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July 28, 2005
Extending the iTrip's Range (Round 2)
A long time ago, I took up the task of extending the abysmal range of my iTrip FM transmitter for the iPod. It worked well, but not as well as I know it can.
Recently I sat down and put in a good bit of work with the hopes of finally getting my iTrip's range up to par with my expectations of it.
With the application of a knife along the seam on the side and top of the device, the use of tweezers to hold the newly-formed gap open, the use of another pair of tweezers to reach in and grab the antenna, and the replacing of the rubber insulating plug on the side of the iTrip to seal the casing back up, I was able to fully extend the antenna out the side of the iTrip at a healthy 90ยบ angle with almost no scarring of the case.
Now I have full access to the antenna, so I am able to not only adjust it to better transmit the signal, but I also have the option of amplifying the transmission via an external method.
Click on for some Flickr'd pictures of the final product.
Posted by Alan Joyce at July 28, 2005 09:28 PM
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» Extending the iTrip's Range (Round 2) from MAKE: Blog
With the application of a knife along the seam on the side and top of the device, the use of ... [Read More]
Tracked on August 2, 2005 12:07 AM
» My iTrip Hack from Shaun Dewberry's Weblog
Having seen others attempt to extend the range and power of their Griffin iTrip FM transmitters for the iPod, I decided to give it a go myself - it didn't appear too difficult.
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Tracked on August 3, 2005 01:24 AM
Comments
Anyone have any explanation for why moving an antenna would affect performance? Whether it is in the case or out, it seems that it would work the same. Is there interference from internal components that is removed when the antenna is aligned 90 degrees to, or even just moved away from, the internal components?
Posted by: JD at August 26, 2005 11:05 AM
The iTrip is designed so that it does not exceed the FCC 30 ft. limit, and it is believed that there are some internal components that run interference to ensure that ranges greater than 30 ft. are not achieved.
Posted by: Alan Joyce at August 26, 2005 08:15 PM
the reason for the "increased" performance is simple - the antenna on your car is vertically polarized, and now the antenna on your iTrip is now vertically polarized.
if you simply rotate the iPod 90 degrees, the signal is now transmitted in a vertical polarization.
to increase the RF output power, one simply needs to look at the schmatic and change a few component values.
i have the iTrip dock for my 5G - i haven't opened it yet, but i'm sure it's a simple matter to increase the RF output.
Posted by: RFi at February 1, 2007 04:47 PM