I know these things suck but my business truck only has an AM/FM stereo so I have no choice if I want to listen to my own music. Ive searched the web and found many different brands but I was hoping someone here may be able to give me a good recommendation.

I had the same problem in my old Ranger with the factory stereo. I really liked the Belkin F8V3080 Tunecast II for a couple of reasons - it will auto off after 60 seconds when there is no incoming signal, it has four presets in case a station bleeds onto the frequency you're using, and you can run it off the 12v adapter instead of using/changing batteries. Downside was that it used up one of my 12v ports (I only had 2) and it wouldn't recharge batteries that are rechargeable. The sound quality is okay, a minor amount of hiss when volume is cranked, no better or worse than a FM station, although you don't lose the signal in tunnels.

I used double sticky tape to mount it in an out-of-the-way place and ran the cord to where I used my mp3 player (a Creative Zen).

Until I put a new stereo in my dash, it solved my problem. I haven't tried anything else, so I have nothing to compare it to. They are a lot cheaper on eBay than in Walmart, but beware high volume sellers with lots of negative feedback...

I've had terrible luck with my iTrip (poor reception, hissing, etc.), and I know several friends with the same experience. I am looking to get a cassette adaptor for my iPod next, as my car is old enough to have a tape player. *shrug*

Good luck

I get a cheap fm transmitter from ebay, it works nicely and dont have problems.

For FM Transmitter, get the one from iRiver.They are really good and really work.

If you are willing to sweat a little (took 2 hrs for my celica) get this auxiliary input adapters. They are awesome, and 100 times better than any FM Transmitter. Crutch field will also give you instructions/maps for your car
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-sfZILOfmETY/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=50900&I=581DFTOY

I have the Belkin unit as well but my experience has not been as rosy (with a 80Gig iPod).

The good:
- You plug it into your cigarette lighter and you are done... no additional cables or mess.
- Belkin gives you all the dock inserts you'll need
- Belkin also gives you some rings for added stability in the lighter socket (1 was plenty for my car)
- On / Off and charging works and is controlled by turning on the ignition

The not so good:
- Sound quality is noticeably worse vs using the headphone jack (I have an after-market car stereo & speakers)
- I've had some intermittent reception issues, even when there are no other stations near the channel that I'm using. This could be an issue with the reception in my head unit or it could be an issue with the Belkin device.
- I have to take my iPod out of it's protective case to use the Belkin dock (this is true for any case but it would be nice for a transmitter to offer this!). My ipod + case docks just fine in my home dock.

A bit of work involved, but very acceptable.

Vehicle: 1999 Ford F150, company truck with AM/FM.

Transmitter - Fry's version of the small brick transmitter with antenna in and out, 12vdc and RCA jacks. Seen these sold under various names, it has a DIP switch matrix to choose a frequency.

iPod interface - Belkin F8V7058-APL & a stereo mini jack to RCA plugs cord.

Extras - 12v lighter plug.

Take transmitter and splice the lighter plug to it's 12v lead.
Put transmitter in line of antenna jack. Since this is a Ford, 2 U shaped pieces of wire pop the radio out. Unplug antenna, plug transmitter into radio and antenna into transmitter.

I let the transmitter hang in front of the heater cover. Plug patch cord from transmitter to Belkin. Plug Belkin to lighter. Plug transmitter power to lighter ( I gots two sockets) plug Belkin's dock connector to iPod.

This gets me down the road in the SF Bay area, where there is a station on every channel. 88.7 is my best frequency. No hiss or fade. The Belkin has a variable level adjuster, charges the iPod and works with the iPod in a slip case.

Disassembly requires only the Ford radio removal tool. Or work a hand from the glovebox.

I've forgotten that the transmitter/Belkin was plugged in over a weekend, and the truck's battery did not die. So I leave it plugged in 99% of the time.

There's hardly no degradation having the thing inline. I can change to AM and hear traffic reports, or tune to other FM stations.

Hey quick question to anyone out there...

Has anyone purchased one of these no-name Pioneer IP-Bus to RCA adapters on ebay? They are like 14 bucks shipped and I want to make sure that they work fine or if I should go OEM.

Thanks!