Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, iPod Family, Peripherals, Hacks
Extending an iTrip's range
Alan Joyce has managed to extend the range of his Griffin iTrip FM transmitter, but only after performing some delicate surgery on the iTrip itself: "With the application of a knife along the seam on the side and top of the device, the use of tweezers to hold the newly-formed gap open, the use of another pair of tweezers to reach in and grab the antenna, and the replacing of the rubber insulating plug on the side of the iTrip to seal the casing back up, I was able to fully extend the antenna out the side of the iTrip at a healthy 90º angle with almost no scarring of the case."Oh, is that all? He's also created a Flickr album with shots of the hacked iTrip. He doesn't mention the effect of his hack on the iTrip's performance, however. Have any of you successfully extended the range of your FM transmitter? Let us know.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Adam said 5:49PM on 8-02-2005
I recently did something alot like this to my iTrip. I also connected a 5' antenna wire to the existing antenna (thanks duct tape.) it's now to the point were my friends can pick it up clearly on their radio when following me within 50 to 70 feet.
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UncleJerry said 5:55PM on 8-02-2005
I did this a couple of months ago, not that great. It helped the signal some, but you really have to be careful about the new pointy antenna sticking out. You have to be a little more selective where you leave it when you disconnect it from your ipod. I'll just wait for the new itripLCD that should be out shortly.
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Ryan Groat said 6:16PM on 8-02-2005
I did a similar project to my Belkin Tunecast 2. It's extremely easy to open up the case, unsolder the old antennae and attach a brand new (and extremely long) antannae for better listening. I did a little writeup for my blog and snapped some pictures that can be seen here: http://killergerbil.com/?p=34
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Callum said 6:17PM on 8-02-2005
you could really take someone's eye out with that thing... that crazy pt - never thinking about small children running a mock.
I can't say I've boosted my G1 iTrip - I did connect it to my iBook http://www.flickr.com/photos/callumalden/sets/440740/ and that was (and still is) pretty damn effective. Very useful for parties when you've got music to share and no cables to connect. Only works with the iBook G3 - but hey. http://www.flickr.com/photos/callumalden/sets/440740/
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Drew said 5:40PM on 8-03-2005
Can I do this for my itrip mini too? The range is terrible. Being in NY I was told by the tech support that it is more difficult to find a good station without interference.
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Alan Joyce said 3:31AM on 8-04-2005
iTrip minis are even easier, just peel off the sticker on the top and extend the antenna out. It's more flexible than the regular iTrip one, and much easier to access.
As far as my range results, I can now transmit clearly on an empty station from several rooms away, and I'm guessing it's plenty more range than the FCC allows Griffin to build into their products.
I'll have to try attaching an extension to it like Adam and see how much the signal strength improves.
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Walter said 11:25AM on 8-04-2005
Ahh, this is cool. But it's peanuts when compared to the iTrip amplifier!!!
http://www.binaryelysium.com/itrip_amp/
The schematic isn't that complex http://www.binaryelysium.com/itrip_amp/images/schematic.jpg and all the parts listed on it are available at radioshack.
I'm in the middle of building a gnunilink controller http://gnunilink.sourceforge.net/ so I can hook up my iPod to my sony car stereo, but after this I've got my eyes on the iTrip amp.
Callum, thats bad ass that you haxxored up your 1g iTrip :) Why is it only mono though? And your right about iTrips being useful at parties-- one time I had an impromptu party erupt in a hotel room after a wedding, the only "stereo" there was the hotel's clock radio... nothing an iPod and an iTrip couldn't conquer! It was party city :)
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Michael Bazzoni said 5:22PM on 8-04-2005
You can easily extend the range of the Belkin Tunecast II by buying a 16' extension cable from Radio Shack here is a link: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&category_name=CTLG_007_002_003_010&product_id=42-2493
This works because the antenna on the Tunecast II is the cable that plugs into the iPod. Just put the 16' cable on it and you get much better FM reception.
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Briony said 10:55AM on 8-14-2005
I've got an iTrip mini and am extremely disappointed with the range. I had to place my iPod mini right next to the radio in order to get a relatively clear sound. From as little as 1-2 feet away the sound was very poor, so I searched for ways to increase the range/quality and found this site.
I have extended the antenna and the range has extended a very small amount, by only another foot or so. Even if I am in the same room, sitting 5-6 foot away, the sound is so poor I end up putting my iPod back next to the radio again. I strive for a wireless lifestyle but I'm starting to think that even though wires are very messy (and let's face it, just aren't very cool!) if I want quality of sound I'm going to have to stop using my iTrip and go back to wires!
Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!
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Mikey said 8:22PM on 9-12-2005
I was able to GREATLY improve the range of mine with out even opening it up & extending the antenna! it works on a oassive level all I did was to take a piece of wire trimmed to the exact lengh (or close to) of the frequency I am transmitting on horizontally tape it to the top of the itrip. to get the length, go to this site:
http://www.crompton.com/wa3dsp/hamradio/antcalc.html
once you have the length, this will improve your range by 10 fold... with out even opening it up!
My thoughts on active amplifiers on the itrip is this - NO WAY! the signal that the Itrip makes is WAY to dirty to amplify. if you did, you would be spewing RF energy all over the place! If you really wat to transmit more than one room away, then you would be breaking the FCC's rules (but then again, that is the point, right?) if you want something with more kick, and at a cheap price, go to this site:
http://www.broadcastwarehouse.com/
these guys will set you up with everything you need.
Take care & good luck!
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roger said 7:16AM on 10-14-2005
yes making the range is not that hard --hook 2 itrips together --the tunecast 2 works doing that all u need is the correct wire splitters--and u can even futher the range by hooking both internal antenas together as well and use about 5 ft or more speaker wire for an antena--i blast my whole neighbor hood with the tunecasts hooked together--almost a mile range
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