car is likely expecting. On a pc you needed to install the application for that, too.
That’s likely the reason for not working.
In this case it’s easier to just stick in a mass storage usb stick with music files on it.
Other people replied, but to rephrase: the USB will not work with a car, and there will never be an adapter that will allow it to.
Instead you need a way to send the audio from the ipod headphone jack into your car stereo. Something like this.
The one I had connected to the antenna port on the back of the head unit. Still FM just no longer wireless. I think I had the choice of 5 or 6 stations to broadcast to.