ITrip
Encyclopedia
Griffin Technology
Griffin Technology is a privately held U.S. company founded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1992 by Paul Griffin. The company designs and manufactures computer peripherals, consumer electronics, and accessories, the first products being primarily video adapters, in particular those to enable the...
as a third party accessory for Apple's popular iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
MP3 player and iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
.
The iTrip plugs into the headphone socket (or USB port, depending on the model) of the iPod and converts the audio output into an FM radio signal, which can then be picked up by appliances such as car radios. It has a range of about fifteen feet (four and a half metres), and can broadcast on any FM frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
from 76.0 to 108.0 MHz (though the default US configuration is limited to 87.9 to 107.9 MHz). Instead of using batteries, the iTrip draws its power from the iPod through the remote connector port and the dock connector
Dock Connector
A dock connector is a connector used to attach a mobile electronic device simultaneously to multiple external resources. The dock connector will typically carry a variety of signals and power, through a single connector, to simplify the process of docking the mobile device...
for an iTrip with a dock connector.
In March 2006, Griffin Technology released the iTrip as well as some of their other iPod accessories for the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
(PSP).
iTrip
The main iTrip product, which is still sold just under the name iTrip, consists of just the main cylindrical unit, the headphone jack and remote connector. Instead of external buttons, the iTrip uses the iPod itself to control the broadcast frequency. Software bundled with the iTrip adds a playlist to iTunes containing audio files with a special set of tones in them. When this playlist is synched to the iPod, the user plays one of the tracks corresponding to the desired frequency, which causes the connected iTrip to adjust frequency. To avoid the accidental retuning of the iTrip, each sound file has a short pause followed by another tone that causes the tuning command to abort.iTrip Black
The iTrip Black is identical to the standard iTrip but black with white lettering, to match the design of the iPod U2 Special Edition.iTrip mini
Shortly after the release of the iPod miniIPod mini
The iPod Mini is a digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was the midrange model in Apple's iPod product line. It was announced on January 6, 2004 and released on February 20 of the same year. A second-generation version was announced on February 23, 2005 and released later...
, Griffin introduced an iTrip mini designed to fit the iPod mini. The unit's body is designed to continue the iPod mini's profile, and the headphone jack and remote connector are located to the side to match the same location on the iPod mini. Aside from these physical shape differences, the functionality of the iTrip mini is the same as the standard iPod iTrip.
iTrip with LCD
In August 2005, Griffin launched a new version of the iTrip which incorporates a backlit LCD and a knob on the right hand side to control the iTrip's settings. It also introduced two sets of broadcast frequencies, US and International, and two transmission modes, LX and DX. The LX mode provides stereo audio at the expense of signal quality, while DX mode broadcasts a stronger, mono signal. The iTrip with LCD is sold alongside the 'original' format iTrip.iTrip Auto
In December 2005 Griffin introduced the iTrip Auto, a version geared exclusively for use in a vehicle. It resembles the USB cord that comes with the iPod, but contains the FM transmitter inline with the cord as well as a car charger at the end of the cord. This is particularly useful for long trips and for charging your iPod when in the car without having to purchase multiple adapters and cords. This version of the iTrip also optimizes the audio coming out of the iPod so no volume adjustments need to be made on the iPod itself, thus allowing you to control the volume exclusively through your car's radio.Griffin Technology further expanded the iTrip Auto line with the iTrip Auto Universal, iTrip Auto Universal +, and iTrip Auto for Sansa. The iTrip Auto Universal is now discontinued, having been replaced by the iTrip Auto Universal +, which includes a USB port to charge the player using its standard charger, maintaining the ability to play music through the audio line-out. The iTrip Auto for Sansa is made specifically to connect with a SanDisk Sansa
SanDisk Sansa
The SanDisk Sansa is a line of 2 to 16 gigabyte flash memory-based digital audio players and portable media players produced by SanDisk.- Sansa Fuze+:...
through its proprietary
Proprietary hardware
Proprietary hardware is computer hardware which is owned by the proprietor.Historically, most early computer hardware was designed as proprietary until the 1980s, when IBM PC changed this paradigm...
dock connector.
iTrip for nano
Also in October 2005, a version of the iTrip designed exclusively for the iPod nano was announced. It connects to the iPod nano via the dock connector and headphone socket on the base in a 'sled' design - the iPod nano sits in front of the main body of the iTrip which is roughly the same shape and size as the iPod nano itself, and extends underneath it to connect to the base. The iTrip's settings are controlled onscreen with the iPod itself. A USB port is also included on the base to allow charging/synching without removing the iTrip. This iTrip also introduces a 3-station memory, a Japanese frequency mode and dynamic volume control branded SmartSound.iTrip for PSP
In March 2006 Griffin produced a version of the iTrip especially for the PlayStation PortablePlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. This device would slip onto the bottom of the PSP unit, plugging in to the headphone jack as well as the charger connector to keep it in place. In order to allow the user to charge the PSP while having the iTrip connected, there is an alternate charger connector at the bottom.
Limitations
- The relatively low power output of the iTrip makes it unsuitable for use in large urban areas because of the number of other radio signals. This is compounded by the fact that strong FM signals can bleed over into neighboring frequencies making the frequencies unusable with the iTrip. The Griffin website does provide U.S. users with a web page called Station Finder which gives details of available frequencies of different U.S. cities. In addition, an iTrip may be hacked to use a larger antenna that allows for use in urban areas. However, this violates U.S. Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) rules. - Because they draw power from the remote controlRemote controlA remote control is a component of an electronics device, most commonly a television set, used for operating the television device wirelessly from a short line-of-sight distance.The remote control is usually contracted to remote...
port on the iPod, the original iTrip, iTrip with LCD and iTrip mini prevent the simultaneous use of the wired remote or extra headphonesHeadphonesHeadphones are a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, held close to a user's ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player or portable Media Player. They are also known as stereophones, headsets or, colloquially, cans. The in-ear...
. The later versions that use the dock connector allow access to the headphone jack; the newer iPod models at which they are aimed do not have the connector for a wired remote anyway. - Due to changes in FCC regulations, newer models of the iTrip have a range much less then the 15 feet that the older models use. Depending on the frequency it is broadcasting on, it can be anywhere from 3 feet to 1 inch.
European use
The iTrip is now available in many European countries, since the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications AdministrationsEuropean Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations
The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations was established on June 26, 1959, as a coordinating body for European state telecommunications and postal organizations...
(CEPT) made a recommendation to member states to introduce FM low power transmitters. Therefore the iTrip to be sold legally in Europe will have a CE Mark
CE mark
CE marking is a mandatory conformity mark for products placed on the market in the European Economic Area . With the CE marking on a product the manufacturer ensures that the product conforms with the essential requirements of the applicable EC directives...
attached to it. Only CE marked iTrips should be supplied in the European Union.
Within the CEPT, in the case the of the members states that also belong to the European Union the situation is as follows. In 2006, the legislative powers for harmonization of the technical conditions for use of spectrum for a wide variety of short-range devices, including applications such as alarms, local communications equipment, door openers and medical implants were transferred from the EU Member States to the European Union by Decision of the European Commission 2006/771/EC. Therefore European States no longer have legislative powers in this field, but the powers to police and impose sanctions for non-respect of this EU acts remain in the hands of the Member States. Following the recommendation of the CEPT, by Decision of the European Commission 2009/381/CE amending Decision 2006/771/EC on harmonization of the radio spectrum for use by short-range devices http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:119:0032:0039:EN:PDF, in the frequencies of 87,5-108 MHz, it is allowed to use micro FM transmitters of less than 50 nanowatts of effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
. Since then, these FM transmitters are automatically allowed to enter and being marketed in the territory of the European Union for the use of consumers, as long as they have the CE mark
CE mark
CE marking is a mandatory conformity mark for products placed on the market in the European Economic Area . With the CE marking on a product the manufacturer ensures that the product conforms with the essential requirements of the applicable EC directives...
. For countries that belong to the CEPT but are not Member States of the European Union, national law applies and reference has to be made to legal procedures of each country.
United Kingdom use
On 23 November 2006 OFCOM
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
, the UK radio communications body, announced that from 8 December 2006 the use of certain low power FM transmitters, which wirelessly connect MP3 players and other personal audio devices to radios and in-car entertainment systems, would be legal for use in the UK.
Consumer demand has led to a European policy to develop a harmonized technical approach designed to limit the potential of interference to other wireless devices.