wrathalanche

Ok guys this might be a decent thread to link the deluge of people posting new topics on iPod connectivity to. The pitures are quite small but they don't show that much in detail anyway, just an idea what size and shape things take.


My old car had a fully iPod intergrated stereo, with ipod control available on the head unit, and the iPod charged in the glove box. So there was no evidence of the iPod at all, it was hidden, and it was always working. I didn't even see my iPod for like 6 months. I loved it.

Now with my E60, I thought about putting in the aux socket but again, dealer prices are a bit steep for something that won't charge the pod and doesn't give me control. The setup I have settled on works pretty great and would recommend it to anyone. The only downside that may put people off straight away is that it uses an FM transmitter (and I would agree, the setup would work even better along with the aux input, but like I said, this is for those on a budget).

Here's what you need:

The crux of the whole setup: The DLO Tunestick: ( or from DLO http://www.dlo.com/)

An FM transmitter (The one I use: )
An iPod car charger (I use this: Find here.)

Here's what isnt 100% necessary:

Aux power lead - plugs into the torch socket in the glovebox to keep everything hidden. Available from Bimmerbum



Ok, the DLO Tunestick on paper is the perfect solution, and actually might be all some of you need. The Tunestick looks like this:



It plugs into the bottom of the iPod, and then has the same slot at the bottom of it, so that a charger can then be inserted. The Tunestick is a FM transmitter. So this basically means you can have this plugged into the bottom of the iPod and transmit, and charge the iPod at the same time. I have the ipod Charger connected to the aux power lead, connected to the torch socket, so my charging is done completely inside the glove box. The best bit though is that the Tunestick comes with a small remote control, allowing you to skip tracks, change volume, pause, and change broadcast frequency. The Tunestick is $60. I'm in the UK so it was about ?30, but when it arrived, I was charged ?25 on duty and customs fees which was a bit rough.

But still, it should be perfect. But the problem is I found the Tunestick to be a pretty poor transmitter. It has constant crackle on all frequencies, which seemed to be fixed slightly by putting the ipod EQ to Bass Reducer, but it still didn't cut it with me.

So I then went out and bought the Belkin Tunecast Transmitter and the Belkin in-car charger. The Tunecast is a bog standard transmitter, but worked so much better than the Tunestick. It used the headphone socket, so my solution was to use the Tunestick just as a remote, and forget about its transmitting.

Here's where I stuck the remote, and an idea of the size (RHD car by the way):



The Belkin Tunecast is quite good in that it turns itself on and off when an audio signal is picked up, but it runs on a battery, or you can used an in-car charger that comes with it, but that would mean I would need to use BOTH my 12v sockets, meaning there would be visible wires around my dashboard, coming out of the ash tray in the centre console. But it turned out the Tunecast ALSO came with a small jack lead that I couldn't figure out a use for. I realised eventually that this could be connected to the transmitter, and the other end into the Belkin in car charger, which has an auxillary power socket just behind where it plugs into the iPod! Perfect:



OK so what we have now is starting to look a bit messy. You have a car charger in the glove box powereing both the ipod (which is connected to the Tunestick which allows the remote control), plus it provides power for the transmitter that you are ACTUALLY using. It looks like this:




There's alot of wires. Its ugly. My car has no CD changer, so looking into the glovebox, there is a hatch at the back where the changer would sit, so I plucked that out...



... and stuffed the power cords back behind this and put the hatch back on. It just clips off and on really easily. There's no risk of snapping legs or whatever. The power cables can come over the top of the hatch and glove box can still open and close without any interference or crushing the wires. Then I tied up all the wires going in and out of the iPod with some velcro strips that just keep it tidier looking and get rid of the loops and things.



The final set up in my glove box looks like this:



Could be tidier I suppose but Its ok with me. Someway to maybe secure the iPod down to stop it sliding around slightly would be pretty handy I suppose so any ideas on that would be pretty good.

Anyway, here's how it all works in the everyday to day.

In the morning when I'm coming out to my car, I first unlock it, obviously. This turns on the power in the glovebox and the charger kicks in. This has the same effect as plugging an iPod on standby into a power source in the house, or pressing a button. Basically, the screen turns on, but the music doesn't play yet. Once you're in the car, press play on your remote. The music will start to play, and this turns on the transmitter. Starting the engine AFTER this is best, because it means you don't get static blasting in your eyes while you find the play button. The remote lets you skip tracks and adjust the volume. Changing playlists and going through menus however still requires you to use the iPod, but if you're the type who likes long playlists like me, this isn't a problem.

When leaving the car, just press pause on the ipod, and walk away. I remember reading that the power in the glovebox doesnt turn off until the car goes to sleep, which is about 20 minutes after the car is locked down. So basically your iPod will be charged for 20 mins while paused until the car shuts down completley, and the iPod will put itself on standby and the transmitter will turn off.

Audio quality-wise, well at times I do get interference. My drive to work sees me basically drive next to a railway line the whole way, and now and then I seem to pick up inteference from the overhead lines or something.

Its pretty easy to find a good balance in the volumes of the iPod and the car. At times certain songs seem quieter than I'd like (which is just the way they are recorded) and I need to boost the ipod volume on the remote. Increasing the cars volume would result in hissing (from having its epakers too high). Then a louder song might start, and this will be distorted as it saturates the car speakers, meaning I need to turn it back down on the ipod and adjust the balance, but its easy to do and doesn't happen that often. For these reasons, I think the setup would work amazingly with the aux input (and thus no FM transmitter in the headphone socket).

But as it is, it is perfect for me and I'm pretty chuffed with it. No problems so far after 3 months and I have never had to take the iPod out for an extra charge in the house or anything.

If you're thinking of giving it a shot, I can only really guarantee everything will work this way if you stick to buying the parts I did. But I can help with any problems ( I've worked in car audio for a few years on the supply and sales end (not fitting) so I have a fair idea of what works with what).

Anyway, I'll be interested in hearing what you guys think.

Dave.

zimguy

nice post.

I have just gone down the route of a FM transmitter and the biggest hassle is having to fiddle with the iPod to change tracks. I like the idea of a remote so everything can live in the glove box.

cunning plan to use the torch power socket