Playing Ipod on radio with no AUX jack??

[7lazy77]

Just purchased a new boat & the AM/FM radio with CD player does NOT have an AUX jack to plug an ipod into....is there a way to make it where an ipod "could" be plugged in & used?

 

[doyall]

You need an FM modulator. It will take the analog ipod signal and convert it to an FM broadcast signal. Tune the radio to the appropriate station and play away. Doesn't appear as though iBoats sells any so just Google "FM modulator" and find one that suits your needs.

 

[UncleWillie]

Be aware that most FM Modulators are going to take your stereo signal and convert it to Mono before it transmits it.
Even it clearly states "Stereo" on the package, that is no guarantee you will not loose the stereo image.
Mono FM transmission is easy and inexpensive to do. Stereo is much more complicated.
Just so you know!

 

[JASinIL2006]

To be honest, I think you'd probably be happier if you spent a little more to replace the radio/CD player with a new deck that is Bluetooth compatible.

Another alternative is to buy a decent Bluetooth-enabled speaker set and use that instead of your boat's audio system. Of course, separate speakers won't work if you're wanting to play your iPod over big, loud boat speakers.

If you're looking for loud, decent-sounding audio, you probably are looking at a new deck The FM transmitter route probably won't be very pleasing... The inexpensive ones are downright lousy. I tried one in my pickup truck and it was barely strong enough to be picked up by the radio. Reminded me of listening to an AM transistor radio back in the day.

 

[tpenfield]

I have the Griffin FM modulator seems to work fine. I use it for both the car and the boat . . . works better on the boat as usually you are at anchor when listening to tunes so there is less chance of another station interfering with the FM signal.

 

[bruceb58]

You lose a ton of sound quality going through an FM modulator.

 

[gm280]

There is a reason FM doesn't sound as good as CD or other audio sources. The FM rolls off around 15khz. That is because the broadcast station only has so much of a bandwidth they can legally transit on and that limits to around 15khz range. So if you're older like I am, you can't hear anything beyond that anyways. Heck I know I can't hear much pass about 8khz to maybe 10khz. And that comes from too many 44mag shells being shot while hunting... Lesson learned too late!

 

[bruceb58]

There is a reason FM doesn't sound as good as CD or other audio sources. The FM rolls off around 15khz. That is because the broadcast station only has so much of a bandwidth they can legally transit on and that limits to around 15khz range. So if you're older like I am, you can't hear anything beyond that anyways. Heck I know I can't hear much pass about 8khz to maybe 10khz. And that comes from too many 44mag shells being shot while hunting... Lesson learned too late!

The quality of an FM modulator has nothing to do with the frequency range that you are trying to hear. It's a SNR issue.

If it's a wired FM modulator which means it plugs directly into a radio's antenna jack, it will be better than a wireless version but it is still going to perform worse than an aux jack.