Belkin TuneBase FM Transmitter with ClearScan for iPod Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got this last night (Monday November 4th, 2007 @ 2:00AM)
1st.
I took it out of the box, found the right adapter that best fit my iPod
(Cassic 160GB)and installed it. Well there are two parts. One is the Cradle, which holds it on the sides and the Pad, which goes in the back of the unite that keeps it from moving forward. With both of these in place I have a good tight fit for my iPod.

2nd.
The "ClearScan" feature does not work all that well. Every time I used it the unite kept finding a station that was occupied or sort of had a station using it. So I did it manually. I found a nice clear station 104.3
3rd.
I and noticed that there are two buttons a 1 and 2 button that lets you preset stations that you've found to be clean and clear and store these in memory for later use. I would like to use them, but every time I pressed the 1 button, it went to 107.3 which has a station in it already. The 2 button also has the same station as its preset. I can not get it to reprogram and thus, this feature is useless.
4th.
The unit does a good job at charging your iPod.
5th.
There is a feature called "Pro" and it boost up the sound and I think the transmission signal of the unit. There is "normal" that gives you a good but not great signal. I tried Pro 1 and its not much better than Normal.
I've found that Pro2 and Pro work best. With Pro it sounded as good as if I had been at home listing to my iPod through my stereo.
(note: on the unit their is a button that says "Pro" and on the display it reads as Normal, Pro1, Pro2 and Pro with a .o0(Thought Bubble)0o. out beside it.)
6th.
I like the arm that the unite rests on, stiff but very flexible. The cigarette lighter plug makes for a good anchor and good placement in my car.
So in closing, it's good but not great. I like it, but its got a few buggs that I'm going to have to call the company over.
(more on that later.)
I just got off the Phone with Belkin, (Tech Support in the U.S. 1-800-223-5546 ext. 2263)
The lady I talked with was VERY helpful.
(1)The way you set the presets is to, Find a good empty station.
(2)Pick between button 1 or 2, then press down on the 1 or 2 button until you hear a plink sound(about 5 seconds).
(3)You will see that station has "Preset1 or Preset2" over the station numbers on the display.
I looked all through manual and it never did say anything about how to reset the 1 or 2 button to another station. This is something they really needed to put in.
After having this 14 days (Tuesday November 18th 2007 9:16 p.m.) Here are a few observations.
1.
When I place my iPod into the cradle and line it up with the data/power port; the unit will turn off the sound on my iPod and let a preset volume level come into your deck, thus you'll be able to control the sound level from your deck with no tweaking needed.
2.
When driving I found the unit to pick up on interference from my car's motor. Here's the good news, it's not so bad that you can't enjoy your favorite Podcast or music.
3.
When you're not moving there's no sound problem.
But if the station you've picked out is too close to another station then you will really know it.
Case-in-point 101.1 is used but 101.3 aren't.
So you pick 101.3, but here come 101.5 bleeding over into your 101.3. I've found that if you can, pick a frequency that has at least two clear stations out either side of it.
Like so, 103.1 clear & (your station)103.3 & on the other side 103.5 also clear.
I don't know if this will work for you, but for me it works well enough.
p.s.
I've found that this transmitter has an odd way of acting as a signal booster for weak stations. So, a station that you could not pick up at all magically comes in just enough and makes that empty spot in the dial not so empty. It's great for Dallas stations that I can almost get. But it's that much harder to find a empty frequency. (March 19, 2008)

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The Belkin TuneBase FM with ClearScan lets you easily play the music on your iPod in your car with just a push of the button.
A Button Press Away from Great Sound By pushing a single button, Belkin's ClearScan technology will automatically scan to find the best FM frequency so that you can enjoy the music on your iPod static-free in your car. With an improved FM transmission, the sound is better than before. And the large LED tells you at exactly what frequency the music is being broadcast.
Once you find a clear station, you can set it to one of two presets on the TuneBase. This is especially useful around your local area and areas that you frequent, because you can quickly return to these stations at the touch of a button.
The TuneBase also has a line-out feature that lets you use it with car-stereo inputs or cassette adapters. The built-in PRO setting optimizes the audio and provides a volume boost for the best sound possible.
Built-in Charger and Stand Works with All Docking iPods An integrated auto charger plugs into the cigarette lighter so you needn't worry about running out of power while on a road trip. With a flexible steel-neck mount and a swivel cradle, you can position the iPod for optimal viewing and accessibility. The antenna is integrated into the neck for a clean look. Multiple cradles are included for compatibility with all docking iPods.
The Belkin TuneBase FM with ClearScan is backed by a 3-year warranty.

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