ipod integration part 1

Be sure to read PART 2 of this adventure to see the completed project!

anyone who knows me knows that i'm a super geek, but not gifted beyond that title :-).  when trying to hang something in my house, i've got about 18 different laser levelers assisting me, but i'll be damned if the thing still isn't hung right.

so for my birthday i decided i was finally going to complete one of my desires...my mp3 player in my car.  i previously wrote about how i have an "older" car (2000) and that it doesn't have an aux jack or anything.  i also had the goal of preserving my factory head unit as well as must be able to control the player through the factory controls on the steering wheel and head unit.  pretty lofty goal for a 2000 model year car.  but alas, i found the kit.  so i bought it for my birthday and it has been sitting in my office ever since.

SIDE NOTE: why no zune?  i wish i could...honest.  i want to support my company in every way.  i might be regretting this ipod investment if new zunes come out that are unreal.  but for me, integration with my car in a deep way was key.  i couldn't wait anymore and the aftermarket for zune just isn't demanding enough for niche companies to invest in what i was looking for.  there are some, but none that met my criteria...so alas, it is not a zune.

why?  well the instructions scared the crap out of me first of all.  when the first three pages of instructions warn you about the product and that "it doesn't just 'work'" you tend to get leery about it...especially since we aren't hanging pictures!  this weekend i decided to embark.  kids were in for a nap, and me -- being the idiot that i am -- decided that an afternoon in the garage in 100 degree temps was a good idea.  so i started.

i read the instructions in detail about 12 times before i started.  i heeded the warnings of "perform a dry run" and was about to do just that.  so out came the metric set, screwdrivers, and wirecutters and i went to work.  everything was extremely simple to set up and the instructions were incredibly detailed.  i went and got my ipod, and plugged it in.  as i watched the dash initialize with the expected commands.  the commands are very funky and going to take a bit of getting used to in navigating the ipod menu through less-than-intuitive commands, but it worked...sorta.  my dry run consisted of wiring everything into the trunk before i made the time investment in cabling to the front cab.

everything that it said it would do, it did.  but no sound.  argh.  i fiddled some more.  then realized that even though one part of the unit might not be getting power, that it would still send data...so, a re-wire to a ground/power and boom, it worked.  you can see a nano (above) being used here (not a new nano, but a 2nd gen one) and the dash view under my tach/speedometer now displays the ipod text info (format: song*artist*album):

to see it in action watch this video of a song playing then switching a song:

so it all works...but that is half the battle.  as the darkness grew on me, i contemplated whether or not i should start doing the cable work...and then i re-read the directions: "well, the most time consuming part is upon us...but it won't take more than an hour" -- i applied the standard algorithm i have for these scenarios:

(((MFR Estimated Time * 3) + Emotional Cost in Hours) * 3) + 1 + 1 Taco Bell break

i quickly deduced that a) there wasn't enough daylight and b) i didn't have any more emotional cost hours left.  aside from the fact that i noticed that step one was to remove the back seat -- all of it...seat belt assembly and all.  yeah, i'm gonna wait on that one.  for now, i'm proud that i got an initial step done.  my trunk is still in shambles, but that is okay...baby steps.

Be sure to read PART 2 of this adventure to see the completed project!