Bluetooth in your old radio with a cassette player!!

[djkeev]

Many of us have automobiles with radios that have the modern device known as the cassette player built into it. We don't have auxiliary input plugs on the front or the rear, just a basic radio, be it "stock" factory head unit or an aftermarket unit.We desire to keep these radios yet have some of the luxury of digital music and Blue Tooth phone connectivity.I recently upgraded to the iPhone 4s and I've come to the point where I use it a lot. It is not only my phone but also my iPod, note pad, watch and reminder all rolled into one pretty package.I was frustrated that while I converted our DD to accept Blue Tooth by installing a modern head unit, I couldn't do / didn't want to do, that for the older VW or other units that I drive.I was using a cassette head with the 1/8 mini stereo plug on it that we used to plug into our CD players back when they were a new concept. While this was great (within the confines of what the unit is), it required plugging in the phone and unplugging it constantly. Not a major hassle but a minor irritation. I drive many errands and am in and out of the vehicle a lot.I also live in a illegal hand held phone State and bordered by others so anytime I got a phone call it was take it on the sly or pull over and stop.I stumbled across Blue Tooth units that plug into the cigarette lighter and then they have a wire with a 1/8 stereo plug to plug into the front AUX port on many newer radios, I don't have a newer radio.I began to wonder if I could use this Blue Tooth device along with the Cassette adapter???I purchased the Belkin Bluetooth Car Hands-Free Kit adapter http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-B...cps_0 today and began wiring things together.I needed a 1/8 stereo coupler F/F which I picked up at Radio Shack. to hook the cassette male 1/8 to the Blue Tooth male 1/8 plug.I plugged everything in, turned everything on, had my iPhone sync up with the Belkin and ......TRA DA!!!!!! Wonderful!! Music streams wirelessly from my iPhone, incoming calls stop the music and by pushing the button I can answer through the stereo and the best part is that the Blue Tooth unit remembers the iPhone. I do have to click play on the iPhone and then push the button on the Blue Tooth once when I get in but that's minor.I couldn't be happier!! A major plus is that the unit that plugs into the lighter also has a USB plug on it so you can charge your phone as needed! IT will indeed play and work as a phone while charging as well.I've been busy tucking wires away so they aren't seen and making it as neat as possible.Yeah, I spent more than I should have but I had the cassette adapter since the 90's. I did pick up the Belkin at the local Apple Store so I paid full price for it but no one carried them around here so my options were limited.It's far better than the radio frequency blue tooth adapters which would be about your only choice if you have an AM FM radio without a cassette. At least in the NYC area, we've got too many stations to be able to find a blank frequency all of the time. I can't keep a radio station between Randolph NJ and Dover NJ!! We are on the cusp of NYC radio and Pennsylvania radio. http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...7RIND We can put modern technology into these old units without cutting the dash and compromising visual authenticity. (unless you find a wire coming out of the cassette player a compromise)Let me add I can stream all of my digital music to my old fashioned radio as well!! Remote pause, remote skip both forward and back!!If you've only got an old AM radio, so sorry, I haven't a solution for you just yet.Dave