Review: Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter PSP

Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter PSP
Manufacturer: Griffin Technology
Site: Buy from Griffin
Price: $24.99

Overview : Offering a sleek, slim design that slides securely onto the bottom of the PSP quickly and easily, without adding bulk, the iTrip’s easy to read display sends audio right to your radio. Rock your game, movies and music through your own home and car systems and you’ll never go back to the stock speakers.

Technical Specifications :

• Built-in antenna
• Power requirement: 2 AA Batteries (included)
• Modulation: FM Stereo
• Frequencies: 88.1-107.9MHz
• High stability crystal oscillator, phase-lock loop control
• Frequency response: 50Hz to 15KHz
• Operating range: 10-30 ft
• Dimensions: 5.81" x 1.49" x .092" (147.7mm x 38mm x 23.4mm)
• FCC compliant

Quality/Usability : With Griffin being well known for their iPod accessories, Griffin decided to port their ever so popular iTrip for the iPod to the PSP.

The design and sleek which matches the look of the PSP. The iTrip PSP runs on 2 AA batteries (included) which are located on the back. On the front, are three buttons which is used for your presets, an LED display to show you what station you are using, LX (stereo)/DX (monaural), -/+ buttons to select between stations and a SELECT Button.

In order for the iTrip PSP to work, you have to select your frequency to a station where you hear nothing but static or silence, with no music in the background. Once the iTrip is plugged into the bottom of the PSP, you will need to change the frequency on the iTrip to that of the one on the radio.

First you'll need to press the iTrip's "SELECT" button twice. This will flash the frequency numbers. To change the frequency, you'll have to press the - or + buttons. Once you have selected the frequency that matches the radio, press the "SELECT" button once to confirm.

To store up to 3 frequency's, all you have to do is press the SELECT button once and choose either 1, 2 or 3 and hold down that corresponding button for 3 seconds. If you want to choose a preset frequence, just press the SELECT button once and then press either 1, 2 or 3 for the station you want.

The iTrip lets you play in either Stereo (LX) or Monaural (DX) mode. To toggle between Stereo and Mono, you would press the SELECT button three times and the mode indicator (LX or DX) will flash. Press the + button to toggle between LX and DX. Once you have chosen a mode, press SELECT to confirm the change.

Since the iTrip occupies the headphone jack and power plug, the bottom of the iTrip has what you would call, a pass-through port. Even with the iTrip connected, you can charge your PSP and listen to music. Unfortunately, it wont allow you to use a remote control headset and it will not charge the batteries in the iTrip.

iTrip was tested both inside a house and in the car. If you have a car that does not let you manually scan for frequency, you'll have a problem as the car radio will only look for stations that has signal. With the iTrip connected the sound is clear coming out of the radio but as like any other FM transmitter, sound is very low and you will either have to raise the volume on your PSP and/or on your radio. Just remember that if you do raise the volume on your radio, to lower the volume before you disconnect the iTrip from the PSP.

I must say though, even on the road whether its in a crowded area with tall building or in non-congested area, the quality is still clear. Whats great is that the RoadDock PSP fits well with it as the iTrip has a small groove that allows the RoadDock to somewhat clip onto it.

Conclusion : Overall, the Griffin iTrip FM Transmitter PSP does a great job of transferring sound to your radio. This comes in handy for those on long roadtrips where you want music from your PSP to be played through the speakers of your car. This can also become a nice little prank if someone you know is using a radio and you "intercept" their frequency and play something of yours. The iTrip unfortunately does not have a ON/OFF button and the LED display turns off automatically after a few seconds even when in use. It would have been nice if they did add one. Griffin also included a nice little pouch to store your iTrip. The pouch is a little big for it though.

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