Jupiter Jack - has anyone tried one with a scanner?

[KI4LIV]

You know the Jupiter Jack, the device pitched by Billy Mays on the TV commercials that hooks into your cell phone's headphone jack and transmits to your car's stereo speakers wirelessly.

So, has anyone here who has one tried it with your scanner? I'm curious to hear if they actually work. I've been considering picking one up for my Blackberry, but if they work with a scanner I'll pick up two!

The latest word is that the newest versions you can select frequencies that you set your stereo to in order to listen, if that's the case, I'd setup one preset for the phone and another preset for the scanner!

Love to hear back about this!

 

[gewecke]

If you google jupiter jack OR magic jack you'll find out that they're both junk!!
Nothing is quite that simple in the real world.
N9ZAS

 

[iMONITOR]

The problem in my area is that the FM broadcast band is so heavly populated, there are no dead spots to tune such a device to. So it has to compete with powerful stations, and that doesn't work out so well.

 

[gewecke]

I have a gadjet which does exactly the same thing a jupiter jack does and I've had it for 10 yrs or better. The last time I messed with it,if there was a station on the freq. you are supposed to tune it to,it would override that station until you were done with your call. These overseas get rich quick moguls keep marketing this JUNK and try to make the general public think that they have something new and cutting edge!!
I'm PISSED that they think we're just that freakin' stupid to think we don't see through that scam!AAAAHHHRRRRRGGGG!!! First,it was the magic jack commercial NOW we have to ingest this crappy attempt to dumb us down even more!
Ok,I'm done here,sorry about going off.
N9ZAS

 

[RadioDaze]

Any garden variety FM transmitter made for MP3 players (but not iPod only) should do just as well if not better with your scanner than the Jupiter Jack.

The J.J. is made for phones, so it probably has a 2.5mm plug, while scanners have 3.5mm jacks. Does the J.J. have a built-in mic? If so, the plug configuration will be even more of a problem.

I couldn't find anything in the available info for the J.J. telling what battery it uses. If it's an oddball, that will make it pricey to operate.

P.S. I use a pricier FM transmitter from a company called "Whole House FM Transmitter" (Google it) that comes with an AC adapter, takes 3-AA batts, includes an assortment of adapter cables, and has a fairly powerful transmitter. I keep it hooked up to my computer so I can listen to streaming online scanners anywhere in the house, but it's portable enough to take on the road. About the size of a deck of cards.

 

[commscanaus]

Yeah tried the "FM transmitter" idea. First with an iPod, but the transmitted audio is so narrow and tinny sounding, it made music unlistenable. (Even with name branded products aimed at MP3 players)
Tried it with the scanner next- fine- except when no-signal is being received, you get the constant hiss of the car radio as it sits tuned to a carrier.
Bleed over from power house FM stations was the last straw- into the bin the FM adapter went.

Save yourself the hassle with those ridiculous things- for a couple of hundred bucks you can find a car stereo with a front panel line input. Then you can plug in anything you like- whether it be an iPod or other music device to scanners. Get yourself a stereo to two mono plug "Y adapter" and have scanner A on the left speakers and scanner B on the right!
You can't go wrong with a pair of scanners plugged into a nice car stereo with 20w or more per channel!

Commscanaus.

 

[CrabbyMilton]

I use an IROK(sp) sound feeder and it works great when I take my scanner in the car. I'm limited to the 88mhz range but most of the time that is not an issue at least for me. I thought the same thing when I saw that ad too. As others have said, any good FM transmitter that will plug into your scanner should work.

 

[freqs]

Iam lucky i run a cord from the scanner to the mp3 jack on my f150 but need something for my cvpi that dont have the jack

 

[kb2vxa]

Jupiter Jack, sounds like a CB handle... tain fer?

 

[DaveNF2G]

To use a Jupiter Jack on a phone call, you need to be able to talk as loud as Billy Mays, too.

 

[zzdiesel]

One of our local tv stations did a does it work on this item

http://www.kfvs12.com/global/video/...ageAdTag=Consumer&activePane=info&rnd=7391928

 

[gewecke]

If I could be heard like billy was...then I wouldn't NEED a phone,lol!
N9ZAS

 

[mandlair]

If older vehicle or if you have a cassette deck you can use 1 of those adapters ,they work good.Mike

 

[aharry]

I bought a similiar device at WalMart for $9.88. It's in the auto department near the ashtrays and accessories. It works very well on my scanner... it has dip switches to select frequencies has about 10 or 12 different options. For under $10 bucks it is great!

 

[DaveNF2G]

I have the iTrip by Griffin, which I bought at Wal-Mart. It works fairly well with a scanner and is frequency agile so you can avoid most radio stations even while traveling.

It's not as good as a direct connection to the car stereo system would be.

 

[slicerwizard]

Yeah tried the "FM transmitter" idea. First with an iPod, but the transmitted audio is so narrow and tinny sounding, it made music unlistenable. (Even with name branded products aimed at MP3 players)

If the audio was tinny, the products were crap.

Tried it with the scanner next- fine- except when no-signal is being received, you get the constant hiss of the car radio as it sits tuned to a carrier.

Sounds like a transmitter with a bad audio AGC stage.


The 668A FM transmitter is available here in local stores for a whole ten bucks and features:

- great audio - sounds fine with my MP3 player, scanners and laptop (for watching movies)

- no audio AGC

- full spectrum tuning

- 3 channel presets to easily handle different geographical locations

- generally unaffected by strong local transmissions (some FM transmitters get messed up by any nearby VHF/UHF/800 transmitter sites; lousy internal shielding I guess)

- powered by 2 AAA's or an adapter cable