Satechi FM Transmitter and Car Charger for Sansa e 250, e260, e270, e280,Fuze and Sansa View

I love this item. It plays the music from my mp3 player so clear and the Satechi is a plus. You cannot go wrong with this product. Great!!!

I bought this for my 2004 Mazda 6 because of the many good reviews. I was expecting at least normal reception with no static but I was very disappointed. When I received this product I plugged it in and the reception is very bad - I'm getting static over the speakers. I flip to over 15 different FM channels, no luck all of them has interference static noise. The best station I found is 107.7 but is still sounds like I'm tuned in on an AM station. Very disappointing indeed...

I've never written a review before on anything in my life but I feel I owe it to everyone to warn them about this piece of junk! This thing is supposed to be compatible with the sansa view which is why i bought it, the view has a choice between normal volume setting and high. If you have it on normal you have to crank the car stereo all the way up just to have it at a listenable volume and everything sounds muddy and hissy, if you put it on high volume setting the view gets all distorted and you have to turn it down, either way, you have terrible sound quality. Basicaly I paid $40 for a cradle for my view, don't waste your money!!! I'm going to purchase a direct aux line for my car stereo.

This is the best FM Transmitter I have owned. I love the built in shelf and it is powerful enough to avoid all the static of other stations pushing through. The packaging was very good with little chance of damage and the S & H charges we reasonable.

What a neat device. It was easy to set up and use. It gives really good sound when there isn't a competing radio station. If you have a hard time finding three radio stations together that don't have broadcasts you will not get as good a signal from this. I just change the channel. Otherwise a really good value for the money.

The straight dope:

Tried in 2 differant vehicles and have used twice for 7 hours in each (vehicle) since purchased. Using with an 8 GB Sansa Fuze.

Researched many FM Transmitters after buying a completely useless Griffin USB iTrip.
Narrowed it down to the Satechi and one other product based on items with over 20 reviews and less than $90 cost via Amazon. Decided on the Satechi due to the price,features and the design being geared towards Sansa MP3 players. For $30 this is some sweet Tech so far. Don't let the (current)price fool you. Item performs flawlessly so far in regards to operation and sound being what it is. Make sure to plug proprietary Sansa connector into your MP3 player. I always turn unit off before I turn vehicle ignition off...don't like the idea of potential power spikes frying my player. Haven't tried the mini stereo plug or usb port with other devices.
BTW...the other product I considered was apx. $45....and yes, I was concerned initially about the quality of the Satechi due to its' relatively low price. So far so good. Only potential con I have experienced is that the unit is slightly bulky,and as a result in one of the vehicles I use it crowds my knee due to the cig. lighters placement. If the Satechi rotated sideways in addition to up and down it'd be perfect in my experience.

It looks really nice. That's about the only good thing I can say. As for the usable details - this thing is a piece of a junk.

The transmitter: Extremely weak and able to be over-ridden by nearly everything. Even when you think you've finally found a channel that it sort of works on, you drive a block or two and something new interferes with it.

The display screen: Impossible to read unless you are looking directly at it or from below it, which is unlikely since the power sockets are not mounted in the top of the car, but near the bottom.

Construction Quality: There is none. The very weak plastic clips that hold the Sansa (or whatever player you choose to use) in place will let go constantly. The release button for them is also located directly where you would need to grab the unit to push or pull it from the socket. Less than a week into using it, the socket plug itself split into two pieces. The screw system designed to tighten it and hold it at the proper angle is very weak, and the plastic hang-tightener broke on day 2.

The idea of this device is good, but the execution of it is terrible. I would strongly suggest avoiding it and trying to get something of higher quality.

it fits into the cigarette lighter but its almost to big you have to force it in there. and removing it is just as hard. not so bad once you get it in you leave it there. it just misses the gear shift too. the knob to tighten it in place always loosens, not convenient if driving by yourself. you are probably better off getting the cup holder transmitter.

i used this item for a few months maybe even up to 4 months and then it happened slowly but surely things started breaking until finally it just stopped working...im thinking it wasnt handled to gingerly and this might have caused its demise...so if you are
super careful with this device i bet you will have a much longer relationship with it!!

This dock has been a fantastic accessory for my Sansa Fuze. It has a solid build, and a nice finish. The Fuze fits nicely into the unit and operation is simplistic. The transmitter works flawlessly. I live in between two major metropolitan areas (Milwaukee and Chicago) and was worried about interference seeing as how we get so many radio stations in from both cities. I am delighted to say that there are over 20 stations that I have been able to find that have little or no interference. I do however occasionally pick up some static when going past certain businesses or electronic road signs. Semi trucks also seem to give off interference (probably their CBs?).

One thing that did bother me at first is the inability to change the volume on the Fuze when it was plugged in. I had to turn on the Fuze and turn it all the way up before plugging it in so that I could control the volume on the car stereo. Then I plugged it in one day with the volume down and realized that the volume setting on the Fuze itself didn't affect the volume on the car stereo :)

This is junk. Don't waste your money. Mine broke within 10 minutes of it arriving in the mail. A quick trip to the hardware store and I got it up and running, but I'm telling you - this thing is total junk. Poorly designed.

Although it was very easy to set up there is no extender bar so I either had to have it sitting sideways on my console out of reach when I drive which defeated the purpose or I had to take everything out of my center console where I could reach it but not see it. The sound quality link with my sat radio was nominal at best although with a few adjustments I could have lived with it but it really was not a good fit with my Subaru Forester.

The product arrive in about 3 days which was much faster than expected. My husband loves it, it is easy to use and great quality!

I just purchased this item for my Sansa Fuze. The device works as promised and the price was pretty reasonable. My only complaint with the device is that it doesn't turn on when you start you car. You have to hold the power button for a few seconds before the device turns on. I feel that the device should automatically turn on when I turn the key and the cigarette lighter receives power. It's kind of a hassle for quick trips here and there.

Thanks for the quick shipment. Overall, I'm very happy with the device.

I have two FM transmitters, and this one from Satechi is simple to use and performs flawlessly. If you are using it with the Sansa e200 series MP3 player, you do not need the audio cable or the USB charging cable. Tune your radio to a completely empty channel. Plug in the Sansa using the attached cable, power on the transmitter (hold the power button down for about 5 to 10 seconds) and set it to the same frequency as your radio. Mine receives the signal without interference and without turning the radio volume up anymore than usual.

This thing is awesome! I love being able to listen to my songs on my MP3 while driving around in the car. Picks up stations easily (very little background hiss, & only occ.) The fact that it is charging the player while playing is a feature I think is truly a great & useful idea. The unit does vibrate/rattle a bit while driving, but I can't usually hear it over the music :) PS: Does not rattle in the Jeep, but does in the Focus. If you are even a little interested in trying one of these, do yourself a favor and just get one. Also, the price...outstanding compared to all local stores.

I love this product. It is easy to use fits perfectly in my car. I would definitely recommend other Sansa users to purchase this product. Thank you.

It arrived very quickly from Satechi. The volume is good and I don't hear any static. It doesn't fit in everyone's car. It will block any controls right above the cigarette lighter. In some cars the shift lever is in front of the cigarette lighter. And in some cars the cigarette lighter is low and too recessed under the dash panel. But if it fits in your car, it's a great product!