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Driving all night …

I spent 15 hours in my truck during a recent two-day trip to and from Ohio University, which gave me a chance to test my iPod’s FM tuner gizmo. It worked very well, better than I expected. There are a few spots where I was catching a bit of fuzz, but overall, it was clear […]

I spent 15 hours in my truck during a recent two-day trip to and from Ohio University, which gave me a chance to test my iPod’s FM tuner gizmo. It worked very well, better than I expected. There are a few spots where I was catching a bit of fuzz, but overall, it was clear and made the drive much more bearable.

It plugs into your cigarette lighter and allows you to listen to your iPod on one of four FM frequencies. It also keeps the iPod charged.

Driving home Friday night reminded me of several of the long-haul late-night trips I made in my younger days. Driving back to Edinboro from a 1981 Dead show at the Capitol Center in D.C. only to run out of gas at daybreak a mile from our exit. Driving from Birmingham to Destin in the middle of a muggy summer night in 1986 and freaking out at the stars and insect accordion hum during a piss stop somewhere south of Montgomery.

And this time, driving through rainy central Ohio swarming with swollen creeks, hoping the temperature wouldn’t drop below freezing and having my entire CD collection at my fingertips. Loading all my CDs into the iPod has given me a chance to revisit stuff I haven’t listened to in a long time. Returning home, I listened to Mazzy Star, the Breeders, Natalie Merchant and Phish. The more I use this thing, the more I love it. I’m now into the “S” CDs in my collection (Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys …) and think I’ll have the whole thing loaded on the iPod within another week or so.

Here’s a link for iPod freaks with too much time on their hands …

Now Playing: From Gagarin’s Point Of View from the album Somewhere Else Before by Esbjorn Svensson Trio

7 replies on “Driving all night …”

you’ve just about sold me on the ipod. i’m gonna hafta look into it. does the gadgetry (transmitter, car adapter) come with it?

i’m in the process of digitizing my vinyl… rediscovering lots of cool old stuff.

now playing: Dave Apollon – Mandolin Virtuoso (jazz mandolin from the 30s and 40s)

Gadgetry is extra. That’s my main complaint. It takes more money to get it fully integrated. But once it is, it rocks.

Also, I’m not sure how well it works with PCs. I know they have a PC version, but I’m not sure if it’s as good. Might be worth looking at PC knockoffs since you have a PC at home. Might be cheaper.

And for what it’s worth, I have almost my whole CD collection on it and I’m under 20 GB. (That’s all the CDs in that rack beside my TV. Not sure how many CDs that is, but it’s about 4,000 songs. 12-13 days of nonstop music.)

the downside is that my car radio has no aux input jack. since that would be my primary use for this contraption, i may hold off. i’ve dealt with the transmitters before and they can be a hassle. i’d really prefer something hard-wired but don’t want to replace a 1 year old stereo just to get an input jack. i checked the web but have not found any simple solution.

the rca lyra personal jukebox looks like a good pc alternative to the ipod. much cheaper, can be recognized as an external drive by your pc or mac, drag and drop loading, etc. it’s slightly larger and bulkier than the ipod but that’s to be expected at 1/2 the price. the reviews that i’ve seen are excellent. anybody have any experience with this gadget?

what format does the ipod use? mp3? i ordered the rca lyra. it supports both mp3 and wma but i’ll probably go with wma since it has better sound quality at a lower bitrate (gotta leave room for LOTS of music). i guess that i’ll have to experiment with bitrates to see what quality vs quantity ratio i want to go with.

Bob,
I was there runnin out of gas with you buddy, sorry, i didn’t realize it would still be a memorable traumatic experience all these years later. How are ya’ and where are ya?

Jim Adams

That trauma will never leave me. We were one exit away from home. John Baker and I had stayed up all night steering that strange little station wagon through the eastern Pennsylvania mountains and then up I-79 only to fall short a few miles from our destination. Wouldn’t trade it for anything, though …

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