mvigneau Posted August 5, 2008 Author Share Posted August 5, 2008 I still have these available. I also found a Ground-Loop Isolator around that I can throw in for $20 if someone is interested. No Silent CD Aux-In Solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meltdown07 Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 I still haven't installed mine (my car is in the shop from when I was t-boned), but I am hoping to install it this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes! Go Cardinals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markers Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Installed and loving it, Thanks mvigneau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPLGT Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 I have been looking at this for a while...great idea. I already ahve the Jazzy Mod. I cannot be sure that it's worth the $180 or not ($80 for the board, $100 for install)... Rehab is for quitters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foolds Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 I installed it today, Like the aux in, having a problem with my source not quit being loud enough even with its output setting turned all the way up. Which is causing me to have to crank the factory head unit to about 25-27 which then is creating a slight wine in it. This is with a Ground loop isolator on it. Any suggestions? Also the Pop when it turns on and off is kind of annoying but its the price we pay I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyShackleford Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 It looks like a person might have the radio removed from his car for several days while doing this mod. What are the implications of driving the car around "headless" ? No audio, obviously. What about HVAC ? None ? Where it was set when you removed everything ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foolds Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 I'm trying to think I leave my Climate controls on auto most of the time, But when I turn my on it acts like its on auto. Comes on full blast then slows down after a min or 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvigneau Posted August 15, 2008 Author Share Posted August 15, 2008 Unfortunately because every input is different, we can't guarantee that it will match your audio's output. You can remove the 2-10k resistors attached to the tuner inputs. As long as you the radio is out of your car, you will not have radio/AC. Not sure about the if it remembers where you set it or not? No Silent CD Aux-In Solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gas711 Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 foolds, the climate control has nothing to do with the Aix-in. No interaction. If there is then you have installed something wrong. I have installed 4 of these Aux-in boards including my own and they work perfectly. RustyShackleford, Down time depeds on your ability to do this youself, plain and simple. I can usually do one in one day if the car and radio are at my home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyShackleford Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 RustyShackleford, Down time depeds on your ability to do this youself, plain and simple. My question wasn't really "how long does it take", but rather "will I have any HVAC function if I drive the car with the radio removed ?" I like to do stuff like this slowly and deliberately, to make sure I get it right, and I won't necessarily have that much continuous time to work on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyShackleford Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 My main fear is that I'll install this thing, and a month later that Highline dude will announce that this time he really DOES have one of the conversions he's been promising for months available (to install an after-market head-unit, which I'd vastly prefer ...) Do you have any kind of warranty for THAT ?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPLGT Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I think Progressive will hedge that.... Rehab is for quitters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gas711 Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Rusty, Once the radio assembly is out of the car the HVAC goes with it. You can populate the board first and then remove the radio in order to install it. I use mine with the stock HU and have enjoyed it for over a year. Who knows when Highline will come through for all those who want to change out their HU. In the meantime you can enjoy the Aux-in and it is not that expensive. You would still probably have down time if you change out the HU for something else and you might have to spend more time than you think since it will probably not be plug and play. Unfortunately, only you can decide what is best for you. Mine was a no brainer since my LGT came with navigation and the voice directions are routed through the radio. I wish you good luck on your choice and if I can be of any help if you decide on mvigneau's Aux-in just let me know.....gas711 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyShackleford Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 'Kay, thanks ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyR Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Greetings, I'm mostly a lurker around these parts, but I did sign up a while back when I was researching audio input solutions for my 2005 Outback 2.5XT. It's primarily my wife's car, but she loves her iPod even more than I do, so the FM modulator solution just wasn't working for us. I ended up going with the "mvigneau" board. Following is a brief summary of my experience. While I'm fairly comfortable around the innards of electronics ("I can take apart the remote control, and I can almost put it back together"), I haven't done a lot of fine soldering. I bought a 15W soldering iron for the purpose, figuring it would be better suited than my 25W iron. It seemed up to the task, and as it turned out, so was I. The only troublesome spot I encountered was soldering the Q1 transistor, where the PCB connections are very close. It's very easy to bridge solder across the connections, but with a little patience I was able to make it right. Not being able to test the newly-modified HU until having it almost completely reinstalled made me a little nervous, but my patience paid off in the end: It worked the first time! I finished up by terminating the audio input to a 1/8" stereo jack (through a GLI) which I mounted to the right of the ashtray. It looks almost like it could have been put there by the factory. As for performance, I think it sounds great--much better than the FM modulator that it replaced, hands down. The audio level is a bit lower than the other sources, but not enough to make me want to dismantle the whole thing and remove the 10K resistors. It was definitely money and time (perhaps 8 hours, working at a leisurely pace) well spent. Now if someone would just design a similar kit for the 2005+ Porsche PCM systems! The existing solutions are rather exotic at $500 and up... Cheers, Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyShackleford Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Thanks for sharing, Jeremy. It seemed up to the task, and as it turned out, so was I. The only troublesome spot I encountered was soldering the Q1 transistor, where the PCB connections are very close. It's very easy to bridge solder across the connections, but with a little patience I was able to make it right. That's encouraging. I'd thought the trickiest part was cutting traces and tapping into the main board. As for performance, I think it sounds great--much better than the FM modulator that it replaced, hands down. The audio level is a bit lower than the other sources, but not enough to make me want to dismantle the whole thing and remove the 10K resistors. It was definitely money and time (perhaps 8 hours, working at a leisurely pace) well spent. I haven't seen a schematic of the input board, so I'm not sure what the 10K's do. Is replacing them with a different value an option ? I think I've heard before that iPods (some of them) have pretty weak outputs, like when you go into the back of a home stereo preamp from one. P.S. Moderator: why isn't this thing sticky'ed ? Seems like as good or better a solution than Jazzy's board, and the info here is pretty useful, not just people saying "I haven't gotten mine yet". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvigneau Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 We matched the resistors of what was on the board as we are bypassing them. Because the iPod line-level doesn't match what the CD player or internal radio's output is. You can put smaller values of resistors in there or remove them totally if you want and the board will still function. No Silent CD Aux-In Solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meltdown07 Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Agreed, this should be sticky'ed. Not really fair to sticky one aftermarket aux-in technology and not the other. I'm finally installing mine this weekend... Cant wait! Go Cardinals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyR Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 That's encouraging. I'd thought the trickiest part was cutting traces and tapping into the main board. I thought cutting the traces was pretty easy--a brand-new razor blade helps! And of course double- and triple-checking to make sure you're cutting the right trace As for tapping into the main board, tin the leads first with perhaps a little extra solder, and they practically solder themselves into the thru-holes. By the way, I failed to mention that I did turn the ignition key on with the radio/AC unit completely disconnected, and the fan came on at a low setting. I have no idea whether the heat or A/C was engaged, but it did something. Cheers, Jeremy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyShackleford Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 We matched the resistors of what was on the board as we are bypassing them. Because the iPod line-level doesn't match what the CD player or internal radio's output is. You can put smaller values of resistors in there or remove them totally if you want and the board will still function. Can you make a quantitative statement about how changing the resistors affects what happens to the aux-in signal ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvigneau Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 We never performed any quantitive analysis, but when I first installed this, we didn't install the resistors and some people complained it was too loud. So we matched the resistor values and now some people are complaining too low...can't please everybody. Wondering for those that the audio is lower, does the FM/AM still have the same volume level because we are using the source (literally) for the input board. No Silent CD Aux-In Solution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gas711 Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 The resistors were there originally for isolation and to prevent overloading the preamp inputs. I used a 30G Ipod and now use a 8G Ipod nano using the Ipod connector and my levels are not exact but really close. The Ipods have pretty much the same output levels to each other. I originally installed mine without the resistors and found that it introduced distortion without them and advised mvigneau to install the 10k outboard resisters in place of the ones which were removed in the original instructions. If you lower the resistor values you will get an increase in aux volume but be careful not to go too low or remove them completely. I don't see why anyone using the Ipod connector (not the headphone jack) should have a volume problem. Any other audio source might have higher or lower outputs. That is what the manufacturer has designed to be their output levels. There is no standard for output levels in consumer electronics equipment therefore you will experience different aux-in volumes compared to the radio or CD levels. If you are going to use more than one source (Ipod; XM or Sirius) you might try using something I've seen on this forum called an "AmpliRider". (not sure of the spelling). It is basically a two input mixer with one output. You can adjust the mixer inputs to match your radio or CD player and the mixer provides isolation between the inputs. Hope this answers some questions about this Aux-in board. There is nothing wrong with the design, it is supposed to be transparent in levels as long as the Aux-in levels are close to the radio/CD levels as designed by our radio manufacturers. That part is up to us. I have installed 4 of these boards and when I test them on the bench using my Ipod I find the levels are very close using the 10k resistors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foolds Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Thank you gas, I have been trying to find the name of the AmpliRider for the past week! I keep searching and reading lots of threads but couldn't find it. I will post when I hear back on cost of this item. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legaru Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 I just ordered one of these and I too am shocked this isn’t a sticky. Obviously a lot of work and thought went into this elegant solution. My guess is that someone does not want a 'complicated' solution posted as a sticky for those who can't solder but most of these mods we do are complicated. The only improvement I would make to this kit, being an audiophile, is to add shielded wires to the audio lines instead of using a GLI that will always kill frequency response no matter how much money you pay for one. Masking the noisy audio lines with a band-aid is no excuse for spending a little extra time to do it right. If you are going to go this effort add a little more time and shield those lines away from the interface! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fierothing Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Purchased this solution. Arrived in a very timely matter. Received on Saturday, installed on Saturday. Had a problem with the GLI (loose connection on the rockford fosgate GLI circuit board...) that i bought to go with this solution, but besides that, everything went smoothly. I was able to install this myself with very limited soldering skills (only once or twice prior to this). Product included detailed color instructions and plenty of wire for all connections. I'd recommend picking up a wire stripper capable of stripping 30awg wire, it made life a ton easier. Funny story is that when I removed the head unit, I realized that I already had a Jazzy board installed (I bought the car used). It was all hidden away behind the head unit though. But was relatively easy to uninstall as I put the MVigneau board in. If anyone is interested (i wish I would've seen this before I bought the GLI), if you plan on using an iPod and just an iPod, take a look at the Peripheral Pxod. It is a GLI, audio line level adjuster (to match line levels between ipod and the head unit), RCA to iPod dock connector adapter, and it has the cool feature of pausing the iPod when you turn the car off (so you don't have to worry about the ipod continuing to play if you forget to pause it yourself). It also charges your ipod (and has option to allow 20 minutes of charging after you turn the car off). Not too bad for the price at all. Take a look at: http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=8524 Overall, very happy with this product. Sounds SO much better than the wireless FM modulator I was using. And it is very cool to be putting the stereo into iPod mode by hitting the momentary switch already found on my head unit. And very nice to know I still have complete control of my CD player...as a cd-player and not a way of playing my iPod. Thanks again Mike and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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