for years I have been using my old ipod mini on a stalk that fits
into lighter socket. a mini din plug cable then into headunit. I
replaced headunit with newer one a few years ago which has usb input
but my old ipods OS is not modern enough for the headunit to control
ipod functions, so i still have to use mini din and choose songs on
pod, not headunit.

but all in all its great, I much preferred the hard wired connection
over the fm transmitter. I have a thumb drive in the usb input too,
so the limited ipod mini capacity (4G) is not really a problem (and
on extended trips i burn mp3 discs)

one day I will upgrade to sexier ipod, but the set up i have now has
worked flawlessly for years.

there are a lot of headunit choices out there, 150 - 200 seems to be
the sweet spot (retail) for acceptable quality and features.

alistair

On 15-Oct-10, at 12:26 PM, Loren Busch wrote:

I'm getting tired of juggling CDs while driving but not in the market to
change my head unit to one that will take a USB flash drive.  So I've
been
looking (online) at various little MP3/WMA players that take a USB
drive and
use an FM transmitter to play through the existing stereo.  Wow,
whole bunch
of choices on the market, especially on eBay, from $1.00 on up from
many,
many sources.  I don't need Bluetooth capabiltiy.  So, I'm asking if
anyone
has been or is using such a device in their Vanagon (or any vehicle
for that
matter) and what your experience has been.  If you have found the
'perfect
solution' in a Vanagon let me know the make/model and if possible the
source.
Thanks.