Belkin TuneCast Auto with ClearScan for iPod, iPhone 1G, 3G Reviews

• not what i had expected from other reviews

  
  By A2PPMPXC9FDLFF on 2008-03-01
  After reading lots of reviews on this, I had expected a good product. It was awful. When I pressed the autoscan button, it would scan to stations that were already in use, or partially in use. It rarely scanned to empty stations. I used to have a Kensington digital FM transmitter, and when I tuned to my go-to station, it would work no problem, no static at all. When I tried that same station with the Belkin, I heard static non-stop, along with my music. The only time I heard no static was when I went through a tunnel (obviously, since there's no radio station to interfere). I'm going back to my Kensington - very disappointed with this Belkin model. Note: I live in Fairfield County, and used this on the way to NYC. Maybe it would work better in other areas, but around here, it was terrible.
  
  

• Works OK

  
  By A265PDLGXAZ6MP on 2008-03-17
  I bought this because I've saw mixed reviews on the iPhone car chargers. The charging works fine..although there were a few times when the iPhone would display "this product is not designed for the iphone,...do you want to switch to airplane mode?".
  
  The FM reception is pretty choppy. If you can secure a clear station...I'd suggest you stick with that one. There is some static at times.
  
  I'm not sure if I'd recommend this. If you're in an area where there's not a lot of FM stations..it may work well.
  
  

• Road Tested :: Exceeded My Expectations

  
  By AC5CHSQTK8O9Z on 2008-06-03
  I purchased the TuneCast for a trip I recently took with my family. We took a rental car that only had a CD player so I could not use my tape adapter. Among myself and my kids, we have 2 iPod Nanos (version 1 and a version 2), an iPod Classic, and my iPhone. For the first time everyone could play their music easily in the car. The Clearscan button made finding a good station easy for all the kids, even my wife. We all enjoyed each other's music as we passed around the 30-pin connector while we traveled. Every once in a while we would pass out of the clear station we were on and have to hit the clearscan again, it consistently found a good station and we got back on track. I would consider this FM transmitter road tested, I even still take it in my car for my commute instead of my tape adapter.
  I highly recommend this FM transmitter, it exceeded my expectations, and was a lot of fun for us to use.
  
  

• Not even worth $20

  
  By A102H5BXZ7VXAD on 2008-03-03
  I was hoping that spending a little more for a product would help. $80 for a product of this quality is ridiculous. I don't expect mircales, I would expect that when traveling I would have to constantly change station for clear reception. However, I rarely got ANY music playing, especially when using autoscan. I have a lot of soft, orchestral music on my Ipod, and when there is soft music playing it is impossible to hear. I don't know if if just sends out a low volume or if it just can't block out the interference. Either way, this is getting returned! Do not buy.
  
  

• poor quality

  
  By A2V7BLGT79YSOJ on 2008-03-16
  We tried this transmitter for one day and now we are returning it because we could not get a clear FM station. We have a Monster FM transmitter for our other car and decided to compare the two. We found that on the channels where our Monster transmitter came in crystal clear, there was still static from this Belkin transmitter. This product is NOT worth the money. There are other brands out there that are.
  
  
• all fm tramsmitters are lousy, this one hardly works at all
  By A3856FA2O4FXXF on 2008-04-30
  I bought this product because I was looking for a way to use my iPhone in my car. Sadly, my car has no tape deck, no aux input, and no iPod adapter kit. My only choice is an FM transmitter, and this is the first one that worked with the iPhone.
  
  In the past, I've had good results with the Griffin FM transmitters and my car in the area where I live. (I've had bad results in NY and LA, and bad results with other models of cars. FM transmitters are the worst way to use your iPod/iPhone in your car, and should be your last resort.)
  
  This product was a huge disappointment. First, the transmitter is not powerful enough: it can't project a strong enough signal to get decent, consistent reception. Secondly, the automatic channel finding feature doesn't work at all: it seems to pick random channels, not unused channels. I have already returned my Belkin TuneCast. Hopefully the latest Griffin transmitters will be better.
  
  
• Just awful
  By A9SZEFNJBUOFX on 2008-05-15
  Hardly works at all as an FM transmitter. The car charger part works OK, but the FM signal is so weak as to be nearly useless. The auto-tune feature is completely non-functional - it almost always chooses an occupied station.
  
  On the rare occasion that I managed to tune in, I didn't hear any of the iPhone-related interference that plagues other FM transmitters, but unless you live way out in the country, this product probably isn't going to work well for you.
  
  
• Worst FM Transmitter Yet
  By A2PE5I18AZIUYN on 2008-06-16
  This transmitter does not work as advertised. I bought this, trusting the Belkin name and have been sorely disappointed.
  
  1) Says it works with iPhone. Yeah, it plugs into an iPhone. For some reason the phone complains that the device is not certified 9 out of 10 times I plug it in.
  2) The works with iPhone thing is supposed to mean the device was shielded from GSM noise. No matter what I do there is a constant GSM chatter from my car speakers when in use.
  3) The connector falls out constantly. My charger connector stays in just fine but this thing falls out if you even look at it.
  4) The device can't find a clear station to save its life. Using the scan feature it "finds" the same 3 stations over and over, 88.1, 88.9 and 92.5. None of them useable. Heck 92.5 is the local classic rock station and comes in loud and clear!
  5) I imagine there is a limit to the strength of the signal it can transmit but, I don't believe they are even close to that limit. I have an old AA powered transmitter that provides a stronger signal than this thing.
  
  
  
• Garbage
  By A1KJWKXQDXSXJA on 2008-06-24
  This is hands down the WORST iPod FM transmitter I've tried to date. I've given many a run for their money, and of all of this, this has the worst sound quality. Constant static, even on channels that come in clear through other transmitters. The ClearScan feature seems to arbitrarily pick channels, because none of the ones it's chosen came in clear.
  
  I took mine back after three days.
  
  
• Hit and miss
  By A19HA9USVMCW81 on 2008-07-15
  My experience with this is spotty. It works great with either my iPhone or iPod classic, but only in my Ford Escape, which has its antenna in the front.
  
  In my Hyundai, the interference is unbearable. Its antenna is in the back, confirming what a previous reviewer had discovered: it doesn't work very well with rear antennae).
  
  Disappointing.
  
  
• Great industrial design, too bad it does not broadcast a signal
  By A2CH9DDW3Z9XOE on 2008-07-23
  Absolutely perfect design, but an awful product. The "clearscan" does a better job finding actual stations than finding empty space. In fact, I believe a random function would work better. I was able to here faint music from my 1G iPhone twice. The "Pro" function cycles between no signal, very weak signal, and mono weak signal. The broadcast signal is so weak that my Saab radio frequently passed over it entirely.
  
  Good luck with this one Belkin, I suspect you won't be selling many of these in the future and getting most of them (including this one) back.
  
  
• Average transmission power, bad sound quality
  By A3GWKEPIC27U8P on 2008-05-21
  I've gone through 3 transmitters now; a Monster transmitter (worked once, then went to static), Griffin iTrip (okay, but headphone jack connection made volumne control difficult), and this one. Finding a clear station was fine, and there was little-to-no static. Problem is, the sound quality is horrible and random. Either it was really tinny, sounded like it was coming through in waves, or it was bass-distorted. Take for instance Korn's 'Ball Tongue'. The intro is pretty drum heavy. Every time a drum is hit, the volume would drop and the song would sound "muddy". And the vocals would sound static-y. Being someone who enjoys heavier music, this is a big minus.
  
  I then tried some quieter music, and it was really hit-or-miss. One song would be okay (had to turn the volume up a bit), and another song would get louder and quieter (the "wave" effect I mentioned).
  
  Avoid this one.
  
  
• static issues
  By A1WWSDY7BOCNA4 on 2008-06-13
  This product works as it is supposed to, through your radio and plugged into your outlet. However, finding a station that is clear is almost impossible. I would assume that it depends where you live and how many radio stations populate the airwaves in your area. But for me here in Austin, it is very frustrating. I don't think it is a product issue however. Just a fair warning to people in larger metro areas.
  
  
• Terrible Transmitter
  By A19KSM2E75MXPW on 2008-06-18
  This is the only FM transmitter for the iPhone. The plug that attaches to the iPhone doesn't even stay in the iPhone.
  
  
• Not the best if the best
  By A2JKEHFS3MMFSL on 2008-06-28
  When I received my Belkin fm transmitter I was in shock because it was very big.The quality is not bad if your antenne of your car has a antenna in the front for example(Ford Edge or Nissan Muranno) but if the antenna is in the back for example( Lexus Rx350 or Kia Sportage(2006+)) you'll hear a lot of the annoying sound.
  So before you buy it check where your car antenna is.
  
  

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