nuvi 760 wireless fm trans

I might be interested....

please tell us more - give a link if possible to the product you bought
thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-119084-Wireless-Fm-Transmitter...

here is the one i got.

there are many different ones to choose from on amazon

it plays the garmin through your cars speakers so you can listen to directions and music without any loss.

So if Monster can build an FM transmitter that gets mostly great user reviews, why can't Garmin design a better internal transmitter?

Most of the discussions here have said the Garmin internal unit's poor performance was due to FCC transmit power limitations in the USA. If that's true, then apparently Monster has figured out another way.

at less than $16, a good solution if you don't have a tape player or aux input

I may have to try one for my wifes car...

Edit: that's funny the price has gone up...I should say at less than $20

I appreciate the link for the alternative to tape as my tape player started to have a mind of its own.
Tape player works when it wants to ugh.

I have a Belkin FM transmitter that I used with my computer and MP3 player on my boat. I hooked it up to my 760 and there is a night and day difference between the FM power output of the garmin and the belkin. I guess I am going to be using the external transmitter around town. The Belkin is able to overrun stations while the Garmin has trouble on FM frequencies that are near other stations. On my trips away from the city, at night, in certain moon phases, the Garmin internal FM transmitter works great.

I truly feel tricked by garmin on this aspect. It was one of the few features I used to justify the additional $150 when comparing the Garmin 350 to the 760.

Or just ignored the regulation?...

Since the device is undoubtedly made in guess where - China - I suspect you are correct, Phil.. What are the odds that the FCC is patroling the streets looking for illegal transmitters? Small, at best. A word of caution on these devices. They WILL "splatter" over to the FM frequencies of any vehicle that is near you (at a stop light, etc). Not a problem with music (because the splatteree doesn't know where it's coming from). If, however, you are using the GPS to receive phone calls, the conversations can be overheard in vehicles in the area of your vehicle.

Joel

I have a newer vehicle with an auxillary port.. I just hook up my Ipod and listen away....

That would be great but I can't afford a new vehicle. I have two vehicles and both have the stock systems in them. No aux inputs. My wife's car (although with my new job I have to use it all the time) has a tape deck that frequently spits out the cassette adapter so it's really frustrating to use. I had really hoped for better performance from the FM transmitter.

I too bought the 750 thinking the extra price was worth the additional FM function. Traveling on the highway it is next to useless as I had to get my wife to look for a clear frequency all the time. After about 1 hour we just give up.
Thanks for the tip on the Monster transmitter.

Maybe the answer for Garmin is to have their units made in China. They don't seem to abide by rules there.

Thanks for the info. Assuming you have only one power outlet available in your car like most of us, what sort of adapter are you using/did you purchase to provide an additional outlet for this device?

WOW! I like the new word. Can that be found in Webster's? I did find it (Google) used in a quote from Evel Knievel.

Ahhhh - my buddy Evel. Famous quote from him is "I never met a bone I couldn't break!"........

Joel

Yeah, it finally caught up to him, though. He lived out his "retirement" in Clearwater, not to far from where I live, so he was on the local news or in the local newspapers a lot in those last years.

Unfortunately where I live most of the FM stations are taken so there is not much open air. Fortunately I have an aux. jack in my car. I love it. Listen to music, the gps and the blutooth all through the speakers and I love how it pauses the music for a call or directions.

My current car doesn't have the aux jack but I have a new one on order that will have the jack. I'll wait for the delivery to see exactly what will work for me. I'm betting on the jack since my wife has exactly zero tolerance for background static!

I just Bought a 2008 VW Rabbit..and it has the Aux input..I am really looking forward to trying it, with my 660. I tried a couple fm transmitters with my 650 and the Factory one on my 660 ...both had many drop outs.

The nuvi audio is SO much better when heard through better speakers. And if you put some MP3's on there, you get commercial free music and it automatically pauses the music when it needs to give you turn directions.

didn't mean what I said in an offenseful way.... I just meant that the aux port and the ipod really wotk well and there is no need to play my mp3 via the speakers and the fm transmitter.. Not being cocky

i have two ports the lighter and then a 9 volt port because i have a suv. so that is really helpful

When I didn't I had one of these:
http://puregizmo.com/pdt337424/_wag_9134.shtml

I just got a nuvi 680 and noticed the Fm transmitter not to be too great. What cable do I need to hook up to my aux jack? and where do I pick one up?

1/8 inch audio... Take the unit in with you and they;ll fix you up...

edit: actually I think it's 3.5mm audio cable (Stereo)

I got mine at Radio Shack. 3.5mm stereo cord, about 8 feet long or so. I also got a right-angle connector for the cord, which lets it hang down straight along the side.

Here's a web page that will calculate the best frequencies to use on a FM transmitter. I haven't tried it yet with my Nuvi 760, but figured it might be helpful...

http://dlo.com/openFM/openfm_web.tpl?command=showpage&cart=1...

When I bought my 760, it came with the traffic receiver built into the 12V car charger. When my 760 is docked, it's the most powerful FM transmitter I've ever used. (I've had 3 prior)

The problem isn't that the internal FM transmitter is bad...it's that it needs a long antenna. By itself, the nuvi has no external antenna...but with the traffic receiver/FM transmitter, the antenna is the length of the power cord.

I modified the last belkin transmitter I had. Once I opened it up, I soldered a 6' wire to it, and just like that, the reception increased by 20% or more. I'm in the process of making an OP-AMP to further boost the signal. Preliminary tests show that I can get a perfect signal within a 200' radius that overpowers any other signal on whatever frequency I have it set to...the problem with that is, it's "less than legal."

i didnt think to use the traffic transmitter to help aid the signal. nice call! im on it today. Is the traffic transmitter worth paying the monthly fees?

The FM receiver that comes with the 760 only shows some traffic updates which many have found to be less than reliable depending on their area of operation. I opted to purchase the MSN receiver which in addition to traffic updates, it also offers local movie times, gas prices, the ability to transmit from the web an address/location directly to your GPS.

I have a 2730 with the built-in transmitter and it is not so hot either.

I bought the Monster transmitter and it is much better.

Tim

Will the Monster FM Transmitter referenced above work with any Garmin unit that has an audio out line?

jack like mp3 players, telephones, radios etc....

Well maybe not radios.... kinda redundant...

Anyone else try this monster transmitter with a nuvi? it has mixed reviews on amazon

I have tried several with the same results - not satisfactory.

Kinda mixed feelings, it worked great with a book, not so great with music... Aux is much better if you can get one.

That depends on where you live. If you live in a major metropolitan area, and use the freeways often then yes, it's worth it.

cosmo4u

I always use my 760 docked and have the FM Traffic Receiver. I get HORRID reception.

There are several things that can lead to that. If you live in Southern California, anywhere in or near New York city, or any other massive metropolitan area, there might not be enough open frequencies to transmit on.

Go to: http://dlo.com/openFM/openfm_web.tpl?command=showpage&cart=1... and see what the best frequencies are in your area to broadcast on.

Besides that, remember that the closer your car's antenna is to the transmitter, the better.

I'm in Northern California. I live in Chico and work in Yuba City. It's fairly rural. I've let the nüvi do its scan and suggest frequencies. They "sort of" work. I've tried it manually. It simply doesn't work worth beans. I can use it in a pinch but it's not at all satisfactory. I think I really need a new car with a modern stereo that has an aux port. I looked into the cost of replacing the stereo in my wife's car and it was idiotically high.

I have a DC aux power splitter, so I have both my 760 plugged in (traffic antenna) and the Belkin FM transmitter. The power cord/traffic antenna provides NOTHING to the effectiveness of the 760 FM transmitter. My belkin requires no attention or station searching.

The car charger/FM transmitter/traffic receiver, is useful simply as an FM trasnmitter. You don't need to buy the traffic information. The transmitter function works without it.

So if all you need it for is to charge the GPS unit and transmit music, directions and phone calls through your car speaker, just use it for that and forget the traffic.

What kind of car/radio do you have? It could be that the radio in the car might not have a very sensitive RF tuner. I'm not sure how you would find out, but you want the to find the FM Sensitivity (measured in dBf (decibel femtowatts)...the smaller the number, the better.

I am wondering if there is anyway to change the FM transmission power thru some settings in unit?? Other wise it does not work very well at all.My XM radio transmits it's FM modulation much better!!

It's against FCC regulations to alter the FM transmitter strength. The makers of XM radios had to alter their FM transmitters because they were too strong and the FCC said that they were not in compliance with the regulations.

I did not know that my XM radio is not in compliance.My GPS must in compliance!

My XM radio (MyFi) is definitely not in compliance. But I don't use the FM transmitter in my car anyway as I have plugged into the AUX input.