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Palm Discovery would like to extend a BIG THANKS to Thomas of USB Fever for providing the product for this review.

One of the annoyances many of us who travel enough by car is that when we’re driving from state to state or city to city that we will inevitably experience moments when there’s no local radio station available that plays what we want to listen to, or worse yet (for those of us in less populated areas), no available radio stations period. Yes, in the great white north, we will encounter huge areas where there’s no local CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) radio stations so we’re stuck without anything. Well, fret not, because there’s a solution.

USB Fever’s Auto/Car FM Transmitter is a great solution to this problem. Not only does it support up to 4 preset channels, unlike older FM transmitters (ie. iRock which I also own) that were limited to the choice of 4 outer frequencies (88.1, 88.3, 88.5, 88.7), this FM transmitter can support frequencies from between 87.5~ 107.9MHz with 0.1MHz intervals. That means, you have a much wider range of frequencies you can set, unlike previously being restricted to only 4. Also keep in mind that it’s so much nicer to be able to increment by 0.1 Mhz rather than 0.2 Mhz because you may miss a few stations.

For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary

The FM transmitter can be powered by 2 AAA batteries to make it very portable and used practically anywhere. Or, if you’re in the car, you can save your batteries by using the supplied car charging cable and power it via your car’s cigarette lighter. There’s a light or power indicator on the adapter so that you know when it’s plugged in and powered up.

The transmitter has a very pleasant blue background that shows the LED display very well, even in dark environments, so you can still see the readout even in the dark. This is very handy when you’re driving at night, although of course, it’s not suggested that you operate it while driving. The transmitter by default will automatically turn off the blue backlight after a few seconds, to conserve battery, regardless of whether it is battery powered or powered via the car adapter.

When not in use, you can easily wrap the stereo plug along the side of the FM transmitter and put it in your pocket. The side of the transmitter has a form fitting groove that holds and tucks the plug and cable out of the way. Again, this makes the transmitter very compact and portable.

More details (taken from USB Fever’s website):

Features:

- To use this one with your iPhone, you need to have an iPhone Audio Special Adaptor, which is not included. Check it out here

Click on the thumbnail images for a bigger picture

Product Video

Video at YouTube

Here are my observations:

I really like the blue backlight of the transmitter as it really makes the LED very easy to see, especially in the dark. I do find that the backlight turns off much quicker than I would have expected or hoped. But of course, I can always bring it back on by pressing on the buttons.

The 4 preset channels are very nice but obviously it would be much nicer to be offered more so that when you’re driving across the country that you can simply try more preset channels to find one that is “open” to broadcast and receive your portable audio. I especially like having a car adapter cable included in this package as it’s essential in my view to have this because you can easily drain your batteries after a few hours of driving.

One of the best things about this FM transmitter is that it supports practically the entire FM band, as opposed to earlier FM transmitters (like the iRock) which only supported 4 frequencies (88.1 - 88.7). This only means that you have a much better chance of finding an open frequency that you can broadcast your own audio in the car without any interference.

Again, this is one product that I can’t any fault with. It offers the ability to be powered by batteries (2 AAA) or the car adapter cable, depending on whether you’re in your car, or at the beach. The 3.5mm audio plug can easily be put away so that it’s not sticking out and also works to cover the normally exposed car charging port. The transmitter is very small and lightweight.

Review Summary

The Auto/Car FM Transmitter is a very nice portable FM transmitter that offers exactly what you would want in such a device. You have a choice of four preset channels so that you can easily switch amongst them to find an open frequency to broadcast your own audio without any interference. The blue backlight is very handy to easily view the display, especially at night or in the dark. The transmitter offers a choice of being powered by 2 AAA batteries or via the supplied car adapter cable. With the capability to broadcast at 0.1 mhz over practically the entire FM band (87.5~ 107.9MHz), you shouldn’t have much difficulty finding an open frequency and it shouldn’t cause too much distraction while you’re driving the car, although, of course, it’s not advised to be operating anything while driving.

You can find the Auto/Car FM Transmitter here.

Palm Discovery thanks USB Fever for its continued support by providing the product for this review.

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