Page 1 of 1

MP3 audio jack install

PostPosted: 08 Jan 2009 22:35
by jh27n0b
Anyone know how to wire a 3.5mm audio jack into the wiring in my AM/FM radio. Wards Radio does this at a cost of $79 plus shipping. Not a bad price but I am nervous about sending my radio through the mail.

Bob

PostPosted: 10 Jan 2009 16:09
by Eddie
Let me get this straight Bob, you want to hook up your MP3 player to your cars radio right? Cant you buy an adaptor that allows the MP3 player to recieve the signal? The cars antennae plugs into the back of the radio. I cant see why an adaptor wouldnt work. I would call Radio Shack to start. Or this one? http://www.buy.com/prod/cables-to-go-mp ... 07003.html

PostPosted: 12 Jan 2009 9:54
by dave-r
I just did this at the weekend.

My wife wanted to play her ipod when driving the Jeep. I bought a VERY cheap (less than $20 US) device that simply plugs into the cigar lighter socket.
The only wire being the audio jack to connect to the ipod's headphone socket.
It transmits a FM signal strong enough for the radio in the dash to pick it up.
Works well. But when the ipod is not plugged in there is a very faint background noise on the other stations. But not enough to make me want to pull the divice out when not in use.

PostPosted: 12 Jan 2009 16:45
by jh27n0b
Yes Eddie, My son has one of those adaptors. My radio is of the Phillips make and I have heard that they can be quite costly to repair. The unit powers up and the lights work but no sound. I therefore can not pick up and hear a FM signal. I was hoping that there was a cheap way to tie in a audio jack so that I could simply plug in my I Pod and maintain the look of the original radio. Turnswitch.com will replace the internals for $385 and add RCA jacks for and additional $25. An expensive alternative but perhaps my only choice.

Thanks for the replies
Bob

PostPosted: 13 Jan 2009 0:59
by drewcrane
yes dave i too have a unit like yours, and i kinda think they suck,its to hard to find a clear station and since the music is compressed it just doesnt sound very good,maybe a little better than the old transistor radios,there has got to be a better way :rage: i will check this post again as i am wondering what people do :thumbsup: oh my wife likes it,but she is alot more tolerant of these types of things :tears:

PostPosted: 13 Jan 2009 9:46
by dave-r
Not hard to find a clear frequency here. Although as you move around the country you have to make adjustments as local stations come into range.
My friend has one and uses a cheap MP3 player. His system sounds awful. I am not sure if it is his player or his radio transmitter. But mine sounds great! I am really happy with it. Maybe I was lucky?

The wife likes it too and she is the real audiophile. :nod: She had a LINN HiFi system before I met her. If you know LINN stuff you will know that is serious audio.

PostPosted: 14 Jan 2009 12:27
by drewcrane
If you know LINN stuff ,way above my peanut shaped head :s024:

PostPosted: 14 Jan 2009 13:11
by dave-r
MP3s are obviously not ideal for quality anyway because of the compression involved. But bare in mind that there are different levels of compression. The ones that take up the most file space don't sound too bad on a good system.

Good enough for AC/DC and Metallica anyway. :lol: