Suggestions sought for car Clip Zip use

[GA Russell]

Hello! I have never owned an mp3 player. I am now considering purchasing a Sansa Clip Zip for use in my car.

The Clip Zip is well within my limited budget, and the Cowan is way too high for me. Does this group still like the Clip the best at its price range? I assume that I should get the Clip Zip rather than the Clip+, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

With the money I am saving on the Clip Zip, I intend to get maybe four microSD cards from Newegg. They are routinely available for not much money there.

To keep the unit charged I thought I would need something for the cigarette lighter. I see that there is a new product called the Boxwave VersaCharger Pro for $26 which looks good. Anybody have a better idea?

http://anythingbutipod.com/2006/09/b...ayer/#more-340

What sort of cable will I need to connect the Clip Zip to my car radio? I imagine I could buy it the same time I buy the Clip Zip and save on shipping.

Is that all I will need? Am I forgetting anything?

Thanks!

[CrowdAds]

[kp-j3]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

What sort of cable will I need to connect the Clip Zip to my car radio? I imagine I could buy it the same time I buy the Clip Zip and save on shipping.

Is that all I will need? Am I forgetting anything?

Thanks!

Depends on the car stereo you are trying to tie into. If you've got a real aux in, it will either be a 1/8 headphone to 1/8" headphone or split to an RCA pair.

Maybe a module to adapt a satellite radio input, or the bottom of the barrel if you don't have any inputs an FM modulator (wouldn't recommend that).

[GA Russell]

Thanks for your prompt response, kp!

I see that Amazon is offering an accessories bundle for $10.99. That may be all I need, unless someone has any suggestions.

http://www.amazon.com/Accessories-Bu...ref=pd_sim_e_1

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Thanks for your prompt response, kp!

I see that Amazon is offering an accessories bundle for $10.99. That may be all I need, unless someone has any suggestions.

Just so you are aware, none of those will actually allow you to connect an mp3 player to a car stereo.

[kp-j3]

Originally Posted by saratoga

Just so you are aware, none of those will actually allow you to connect an mp3 player to a car stereo.

This one may work:

USB data cable: Sync your data and charge the battery at the same time

Assuming he's got a USB capable deck. I made the assumption he doesn't based on the first mp3 player reference.

And saratoga's right. You'll still need to get audio out of it, into the car stereo unit.

[FreeZ5]

To help you understand how to connect any mp3 player to your car stereo, it would be helpful to know some details of said stereo.

For example, my car has a cassette player in it. I play my players through that. Since newer cars do not have a cassette player, what does it have?

Some modern car stereos have an Aux in on the faceplate that looks like an earphone jack. Others have a USB port. Some probably have both (although I haven't looked too hard). Others require wiring behind the stereo.

Without info from you, anything is just a Wild Guess.

BTW, in the accessory set that you found , the two chargers will work with the Clip Zip (micro USB cables), but not the Clip+ (mini USB cables). I prefer chargers that allow any USB cable to be inserted.

Here's a link to a car charger that I saw on Amazon (no experience with it though).
http://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Ligh...sb+car+charger

Steve

[GA Russell]

Thanks again, guys.

In 2006 I bought for my car a Pioneer radio/CD/Aux/satellite-ready unit, and with it an under-the-dash Sirius receiver. On the unit's face it says, "WMA/mp3/AAC", so I assume that it is capable of utilizing an iPod and therefore a Clip Zip.

The Aux female receptor is round, not USB.

I thought that I might find a cable on the Clip Zip's Amazon page that would deliver the music from the Clip Zip to my unit, but I didn't see anything. I suppose that as a last resort I could try Radio Shack.

[FreeZ5]

You probably need a generic earphone to earphone (3.5mm to 3.5mm) cable. Here's the first two I found on Amazon. As a test, see if an earphone fits in the stereo (without turning the car on).

http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-St...ds=3.5mm+cable

http://www.amazon.com/Cables-Unlimit...ds=3.5mm+cable

Some folks like the cables from Monoprice. I haven't tried them, partly due to shipping to Canada.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

You can also get these on eBay or from dealextreme.

Steve

[GA Russell]

Thanks FreeZ5. Those look like what I am looking for, particularly the first and third. I also found a BlueRigger that looks good.

http://www.amazon.com/BlueRigger-3-5...id=RVSBV717YT9

So is there anything I haven't thought of yet?

[kp-j3]

May want to think about the angle of the cable. A 90 degree at one end or both may help in the layout.

[zP0kE]

You actually don't need a usb car charger if your player is already charged. But if you do get one, get a mini charger, $6. The one you linked to for $26 is a total rip off. The micro usb cable already comes with the player. You can get a 3.5 audio male to male cable for a few bucks off ebay (from china). I'd also install Rockbox to take advantage of it's car mode.

http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Powerj...sb+car+charger

[GA Russell]

Thanks guys. kp, can you recommend a 90 degree cable?

[kp-j3]

Not really. I buy my cables sporadically. I just know in the past a 90 degree or two would have made the cables run/lay better, less stress at the ends, etc.

[FreeZ5]

Here's one
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/3-5mm-Male-Ma...item2eb6191487

BTW...in some dashboards, the 90 degree end might be an issue. My opinion only, I haven't actually tried any.

Steve

[GA Russell]

Thanks Steve. I don't think the angle would be a problem for me, but tomorrow in daylight I'll take a look.

[dave61430]

The clip+ does not seem to play if plugged into a USB port using the cable, same as when you plug it into the computer. It will play when charging from a non audio connection such as a wall charger or car charger. You would then use the aux input from the headphone jack.
I have a very cheap ($8 with postage) FM transmitter which I use with a memory stick. Works well and no charging worries. I got mine from Meritline.
Problem with both this and using a clip is you can't really make selections while driving (safely). The very best solution is to have a radio with both aux and usb input and to use a memory stick which is controlled by the radio.

[FreeZ5]

I use a Clip set to Shuffle, so I don't select songs, although I do hit Forward or Reverse occasionally. When I am charging it from an adapter similar (but cheaper than) the one ZP0KE pictured, everything works fine.

The Clip in the car just contains what I term "driving" songs, so no reason to do any selection. There is a playlist on it called "Steve" that I use sometimes when my wife isn't in the car (it contains songs she's not fussy about or doesn't like).

Clips are cheap enough to own one just for your car.

Steve

[dgb52]

You can also use a cell phone charger to power the clip zip.

you can probably plug your clip into to the usb port and play it through the radio but it will only play the internal memory and not the sd card


I would also recommend using a 3 ft. 3.5 to 3.5 cable as anything longer will just get in the way

[Brett_val]

I'm using my Zip in my car, but I wouldn't recommend it. Actually I have no car radio, it's just Zip->amplifier->speakers.
The problem is that the Zip is too small, you may clip it to the dashboard but then the screen is not readable, so I end up holding it in my hand and putting it down somewhere, where it may fall off etc..

Even using the AUX input, you'd still have to control the playback on the Zip, aside from volume which can probably be adjusted on the car radio. I'd rather get a car radio that has USB input, but I read somewhere on this forum that not all car radios read the microsd card on the Zip, only the internal memory.. so just putting a flasdrive in there would make more sense, and skip the Zip.

Originally Posted by GA Russell

On the unit's face it says, "WMA/mp3/AAC", so I assume that it is capable of utilizing an iPod and therefore a Clip Zip.

I think that means the unit will play CDs with WMA/mp3/AAC.
If it would support an iPod it would have some connection for it on the front or back, and it would probably also say something like "made for iPod" on the front. So my guess is that you can just pop an MP3-CD in there and call it a day .

[FreeZ5]

Originally Posted by Brett_val

I'm using my Zip in my car, but I wouldn't recommend it. Actually I have no car radio, it's just Zip->amplifier->speakers.
The problem is that the Zip is too small, you may clip it to the dashboard but then the screen is not readable, so I end up holding it in my hand and putting it down somewhere, where it may fall off etc..

I'm fortunate in that my car has a little cubby hole in the dash a few inches under the stereo that the excess cable and Clip fit in great. I drove a couple of vehicles (son's mini van and a little pickup) briefly a couple of years ago and both had places to clip the player.

Even using the AUX input, you'd still have to control the playback on the Zip, aside from volume which can probably be adjusted on the car radio.

I put the player volume up to max and control the volume on the car stereo. As I said above I use Shuffle in the car.

I'd rather get a car radio that has USB input, but I read somewhere on this forum that not all car radios read the microsd card on the Zip, only the internal memory.. so just putting a flasdrive in there would make more sense, and skip the Zip.

From threads here at ABi, that seems to be an issue with most car stereos and players with SD cards. The car stereo is not smart enough to read both memories through the USB port. And since iPods don't take SD cards, car stereo manufacturers will probably never bother.

If I had a car stereo with a USB port, I would probably try a microSD card with a small USB adapter. Maybe my next car will have this feature. When I go car shopping, I'll be taking a Clip+ or Clip Zip and a microSD card with me.

Steve