Aux-In Solution for 05/06 (Soldering Req) - No Silent CD

[mvigneau]

NOTE: This solution may not be for you for various reasons. I respect that decision and your opinion and ask that you respect my opinion and those that are looking for this type of solution.

 

INTRO: So…I have been quiet lately because of my life changing so significantly in the last year. I sold my car , bought a truck, bought a house, got married, and had a child (not in that order). I know many of you have been wondering what the heck happened to my Aux-In Solution?? Well…I am here to tell you that it is finally complete and I have successfully created a true audiophile aux-in solution. All of the kinks have been worked out; as of today (9/24/07) it has been successfully installed into 4 vehicles.

 

WHY BUY YOURS OVER OTHERS: Although my board has a slightly higher cost, it is the more professional way to achieve a true aux-in. It is the closest that you can get to an OEM install without purchasing an 07 radio. You no longer have to sacrifice a CD slot for a silent CD which is especially good for those who only have a single CD player. Also look at the following link for a comparison of the various Aux-In options that you have. Various Aux-Input Options Comparison Chart

 

WHAT/HOW: You may be wondering how this works? Well…using a combination of centerpunch and ipoduser I am taking the FM audio input and switching them with my input board. I also use the extra momentary switch (4th position on the AM/FM/CD button) to toggle between Aux-In and Radio.

 

WHY IS IT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN JAZZY’S: Jazzy’s board is your basic electronics board. There aren’t any relays or complicated circuitry with his board. I have also gone through 4 revisions of this board and have a lot of money/time invested in it. The cost of parts for the board is $65 so I am not charging that much over cost (since it includes shipping). The relay alone costs $20.

 

WHAT REVISIONS: Although not publicly available, I have gone through 4 board revisions. No, I don’t have any boards available for the previous revisions, but would be willing to sell the schematics for those if you want to buy them?

1. Similar to Jazzy’s board (where do you think he got his idea) but I didn’t like the silent CD or muting problems.
   
2. Relay switch added and RC Debouncer and latch for momentary switch but still using CD cable. Able to use any CD, but still muted at certain points <- didn’t like.
   
3. Added a mute line to the mute pin on the CD Changer cable. Still muted when changing discs. Still muted when changing discs and some other functions. Still not good enough for me.
   
4. Current iteration. Since I was unable to reverse engineer the CD Changer Bus, I went the ipoduser rout and used the FM audio lines.
   

 

GROUND LOOP ISOLATOR: Because I don’t know what kind of grounding your individual electronics are using, I HIGHLY recommend getting one of these(available at WalMart, RadioShack, BestBuy, etc…). I am not including these, because I don’t know how many people are actually interested in this board and I don’t need to invest anymore money in this if no one is going to buy one.

 

COST: The cost of my board is $75 for the board and parts including shipping. If you are paying by PayPal, the cost is $80 to cover PayPal fees. Please PM me for e-mail address or contact information.

 

ASSEMBLY REQUIRED: Because of the additional time it would take me to assemble the board, I will send you all needed parts and instructions and you will have to solder the parts onto the board as well as install the board into your radio. Instructions for soldering as well as installation available at the end of this topic. If you have ever soldered a modchip or worked on PCB boards, then you should be able to install this board.

 

WHAT DO I GET:

1. Input Board
   
2. Resistors, Capacitors, Transistors, Relays, Screw-down terminals (all parts labeled in bags)
   
3. Soldering Instructions (available below)
   
4. Input Board Installation Instructions (available below)
   
5. White, red, blue, and clear 30awg wire
   
6. Black, Blue, Green, Purple, Red/White, and two shades of Red wire
   

 

HOW DO I SWITCH: When you want to listen to your Aux-in (ie iPod), press FM to put your radio into FM mode, then press the hidden “SAT” button to switch to Aux-In.

 

CD-SPIN: There is NO CD Spin because you aren’t using the CD changer cable.

 

OTHER VEHICLES: You can definitely use this on ANY vehicle. The caveats are:

• You will have to do the detective work to figure out what the FM Left and Right inputs are.
  
• You will need a momentary switch (can be externally mounted).
  
• You will need to figure out a chassis ground, power ground and a 12V Power connection.
  

 

AVERSE TO ELECTRONICS: If you want someone else to install it: Gas711(at)cox.net is willing and very capable of installing this Aux-in board. Cost will be $100 with shipping paid both ways by customer. Radio is tested before and after installation. Turnaround is approximately 2-3 days. You may contact him at the above e-mail address with any questions

 

Input Board Instructions - http://www.mediafire.com/?2ngnxjzovzn

Soldering Instructions- http://www.mediafire.com/?fho9xcyeypu

Various Aux-Input Options Comparison Chart- http://www.mediafire.com/?5dygghmoygw

DV8ingVector’s Review - http://www.mediafire.com/?4ygs1x5ucyx

 

Please be patient as I have most of the parts for 90 boards on hand, but still need a handful of resistors as I am unable to foresee demand for this solution. I don't want to purchase any additional items if people are not interested in my solution.

[enthusiast]

You almost had me until I read that you still have to assemble the board. I really want the NO-CD solution.

 

What about putting another price on what is would cost to get a "finalized" version of the board (fully assembled and tested?).

[mvigneau]

Assembling the board is easier than actually installing the board. It is all thru-mount soldering.

 

If you look at the PDF for Soldering Instructions , you will see that the board is preprinted and has all of the parts labeled on it. You just have to physically attach them and solder them to the board. Probably will take 30-60 minutes depending on your skill.

 

After you finish assembling the board, you have to take apart your radio and actually install it. Requiring cutting some traces, and soldering onto the Subaru board.

[highlander]

WOW! Nice thorough work.

 

Been a long time since I soldered PCBs, but I'm sure I can remember. I just gotta get a hold of a better soldering iron for the job.

 

Let me check with the boss on the mod....

[starhm]

So shipping you a radio and you pricing the install and modification is out??? Or is Gas711 the only option? I have two vehicles and can stand to leave the subie in the garage for a little while. Let me know. Thanks.

[mvigneau]

Gas711 is far more than capable of installing the solution. He has done his own install and the install of another and hasn't run into any problems. If I was going to install it, because of the lack of freetime that I have, I would have to charge far more than he is charging.

 

You would ship the radio to him and he would test, install, test. I could ship the board to you and then you ship it to him with your radio, or I could just send him the board while you are sending him your radio and save on some time.

[starhm]

Do you have a link or paypal account name for purchase? I purchased another 06-07 radio to play with and am ready to go. Thanks...paypal pls.

[mvigneau]

PM Sent.

[starhm]

Got it. Payment sent, thanks. i'll let you know how it goes.

[SubOperator]

anything came out of this ?

[starhm]

I assembled the aux-in board today. It took about 2.5 hours and I am not soldering heavy. mvigneau is right, use fine wire and a had a small soldering tip that came with the iron that proved most useful. There are some tight spots, three in particular, that scared me a little. I will start with the radio circuit board mods tonight. I should have it ready to go in next week. Tomorrow is all football!! Maybe...

 

Also, I pmed you mvigneau with a couple of questions...thanks!

[starhm]

I OCDed this one and its done and WORKING! The soldering on the radio circuit boards is a little intense with the very small solder points, but...it works. I am not electrically inclined, but i am not scared to try things. I am running my harmon kardon through it right now. you have to press the fm then sat to start and also press the sat prior to moving on to something else. the sound is great, just like a cd. i will have to give it some run time, but so far, i am vry pleased!! amazing work mv coming up with this one. thanks!

[Meltdown07]

PM'ed

[NSFW]

Why is this NOT STICKY YET?

[SubOperator]

^^^^^^^ +1 what he said

[Meltdown07]

Agreed, this should be stickied.

 

Also just for clarification sake can you confirm one question:

"This does not impact the operation of the radio in FM mode in anyway?"

Meaning, I can still listen to the radio, right?

[starhm]

Radio is still good. if you are going from cd to aux in, you have to press fm first otherwise you can get music overlay. it sounds kind of interesting...two songs on top of eachother. when you are done with the aux in, you press the sat again and it goes back to the radio. just a little soldering to get through. radio points are a little small!!

[Meltdown07]

I did a modchip on teh original Xbox, the solder points on this couldnt possibly be an smaller than that was.

 

Anyway, I'm going to pick one up, just figuring out my financials, because I am moving next month. I might have to wait for a little bit.

[starhm]

^pm sent

[SubOperator]

Sticky !!!

[Meltdown07]

^pm sent

 

^ Got it, thats good to know, thanks!

[gas711]

I am using Mike's board and it is the way to go if you do not want to use a silent CD. I have installed a board for a guy in NY who wasn't sure he could do the install himself. I live in Las Vegas and he shipped it to me. I am set up to test the radio both before and after install. I will do this for $100 cash with shipping paid both ways by sender. I will populate the board as well.

My background is 35 years in broadcasting as a technician with the CBS radio network. I am retired but I like to do things like this. Soldering is second nature to me.

Mike's board is not difficult to do and his instructions are really good. Using the modified Sat switch to enable the Aux-in feature is like having an OEM installation.

Anyone interested in this Aux-in board but has questions or is not sure of his or her ability can PM me or contact me at gas711@cox.net......Thanks

[kevinh]

And I am the guy from NY gas711 speaks of...he did a great job of installing the board. Excellent work...fast and good communication. Even did a revision at no charge when I sent it back (mvigneau was still working out bugs).

This is the way to go...works great & sounds incredible.

[f85stealth]

Couple questions.

 

1. Does the stereo sound of an ipod play on all four speakers?
   
2. Does the balance on the radio work while using this mod?
   
3. How does the ipod physically connect to the radio? Is it some pigtails to solder to a 1/8" mini input?
   
4. The PCB board is installed into the actual radio itself? How do the pigtails get on the outside of the radio? Drilling a hole in the radio necessary?
   
5. Hows the board mounted in the radio? Glue?
   
6. If the installer gas711 (i think was his s/n) was to do the install does the $100 bucks cover the soldering of the PCB or just the installation of the complete board into the radio?
   
7. If it does include the soldering of the PCB how much just to put it in the radio?
   
8. If gas711 does the install who is responsible if the radio gets f&*$ed up?
   
9. I have a soec b does this affect my steering wheel controls in anyway?

Thanks!

[starhm]

1. YES

2. YES-the head unit is the same still

3. Look at the link for the install. The aux in board is inside the head unit and has aground loop isolator plugged to it. Your input is the RCA jacks of the ground loop isolator.

4. The cable from the ground loop isolator goes through a plastic hole cover that is already covering an existing access into the radio. You just have to cut a notch in it go allow the cable to pass through. See link for installation, picture-page 25, step 26.

5. Yep, the RCA plugs from the ground loop isolator are fixed using a hot glue gun which also keeps the board in place. See link for installation, picture-page 24, step 25.

6. Gas will have to weigh in...pm him. You pay 80 to mv for the board and 100 to gas for the assembly and install. You also pay shipping both ways to Vegas, NV. PM gas to make sure this is correct. He does all testing before shipping back.

7. pm gas directly.

8. see 7 above. I have been told he is good and he has already completed this a few times.

9. ??Since this does not modify the head unit, all the volume and cd controls should still function normally. Dont have those controls, but this is not messing with the radio controls.