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iPod iPod in car: What is your method?

manosaurus

manosaurus

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 22, 2006
285
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I am debating on whether getting a new CD changer with a line-in input or getting one of those third party gadgets that charge the iPod while using the cars radio signal to play the iPod music.

What do you use?
 
I use an old school iTrip.

prod_itrip.jpg


Sound sucks, but bad sounding good music is generally better than pop-pop radio.

Talk radio, on the other hand, rocks.
 
manosaurus said:
I am debating on whether getting a new CD changer with a line-in input or getting one of those third party gadgets that charge the iPod while using the cars radio signal to play the iPod music.

What do you use?
Click to expand...
Honestly, radio transmission should be your LAST option. Despite their prevalance they are very unreliable and have quite shoddy performance. If you have the funds to get a new player do it. Also, many companies now offer products where you can buy a line in imput that will allow you to hardwire your iPod to your car stereo without buying an actual new stereo. I'm not quite sure who sells this but i'll post back if i find some (i believe it's more money than a 3rd party radio transmitter but cheaper than a new deck)

To answer your question, in my dad's car there is a line in provided that i connect to via mini-stereo cable (Honda Element), my step-dad's car via Tape Deck (Mazda Miata), and my mom's via Scosche FM transmitter (Honda Civic, only using this because it was cheaper than hardwiring/ the car doesn't have a tape deck/the car's leased :eek: )
 
i hard-wired mine to my stock cd player in my truck. i bought a cable for about $80, and plugged it into the back of the stereo. sounds great.

you have to have a cd changer port for it to work
 
thedude110 said:
I use an old school iTrip.

prod_itrip.jpg


Sound sucks, but bad sounding good music is generally better than pop-pop radio.

Talk radio, on the other hand, rocks.
Click to expand...

I use that, only the LCD model. I wish I had a tape player so I could just use a cassette adapter. :(
 
rockthecasbah said:
Honestly, radio transmission should be your LAST option. Despite their prevalance they are very unreliable and have quite shoddy performance. If you have the funds to get a new player do it. Also, many companies now offer products where you can buy a line in imput that will allow you to hardwire your iPod to your car stereo without buying an actual new stereo. I'm not quite sure who sells this but i'll post back if i find some (i believe it's more money than a 3rd party radio transmitter but cheaper than a new deck)

To answer your question, in my dad's car there is a line in provided that i connect to via mini-stereo cable (Honda Element), my step-dad's car via Tape Deck (Mazda Miata), and my mom's via Scosche FM transmitter (Honda Civic, only using this because it was cheaper than hardwiring/ the car doesn't have a tape deck/the car's leased :eek: )
Click to expand...

twoodcc said:
i hard-wired mine to my stock cd player in my truck. i bought a cable for about $80, and plugged it into the back of the stereo. sounds great.

you have to have a cd changer port for it to work
Click to expand...


Thanks for all the swift replies!!!

When you two are talking about hard wiring do you mean that a connection cable would be attached to the back of he CD player (behind the chassis) and a cable with an eighth inch connection would be hanging out somewhere in the interior of the car to which I could connect the iPod?
 
I have a wondeful little 'black box' from JVC which has a dock attatchment allowing me to charge the iPod and control it from the head unit. Very cool. Cost about £50. Highly recommended, if only to keep the iPod charged up.
 
TJIrwin said:
I have a wondeful little 'black box' from JVC which has a dock attatchment allowing me to charge the iPod and control it from the head unit. Very cool. Cost about £50. Highly recommended, if only to keep the iPod charged up.
Click to expand...

Have a link to that device? I can't seem to find it.
 
manosaurus said:
Thanks for all the swift replies!!!

When you two are talking about hard wiring do you mean that a connection cable would be attached to the back of he CD player (behind the chassis) and a cable with an eighth inch connection would be hanging out somewhere in the interior of the car to which I could connect the iPod?
Click to expand...

well there are different cables, but mine is a dock connector. so it charges while you are playing, and the sound is better
 
Just a simple auxilary input cable.

Hated the FM transmitters I tried and no cassette deck otherwise I would have opted for that route.
 
Do it right the first time..

If you can afford it, get the alpine 9857. Ipod plugs directly in, and the HU controls it, so ipod can be hidden in glovebox. This is the best way.
 
I'll second the JVC car system - it's just a little cable sticking out into the dash (that's how I installed mine), and all the iPod information (including the whole menu system!) appears and is controllable via the head unit. Also it charges the iPod whilst on and for 20mins after the engine is switched off.

I paid £37 for mine, brand new.

AppleMatt
edit: You need a 2006 head unit for full control, earlier ones have more limited control.
 
I use a tape adapter though I wouldn't recommend the one I bought (see below). It makes a clicking sound because of the gears that can sometimes over power the music.

l599CASADAP-f_LD.jpeg
 
I have some unamplified speakers with a "headphone" plug on the end, so I just plug them in directly and let the iPod handle everything.
 
I've also used the old school iTrip. Worked great for me since I live/travel in a rural area and didn't get any interference from other FM stations. My latest company car has a AUX jack and I use that now.
 
Kensington FM Transmitter. Love it, especially the 3 preset buttons, since I live in a semi-metro area and make trips to Toronto often.
 

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What kind of car do you have? If it's relatively new you should be able to find an AUX adapter here http://www.logjamelectronics.com/auxinpconv.html, this just plugs into the CD changer port on the back of your factory radio, and gives you a 1/8" connection. Then get yourself a one of these http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=149006, and your done. You just plug the Belkin Adapter into your cigarette lighter, plug the Input of your AUX adapter into the Belkin, and connect it to the dock connector of your iPod. Thats how I did it with my last car. I replaced the stereo in this car, but only because I added Sirius, a Sub, and an iPod, so it was easier.
 
Newer iTrip (Dock Connector). Works much better than the old one I had before, but still suffers from some static, especially since I'm in a very saturated radio area. It's hard to get a good signal, but it sounds good when I do.

jW
 
todd2000 said:
What kind of car do you have? If it's relatively new you should be able to find an AUX adapter here http://www.logjamelectronics.com/auxinpconv.html, this just plugs into the CD changer port on the back of your factory radio, and gives you a 1/8" connection. Then get yourself a one of these http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=149006, and your done. You just plug the Belkin Adapter into your cigarette lighter, plug the Input of your AUX adapter into the Belkin, and connect it to the dock connector of your iPod. Thats how I did it with my last car. I replaced the stereo in this car, but only because I added Sirius, a Sub, and an iPod, so it was easier.
Click to expand...

i don't have a car, i'm 13. my dad's car had an option to have ipod intergration. he controls it through the forward and back buttons origonally for the cd changer.
 
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