Giraffe Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Does anyone have a suggestion as to how we might play MP3 audiobooks in a car with no USB input and no tape drive, only a CD player? I guess I could just bring some kind of boom box into the car but past experience has shown that the acoustics don't work. We are road tripping this weekend and I'd love to take advantage of the time. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I assume you have an MP3 player, right? You can play it through your car's radio if you have a transmitter, such as these: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_13?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=mp3+radio+transmitter&sprefix=mp3+radio+tra%2Caps%2C266 They work okay but don't necessarily last very long and aren't always spectacular. They do seem to be better at higher prices. DH noticed a background whine with his. You hook it to you MP3 player (you may need a separate cord for it), and you tune the transmitter and the radio in your car to the same station (an unused one -- you may need to change it after a while if you're driving far), and it plays through the radio and speakers in the car. If you're going to do that a lot, I'd look into getting a tape player installed in your car. DH and I have both found that to be a much better option for connecting the MP3 player. (Or I suppose you could probably install something that has a direct MP3 connection.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Thanks! I'll look into those options. I wonder if a USB input could be an after market install? Hmmmmmm...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Oh my word. Happypamama, you rock. I didn't know such a thing existed like an FM transmitter but they do, they are available locally, and it solves my problem. Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Honestly, if you're buying a decent FM transmitter, you might be better off getting an after-market stereo from Crutchfield. They tell you how to install it, etc. I think mine was around $100 on sale a few years back, and it plays CDs (audio and data), iPods, and USB drives. Another option is to burn your .mp3s to make audio CDs. And a little-known option is that many CD players (not all) will play .mp3s from data disks. The advantage here is that you can fit *way* more on a data CD than an audio CD. Check your CD player to see if it will do that. If so, you can burn the files as regular files rather than as an audio CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Honestly, if you're buying a decent FM transmitter, you might be better off getting an after-market stereo from Crutchfield. They tell you how to install it, etc. I think mine was around $100 on sale a few years back, and it plays CDs (audio and data), iPods, and USB drives. Another option is to burn your .mp3s to make audio CDs. And a little-known option is that many CD players (not all) will play .mp3s from data disks. The advantage here is that you can fit *way* more on a data CD than an audio CD. Check your CD player to see if it will do that. If so, you can burn the files as regular files rather than as an audio CD. I will look into it, but I'm not in the US (no Crutchfield here), and it's technically not my car so I'm not sure I can make modifications to it, now that I think about it (it's FIL's). The burning CD things does sound interesting, though..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I will look into it, but I'm not in the US (no Crutchfield here), ... Crutchfield does mail-order. Maybe FIL would like a new stereo? ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Crutchfield does mail-order. Maybe FIL would like a new stereo? ;-) That would be nice.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 we have a USB player that plugs into the cigarette lighter spot. You could load the audio onto a USB and use it it is something like this http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Wireless-Fm-Modulator-Mp3-Player-USB-Sd-Card-Auto-Car-Cigarette-Lighter-Socket-/160729127794 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Oh my word. Happypamama, you rock. I didn't know such a thing existed like an FM transmitter but they do, they are available locally, and it solves my problem. Thank you!! Fabulous -- you are quite welcome! I hope it works out well for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 we have a USB player that plugs into the cigarette lighter spot. You could load the audio onto a USB and use it it is something like this http://www.ebay.com....t-/160729127794 My DH is looking for something like this... so do you need anything else besides an sd card? And it plays through the car speakers?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Sorry, I don't know what a sd card is. the one that we have just plugs into the cigarette lighter, and we put out USB on the end and it plays through the car speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 My DH is looking for something like this... so do you need anything else besides an sd card? And it plays through the car speakers?? I'm going to the store later today and will let you know for sure, but from what I can tell online, most of them have an input that you can plug a regular MP3 player into (I have a Sansa clip, for example), or you can use a SD card. And it plays through the car speakers. Cool, right?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Sorry, I don't know what a sd card is. the one that we have just plugs into the cigarette lighter, and we put out USB on the end and it plays through the car speakers. My ds's just looked at me when I asked what a sd card was. They reminded me that I bought them some just last week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 My DH is looking for something like this... so do you need anything else besides an sd card? And it plays through the car speakers?? I'm going to the store later today and will let you know for sure, but from what I can tell online, most of them have an input that you can plug a regular MP3 player into (I have a Sansa clip, for example), or you can use a SD card. And it plays through the car speakers. Cool, right?! Just brought my new toy home. There's a slot for a SD card, input for a USB cable or flash drive, and input for a MP3 player. Two cables were included: one USB, one 2.5mm jacks. The actual device has two remotes (one attaches to the steering wheel!) and a 1.8" screen. Plugs into the cigarette lighter. If I can find this in Turkey, you can definitely find something in the US! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted March 2, 2013 Author Share Posted March 2, 2013 It worked! Instead of "Are we there yet?" I got "Keep playing my story!". Bliss! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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