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Easter Bunny
26th-November-2007, 07:37 PM
Can any of you guys help?
I have an Ipod - (4th Generation I think) and have a Griffin Itrip transmitter for some time which I do not find is very satisfactory as I either cannot get good reception or it loses the station each time I disconnect.

Someone has told me you can get a cable to connect your ipod to your car stereo - but my car stereo (around 18 months old) does not have an external aux jack point at the front.

My question is - if I managed to get a cable somewhere - would there likely to be a jack point at the rear of the stereo that an auto electrician could connect the cable for me ?

I dont really want to to go to the expense of dismantling my 'integral' stereo only to find it cant be connected.

TheTramp
26th-November-2007, 07:41 PM
Might need a few more details, like make of stereo for example.....

It's certainly possible :flower:

Tiggerbabe
26th-November-2007, 07:44 PM
I had such a cable in my old car, but Trampy's right, look online for your stereo and you should be able to find out if it has the relevant jack point.

Easter Bunny
26th-November-2007, 07:49 PM
Might need a few more details, like make of stereo for example.....

It's certainly possible :flower:

Ooooh Thanks Trampy and Tiggerbabe for coming back so quickly!:hug:

Will check out my stereo and see what I can find out - may come back to you tomorrow if I get stuck. (Dinner burning at the moment!)

x Lesley

Tartaniad
26th-November-2007, 09:12 PM
I think you may be unlucky on getting o cable for your Stereo. I have looked around for a while and most of the stereos now come with attached cables or jack points. If yours did not openly have one on view then I think not. Pop into Halfords as they have a large range on show and also in catalogues to view

ducasi
26th-November-2007, 10:30 PM
I've seen some car stereos which come with an iPod connector, allowing you to control the iPod using your normal radio controls. The connection is normally in your glove compartment so you can just keep your iPod in there all the time.

DavidY
26th-November-2007, 11:14 PM
Might need a few more details, like make of stereo for example.....:yeah:
If it's the original stereo fitted to the car, there's probably an owners' forum for your make of car which might help - a search there would probably reveal it because you can guarantee that question will have been asked before.

I know that for my stereo, there's a connection at the back that can be used if you have a CD autochanger (which I don't) but you can also buy an MP3 adaptor which can use that connection. You have to take the radio out to do it though, which is sometimes tricky.

Tiggerbabe
26th-November-2007, 11:19 PM
If yours did not openly have one on view then I think not.
My stereo had a jack point at the back, you could not see it when the stereo was fitted in the car. I bought a cable which a lovely "motor electronics expert type" person then fitted for me. My stereo was a Blaupunkt Daytona MP53.

Dreadful Scathe
26th-November-2007, 11:48 PM
you could always get a new stereo - my mp3 / usb / jack / sd card, stereo was only £45

prior to that i had a little £20 fm transmitter that took either usb or any player that took headphones... i'd give you it, but i gave it to someone already

Tiggerbabe
27th-November-2007, 02:31 AM
you could always get a new stereo - my mp3 / usb / jack / sd card, stereo was only £45

Or a Tom Tom, you can work your iPod from it, it'll connect with your phone, so no more handsfree earpiece thingy, and it'll play through your car stereo using the FM transmitter - as well as taking you where you want to go :D

martingold
27th-November-2007, 09:18 AM
I've seen some car
stereos which come with an iPod connector, allowing you to control the iPod using your normal radio controls. The connection is normally in your glove compartment so you can just keep your iPod in there all the time.

I have an alpine with the ipod adaptor
it has some bugs firstly being it automatically switches on repeat all on the ipod
both alpine and apple have told me this is a bug but all adaptors bought about 1 to 1 1/2 yrs ago have the same fault i dont know if that is still true

also being able to see only one line on the front screen of the head unit makes it hard to navigate

lastly I have over 4000 tracks on my ipod and finding something with the control knob on the head unit takes ages because whenever you start looking it always starts at track one or artist one etc

thats the bad now the good
it does mean i can take all my music wherever i go
i set up loads of playlists so normally all i have to look for is one of those which works very well
I think a company called dension make a cradle that will fit most cars for the ipod
all in all i wish i had gone that route now

on a by note dont leave your ipod in teh car over night the battery goes flat if it gets cold enough then wont work in your car even with the head unit charger type system
I know this from experience :blush:

Paul F
27th-November-2007, 10:45 AM
Blinking ipod links :mad:

I phoned my dealer to ask how much it would be to integrate my ipod into the car. In retrospect that was a badly worded question.

They quoted me £200 to actually connect it to the car's system (whatever that means). If that wasnt bad enough they then told me they would have to re-program the little LCD screen thingy so I could control the ipod from the wheel controls. That, including labour, would be an extra £400 making a grand total of £600 to get my ipod working :what: :tears:

After a little bit of sobbing I then realised that they were under the impression that I wanted to fully integrate the ipod. When I mentioned I just wanted to connect it and use the ipod controls they quoted me £95 for a lead that connects to the back of the stereo unit. Not good but better than £600!

Lory
27th-November-2007, 11:27 AM
Just buy a Lexus, its all set up, ready and waiting for your iPod to simply plug in :waycool::D

Tiggerbabe
27th-November-2007, 11:47 AM
they quoted me £95 for a lead that connects to the back of the stereo unit.I'm guessing that this includes the fitting cost too :eek: You can buy the cable for much less than that, but can you take the stereo out and refit it properly? :whistle:

Paul F
27th-November-2007, 12:11 PM
I'm guessing that this includes the fitting cost too :eek: You can buy the cable for much less than that, but can you take the stereo out and refit it properly? :whistle:

Nope. They will add the fitting on top.
I am pretty reluctant to touch anything thats not immediately obvious. Im assuming the dealer plays on peoples reluctance to do the same :sad:

Yliander
27th-November-2007, 12:20 PM
Nope. They will add the fitting on top.
I am pretty reluctant to touch anything thats not immediately obvious. Im assuming the dealer plays on peoples reluctance to do the same :sad:buy the cable else where and get them to install it ....

Tiggerbabe
27th-November-2007, 12:40 PM
buy the cable else where and get them to install it ....Absolutely! I can't remember exactly, but I'm sure the cable I had to buy before cost about £12 :)

Paul F
27th-November-2007, 12:43 PM
buy the cable else where and get them to install it ....

Good idea. I will have to dig further into it.

Tiggerbabe
27th-November-2007, 12:44 PM
I think that this (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blaupunkt-auxin-lead-p-77.html) is the cable I had to buy (for my blaupunkt stereo), cost is £6.99 :)

Paul F
27th-November-2007, 12:59 PM
I think that this (http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blaupunkt-auxin-lead-p-77.html) is the cable I had to buy (for my blaupunkt stereo), cost is £6.99 :)

Thats amazing value.

I just had a look and the cheapest cable I found was £49-95.
To connect an ipod in this way means I have to sacrifice my cd changer (which im obviously not bothered about) BUT I still have to get the dealer to fit it.
That will take the total to over £100 :rolleyes:
It does mean that I get to use my wheel controls though but need to rely on the ipod screen for song info.

Oh well.

martingold
27th-November-2007, 05:31 PM
Thats amazing value.

I just had a look and the cheapest cable I found was £49-95.
To connect an ipod in this way means I have to sacrifice my cd changer (which im obviously not bothered about) BUT I still have to get the dealer to fit it.
That will take the total to over £100 :rolleyes:
It does mean that I get to use my wheel controls though but need to rely on the ipod screen for song info.

Oh well.

I would go to a reputable in car entertainment supplier/ fitter not knowing where you are from makes it hard to try to suggest somewhere

even halfords fit this sort of stuff fo nothing if you buy it from them

my alpine cost a shade under £250 including fitting that was from our local auto electrician who are excellent

pmjd
27th-November-2007, 07:10 PM
Thats amazing value.

I just had a look and the cheapest cable I found was £49-95.
To connect an ipod in this way means I have to sacrifice my cd changer (which im obviously not bothered about) BUT I still have to get the dealer to fit it.
That will take the total to over £100 :rolleyes:
It does mean that I get to use my wheel controls though but need to rely on the ipod screen for song info.

Oh well.
Paul what car are you driving? Might be able to make a few better suggestions than over £100


I would go to a reputable in car entertainment supplier/ fitter not knowing where you are from makes it hard to try to suggest somewhere

even halfords fit this sort of stuff fo nothing if you buy it from them

my alpine cost a shade under £250 including fitting that was from our local auto electrician who are excellent
Did have an Alpine 9853r Ipod setup but found it useless, particularly for draining the ipod during the night (the things they don't tell you in the manual:angry:). It got sold after a wee while.

Instead I got a Pioneer DEHP4900IB for £139, fitted it myself and it works really well:clap: The ipod is hidden away from prying eyes and I have song display etc. and full control over the ipod too.

martingold
27th-November-2007, 07:34 PM
Paul what car are you driving? Might be able to make a few better suggestions than over £100


Did have an Alpine 9853r Ipod setup but found it useless, particularly for draining the ipod during the night .

Ah yours did it too?
as i put in my first post i think the battery drains when the night is cold
thats one of the bad points on the alpine

Paul F
27th-November-2007, 11:29 PM
Paul what car are you driving? Might be able to make a few better suggestions than over £100


Have sent you a PM. If you could advise of a better (or should that be cheaper) way I would really appreciate it.

TurboTomato
28th-November-2007, 10:40 AM
I know that for my stereo, there's a connection at the back that can be used if you have a CD autochanger (which I don't) but you can also buy an MP3 adaptor which can use that connection. You have to take the radio out to do it though, which is sometimes tricky.

I had the same problem as described here - had an iPod and a iTrip FM transmitter but the quality was shocking so when I got my latest car I wanted to have a proper connection.

So I bought what David is describing above (one of these (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/iPod-Link-Interface-Car-Kit-MAZDA-2-3-5-6-MX-5-MX5-UK_W0QQitemZ150187744923QQihZ005QQcategoryZ52640QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem))- basically it 'spoofs' a CD autochanger and therefore I have partial, if not full, control of my iPod via my head unit.

Advantages:

iPod is hidden away in the glovebox.
Some control over the iPod.
Gives you a headphone jack as well.
Keeps the iPod fully charged.
No need to change your head unit.

Disadvantages:

Doesn't give you full control - relies on your playlists. Basically shifting between discs on the autochanger will shift between playlists and then your normal next and previous buttons will work within that playlist. It's enough for me but might not be enough for some people.
Obviously you'd lose your autochanger if you had one.

It cost me £85, though that was on a buy-it-now and I think I paid over the odds and my local stereo place fitted it for £40 so that the connecters came into my glovebox.

Hope that helps.

Tessalicious
28th-November-2007, 02:23 PM
Or, if you have a car that still has a cassette player, you could just get one of these (http://shop.ipodworld.co.uk/iPodWorldSite/product/all_iPods_Cassette%20Adapters/PP03/iStuff_Cassette_Adapter.htm)for £3...

martingold
28th-November-2007, 02:38 PM
Or, if you have a car that still has a cassette player, you could just get one of these (http://shop.ipodworld.co.uk/iPodWorldSite/product/all_iPods_Cassette%20Adapters/PP03/iStuff_Cassette_Adapter.htm)for £3...

had one of those every time i went over a bump the it moved away from the tape head so it sounded like my ipod was jumping ewwwww

Dreadful Scathe
28th-November-2007, 03:06 PM
Or, if you have a car that still has a cassette player, you could just get one of these (http://shop.ipodworld.co.uk/iPodWorldSite/product/all_iPods_Cassette%20Adapters/PP03/iStuff_Cassette_Adapter.htm)for £3...

much better off with one of these (http://svp.co.uk/product/in_minus_car_12v_mp3_fm_modulator_(with_position_m emory)_5665) its only £13 and will allow you to store loads of music on different usb memory sticks (as well as plug in your iPod*). USB memory is CHEAP - 2gb for £7.99 - here (http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=102825)



*incidentally if you have pirated music on it, its called an iiPod

TurboTomato
29th-November-2007, 11:01 AM
Or, if you have a car that still has a cassette player, you could just get one of these (http://shop.ipodworld.co.uk/iPodWorldSite/product/all_iPods_Cassette%20Adapters/PP03/iStuff_Cassette_Adapter.htm)for £3...

Yep, that works fine if you have a cassette player. That was the case on my previous car and I had one of those and it did the job well - no problem with it jumping either.


much better off with one of these (http://svp.co.uk/product/in_minus_car_12v_mp3_fm_modulator_(with_position_m emory)_5665) its only £13 and will allow you to store loads of music on different usb memory sticks (as well as plug in your iPod*).

In my experience, any sort of FM transmitter is pretty much useless if you live anywhere near London in the south east - the airwaves are just too congested and it's pretty much impossible to find a free frequency that has no interference that will stay free for an acceptable amount of time. On my 17 mile drive to work, mainly through rural areas, I'd have to re-tune at least twice, and driving around the M25 trying to use it was a pain in the backside. Even when I found a clear frequency the quality really wasn't very good - background hissing was particularly annoying.

Dreadful Scathe
29th-November-2007, 11:10 AM
never thought of that - its nice to live up here :)