What is the Sansa Fuze FM Transmitter & How Does It Work?
What is an FM Transmitter?
The Sansa Fuze FM transmitter does not enable you to play FM radio through your Sansa Fuze, as the name might imply to some. The transmitter allows Fuze owners to hook their device into their car and play songs on the Fuze over an FM frequency. The transmitter’s antenna is located inside the device, so you don’t need to fiddle around with an adjustable antenna.
How Does the Transmitter Work?
The Sansa Fuze FM transmitter connects the device to the car’s cigarette lighter with a Sansa-to-lighter cable. In most cases, the transmitter allows the Fuze to charge while owners listen to it in the car, so they can still use the Fuze after they arrive at their destination and not be left with a dead battery after a four-hour car trip.
An FM transmitter comes with a number of FM presets. Sansa Fuze owners dial in their car stereo to one of these frequencies. The frequency must be clear in order to work. Users can also dial in presets to the transmitter themselves if all of the presets prove unsuccessful.
How Big is the Transmitter?
The FM transmitter for the Fuze is a fairly small device, about the size of a USB stick. It comes with an LCD screen that displays the FM preset. Overall, it’s a fairly low-tech gadget, so the learning curve is fairly small.
Transmitter cords are fairly short, as they don’t necessarily need to span a long length in the car. Common sizes range up to about three feet. The transmitter is located in the middle of the cord, with one end housing the Sansa Fuze plug and the other attaching to the cigarette lighter plug. Thus, you don’t need any additional cords or adapters for the transmitter to work with the Sansa Fuze.
Managing Music with the Transmitter
The transmitter doesn’t add any more controls to the Fuze. Thus, if you want to shuffle songs, skip or replay a track, you’ll have to do so with the Sansa Fuze controls. That being said, it’s just as easy to manage your listening experience in the car as it is when you’re listening to the Fuze through headphones. Just leave the device within reach of an able-bodied passenger (making sure the driver keeps their eyes and mind on the road!) to skip tracks if necessary.
Cost of the Transmitter
Transmission accessories run fairly cheap if you don’t get the charging version. You might only pay $15 to $20 for a transmitter-only accessory.
However, if you want the charging capability in the transmitter, expect to shell out about $50 for this feature. Now that might turn you off at first, especially if you only plan to listen to the Fuze on short drives when battery life won’t wane too much. But consider whether you’ll listen to it on road trips, when you could be spending 10 hours or more listening to music. You might consider the charger in this case so the Fuze is always ready for use.
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