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Best way to play music in a car?

yeahbuddyyeahbuddy Posts: 703
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I want to play music from my iphone 5c into my car but only have a cassette player and radio and there isn't really enough space for a CD player (1998 car so CD players were pretty new). is there a gadget or lead I can buy that will work? I just want to start a playlist and it play without me having to fiddle about with it.
Any help?
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    Toby LaRhoneToby LaRhone Posts: 12,916
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    Have you had your car valued against the iPhone?
    :)
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    SaddlerSteveSaddlerSteve Posts: 4,325
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    Surely if it has a tape cassette then the hole it's in is also big enough for a CD player?

    Does the tape cassette have an "Aux in" connection on the front panel?
    If so you can use a normal 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable to connect the iPhone by its headphone slot.
    You can get one for less than £1 on Amazon.
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    dslrocksdslrocks Posts: 7,207
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    Get a FM transmitter or a cassette thing with a lead on (I have no idea what they call the latter, but my friend had one in the car for her ipod and it worked fine).
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    darkthunder35darkthunder35 Posts: 5,016
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    I use this in my car, had it two years now and it's been faultless.
    http://www.halfords.com/sat-nav-audio/car-audio/sound-system-accessories/belkin-cassette-adapter
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    gdjman68wasdigigdjman68wasdigi Posts: 21,705
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    Maybe get a new car stereo.. Just a thought
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    degsyhufcdegsyhufc Posts: 59,251
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    I use a FM Transmitter that plugs into the cigarette lighter.
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    makavelli132makavelli132 Posts: 1,297
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    FM transmitters are rubbish as it's hard to get a station that doesn't crackle/cut out now days as they are all taken up by broadcasters.

    And the cassette adapter isn't much better as you hear a grinding noise as the tape goes round but it is the better of the 2.

    I'd try and get a new stereo.
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    degsyhufcdegsyhufc Posts: 59,251
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    My FM Transmitter works fine. For £5 it's well worth the money than replacing a full stereo system.
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    glasshalffullglasshalffull Posts: 22,291
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    We always have a string quartet in the back of the SUV but have to leave them at home when we drive the cabriolet :(
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    David (2)David (2) Posts: 20,632
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    There are cheap cassette adaptors, simply plug the cord into the headphone socket of a portable CD player or MP3 player.

    fm transmitters are usually cheap, but how well it works seems to be down to luck. Some years ago I was using one and it was rubbish.

    The best, and neatest route is to replace the cars hifi with a newer unit that has a built in CD player (single or multi disc. - multi disc drives allow for safer driving as you don't need to keep changing over the cd). Many such devices will now have a proper AUX socket as well so u can simply plug in an MP3 player as well. Some of the more expensive ones will also have a USB port, to allow music saved on a USB memory stick to be plugged in and played back directly.
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    HurlleyHurlley Posts: 2,162
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    I use this in my car, had it two years now and it's been faultless.
    http://www.halfords.com/sat-nav-audio/car-audio/sound-system-accessories/belkin-cassette-adapter

    this is thee best solution and get that one as linked or a sony one, don't get the cheapo ones off ebay the build quality and sound quality and terrible, i got a sony one off Amazon which is fine too but they no longer stock off amazon direct.
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    JoystickJoystick Posts: 14,261
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    As others have said, get an FM Transmitter, I've got one and put all my music on a SD card. I got this one for a fiver http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141311459776?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 and the sound quality is really good.
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    gomezzgomezz Posts: 44,630
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    My advice if getting an FM transmitter is to avoid those cheap ones with a captive power and / or audio lead as they are the weak point and will break within short order. I currently use a Satechi Soundfly which plugs directly into the power socket and uses a plug in audio lead and it is miles better than the cheapo, nasties I have used and abused to destruction previously.
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    TheMaskTheMask Posts: 10,219
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    Best way to play music in a car?

    with the windows down..;-)
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    gemma-the-huskygemma-the-husky Posts: 18,116
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    Do you reckon one of those small portable speakers would go loud enough, without trying to feed the sound into the car stereo?
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    Isambard BrunelIsambard Brunel Posts: 6,598
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    yeahbuddy wrote: »
    I want to play music from my iphone 5c into my car but only have a cassette player... is there a gadget or lead I can buy that will work?

    In the 80s and 90s such gadgets were commonplace, but I've no idea where to find one now, assuming anyone even makes them anymore. They seemed to disappear with Rumbelows, Tandy and Lasky's.

    They were in the shape of cassette tapes that had a wire coming out of one side. You inserted it into a car cassette player (Hi-Fis were more difficult because they completely enclose the tape) and an electric head pretended to be a stream of tape by generating magnetic pulses directly into the head of the tape deck. There was some circuitry inside the 'tape' and the wire ended in a jack plug you connected to a portable CD player or whatever.

    The last time saw one brand new was in the 90s for £5. I remember them in the 80s for £50. Perhaps someone has an old one on eBay? But you can get car CD players with integrated memory card slots for about £30 from Lidl a few of times per year. Maybe you'd be better off changing the tape deck?
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    David (2)David (2) Posts: 20,632
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    Do you reckon one of those small portable speakers would go loud enough, without trying to feed the sound into the car stereo?


    Depends, those mini speakers vary in power a lot. Some of the cheapest simply plug into the headphone socket but having used them they are very weak in power. The type to get would be those that are powered, prolly battery (I had some made by Philips a few years back which took about 8 AA batteries, ! , but sounded really good). Others are mains powered, clearly a problem in a car, as are those powered by a USB device. Might be an idea to do some research online and look for portable speakers that are powered by a 12v supply. Even so, it's going to be a messy solution. Things can fall over etc.
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    David (2)David (2) Posts: 20,632
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    In the 80s and 90s such gadgets were commonplace, but I've no idea where to find one now, assuming anyone even makes them anymore. They seemed to disappear with Rumbelows, Tandy and Lasky's.

    They were in the shape of cassette tapes that had a wire coming out of one side. You inserted it into a car cassette player (Hi-Fis were more difficult because they completely enclose the tape) and an electric head pretended to be a stream of tape by generating magnetic pulses directly into the head of the tape deck. There was some circuitry inside the 'tape' and the wire ended in a jack plug you connected to a portable CD player or whatever.

    The last time saw one brand new was in the 90s for £5. I remember them in the 80s for £50. Perhaps someone has an old one on eBay? But you can get car CD players with integrated memory card slots for about £30 from Lidl a few of times per year. Maybe you'd be better off changing the tape deck?

    Argos book (current issue, page 519, Argos code 108/1389, £14.99)
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    gomezzgomezz Posts: 44,630
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    Do you reckon one of those small portable speakers would go loud enough, without trying to feed the sound into the car stereo?
    I sometimes have to fallback on using my Creative D100 portable speaker when given a work van with a broken radio. Just about loud enough to get by with but not as loud as I would like it to be.
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    yeahbuddyyeahbuddy Posts: 703
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    Thanks for everyone's help :)
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    flickpotflickpot Posts: 1,384
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    8-Track cartridge is the way forward ;-)
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,168
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    You can still get those cassette player adaptors, I bought one to use with the original 22 year old cassette radio in my Metro last year. I hate non-OEM stereos no matter how bad they are, I don't like having to take the panel off and take it with me (round here it's not a matter of IF it will get nicked, it's when).

    What kind of car is it? I might be able to tell you how hard/easy it is to take the old one out and replace it with a CD player. To be honest not much from the 90s is particularly difficult, though towards the end they started becoming nonstandard sizes or built into the dash (e.g Ford Ka).

    Those FM transmitters are crap even when you can find a clear signal, FM simply doesn't have the bandwidth to sound decent.
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    idlewildeidlewilde Posts: 8,698
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    A new head unit with iPod / iPhone ready USB connections can be had for under £100
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    gomezzgomezz Posts: 44,630
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    Those FM transmitters are crap even when you can find a clear signal
    Mine isn't and is more than capable of drowning out Jack FM on the same frequency. Like I said before the cheap ones are cheap for a reason.
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