Mini Gen 1 & IPhone 3gS - My Super easy £16.50 In car solution

[G17RDY]

MINI Gen 1 Cooper & IPhone 3gs - Super easy, very effective, Inexpensive in car solution.

Total Cost: £16.50
Install Time: 3 mins

Note: Results may vary, depending on your area & stereo etc

**Sorry for the poor quality pics - I will take better ones this weekend!!!**

Ok so something that i read about all the time on various forums and researched myself is the age old, 'How do i hook up my ipod / iphone to my in car stereo.
Well due to the fact i have a Gen 1 cooper with MFSW and Harmon Kardon, it proves a little more difficult i felt than just buying a nice head unit with an ipod / iphone connection, as you need all these adapters and enablers.
Then there is the option of buying a kit at a cost of £130ish just to hook it to the existing stereo, money i didn't have.

And then there are FM transmitters, which i have to admit did not have a lot of faith in, as i have tried a kensington unit some time ago, and was very very dissapointed with the results.

Ok, so to the nitty gritty......

I found an FM transmitter on Amazon (non brand - Tecknet) for the princely sum of £10.00
Now normally i would pass this off as an inferior product, however the reviews of previous buyers proved that this was a great bit of kit.
I decided to give it a shot, if it didn't work i was out by a tenner.

I also decided to get a windscreen mount, that can be moved around - Again this had great reviews and cost a total of £6.50

So the items arrived and i tried them out, i have been super impressed with the results.

Screen mount
A fairly solid piece of kit. Strong suction cup and flexible (although very rigid) neck. Mounting plate also houses the 3gS very well and doesn't take anything away from the screen.
The screen mount was fitted in about 2 mins, and although not the prettiest mount in the world, it does the job very very well. The neck is just about the perfect length for the Ipod / Iphone to be flush with the edge of the dash - providing easy access for making song selections etc.
Also you have the option to flip the mount around a full 360' - Meaning if your iphone has sat na it can be flipped around on it's side.

Another plus point is this comes with an in car charger

The only downside is, due to the length and flexible neck & of course the state of the roads, the Ipod / Iphone can tend to bounce up and down whenever you hit a bump. I've not completely cured the problem yet, some careful positioning is required, to get the cradle to rest on the dash to support it - Also don't have the ipod / iphone on shake to shuffle - I skipped through 15 songs in about 2 mins the other day!!!

I also tested out the 'Hands Free' element of the Iphone on the cradle mount - and it worked surprisingly well. The wife called whilst driving - with the position of the iphone i could see who was calling and i simply pressed answer - and then speaker / I could hear the wife fairly well and she could hear me - so bonus - another problem solved - Who needs bluetooth!!!!



Tecknet FM Transmitter
Out of the box comes the transmitter & another charger
The transmitter simply plugs into the bottom of the ipod / iphone - and can run from the ipod / iphone battery.

It defaults to 87.5 - And do you know, i left it there, turned on the stereo, tuned it in and bang - Clear Music. It was a WOW moment.

Its not as perfect as a direct connection would be, but honestly it is like listening to the radio or a cd - It is that good.
However - There is a very slight hiss underlying which does get drowned out with any song playing. If for example you are inbetween tracks, you do notice a slight hiss, and on a quiet vocally song, if you listen close, again the hiss is present.
Occasionally, there can be a ever so slight crackle, however seriously it is very seldom and like one singular crackle!!!

One small point to note, the transmitter does not fit flush with the bottom of the ipod, due to the way the windsreen mount holds the ipod at the bottom corner - which you may be able to see in the picture below - However a small mod with a file will cure this problem.

Overall it's not an absolute perfect setup - but all things considered i have to give it 9.5 / 10

Now if you want to be even fancier - download a HUD app form the app store and with some adjustment of the screen mount you could have your very own HUD!!!!


I do hope this has helped out at least one person - If anything it is a great inexpensive stop gap until you can afford a proper set up.

[Nobby JCW]

excellent advice there - I've just ordered one myself so will let you know how I get on with it once I have it! I already have a cradle so will see if thats compatible first.

Thanks again

[minimattsback]

[quote=G17RDY;3748086]MINI Gen 1 Cooper & IPhone 3gs - Super easy, very effective, Inexpensive in car solution./QUOTE]

Hi Great story
Had one of these for some time. Everyone thought no good as not supplied by a serious hifi sponser on this site. Good story and hope people will read your story and save some money.

[Nobby JCW]

Well I got the FM transmitter and it seems to work pretty well with my amp in the living room, but my existing car mount wont take my iphone with the transmitter. So, I thought I'd have another look at your posted article and but one, but you dont mention the manufacturer - could you shed some light on this so I can go but one please?

Thanks in advance

Nobby