Filed under: iPod Family, Odds and ends, TUAW Business
Contest: TUAW wants to take you on a RoadTrip
Well, to be more precise TUAW wants to give you a RoadTrip, a Griffin RoadTrip that is. You may recall that C.K. reviewed the RoadTrip and really took a shining to it. However, since we have strict rules about bloggers keeping review units we had two choices: return it to Griffin, or give it away.Giving it away seemed like more fun, so that's the one we went with. Now, how can you win this product that was once in the hands of C.K. Sample III (OMG! He's like, totally hot and stuff)?
Simply post a link in the comments to a picture of how you are currently getting your tunes to play on your car sound system. The TUAW bloggers will gather in our underground lair and decide which of the entries is truly deserving of this technological marvel (here's a hint, the more Rube Goldbergeseque the better).
We'll be accepting entries until midnight December 6th and remember you have to be in it to win it.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Sean said 12:38AM on 11-29-2005
http://george.hotelling.net/90percent/ramblings/deadphones.jpg
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Billfred said 12:43AM on 11-29-2005
Well, ever since I've had my 4G iPod, it's found a spot in my 1997 Honda CR-V. (Which is quite handy, especially when road tripping.) Currently, my car gets its audio goodness from the factory tape deck.
But that's not enough--shortly after using it the first time (on an eight-hour trip to Orlando), I realized that playing it with everything at normal levels resulted in horrendous popping from the speakers. So I tried turning down the radio, but it still sounded horrible. So then I tried turning down the iPod. It worked, but there's no way you could hear it over my engine (and the wind that comes with going down the interstate at 70 MPH). It turns out that if I want to listen to my iPod, I have to crank the volume on it juuuuuust above zero, and completely max out the volume on my car stereo. Tape noise never sounded so awful.
As for battery life, I guess I'm just lucky or something. I have yet to find a charger that a college student could afford, and my iPod has toughed it out on those eight-hour trips. (Although I have to say, I wouldn't mind in the least if I could juice it up on the road.)
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Billfred said 12:45AM on 11-29-2005
(Oh, forgot to mention--photo's forthcoming. Muahaahaa.)
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j said 12:53AM on 11-29-2005
Well, my head unit has no AUX inputs, so I was forced to use this FM modulator. It makes cymbols sound like a screeching cat. I took out the change drawer and stuck the dock in there. I've tried car chargers, but they interfere with the modulator, so I have to attempt to keep it charged every morning before I leave.
http://sickmods.net/share/iPod_Car1.jpg
http://sickmods.net/share/iPod_Car2.jpg
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jen said 12:55AM on 11-29-2005
I use a hacked lexiglas ipod holder and heavy duty velcro and a clear plastic hair tie with a car charger and itrip... I think I have the most simply complex set up around...
http://www.verybigdesign.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=19
I dont think I show the itrip there, forgot to bring it out for shooting.
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Ryan McLean said 1:15AM on 11-29-2005
Wait wait, I know this one....Volkswagen, maybe Audi.
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Rishabh Kumar said 2:26AM on 11-29-2005
I hook up my mom's iTrip Mini to my iPod if I want to listen in the car, and she has this thing called an iGrip that will let it stay on the dashboard, but what I do is tape the ipod to the windshield to get as good a signal as I can get. I can't stand the iTrip's extremely short range.
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andrew harrison said 2:47AM on 11-29-2005
does it have to be how we REALLY use the iPod in the car, or can we create a rube-esque machine to do it with?
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Buthidae said 3:23AM on 11-29-2005
My iPod plays directly into my brainwaves. Also, a dragon stole my iTrip. :(
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Garrett said 3:58AM on 11-29-2005
Had a iPod got stolen so I thought, what the heck. Lets do something CRAZY. So I put a Mac Mini with a touch screen 10' wide, in my truck. So now I have 80 gigs of muisc and movies and gps and FRONT ROW and etc....You name it its there.
Cheers.
G
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reovox said 4:11AM on 11-29-2005
I use a terrible cassette adaptor taped together in about 5 places...also, I need to adjust the plug now and again because the sound will cut out on the left channel. It makes nasty grinding noises and of course lots of hiss...my new 5G iPod doesnt like it much and often dreams of an Roadtrip. It hides in its pouch, so everytime I want to change track I need to slide it out the pouch, try and figure out what to listen to, whilst untangling the cables, all during trying to keep my car on the road....oh the joy of it all! Hope my insurance company never see me on the road!
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yourmom said 7:58AM on 11-29-2005
part number 1: http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/b/d/bdv111/Pics/BlakeCar/Console%202.jpg
part number 2: http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/shima4152/imgs/a/2/a2a2b305.jpg
whoever said i even had a system to play my itunes in my car?
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Brad said 10:42AM on 11-29-2005
Oh, thanks for giving me something to do today. Now all I have to do is brave the cold today and take pictures of my iPod in my ghetto car.
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Simon Conway said 4:15PM on 11-29-2005
Okay. i had a 3G ipod a while back and an itrip for it. then the ipod died and i got a 5G ipod...of course i wanted to still use my itrip...of course i couldnt because the 5G doesnt have the accessory port on the top that the previous models did. so i hacked my itrip. it now runs off two AA batteries, has a huge antenna, a gold audio plug, and it all resides in a velamints tin.
here:
http://img417.imageshack.us/img417/9017/dscf003222ec.jpg
http://img417.imageshack.us/img417/1531/dscf003317ik.jpg
http://img417.imageshack.us/img417/9603/dscf00373zu.jpg
http://img417.imageshack.us/img417/3971/dscf00396cj.jpg
http://img417.imageshack.us/img417/149/dscf00400vj.jpg
http://img417.imageshack.us/img417/7159/dscf00434rb.jpg
.::Simon
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andrew harrison said 7:32PM on 11-29-2005
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3411/ipodincar5vp.jpg
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David M said 8:55PM on 11-29-2005
Once upon a time, about 2 years ago, a young 10 and a half year old boy received his iPod. He cherished it, but, since he didn't get an allowance, he hasn't had money to listen to his songs in the car. He has been trying to get some money to get an adapter, whether the songs will travel over air or through copper. Please help him in his noble quest.
-d
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Greg Benedict said 12:56AM on 11-30-2005
I have a new 30GB iPod video that I just picked up last week. I've been using a small radio transmitter, but it's too weak to be picked up well. Even podcasts sound like crap. I have an '03 Jetta with the Monsoon sound system shown above (I believe the pic is a Passat). The issue is that the antenna is on the top of the car in the back, so it doesn't make it through my front seat and roof very well. I can put it in the back seat, which is better, but then I can't reach it to swap tracks.
Help, I just want something that works!
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Brad said 11:44AM on 12-01-2005
Here's my story and here's my rig. It took me quite a long time to type this up and take the pictures as such, but I put much more effort into this than the nano contest. Hope you all enjoy.
http://fallingbomb.blogspot.com/2005/12/i-have-ipod.html
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Kevin said 12:26PM on 12-01-2005
Well, here's mine, complete with details. This was a fun contest. Here's hoping I get snaps from Rube.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kapgar/69061783/
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Denny Butts said 6:09PM on 12-01-2005
I use the standard cassette adapter, but my lovely 10 year old Nissan Sentra doesn't want me to enjoy music with my iPod. I think it feels I am cheating on it's own stereo system that came with the car 10 years ago.
It will spit out my cassette adapter if I brake too fast, turn a corner or turn the car on or off. The realy joy is try to get the damn tape to stay in. It takes numerous attempts while it keeps spitting it out. Sometimes it stays in but doesn't drop down into the right position, sot the stereo gets confused and keeps trying to switch sides of the tape, as if there was something on the other side to listen to.
The FM / AM Stereo works great, but as we all know, radio sucks now and I love my iPod.
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