[alfa] RE: Alfa iPod / iTrip

["Sam Kass" <samkass@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

1. I don't know how critical antenna placement is.  My antenna and
radio/CD is Previous Owner installed, so I have no idea what kind of
cable he ran.  There are definite "sweet spots" inside the car, and they
seem to have little to do with how close the iPod is to the (rear-right
mounted) antenna.  That's the art of antennas, though.  In any case, I
suspect there is either a little bit of induction going on in the spot I
picked, or else the reception through the shielding is good enough in
that location.

2. There are definitely cigarette lighter rechargers for the iPod.  But
I have an early iPod which recharges only through the Firewire port, so
in order for my iPod to recharge, the iTrip must be rotated 90 degrees,
so it can no longer lie flat under the parking brake.  Later models have
the advantage of recharging from the opposite end of the speaker jack,
thus newer iPods do not have this limitation.  Also, the cigarette
lighter in my car does not hold the iPod recharger plug very snugly,
although an adapter has been recommended to me.  (From the Bennetts:
"Try going to Radio Shack and getting a two outlet extension adapter for
your cigarette lighter.")

3. The black Velcro blends completely into the black interior of my car,
especially being located under the parking brake.  Your mileage may vary
depending on the color of your interior.

4. The iTrip reception is excellent here in the south bay, and I've
driven up to SF without problems.  The iTrip can be tuned to any FM
channel by playing a "song" to it, so you can pick a blank channel
almost anywhere.  It comes with a playlist of all the channels, and you
just play the track for the channel you want on the iPod.  The iTrip
blinks 3 times and it's set.  I think I have mine set to 88.3 or 88.5
(the one that's not the Spanish station.)  It's honestly as good sound
quality as I get from CDs, except that it has never skipped.  When
driving I-5 to San Diego, there was one point where my chosen station
was overpowered, so I switched it at the next stop. (problem with the
under-the-brake location is you can't get the iPod out to fiddle with it
much, although you can still press the buttons.  But you shouldn't be
fiddling with it while driving anyway!)

	--Sam
	'88 Graduate
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