iPod Installation

Radio ShackBracketron Logo
DynexDLO Auto Charger for iPod

Jeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting

10/12/07

4X4 ICON 2000 - 2008 The DVD! - Click here for details!

4X4 ICON 2000 - 2008 The DVD!

Note:  This write-up is provided for historical reference.  It was not a very good solution.  I ended up installing a Drive + Play remote unit about a year later.  That write up describes a better way to install an iPod in a Jeep.

Things are really getting out of control in the portable, hand-held electronics market.  It's ripe for satire in my life.  Consider, when I hit the road, my worst-case scenario is the following.  I can have in my possession:

I don't mind admitting that it's ridiculous.  The redundancy is overwhelming.  But such is, for my budget, the current state-of-the-art.  I am not going to replace the stereos to integrate the XM, GPS and cell phone Hands-free units (like it is in the Commander); I am not going to purchase Garmin Rhinos to integrate walkie-talkie with GPS; and the iPod....(rolling eyes)

So I resolve to make the best of a good situation.  I remind the reader of my early goal to make most items I install easily removable.  So with the XM Radio and now the iPod, I wanted to preserve my ability to instantly remove these devices and take them along with me like all the other gear in my list.  This reduces the interior of my Jeep to a stripped out wasteland - nothing interesting for thieves.

In order to achieve this, I had installed a good head unit that supports auxiliary devices.  I purchased the bus adapter to enable me to add the XM Radio with direct cables for the best possible sound.  And lately I revised the mounting of the XM Radio to clean it up and reduce the clutter (somewhat).

So when Maria for our anniversary gifted me with an iPod, I was thrilled to have another way to consume music, and then with the dawning realization that I could not live without being able to play it through my stereos, embarked on another saga of brackets, wires, custom components, and yet another doo-dad hanging off the dash.

Jeep Stereo System - High-Level Diagram

Fortunately the Jeep required only that I split the single Auxiliary input into two stereo pairs, allowing me to plug in both the XM Radio and the iPod.  My first pass at this was very basic - I installed an expansion bracket on the Panavise bracket, then bolted the iPod bracket next to the XM Radio. 

Bracket

I plugged an output to the head unit from each component and prepared to call it done.  But I discovered that with the power cord attached to the iPod, and both the XM-Radio and the iPod connected to the head unit, I was getting RF interference that only went away if one or the other unit or the power to the iPod were disconnected.  That sounded tedious so I decided to put in an A-B switch.

That was a great idea but it took me down a rat hole.  I found one online for a very fair price.  But as simple as it should be to make, I opted to make a trip to Radio Shack with my schematic. 

There, I purchased the following parts:

  • 274-372 Right Angle Adapter - to change the plug direction on top of the iPod so it doesn't stick straight up and invite damage.

right-angle adapter Radio Shack #274-372

  • 43-223 3-Ft. Stereo 1/8" Plug Audio Cable - I cut this cable in half.  This gave me two 18" stereo leads with Left, Right, and ground wires, and a 1/8-inch (3.5mm) mini plug on the end.  These are wired into the switch to enable selecting which lead provides input to the head unit.

 

  • 275-536 DPDT Mini Toggle - This switch gives two switch positions (device A or Device B) for two signals on each device.  I switch the Left and Right channels and leave the shared ground straight through without switching.

From this I made a small A-B Switch

Jeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting with Auxillary Switch

Jeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting with Auxillary Switch

Then I went to Best Buy and purchased the following

1/8 (3.5mm) Stereo Lead

DLO Auto Charger States (On - Charging - Charged)
DLO Auto Charger

Bracketron iPod BracketBracketron iPod Bracket Kit
iPod mounted on Vent

I already had a host of left-over parts (primarily nylock nuts and machine screws) from the installation of the Roady XT XM Radio, and had purchased some other bracket parts when I installed the GPSMap76CSx (swivel head) into the Crossfire.  From all this I assembled the bracket and put it with the existing XM Radio.

Jeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting

The finished result is a tenable solution to wiring everything in to vehicle power and direct-wired to the stereo.  I can select the XM Radio and iPod from the head unit and then toggle the respective units using my little A-B switch.  This leaves me with good entertainment options.

Far from pretty, but nothing is going to fall on the floor.  Plus, I get the best possible performance from the units.  Both iPod and XM Radio are hard-wired to the head unit.

Jeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting with Auxillary

Jeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mountingJeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mountingJeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mountingJeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting

Jeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting with Auxillary SwitchJeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting with Auxillary SwitchJeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting with Auxillary SwitchJeep Install with Modified Bracket and Revised XM Radio mounting with Auxillary

 

  


 

On a side note, The iPod installation for the Crossfire falls into another whole category complete with it's own write-up.  The head unit has fiber-optic connections so it is no simple RCA connector hook-up.  There's a very high-end solution that emulates the CD-changer to the head unit and allows the attachment of an iPod.  This gives the decided advantage of discrete wired connections for the best sound, and remote control of the iPod.  I managed to find a similar solution at lower cost, and with nearly the same quality of wired connection.  But that's a story for another day...

Harman Kardon Drive and Play 1
Harman Kardon Drive and Play Cable

  

 

 

 

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