Pirate Radio Station?

[kosmo vinyl]

or really strong FM car transmitter...
 
 Has this happened to anyone before? I was on the way home listening to NPR's "All Songs Considered" podcast on my new fm transmitter/flash drive combo on my usual station 87.9.  At one point what I thought was just next song in the podcast, turned out to a much stronger radio signal taking over.  I realized that was the case when what I was listening to was trying to break through, even disconnected my transmitter to confirm.  
 
 The signal was present from just after rockville pike to right before new hampshire on the beltway. And who ever was broadcasting was a Jenny Lewis fan as I heard two songs from her new record.  Not sure which car it could have been coming from at one point I wasn't really surrounded by cars and the signal was still pretty strong.
 
 If it was a personal fm transmitter in someone car , I want one of those as it was clearer and stronger than anything I've ever used.  of was it betty  

[bellenseb]

Could this be WMUC, 88.1?

[kosmo vinyl]

i doubt it... i live in greenbelt and only on rare occasions do i get it

[helicon1]

Kosmo,
 
 I just purchased the FM transmitter by Belkin but have not tried it yet. I'm reading mixed reviews on Amazon and wonder if I should take it back. I bought it because I'm going to be travelling in rental cars quite a bit and most rentals don't have tapes players for the "Tape on a rope" solution.
 
 Any thoughts?
 Thanks

[kosmo vinyl]

I normally don't use FM transmitters, Kosmette has used the iTrip with mixed results.  The biggest problem with them in general especially in large metropolitan areas is that it's hard to find a frequency thats isn't going to be interferred with by a station on either side which impact the sound quality. Obviously some transmit stronger then other  

[Darth Ed]

Belkin makes lousy products. I recommend that you avoid purchasing anything by Belkin in the future.
 
 That said, all FM transmitters are lousy really. I suppose there are varying degrees of lousy. I have the Monster iCarPlay Plus and it's better than some, but FM transmitters just are not a good solution for connecting your iPod to your car stereo. If there's another option you can use, you should do so. Cassette adaptors work very well and are inexpensive, but most new car stereos don't have cassette decks these days. FM modulators are better than FM transmitters, but most people would need to get one installed professionally. All the rage these days are these iPod interfaces that connect to your car stereo's CD changer port. If your car stereo supports a CD changer and you don't already have a CD changer, then this is an excellent solution. Kind of pricey though. Good ones run about $100.

[helicon1]

Cool. Thanks for the advice! Luckily my travels this weekend will be mostly rural. I figured they weren't the best solution.

[Driveway]

I have a JVC CD car stereo.  It has an input right on the face.  The iPod plugs straight in to the face.  It sounds as good as it could be.

[helicon1]

I wanted to follow up on my Belkin FM transmitter experience. The device works very well if you are in a rural setting with little to no radio interference. The sound quality was 65% of my normal "tape-on-a-rope" solution.... But it picks up too much static in a city to be useable.