The IPOD Mod

[JustinGray]

Hey guys, i have seen some scattered referenced amoung other posts, so i thought i would post how i mounted my music player to the Insight. I have an Ipod. Its a nice choice for portable player because of the plethera of third party accesories for it.

In my case, it was the belkin car adapter with dock connector that made this whole contraption possible.

What i did was construct a "doc" of sorts out of some thin plexi glass. I basically took some good measurments with a set of calipers and cut a plexi box to fit the ipod. I used a dremel with a roughter attachment to scroll out a nicely shaped front piece that holds the ipod in while allowing me to acces all the buttons and the control wheel... Then i glued a right angle braket onto the box and mounted it dead center under the head unit with a pair of small screws. I used real short screws and there is some clearence between my head unit and the plastic cover below it, so i didnt have to worry about putting screws into the radio.
The nice thing about the place i put is that i can reach all the buttons while my hand is still on the shifter!

To make this a dock, and not just a holder was a little more tricky. I marked out where the connector would have to go on the bottom of the box (This is where using plexi came in real handy, cause its clear). Then i used the dremel to cut out a rought hole. I used a set of small files to enlarge the whole so that it woudl be the proper sized to hold doc connector. It took some time to make sure i got the whole in the right spot. Finally i constructted a smaller box to hold the two tabs of the dock connector in so the ipod wouldnt lock into it when it was in the dock. This second box also helps to stablize the doc connector.

The beauty of this setup is that i can then run the wire with the power adapter into the back of the dash, where i wired up a new 12 volt outlet. Because the adapter uses the doc connector, it has an audio out built into the power plug. I connected an audio cable into the auxilury input of my head unit.

All done the system works great, and my next step is going to be to paint the doc to match the grey interior. But it looks pretty good and its a nice clean installation.

I dont have pics yet, cause i have just finished playing aroudn with it, but i should have em soon, ill post em when i get em.

[Tim Maddux]

Sounds nice. My iPod rests in the small center console between the seats and rearward of the parking brake lever, and I have a cable running from the headphone plug to the line inputs on my head unit. I might find peering at an iPod in a dock a little too dangerous/difficult while driving.

[ext1jdh]

I was planning something similar for my pod, but I'm a bit hazy on the aux input...does the stock head unit have an aux innie? If so how does one access said jack.

tia

[JustinGray]

Originally Posted by ext1jdh

I was planning something similar for my pod, but I'm a bit hazy on the aux input...does the stock head unit have an aux innie? If so how does one access said jack.

tia

The answer is yes and no... If you did not get the cdc changer installed there is a way to get an aux in for the stock head unit. You will need to buy a special little box that plugs into where the change woudl have pluged into. But that box is like 120 bucks.

Otherwise you will need to buy a new head unit with an auxileray input already on it. I think kenwood is comming out with a set of ipod compatible head units and custom docs. Try looking there

[bigtrouble77]

I took a real simple approach. I just mounted my ipod mini belt clip with some velcrow to the right of my head unit. I just run a short wire from my kenwood aux out to the ipod mini. I also have a power adapter connected to the ipod, but the wire is really long- so I have to run the excess in the glove compartment.

It works really well, the display is easy to see and it's easy to change songs while driving. I just wish the belt clip and and power adapter were black to match the car better.

[Tim Maddux]

Originally Posted by JustinGray

I think kenwood is comming out with a set of ipod compatible head units and custom docs. Try looking there

Haven't heard of this from Kenwood, but Alpine definitely is. It's an add-on to existing Alpine head units that uses their proprietary "Ai-Net" and allows control of the iPod using the controls on the head unit.

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/07/02/alpine/

[Arsenic1250]

audiobahn, and alpine have iPod Adapters.

[Tim Maddux]

Just found another one by Dension USA:
http://www.densionusa.com/x/index.php?o ... &Itemid=79

Here's a review:
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/stories/S17703.html#storytop

[bug_girl]

has anyone tried the iRock? it plugs into the cig charger and broadcasts....somehow. I'm curious about how well it works, particularly on an insight.
(I have an iPod too, love it )

[ext1jdh]

Originally Posted by bug_girl

has anyone tried the iRock? it plugs into the cig charger and broadcasts....somehow. I'm curious about how well it works, particularly on an insight.
(I have an iPod too, love it )

Im currently using an iTrip on my 3g ipod. It looks like a large AA battery stuck to the top of the pod. It xmits to an empty radio station that you can select on the pod. It's okay, but you dont get the sound quality of the actual mp3.

Before some jerk stole it, I was using a Nomad Jukebox. Similar to the pod, not as expensive. I plopped down the cash for an iRock transmitter. It was the worst 20 bucks I ever spent. The battery powered unit lasts at most two hours and you can only select from 4 preset stations. Sound quality was horrible. I doubt the CLA powered unit is any better. A few months after my Jukebox got nicked, someone else grabbed my stereo. Thats when I got one with an aux input. That was absolutely the best. Sound quality is perfect and you nver have to bring extra AAA's with you.

gotta love aux inputs.