thew

my mazda aux input should be here from Japan.. Friday..

RandyP

I just finished installing the Tape Hack about an hour ago. It sounds great! OK, it costs $140 if you don't need the faceplate, or $200 if you want it. But I'm listening to high quality music from my iPod tonight... as well as hearing my daughter's old cassette tape of the Maquerena again! Who could ask for more?

This solution - unlike the PIE - works in every RX-8 regardless of the mix of CD/Changer/Bose/Nav. All it takes is three relatively simple solder joints. The rest of the process is no different than swapping a CD for an MP3 player.

I'll still get OverLOAD's product when it's ready. But now it doesn't matter how long it takes until it's shipping. I've got iMusic today, and someday it will be more integrated with the car.

bobclevenger

Way to go! Sounds like you're all set for the time being.

I'm still working on getting a good power source for both my Rio Karma and my Nomad JB3. The JB3 seems to be VERY picky on the supplied voltage. The 5 volt supply I was using had the right voltage, but couldn't supply enough current for the JB3 <sigh>. Now I'm using a 6-volt supply through blocking diodes to drop some voltage -- The Karma is happy with it, but the JB3 is still balking. Back to the parts store tomorrow.

If Overload gets integration for the Karma or the JB3 worked out (I'm sure the first will be the iPod) I still want one of his modules too.

I'm wondering if the '05 models will have an aux-in option? No, I haven't heard any rumours.

RandyP

I'm interested in alternatives to the Belkin... let us know if you come up with something. In one thread, a person used a 12V-120AC inverter, then a 120AC-6V power supply to get the noise isolation he needed.

I found a decent mounting system over at iPodLounge



It's in a 2002 Protege. There's a web page about the installation here. Another installation with more detailed photos is here.

RandyP

I know you're not iPod, but I found something interesting at iPodHacks.com: power directly from the battery to the iPod. It appears direct wiring can be used for any player that has a FireWire interface. This page also links to a site where you can get a hack for the iPod that shows the battery voltage on the display.

bobclevenger

That might work for the JB3 (which is the picky one), but I have just finished another solution. I got a "universal" power adapter from Radio Shack that is rated for 2500ma. This adapter won't supply 5 volts, but I set it on 6 volts and connected the Karma through a 3 amp/200PIV diode to isolate and drop about .5 volt. Karma is happy now. I connected the JB3 through a network of 4 of these diodes in series-parallel for the same reasons (one diode didn't drop enough voltage and two dropped too much) and now the JB3 is happy as well.

BTW, check the PIE thread for my solution to the PIE "problem."

RandyP

After doing the tape hack, I had numerous noise problems when I tried to power the iPod from the car. I've finally got a clean, noise-free install that is described here.

doyouright900

Well if you can figure out how to get the serial connection to work maybe we can say screw ice link and you could design your own ipod controller version where the steer controls will control the ipod? :D

[iG]

I waited 7 months already for this module, I figured I might as well wait another 1 or 2 :P

l008com

Well you can always give the CD Player Hack a try :-)

[iG]

I could Very nice writeup btw!

But my main problem/feature I'm looking for is keeping the steering wheel controls.. I'm running a carputter in my 6 and i want to interface my winamp/windows media player with my controls. Touchscreen is nice and all.. but still!

frad

Hi there... That's my setup you found there. Its cool to see my ipod setup find its way onto this forum.
My site URL has changed so I thought I would let you guys know. Its http://bodhanwala.blogspot.com/2004/...im-carpod.html now. If anyone has any questions feel free to contact me. Leave a comment on my blog or email me.

vt_hokie2008

Is there an aux-in solution out there that gives you two RCA female plugs? I need this for my sony mp3 player.

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-interior-audio-electronics-24/pnp-aux-solution-pie-alpine-adapter-31969/

Prepare for a long read... and pray that your radio will be compatible with this :D

thew

you had to ask

OverLOAD

Excelent news:

We've made excellent headway over the last week on the AuxMOD. The beta firmware for AuxMOD basic is essentially ready for stress testing. It successfully emulates the Tape device in both the Mazda6 and the RX-8, and now it also relays controls over a serial port to a PC to remotely control winamp.

I'm pretty pleased with where it is at this point, evern though I know to all of you that it seems like it's taken forever to get here. The next thing I'm going to start working on is the iPOD controls, but not for a while yet. I want to get AuxMOD basic tested for some significant in-car time, and get a Car-PC running to do the real-life testing. I'm sure that there's a few little bugs left in the system.

As it stands, I still havn't firmed up any hardware plans to include the connector, but there may still be glimmer of hope for a true pluggable module. But the Solder-in Module will likely become the first option for anyone that really wants it.

I just wanted to provide everyone with the same semi-regular updates that I usually do, at least when major points in the development occur.

Regards,

OverLOAD

truemagellen

nice...thanks for the update OverLOAD...I don't have an ipod...but if you can get it so that I can control it by the steering wheel I'll buy one the next day

and if you can have the display of songs stream across the lcd display...holy **** that would be amazing (and you would be very wealthy)

OverLOAD

I do think that the text display is feasable, but It's going to take a substantial effort (ie Too much time right now) to ensure that the communication of both the regular bus mesasges, and the seperate text bus messages occur at the right sequence. It's a lower priority to me than just being able to control it. It's pretty low on the priority list compared to getting the unit out to make people happy..

Regards,

OverLOAD

G8rboy

Thanks for the update OverLOAD- still waiting with optimism for your module. >>Keeping fingers crossed<<

zelig2

Keep up the good work. I can't wait for full iPod control. I've told all my friends about this project and we're all amazed at how this is so much better than the BMW solution provided by apple.

serff

Does the iPod really broadcast the track/artist info? If not, this wouldn't be so easy as you would need to beef up your module to be able to read MP3 ID3 tags. I haven't looked into any sort of API they have for the iPod. Would be cool if they had one. And I wouldn't be supprised if there was one knowing apple.

Great to hear about the progress. Keep up the good work!

OverLOAD

I believe that there has been some work lately that has read the data from the iPOD RS-232 control line on the remote. There is an API for the Doc Connector to get even more data to/from the iPOD, but that's not the point of entry that I want to get into the system. I could literally chop off the cable from an iPOD remote and connect the wires (7 of them) to an add-on module on the AuxMOD and go from there.

My current unproven understanding is that the G3 iPOD transmits data over a standard 19200 baud N81 RS-232 protocol using the remote port. That would simplify matters substantially, and I could just relay the information back to the HU over the text line, with the appropriate bus info to make it work.

In theory, it's not too difficult, but there will be a significant amount of effort into collecting the data, organizing it, and implementing the functionalty to pass the control through in firmware.

However, I'm bug-testing on the radio at the moment, and this info on the eventual plan with the iPOD text is a more substantial effort. I think that there's going to be a basic iPOD remote, and eventually the firmware will be upgraded on the AuxMOD and the remote to enable text. Yes it's cool and I want it too, but I'll tackle it after all the other foundational work on the module is done..

Regards,

OverLOAD

RotaryJeff

OverLOAD

I've been following this thread with great interest since the begining. Since I have a Creative Jukebox that allows external computer control via a USB connection, I'm sure you can guess what I'm thinking. Your thoughts?

Anyway, keep up the good work - whatever features your able to include will make a lot of folks happy.

Jeff

Nubo

Maybe it would be worth your time to contact Apple about the protocol/API issues, just so you don't waste your time implementing a solution that then becomes invalidated with the next gen iPod hardware or software release. I've seen more than one product that relied on undocumented Macintosh features, which became useless later or required re-design. Apple's response in such matters is usually along the lines of "wouldn't have been a problem if you'd used the recommended API/tool/etc...". Just a thought; don't know how much it costs to become an Apple Developer or if you'd need to go that far.