i-Pod
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Naperville
i-Pod
Has anyone tried to hook up an i-pod to the stock head unit with any success? I noticed that there is a button labled "Tape" on the head unit but the owners manual mentions nothing about it.
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Joined: Jun 2003
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you might want to pick up an iTrip (i am getting one). its an accessory that attaches to your iPod which allows you to wirelessly play the iPod through any stereo... including home or car...
...so there is nothing to attach to your stereo. it runs $35 from griffin technologies..
this isnt a sales pitch BTW... just do a search at Google for iTrip
...so there is nothing to attach to your stereo. it runs $35 from griffin technologies..
this isnt a sales pitch BTW... just do a search at Google for iTrip
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 79,195
Likes: 18
From: Home
I can tell you that the wireless broadcast type things (like the iTrip) are NOT very effective in the Chicagoland area. There are too many radio stations here so you can't find an available one to broadcast on.
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 458
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From: San Francisco
ditto for the san francisco and los angeles area. the FM broadcast adapters are utterly useless.
if you'll do a search, you'll find that there are a couple ways to connect your ipod.
one is by purchasing an adapter which connects it to the CD Changer input on the stock head unit. this will give you the best sound quality, but nobody has yet found a way to splice this in with the changer itself.... so you can't have both.
the second way is to use an FM modulator. this is a little device that hooks an rca input into the antenna input on the stock radio. you then tune the radio to a specific frequency and the ipod plays through it. in some ways it's a similar principle to the iTrip but it's a wired solution, and the adapter device usually has a cutout for the stock antenna so you don't have any issues with an existing station overpowering the iPod. sound quality here will not be perfect, but it will be acceptable IMO. this is what i did.
the final way is to buy a new head unit with extra inputs.
if you'll do a search, you'll find that there are a couple ways to connect your ipod.
one is by purchasing an adapter which connects it to the CD Changer input on the stock head unit. this will give you the best sound quality, but nobody has yet found a way to splice this in with the changer itself.... so you can't have both.
the second way is to use an FM modulator. this is a little device that hooks an rca input into the antenna input on the stock radio. you then tune the radio to a specific frequency and the ipod plays through it. in some ways it's a similar principle to the iTrip but it's a wired solution, and the adapter device usually has a cutout for the stock antenna so you don't have any issues with an existing station overpowering the iPod. sound quality here will not be perfect, but it will be acceptable IMO. this is what i did.
the final way is to buy a new head unit with extra inputs.
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 79,195
Likes: 18
From: Home
* or buy a HU that plays MP3s and then burn them to CD-R. That's what I did.
I went so far as to get the RCA to Mini-jack adapter from Radio Hack, and i was looking for 12V power cables that I could hard wire for the iPod, but decided it was WAY too much work for what I needed. (Of course I spent about 25-30 hours on my audio system as it is!)
I went so far as to get the RCA to Mini-jack adapter from Radio Hack, and i was looking for 12V power cables that I could hard wire for the iPod, but decided it was WAY too much work for what I needed. (Of course I spent about 25-30 hours on my audio system as it is!)
