Ipod auxiliary input kit

I reackon it's long overdue for manufacturers to install radio's with USB or SD Card slots as standard , maybe even a radio without the CD player but just the slots, the whole thing could be less than half the depth without all the CD mechanism , I never use my CD player , always use a Flash drive with 200 to 300 songs on it.

Poppy,
There are no inputs on the Prado's stereo. I expect it would take an electronic nerd many hours of fiddling to wire in an input.

New stereos with all the bells and whistles are so cheap now, its not worth modifying the factory unit. I usually install a new stereo, and put the factory one back in when selling the vehicle.

at worst, you have the option of using an FM transmitter to plug into the iPod and then tune the factory head unit into that frequency. great for road trips in convoy as some of the transmitters are good for a few tens of metres so other vehicles can tune in!!!

but given the quality of many factory head units and speakers, and if you really like your music, i'd flick it in favour of an aftermarket unit that will handle an iPod or any other AUX input. most of the big brands are coming out with this feature now.

Pioneer and others have adapters to allow you to plug the iPod in and control it via the head unit. or give you the option of a 3.5mm stereo input or as is the case with pioneer (and no doubt others have something similar) have an IP-Bus aux input adapter that gives you two RCA audio inputs.

but in answering your question, i believe there is a system to allow you to inject the audio into the factory harness and mute the factory stereo as some mobile phone car kits do this and utilise the car's speakers for handsfree.

so whether you could get one of these. price wise though, a new headunit might be just as cheap - FM transmitter is cheapest option though.

Chuck out the standard radio system and whack in a decent system. You can get GPS SatNav, DVD and iPod input systems for a pretty reasonable price nowadays

Hey guys - we have to fit into the kids market here! Forget it if you are over 25!

I just bought a Belkin Auto Tune, which plugs into the iPod, the cigarette lighter socket and finds a quiet channel. Set the FM radio to that channel too and on the little bit of testing I have done you get a good signal. Just make sure it can "see" the antenna for the car radio.

Cost about $90.

Max

Hi all

I just put in a new system that has an input plug but best of all has Bluetooth, so I got a 2 gig card for my phone put in a thousand songs and away you go. When my phone rings the player goes on hold I talk through the radio and when I hang up the music comes back on.
Have fun
Craig

Poppygee
Luckily you have an older radio/cassette player. I am very pleased with this device from Dick Smith.
adaptor
You simply plug the IPOD/MP3 player into it and then pop it into your cassette slot. It gives a superior sound compared with the FM transmitter types and it doesn't need a power supply.

Kingo

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm not sure I'm the wiser, but at least I have something to work on.

If you have a look at the following link you may find it interesting
http://www.fusionmarine.com.au/en/SingleMarketingComms.aspx?id=7
Good unit if you wish to run your ipod and have the latest and greatest. About $399 i believe
Rod n Els