Introduction and my take on the iPod mod.

Nik · Post by **Nik** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:47 am

Hey. I just wanted to drop a line and say thanks for all the info on the boards. I Just got my Vibe (2004, GT, M&T) and these board have been insanely helpful. One of my first mod was to integrate my iPod. Because of the M&T I wasn't quite ready to rewire the whole system so...After being inspired by these threads:http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...age=2h ... 9770.htmlI set out on my iPod integration. The main difference was, I will probably install a different head unit at some point, so I wanted to keep ALL my mods inside the existing head unit.Here is how I did it....

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Nik · Post by **Nik** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:50 am

First thing to do was find a 12 V source inside the head unit. After some probing here is where 12V DC comes into the unit... So I flipped the head unit over and found the corresponding sodder point on the back of the board and soddered my one wire in on the back side (under the CD).

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Nik · Post by **Nik** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:53 am

Next I wired up my mini relay as is well documented.

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Nik · Post by **Nik** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:57 am

And wired a switch to the front of my head unit.

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Nik · Post by **Nik** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:58 am

And put it back in... Anyway... I just wanted to say thanks for all the info and the help it has been.

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Sputnik · Post by **Sputnik** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 4:41 am

Great first post! Welcome to the forum and thanks for all the pics of your mod!

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 5:05 am

Hey Welcome to the boards. I'm an ETSU student...and I believe you are the first Tri-Cities member on here besides me...woohoo! I put flyers on cars all the time but no one ever joins up. That's a really cool way to install the iPod...just not sure I'd trust myself with the wiring. I have an FM modulator in mine that ragingfish/Mike installed at the Ohio rally last year. It works pretty well too. So where does the connection for the iPod come out at? In the switch? Or somewhere else in the car?

Nik · Post by **Nik** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:44 pm

Wow cool to find someone from the TriCities area. I finished my masters from ETSU a couple of years ago.This is where my line in is coming out right now (I just fished it down past my shifter and ran it out inder the door.) I left enough slack in my line in to run it to under the arm rest. Eventually I'm going to get these from belkin and put the power addapter in the arm rest and just plug my line in to the power adapter. Then I can charge and listen all while driving. (I may have have to add a ground loop isolater, we'll see).

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Kari · Post by **Kari** » Sun Feb 13, 2005 12:37 am

I've looked at that cupholder thing, too, but I was afraid that it wouldn't be a convenient location for viewing the iPod because the front cupholder is such an odd size, so the thing may or may not fit in it, thus forcing me to use the rear one. But I'm really short, so the rear cupholder is basically under my arm.Something else you may want to consider is running the power wires and things into the drawer under the shifter. That's what Mike did on mine. He drilled a hole in the top of it, where you can't even see it, and ran the wire down into there so I can coil it up and store it in there, completely out of sight, along with the iPod.Too bad the iPod's power adapter has the big plug...it makes it not fit in the dash outlet because of the little flip down door being in the way. Belkin's accessories are really nice though; I have several different things and they all work great.

Atomb · Post by **Atomb** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 3:47 am

just removed my post as i saw the thread in the electonics section....Thanks!PS: i'm not sure i'm fond of the satellite dish on the roof idea though...besides, the guy parked next to you has a bigger dish anyways!oh wait...those are in the background...forget it.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:12 am

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out where that picture was taken...heh. I can't be 100% sure though. Perhaps Nik can enlighten us.

knoxville2013 · Post by **knoxville2013** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:14 pm

i would do this mod but im not willing to give up my aftermarket HU. The features on it just make everything sound ten times better plus it had RCA outs of course for my subwoofer. I dont understand why some company wont just make adapters...its not like the iPod is a secret

Nik · Post by **Nik** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:23 pm

I normally don't give out personal info over the net, but what the hell. The dishes are in downtown Johnson City. I work at WJHL NewsChannel 11. I oversee http://www.tricities.com and am also the movie critic/entertainment reporter. See there, you got my life story now. Let the identiy theft begin.

Mr. Poopypants · Post by **Mr. Poopypants** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 8:48 pm

Welcome!! Nice Vibe. Thank god I don't have to worry about that iPod stuff. I hate soldering. Anyway, welcome and glad to hear you found the site helpful.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:27 pm

Cool...WJHL was my guess, actually, but the apparent barrenness behind them was confusing me because I know the station is downtown. I promise I'm not going to stalk you. What's ironic is that I'm a mass communication major, too. Just not broadcasting.

Nik · Post by **Nik** » Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:50 pm

Actually my undergrad was in 3d animation. And my masters was in Multimedia design. I was brought to WJHL to head up their web department. I just kind of stumbled into the reporter gig. Just something I do on the side here, as needed. Movies Reviews, Restaurant Reviews (in the Bristol Herald Courier), Entertaiment reporting. Just fun stuff

Great resume conversation topics for future job interviews.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 12:37 am

I like entertainment and features writing. That's what I did for two summers as an intern at the Times-News. I only got to do one actual review though; the rest were advances or general coverage of events. I know all there is to know about Fun Fest...haha.I'm bailing out of here and going to Ohio after I graduate in May though. Getting my master's there and probably staying after that.Are you from this area originally or just came here for school?

Nik · Post by **Nik** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 2:02 am

No, I've lived all over the country. Grew up in California (LA and SanFran), went to high school in south central Virginia, Transferred to ETSU from Virginia Tech. I'm here till my fiancÃ© finishes surgery residency.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 2:19 am

Wow, big difference...from LA to the burgeoning metropolis of JC! And we are way off topic...So! Which iPod do you have?

Luna · Post by **Luna** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 3:15 pm

Thanks for sharing your mod. I'm kind of a wuss about modifying my new (to me) 2003 vibe but will probably try to hardwire an ipod connection later. Maybe I will wait til the next rally and see if someone there could do it. I have an old FM transmitter that we tried to use on an in-state trip. Maybe the antenna is just too far away, maybe the transmitter is a cheaper one, maybe Columbus just had too many stations to interfere...but from what I've seen in the forums, I guess it will need to be wired somehow.In the meantime I think I need to burn some mixes. Kari, where will you be studying in OH? I'm an OU grad...communications here, too, but it was visual communications and not telecommunications. I have a good friend from Bristol. It's a small world.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 3:17 pm

I'm going to Miami of Ohio...for a MA in mass communication.

Luna · Post by **Luna** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 3:22 pm

Quote, originally posted by Kari Â»So! Which iPod do you have?I have two, sort of. I have a lime-green mini that I got shortly after they came out. I wanted to get an ipod, but the cost was holding me back, and I loved the small size and the colors. I didn't think I could fill 4gigs for a while, and thought I would just be careful what I put on it if needed, so why not save $50? The small size was great for wearing as I moved around in the photo studio at work.I filled it, and my husband and I both thought the U2 iPods looked cool. He surprised me with one for Christmas, He enjoys using my mini daily (he got me a Christmas present that resulted in a present for him, sort of!) and I get to use the extra space on the 20gig ipod. I enjoy being able to see the album title, too. I looooove my ipod(s)

Luna · Post by **Luna** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 3:25 pm

Quote, originally posted by Kari Â»I'm going to Miami of Ohio...for a MA in mass communication. Cool! I had a lot of friends who went to Miami and I seriously considered it myself. I'm not the big Miami-hater that most of my classmates were.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 3:46 pm

I'm DYING for an iPod but can't justify that kind of money right now...*sigh* Where's santa when I need him!!!

Luna · Post by **Luna** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 2:48 pm

Did you see the latest announcements from Apple? The new lineup includes a 4GB mini for $199 or a 6GB mini for $249. I'd go for the 6GB if you can swing it...it'll hold you a little longer than the 4. I guess they eliminated the gold option, and made the blue and pink a little more vibrant. The green looks to be about the same, from the website pics.iPods are essential if your lifestyle is such that you can listen to them a lot...I loved listening to mine at my previous job. Hubby can't listen to one at work but loves listening to it while he works out. The ipod makes things like endless waits in doctor's offices and tedious work go a little faster.For some reason now that I can't listen to my ipod in my car and have it sound good, I really want to, of course. I'm probably the only dork out there who wishes the cassette-sized empty area on the stereo actually had a tape player. Then I could use a tape-adapter for the ipod or listen to one of my many mix tapes. This is my first car with a built-in CD player.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 2:51 pm

Quote, originally posted by Luna Â»For some reason now that I can't listen to my ipod in my car and have it sound good, I really want to, of course. I'm probably the only dork out there who wishes the cassette-sized empty area on the stereo actually had a tape player. Then I could use a tape-adapter for the ipod or listen to one of my many mix tapes. This is my first car with a built-in CD player.You can make your wish come true...http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...sting

Luna · Post by **Luna** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 3:04 pm

Interesting. I can't afford it right now, or I don't want one that bad to try to find room in the budget now, is more accurate. Of course, I could try to sell the current player to defray expenses... hmmm... It's good to know there are options, and I like how the matrix player would apparently fit right in, aethetically. Are the backlights the same color? As you can see, I have a lot to learn about my car still. This forum is a great place to explore.Maybe we'll drive up to the Michigan meet this summer to get some better ideas of what can be done to the interior and exterior. Just as long as no one laughs at my un-modified 2003 Satellite Base!

Nik · Post by **Nik** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 8:54 pm

Too bad the rummored bluetooth ipod hasn't panned out yet. The second one is released I'm jumping in for a new phone a bluetooth head unit (if they are out) and a bluetooth ipod.http://arstechnica.com/news.ar....htmlAll my driving is in town, and I drive a GT so having hands free phone operation is essential if I'm going to talk at all.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 10:34 pm

Quote, originally posted by Luna Â»Maybe we'll drive up to the Michigan meet this summer to get some better ideas of what can be done to the interior and exterior. Just as long as no one laughs at my un-modified 2003 Satellite Base! No one will laugh at your stock Vibe...and you won't be the only one, I'm sure. Meets are about getting together with a bunch of great people more than anything. You should come to the Ohio rally, most definitely...it's going to be the 1st or 2nd weekend in August, in the Columbus area.

Luna · Post by **Luna** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 2:01 am

Maybe we'll try to hit both. I'm really curious to see what others have done to their cars, and we could visit a friend or two in MI while we were there.Columbus is nice and central for Ohio

sagekai · Post by **sagekai** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 8:21 am

Quote, originally posted by Nik Â»Next I wired up my mini relay as is well documented. HI,We are trying to setup our single cd unit in an 03 vibe to take an ipod input. There were a couple of posts, one for a six cd unit and one for a single. I am hoping someone would help us out with some detail as to the wiring connections for the single cd unit. We are not sure where these wires are going that disappear under the pc board.In addition does the audio wire we will use need to be shielded, I assume?thanks for any helpA wiring diagram would be great.thanks

wicca76 · Post by **wicca76** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 4:17 am

i know this is an old posting but if your still looking to get an ipod at a reasonable price. i bought my 30 gb video from apple refurbished for 189.00 and it has been great and still get the apple warranty

JesseWHHS · Post by **JesseWHHS** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:41 am

AHHH, I want pics of the underside of that board. I'm afraid to try myself cause I'll end up breaking stuff.....

vibe-04 · Post by **vibe-04** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 12:47 pm

Single HU basic steps.The two wires you want are the audio left (first wire black) and audio right (white third wire) coming from the CD player. These are the parts needed:1. Shielded Cable (cat 5 recommended) with at least five wires.2. Radio Shack 1/8" Stereo Panel-mount jack (part 274-246)3. Soldering pen/solder4. Heat shrink tubing.Remove Bezel (easy) pull from underneath and swing onto dashRemove HU (easy) a couple of bolts using 10 mmDissasemble HU (easy) using small socket and flat screw driver. (take time)Clip 1st and 3rd wires on the flat, white, 6 pin connector (see pic). The wires come from the CD player so what you see in the pic is the two left and right going to the Head Unit (HU) from the CD player. What you don't see is the two left and right clipped from the CD. What you are doing is intrupting the signal from the CD and introducing the signal from iPod/MP3 player. Get it? So solder these connectors from the Radio Shack part to your CAT-5 cable and use heat shrink tubing as follows.Connector 1 is the common Audio ground to Vibe's chassie.Connector 2 is the Left Channel black wire to HU on the white wire connector. Connector 3 is the Left Channel black wire coming from CDConnector 4 is the Right Channel white wire coming from CD Connector 5 is the Right Channel black wire to HU on the white wire connector.Walk it out in your head and it will make sense.Andrew

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JesseWHHS · Post by **JesseWHHS** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:42 am

thanks But I already got it done last night.at least I dont have to bother making a post to clarify for others now. haha.I do appreciate this post though