new ipod toy (alpine kca-420i)

[jwalcik]

i ordered the alpine kca-420i this morning. this is alpine's ai-net module to allow you to control your ipod w/ an alpine head unit's controls (i've already got the head unit): http://www.crutchfield.com/S-R...+ipod now, the unit itself is a 6"x6"x2" box that will have two cables coming out of it, one going to the head unit, and one to go to the ipod itself. both cables are supposedly 78" long (i'm not sure what'd be involved in extending either of them). now, my question is, where do i put this thing? i'm planning on running the cable for the ipod into the glove box. so, is there room on the firewall behind the glovebox? or should i put it under the passenger seat beside the moon and tunes amp? any other suggestions?secondary question, how do i change the text for a web link w/ the markup for this bulletin board? it'd be nice to not have to have that whole messy url show up in the body of the message.

[jeffgtx]

there is enough room behind the radio to put the unit there and run the wire across to the glovebox. you shouldnt have a problemcant answer your secondary ?

[binary]

When you remove the radio there will be a large open area just below the stereo and behind the HVAC controls - a perfect place for a control box and you can run your cable directly from there to the glove box without worry.I just did it with my GM aux adapter... and it's roughly the same size.Secondary question...When you make a url link you get [ url ] and [ /url ] (I added spaces after/before the brackets so you can see it...)You can make your link "pretty" by formating your link like this:[ url=http..... ]The Name of the link here [ /url ]So instead of...[ URL ]http://www.crutchfield.com/S-RXUueQoUPr ... lpine+ipod[ /URL ]looking like: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-R...+ipodYou do this:[ URL=http://www.crutchfield.com/S-RXUueQoUPr ... lpine+ipod ]Crutchfield[ /URL ]And it looks like this: Crutchfield

[jwalcik]

thanks to both of you for your replies to both questionsis there room there to screw it in? if so, will it involve removing more of the dash than just replacing the head unit does? i'm not adverse to doing so, i'll just have to dig around on here to find some other friendly folk who've blazed the trail for me.

[jeffgtx]

thers not much to be gained by taking more off... if memory serves really the only thing that you could srew it to would be the heating duct going across. my ipod2car is back there and it fits pretty snug amungst the wires going back n forth, so it doesnt move or rattle.i understand your desire to screw thing in, but i dont think it real nec.

[Jahntassa]

You can just let it 'hang' in the dash..won't hurt a thing.

[jwalcik]

Quote, originally posted by jeffgtx »my ipod2car is back there and it fits pretty snug amungst the wires going back n forth, so it doesnt move or rattle.i understand your desire to screw thing in, but i dont think it real nec.that's my exact concern. i really don't want it to start banging around after i go over a bump someday down the road. most of the other installs i've seen have either been under the passenger seat, under the dash, or in the glove box itself. if there's not room too screw it to anything in particular, is there a flat surface in there somewhere that i could use double-sided top to adhere it to? i've actually had a lot of luck with 3M industrial strength stuff.

[binary]

Quote, originally posted by jwalcik »that's my exact concern. i really don't want it to start banging around after i go over a bump someday down the road. most of the other installs i've seen have either been under the passenger seat, under the dash, or in the glove box itself. if there's not room too screw it to anything in particular, is there a flat surface in there somewhere that i could use double-sided top to adhere it to? i've actually had a lot of luck with 3M industrial strength stuff. seriously, there's not much there to bang around. A couple of small looms of wires will keep it from moving around. If you're set to afix it to something, you can zip-tie it to the main chassis bar that's directly behind the head unit. I wouldn't use any tape that may grab ahold of wire looms or connectors.Take a peak back there and you'll see a pretty safe place to put it. I'm going to be getting a new rca-phone cable for my aux input here in a few days, I'll be checking my aux box for any signs of movement or damage from being left loose in there.

[jwalcik]

cool. i guess if it does become a problem down the road then it's easy enough to move elsewhere.please excuse my thick-headedness. i've spent a lot of years fixing computer problems that have arisen from people not screwing things down...

[binary]

Quote, originally posted by jwalcik »cool. i guess if it does become a problem down the road then it's easy enough to move elsewhere.please excuse my thick-headedness. i've spent a lot of years fixing computer problems that have arisen from people not screwing things down...No excuses necessary - I hear you loud and clear! Post your way if you decide to mount it somewhere else - more options on the table, the better! Mine is currently a temp mount anyway until I get a better cable and XM HU mount.

[jwalcik]

alright, it took three tries, but it does in fact fit in the dash if i set it on top of the head unit. i haven't driven it much yet, but so far it looks like you guys were right, there's enough 'stuff' in there between the wiring harnesses and ducting that i don't think it's going anywhere. if i do hear it start to rattle, i'll probably us the included velcro strips to hold it in place (there's really not anything obvious to zip tie it to).looking around before i popped the dash open, it looks like there's also room for it under the passenger seat (even with the moon and tunes amp), in the glove box, and behind the dash below the steering wheel. the cables that it comes with are definitely not something i'd want to try and extend myself, so you are limited to placing it somewhere in the front seat area.i was originally planning on taking lots of pictures and documenting the entire install, but it turned out to be much easier than i ever would have imagined. open the dash, pull the head unit, plug in one cable to the head unit, dangle the other over into the glove box, and put everything back together. whole thing took less than 30 minutes.the adapter itself works quite well. it took a few minutes to initially locate my ipod, but after it did, i was able to search/browse it's contents in much the same way that you browse through an mp3 cd. i'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for an aftermarket ipod integration solution.

[binary]

Sweet - I'm glad your install went well! Mine is still rather ugly.That adapter must be larger than my aux box. It tucked down behind the HVAC controls. Anyway - if you get a chance, take some photos of you head unit with your ipod going - my wife is looking for something along those lines. Puh leeeeez?

[jwalcik]

here are some blurry vision shots of my head unit. literally the only difference between those shots (when i was using the aux input adapter) and one now would be that instead of the head unit saying "AUX" it says "IPOD". there's a "TITLE" button in the lower right corner of the face that will let you cycle through the artist, album, song name, bit rate, and back to the clock. i've got the 9847, which is pretty close to the bottom of the line for alpine's ai.net compatible head units. if you're willing to spend a bit more $$$ there are options that have 3 and 5 lines on the display, or even a 7" lcd. i'm not sure how configurable the output on the display is, but depending on what you're after, it's probably out there.

[binary]

Is that an orange backlight on the buttons? Looks like a clean install.

[jwalcik]

yeah. it only shows up at night though.the buttons are blue, but you can select one of four color "themes" for the deck. blue on blue, blue on green, amber on amber, and amber on red. the amber on amber goes nicely with the rest of the vibe's dash. during the day though, the backlight doesn't shine through, so the four buttons over on the far left are always blue.