If like me your car doesn’t have a built-in Bluetooth connection or a USB port to connect your smartphone, then this gadget is for you too – a Bluetooth FM transmitter radio adapter.
Connecting your iPhone to your car’s audio system
The problem is how to connect your smartphone to your car’s audio system. I have had FM transmitters before for connecting MP3 players to the car radio. The basic idea is very simple, broadcast your music on an FM frequency that isn’t being used and then tune your car radio to that frequency to play your own ‘radio station’.
The ones I brought back from the USA used a 3.5 mm jack to connect to my MP3 players. They then ‘sat’ in the car’s cigarette lighter socket. Unfortunately, these early radio transmitters didn’t work very well and were also at one time illegal here in the UK. I did spend a lot of time fiddling with the transmitter frequencies trying to get them to broadcast reliably on an FM frequency. Then even worse, when connected with the car radio the quality of the music was pretty dismal.
I already use a Bluetooth speaker to connect to my iPhone when travelling and adding the T10 to the iPhone’s connected devices was a moment’s work. The T10 from then on connects instantly with my iPhone once Bluetooth has been switched on.
It sits in the cigarette lighter socket and it is very easy to set FM frequencies the ‘CH’ up and down buttons. I set it to use an FM frequency right at the top of the band where the only interference comes from the odd pirate station still broadcasting.
The music comes through fine and if I receive a phone call then I can opt to use it for a ‘hands free’ call.
Other features
I bought the device to connect to my iPhone to play music but it does have other features
- there is a USB socket to charge other devices
- tehre are skip buttons to move the tracks playing forwards or backwards
- when first connected it displays the voltage of the car battery
- it can connect non-Bluetooth enabled devices using a 3.5mm jack
- can play music on various formats that are loaded onto a microSD card placed in its slot on the side (these are referred to as TF or TransFlash cards in the documentation)