Cheap MP3 player.

[Fred]

I'm looking for an mp3 player in the $50 range that I can permanently mount on the FZ6. I've already got my radar detector and audio mixer wired in, so a permanently installed MP3 player would be a great thing indeed. I have some requirements.

1. It needs to be able to take power from the bike.
2. At least 2 gig of storage.
3. It must have a shuffle function.
4. It must switch on and start playing, in shuffle mode, with a single buttonpush.

I've seen a lot of cheap MP3 players out there, but nothing that perfectly fits my requirements. I'd like to hear people's experiences and opinions.

Fred

 

[lonesoldier84]

 

[zoomman]

Just spend the extra cake for anything with an "I" in front of it, you won't be sorry in the end. Not to mention they are built extremely well and can be used in different situations.

 

[zoomman]

WTF is that???? LOL

 

[Fred]

I'm looking at the Shuffle now.

I forgot to mention one other requirement. I really want to take the face off of the MP3 player, desolder all the switches, and solder on my own waterproof switches on wires. Then I can mount the switches in the dash and hide the player under the fairing for a permanent and fairly stealth installation.

 

[reiobard]

I'm looking at the Shuffle now.

I forgot to mention one other requirement. I really want to take the face off of the MP3 player, desolder all the switches, and solder on my own waterproof switches on wires. Then I can mount the switches in the dash and hide the player under the fairing for a permanent and fairly stealth installation.

There you go... taking an easy project and turning it all cool...

 

[CrazyBiker]

That is a big farkle ambition .. lol

 

[Scott64a]

Um, you may already HAVE one.

I found out my phone is also an MP3 player, so I got a phone to USB cable, and a 1GB microSD card, and went to town loading it up... over 10 hours of music, and all I have to do is put it in a pocket in my riding jacket, toss in some earbuds under my helmet, and away I go. I set it to be a player only, so I'm not disturbed, and on shuffle.

-Works for me, and doesn't require spending money I don't have or rewiring my bike for the novelty of "music".

An added plus, is that I never leave it behind; it's my PHONE. I couldn't think of getting another gadget to carry around with me.

 

[Fred]

I do. My phone's got a player with a two gig card. In previous rides I've velcroed the phone to the bike and plugged it into the sound system.

Last time I was out, thought, I thought about consequences of this. If I wrecked, the phone would either be on the bike or smashed into pieces. And if I wreck alone, I want the phone on my person. Hence the seperate MP3 player.

 

[Troubl]

I'm looking for an mp3 player in the $50 range that I can permanently mount on the FZ6. I've already got my radar detector and audio mixer wired in, so a permanently installed MP3 player would be a great thing indeed. I have some requirements.

1. It needs to be able to take power from the bike.
2. At least 2 gig of storage.
3. It must have a shuffle function.
4. It must switch on and start playing, in shuffle mode, with a single buttonpush.

I've seen a lot of cheap MP3 players out there, but nothing that perfectly fits my requirements. I'd like to hear people's experiences and opinions.

Fred

I've got the Creative ZEN Stone Plus which isn't bad for the price. Here's how I think it compares against what you're looking for...

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=16696
1. Not sure if there's something the can be done with this. It gets it's power through it's mini-USB connection. Is there an adapter for 12V to mini-USB?
2. It has 2GB of storage.
3. It has a Shuffle function, but I'm rather disappointed with it. It doesn't seem to be that random. Each time I turn it back on, it starts the shuffle back with the first song it did the previous time I turned it on, and the shuffle is in the exact same order as the time before. The only way I've found to get around this is to set it from Shuffle to Normal, then set back to Shuffle again and it will redo the order.
4. It does have a single button you push to turn it on, but you have to hold it for about five seconds. The button is rather small and would probably be very difficult to do with motorcycle gloves on.

All these things considered, this might not be the player for you, but thought you should hear my opinion in case this is one you were thinking of.

OH, another plus thing about it, it has an FM Tuner built into it which seems to work fairly well.

 

[Sawblade]

Creative Zen, FTW!

I got an 8gb for $110 and I can add a 16gb SD card if I need more storage. Not to mention that it requires no additional software to dump MP3s onto it.

 

[timberwolf211]

Also look into the 4gb and 8gb Zune player. bought one for my wife and she uses the crap out of it. I figure when I am ready to add tunes to a bike thats what I am going to get. MP3 is the way to go.

 

[craig007]

I have a creative Zen but I use a Garmin Zumo on for tunes on the bike. The Zen uses a special charger from Creative. If you use just a regular USB charger, it will not charge. Other than this, it is a great mp3 player.

 

[Sawblade]

I have a creative Zen but I use a Garmin Zumo on for tunes on the bike. The Zen uses a special charger from Creative. If you use just a regular USB charger, it will not charge. Other than this, it is a great mp3 player.

I've been charging mine with my motorola car charger just fine. I'm planning on installing a 12v outlet on the bike for longer trips. I did find out that the charger that came with my bluetooth headphones can't charge the zen or the phone.

 

[craig007]

well I have 2 Blackberry chargers and generic 12 v charger. None of them will charge my Zen. This is a common grip on the Zen forums.

 

[Sawblade]

Weird, well motorola branded chargers do work.

 

[Fred]

Thanks for all the advice on this. I wound up going with the Zen Stone +. It's charging off my USB port now and then I'll give it a try.

The radio, speaker and the fact that it appears as a USB drive sold me on it.

And it comes in black to match the dashboard.