iPod

[beedee]

Hiya, no replies to my last beta problem so will try this. Does anyone know how I can hookup my iPod to my CD car player.
Fingers crossed.

[ROF]

iPod FM Transmitter with battery charger

[thevoelk]

Use a headphone to RCA (can't remember the headphone jack name) Y cable. Connect it to the optional CD changer control cable that has the RCA in jacks. Depending on your model, it may be "iPod Ready" and only need the adapter.

[e404pnf]

iPod FM Transmitter with battery charger

You will have trouble tracking one of these down on the UK high street. Under UK law you would be running a pirate radio station and so these are illegal.

That said, you will probably find them available online (from outside the UK) or at a car boot sale.

-e404pnf

[Prot]

An FM transmitter that only broadcasts about 10 feet at most.....this is a pirate radio station???

[e404pnf]

An FM transmitter that only broadcasts about 10 feet at most.....this is a pirate radio station???

Officially, Yes. Stupid I know.
It's not strictly enforced (as I said I've seen them in car boot sales) but it does mean you wont find them on the high street. (Quick google gave THIS... probably better sources if you look harder)

[EAO]

There is another issue with wireless:

The issue is that a significant number of people who have tried wireless have experienced terrible interference. Get's frustrating very quickly when driving down the road and the song plays well and then you hear the background station bleed through. Furtermore it is not device specific. What works for someone in one car will not work in another.

and a solution:

You need a wired FM transmitter (or is it FM modulator???). Very easy to hook up. The car's fm antenna plugs into it and the tranmitter has a wire that plugs into the fm antenna socket on the back of the radio. Hook it up to your fuse box and you're done. Some of these devices will automatically take over the radio when they sense an incoming signal others require that you flip a switch. That's where you have to research. I didn't know what I was doing and it took me 45 minutes to install mine. A mechanic could probably do it in 10-15 minutes. I mounted mine modulator in my glove box. Neatly hidden when the car's parked. They cost anywhere from $35.00 to $80.00 dollars. Check out ebay. I got mine from crutchfield... but I believe mine was being dicontinued. I paid about $45.00.

[shelbyGT]

Well, what kind of car/radio would have helped.

but like has been said, FM Wireless transmitters are a solution. If you don't care about perfect quality then go for it. I have one, but will soon be getting rid of it.

If your CD player has RCA inputs, you can buy (as state) a simple $5 stereo to RCA Y adapter at an electronic store. Plug one end into ipod, other to stereo... enjoy.

If you get any feedback with the RCA solution, typically only when you are charging the ipod at the same time as playing, you will need a ground loop isolator. These are cheap, under $15.

Pretty easy solutions there.

[Jim44]

Depending on the car, check out the Dension ice>Link:Plus:
http://www.densionusa.com/main.htm

Edit: My bad, I didn't notice you're in the UK. Same difference, try:
http://www.dension.com/allproducts.htm



Jim

[celtic_druid]

I use an Alpine KCA-420i. Works quite well other than the fact that the head unit always reverts to shuffle = off. I can't see the point of fm transmitters, etc. You are lowering the sound quality and you can't control the ipod via your head unit.

I get direct control, so I can skip tracks, browse playlists, etc. and it displays text from the ipod, so track title, artist, etc. Clarion I believe do something similar but they have a touch screen version where you can create playlists.

[beedee]

many thanks to all. prob. solved

[shelbyGT]

You are lowering the sound quality and you can't control the ipod via your head unit.

a - it's a cheaper route to go
b - sound quality is not as important to everyone
c - It's pretty easy to control the iPod from the middle console arm rest even without looking down at it.
d - it's cheaper

[smearbrick1]

If you have a Mazda, you are screwed. The aftermarket Ipod usage in a Mazda is so lousy, the only solutions you can use are actually hacks and mods. The parts required aren't very cheap either. The results (from what I've heard) are less than exciting.

[robotfighter]

I've got a Mazda
The stock stereos are awful in 'em, so it was either get a new stereo to jack my ipod into, or buy the FM transmitter. I grabbed the iTrip, and it works pretty well, especially since it has a huge tuning range, versus the 4 freq's available on my old FM transmitter. When driving in the city, however (at least here in the S) there's so much radio interference, it's pretty unusable. But once I'm on the highway, it's great.

[shelbyGT]

If you have a Mazda, you are screwed. The aftermarket Ipod usage in a Mazda is so lousy, the only solutions you can use are actually hacks and mods. The parts required aren't very cheap either. The results (from what I've heard) are less than exciting.

'


um... wrong?
You buy either an FM transmitter or go with an aftermarket stereo. That's pretty much standard for EVERY car out there. Where are you getting your facts here?

You can get a metra (or another manufacturer) faceplate, pop in a new cd player with RCA inputs and ta-da, awesome sound. Or, if you want to stick with the factory stereo (like me), then you simply purchase one of many available adapter kits that allow you to plug in RCA cables directly. No hack, but yes a mod.

Honestly... I don't know where you're coming from.

[robotfighter]

Allow me to correct myself - yes, you can replace the stereo. I meant off the showroom, there's not much you can do. But like you said, most other cars seem to suffer a likewise fate.

I'll honestly say - I didn't know you could mod the stock stereo. Got any links to decently priced kits for that? I'd rather do that than replace the stereo entirely.

[shelbyGT]

Depends on what car you have. I have a 6s, so I really only pay attention to that honestly. But, here's the plugin for the stock unit. Find an enthusiast forum and ask there, always a good source of information (if you don't have a 6)
http://www.sylfex.com/products/AuxMod/
Funny enough this thread is here, I just bot this today. It's coming in the mail next week so I'll have pure line-in. Woot.
And 2006 models of the 6 (not sure about the rest) get native iPod support (like the BMW's)

[robotfighter]

I had a protege 5 since 2001, just traded in for a Mazda MPV min-van (got a kid and another on the way - had to suck it up and get the family car) So far the radio transmitter trick has worked ok, just as I noted, it's a pain to use in town. (I live in a pretty dense metro area)

[thevoelk]

My JBL in my Toyota had RCA inputs, but they only worked for a CD changer, so be careful. I ended up getting a Pioneer about years ago before I got my Dell Jukebox. I think I read VW is starting to have an iPod connection in the stock head units.

Probably the best, not the cheapest though, is to get a new head unit that is iPod ready. I'm not sure what this means exactly, since I'm not currently in the market for a new unit, but I'm guessing that it includes a connection cable and the iPod can be controlled by the head unit, like the aforementioned Alpine. I'm not sure if it's worth the extra money for the unit, it depends on your priorities.

As a side note, we hooked our Jukeboxes up to our Foxes and Humvees when we were in Iraq. /Kuwait/Bahrain since we couldn't find the music we liked and we were limited to what we could bring from home, so CDs were definitely a luxury item. Of course, the cheap pirated knock-offs were available if you wanted to spend a dollar.