I have a flashdrive (thumb drive) that I use to play MP3 files with
music or podcasts, in the car, either by plugging straight into the car
radio, or with a $15 gizmo that plugs into the cigarette lighter and
broadasts in FM to the radio.

1) If I turn off the radio or gizmo or unplug the flashdrive, it starts
up again either (where I left off or iirc much more likely) at the start
of the song or segment I was playing when I stopped the previous time.

Where is this information stored, in the radio or the gizmo (whichever
the flashdrive is plugged into)? Or in the flashdrive itself?

How is it stored? If in the flashdrive, in an identifiable file?

I could learn part of this by testing, but I'm running out of time, and
I'm sure you'll have a little more to say about the topic anyhow. If
it's stored in the flashdrive, I can have it keep position in more than
one flashdrive, putting music on one, science podcasts on another, and
history podcasts on the third.

2) There are one or two vacant FM radio frequencies, present on the
radio but not used, at least in the USA. Either was a good choice for
my gizmo (since my own car radio isn't new enough to play directly) but
it seemed that the very low frequncy, 87.7 or 9, led to a great lack of
fidelity in the sound. Was this my imagination, since 88.1 works just
fine. It seems like 2 or 4 tenths of a megahertz wouldn't make much
difference. (At the high end, I think 107.9 is often in use and I
don't think radios go higher than that. And googling told me that the
only unused ones are at the bottom.)

3) While I'm asking, my 2005 Toyota radio has a GPS on the screen, but
EVERY time I turn it on, I have to touch something to agree to the legal
disclaimer that show. Every time. And I don't really need GPS anyhow.

Are there newer after-market radios that either a) show GPS but don't
expect me to do this every time, or b) use the screen for something else
altogether, not counting controlling the radio or a rear-view camera or
watching movies**???. I can't imagine what else there is, but I've
known for a while that I don't have much imagination.

**I'll neve watch a movie in the car (certainly not while I'm driving),
the rear-view camera is on only when I'm in reverse, and I'm sure there
will be a way to control the radio. I'd rather have mechanical buttons
but it's 2-din and I'd even more want to have some new-fangled gizmo.

Thanks a lot.

micky wrote:

If I turn off the radio or gizmo or unplug the flashdrive, it starts
up again either (where I left off or iirc much more likely) at the start
of the song or segment I was playing when I stopped the previous time.

Where is this information stored, in the radio or the gizmo (whichever
the flashdrive is plugged into)? Or in the flashdrive itself?

I would expect the MP3 playing gizmo stores the current track/position
internally.

"I would expect the MP3 playing gizmo stores the current track/position internally. "


I would agree but I've seen CD players do it and we know of course storing that info on a CD is impossible. Well actually just too much trouble. It would have to be a CDRW and it would be a burner. Fat chance of that.

But I think it works out well if it is stored on the stick itself. That way if you change cars and take your stick of music with you the next car will just resume where you left off.

We don't want to give people other things to do while they're driving, they already have to shave, text their girl, eat breakfast and perhaps look at a spreadsheet or something for the meeting at work. Women got it even worse because they have to do their hair, nails and makeup on top of all that other ****.

Wait, did you mean the stick as the gizmo or the player in the car as the gizmo ? I assumed the stick as the gizmo so take my statement accordingly.

Sometimes you have to explain that highly technical jargon.

wrote:

Wait, did you mean the stick as the gizmo or the player in the car as
the gizmo ? I assumed the stick as the gizmo so take my statement
accordingly.
From previous descriptions (here or elsewhere) the gizmo is a 3rd party
device, the USB memory stick loaded with MP3s is plugged into the gizmo,
gizmo is plugged into the car's cigar lighter and the gizmo acts like an
iTrip broadcasting FM which the car's radio receives.

I suppose the gizmo could store the position on the stick rather than
internally, but AFAIK there's no standard for this. My car has a
built-in SD card reader rather than needing a gizmo, I don't think it
ever writes to the SD card.

2) There are one or two vacant FM radio frequencies, present on the
radio but not used, at least in the USA. Either was a good choice for
my gizmo (since my own car radio isn't new enough to play directly) but
it seemed that the very low frequncy, 87.7 or 9, led to a great lack of
fidelity in the sound. Was this my imagination, since 88.1 works just
fine. It seems like 2 or 4 tenths of a megahertz wouldn't make much
difference.


87.7 and 87.9 are part of TV channel 6 in the US.

If there is an active Digital TV station on channel 6 in your area, you will get noise.

When TV was analog, you used to be able to hear the sound carrier of Ch 6 at the bottom of the FM radio band.

mark

On Fri, 9 Feb 2018 15:17:06 +0000, Andy Burns
wrote:

wrote:

Wait, did you mean the stick as the gizmo or the player in the car as
the gizmo ? I assumed the stick as the gizmo so take my statement
accordingly.
From previous descriptions (here or elsewhere) the gizmo is a 3rd party
device, the USB memory stick loaded with MP3s is plugged into the gizmo,
gizmo is plugged into the car's cigar lighter and the gizmo acts like an
iTrip broadcasting FM which the car's radio receives.

I suppose the gizmo could store the position on the stick rather than
internally, but AFAIK there's no standard for this. My car has a
built-in SD card reader rather than needing a gizmo, I don't think it
ever writes to the SD card.

You can copy your music to a SD card using almost any computer. If your
computer dont have a SD card slot, just buy a USB plug in SD card
reader, which sell for around $10 at places like Walmart. (Or check
ebay). They are made to view and copy your camera photos to a computer,
but you can write to them, make folders and so on, just like you do on a
flash drive. Actually, once they are plugged into one of those adaptors,
you essentially have a flash drive. A 32gb SD card can store thousands
of MP3 files. One card can likely store your whole music collection.

Then you just plug that SDcard into your car's sound system if it has
that option.

Those MP3 players that transmit a FM signal to a car radio, are not the
greatest. At least not the ones I have tried. Poor reception and poor
sound quality. They work best when they are in clear view of your car's
antenna (usually on the dash).

On Tue, 20 Feb 2018 09:11:26 -0800 (PST), wrote:



2) There are one or two vacant FM radio frequencies, present on the
radio but not used, at least in the USA. Either was a good choice for
my gizmo (since my own car radio isn't new enough to play directly) but
it seemed that the very low frequncy, 87.7 or 9, led to a great lack of
fidelity in the sound. Was this my imagination, since 88.1 works just
fine. It seems like 2 or 4 tenths of a megahertz wouldn't make much
difference.


87.7 and 87.9 are part of TV channel 6 in the US.

If there is an active Digital TV station on channel 6 in your area, you will
get noise.

When TV was analog, you used to be able to hear the sound carrier of Ch 6
at the bottom of the FM radio band.

mark


I used to listen to the Channel 6 TV news in my car, to get the weather
report, when I lived near a city that had a Ch6. That was analog TV. I
was wondering what a digital signal did now, or if tv still used that
low FM band anymore. I no longer live where there is a CH6 tv signal.

On 02/09/2018 02:35 AM, micky wrote:
I have a flashdrive (thumb drive) that I use to play MP3 files with
music or podcasts, in the car, either by plugging straight into the car
radio, or with a $15 gizmo that plugs into the cigarette lighter and
broadasts in FM to the radio.

1) If I turn off the radio or gizmo or unplug the flashdrive, it starts
up again either (where I left off or iirc much more likely) at the start
of the song or segment I was playing when I stopped the previous time.

Just out of curiosity, what is the brand/ model of the device? Been
looking and hoping there'd be something out like this for a while. Does
it auto scan FM stations or do you have to find a clear one manually?
Also, how's the music sound over the FM?

In ones I tried years past, they either drifted too much away from the
frequency to be useful, or seriously lacked audio response with the
effect that the music sounded poor. Maybe they've been improved since
then.