I am not responsible for what you do with this information. If you decide to modify your itrip you will be violating FCC (Federal Communications Commission) part 15 rules. In a nutshell Part 15 rules say that the unlicenced transmitting device may not interfere with licenced trasmitters. An example would be a high powered itrip transmitting on FM radio bands (88MHz-108MHz) interfering with somebodies radio reciever. Not only is thie annoying to the person with the reciever it also clogs up the airwaves. I would not worry to much about these regulations since they can only trace your transmission easily if you are transmitting with high wattage for a long time and stationary. If you are mobile its much more difficult to get caught. Although, it may be tempting to override annoying radio stations like RAP stations... :-P

In this tutorial I will cover how to modify your itrip's Antenna to get better range. Out-of-box the Griffin itrip has a very limited transmission range. Its so poor in range that you will regret you even bought it. Just look around from user reviews of the product and you'll see that others hate the range also. Not only did I have problem with range I also had problems with static and sound quality even if I had it transmitting very close to the antenna.

It is assumed that the audience is knowledgable in the basic principals of radio saftey, how to handle fragile parts, and common sense.

My brother bought me the itrip FM transmitter for my 2gb ipod nano because I often gave him a lift in my car. I was using it for a week with disappointing results. I had to place it next to my car antenna. Even then I would occasionally get static. According to the manual it states that you should use a static station for the itrip to transmit on. I live in New York state and there are hardly any static stations I can use for the itrip. Most of the time the other station wins. I got so fed up with the crap signal that it was use my headset again and not use the itrip or open the damn thing up to see if I can improve the signal.

Heres what I did step by step (I took the pics with my phone. I will try to get better visuals. No pics of the inside taken as it should not be neccessary unless I get a request.):

1. The tools I used consisted of a small flat head screw driver and a fruit knife (or at least I think it is).
   
   
2. Now I used the fruit knife and sliced along the itrip bottom slit. I made a slit large enough to wedge the small flat head screw driver. I wedged it in carefully and turned the screw driver a bit and it started to seperate. I did this along the slit until it was easy enough to seperate with my hands. Make sure you do not force it open as you can damage the circuitry or the wire antenna connector. When you first open it you should see the wire facing inwards being held in with soft glue. All you need to do now is pull it out. If I were to do this step differently I think I would of pulled the gray wire though without even opening the itrip. Just be sure you pull the right side.
   
   
3. At this point you should have the itrip seperated and the wire laying on the outside. Now close the itrip back up. It should just snap back together when you match the prongs in the inside up. Test that it works with the ipod. If it works then good.
   
4. I then stripped a bit of the antenna wire so I could see the inside. I did this with my teeth. Now twist the inside. Have another soft wire handy then strip then end off of both ends and twist both of them together.
   
   Since I showed you the back heres the front:
   
   
5. Instead of bothering with electrical tape and solder I am using 1 foot of 1/8 inch of CONDUCTIVE HEAT SHRINK from CableOrganizer.com. It goes around the wire and you can use any conventional heat source to make it shrink around the wire. It should help stop interference and make the wire neat and strong.

I've used hangers and small radio collapsables before I stumbled upon something better. I had a screw on car antenna lying somewhere around my house which I was lucky enough to find. I also found a piece of metal that had scew threads on both ends. I ended up screwing the car antenna onto it. So far it works like a charm. All I do is prop the antenna against a object and put the soft wire from the itrip on it and we are good to go.

I read Griffin's small itrip directions and they mentioned LX mode and DX mode. They say that DX plays in mono but produces a cleaner stronger signal while LX plays in stereo but is weaker. I switched mine to DX. In order switch modes hold your channel switcher in for 3 seconds. When you see the mode flashing move the knob down to switch between modes. When you want to select just press the channel switcher in to confirm your selection.

The ipod connected with the itrip with just the soft blue wire sticking out works decent in the car. I also moved it around the perimiter of the car and got satisfying results. I consider that my mobile solution.

When I wish to broadcast at a greater range I choose to use my large antenna. I must say i'm proud of the results. I tested this on my condo deck. We live on a hill on the second floor. I proped the antenna against a deck rail and put the blue wire the metal portion on the bottom. I had the itrip in DX mode on channel 88.1. I chose this as this is the lowest. If i'm correct the lower in frequency you go the longer the radio waves are and the farther they travel. That is why I chose the lowest. Over here that channel is some sort of opera channel and its quite stong. I left it transmitting and drove my car around the complex. To my suprise the signal was quite strong. I went all the way down to the exit and it was still comming in with about 50/60% of white noise. The signal could be worked on. All I need to do now is get some connector for the blue wire to attatch to the metal end. Maybe I need to insulate the metal bar on the bottom for better range. Anyway I took some pictures:

I have not tried but looked into getting a FM Amplifier and attatching it to the antenna. This would allow one to make a far broadcasting pirate radio. I do not recommend that as its very traceable. If caught I think there are severe penalties (not exactly sure what though). Boosting the signal output is also dangerous if you are near the transmitter. You can get too much RF radiation. If you do that make sure you put it at a far safe distance.