Car Radio Adpater??

Jim Thompson · Dec 18, 2004

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax

Joerg · Dec 19, 2004

Hi Jim,

I just saw one of these at a barber shop. Size was about the diameter of
a small beer coaster. The sound was great, like CD. Usually the good
adapters have a PLL, don't buy one with a tuning coil or cap. Most only
offer four channels via a couple dip switches but these are in the 88MHz
section where most stations are lower power. So interference should be
ok, at least most of the time.

I don't know about 'adpaters' though ;-)

You are right about cassette players. We record our church service for
people that are too sick to come. Often we run into the problem that
even 70 or 80 year old folks don't have cassette players anymore.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Gregg · Dec 19, 2004

Behold, Jim Thompson signalled from keyed 4-1000A filament:

So who has a cassette player? Even my 4 year old peekup track has a CD
player.

...Jim Thompson

No kiddin'! My '91 Tempo doesn't even have a cassette. Can't even buy
them anymore in this neck of the woods. Even CD's are being replaced with
DVD-A.

--
Gregg t3h g33k
"Ratings are for transistors....tubes have guidelines"
http://geek.scorpiorising.ca

Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su · Dec 19, 2004

"John Stewart" <jh.stewart@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:41C56F52.9E14B4B6@sympatico.ca...
[snip]

How long will the next format last? 78's managed about 50 years.
CD's- Who knows!!! JLS

Dunno, however one of the time capsules buried in the ground next to the
flagpoles on our campus has a VHS tape in it. Scary part is when it's
unearthed, will there be a player still available?

At least it wasn't a betamax!

Paul Hovnanian P.E. · Dec 20, 2004

John Stewart wrote:

[snip]

How long will the next format last? 78's managed about 50 years.
CD's- Who knows!!! JLS

Please don't tell me that they might discontinue 8-track tapes.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto

aul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Telemark: If it was easy, they'd call it snowboarding.

Rich Grise · Dec 20, 2004

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 20:34:27 -0800, Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote:

John Stewart wrote:

[snip]

How long will the next format last? 78's managed about 50 years.
CD's- Who knows!!! JLS

Please don't tell me that they might discontinue 8-track tapes.

I haven't seen one in a very long time, but when I worked at Radio Shack
in the repair department (as I said, a long time ago), fixing 8-tracks
was usually more expensive than buying something else. They're a nightmare
to align. You have to literally bend the metal frame, but just exactly the
right amount.

Cheers!
Rich

repatch · Dec 20, 2004

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 14:23:17 -0800, Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun, the Dark
Remover" wrote:

"John Stewart" <jh.stewart@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:41C56F52.9E14B4B6@sympatico.ca... [snip]

How long will the next format last? 78's managed about 50 years. CD's-
Who knows!!! JLS

Dunno, however one of the time capsules buried in the ground next to the
flagpoles on our campus has a VHS tape in it. Scary part is when it's
unearthed, will there be a player still available?

At least it wasn't a betamax!

Even being able to find a player may be useless, I'd be worried about the
tape being just to brittle to be played back after a long while buried.
TTYL

Richard Crowley · Dec 21, 2004

"Rich Grise" wrote ...

I had a weird thing happen at ebay. I had an old used book, "Linux for
Dummies" or something, that I didn't need, so I put it on ebay with a
buy-it-now of $0.01, about $4.00 shipping.

I got an email from ebay saying that the publishers of the book were
complaining about a copyright infringement!

How stupid can they get? What got copied? I'm giving away a book that the
publishers have already been paid for!

Are you sure? This just sounds too incredible on all levels.
Maybe the publishers' lawyers are just bullying eBay's lawyers,
but I would think that eBay would be smarter than that.

Spehro Pefhany · Jan 2, 2005

On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 10:35:23 -0800, the renowned "Richard Crowley"
<rcrowley7@xprt.net> wrote:

"mc" <mc_no_spam@uga.edu> wrote in message
news:41d6cbf1$1@mustang.speedfactory.net...
"Rich Grise" wrote ...
I had a weird thing happen at ebay. I had an old used book, "Linux
for Dummies" or something, that I didn't need, so I put it on ebay
with a buy-it-now of $0.01, about $4.00 shipping.

I got an email from ebay saying that the publishers of the book
were
complaining about a copyright infringement!

How stupid can they get? What got copied? I'm giving away a book
that the publishers have already been paid for!

I wonder if the book was (or was thought to be) a pirated edition. In
that case, any further redistribution of it would be illegal.

Or maybe someone is selling pirated copies of that book on eBay, and
you were mistaken for part of that.

We'll have to leave the price stickers on our books (*) and keep
the cash-register receipt taped inside the cover as proof that our
books aren't pirated.

But I suppose that if you were industrious, you could pirate the
price stickers and cash-register receipts as well.

(*) And you thought that Minnie Pearl was crazy for leaving the
price tag hanging from her hat.

There was a guy selling low cost editions of some technical books
(made for the Indian region) on eBay, and he got his account
cancelled.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Spehro Pefhany · Dec 18, 2004

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 16:39:27 -0700, the renowned Jim Thompson
<thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

...Jim Thompson

If there's a cassette player, you can buy fake cassettes with coupling
transformers in them for not too much money. They have gearing in them
to fool most cassette players into allowing them to stay in place.
Best Buy sells them ("Monster" brand, IIRC) for use with iPods, for
example. I think about 20 dollars. Sound quality???

Okay, here it is:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1083714106301&skuId=6714451&type=product

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Jim Thompson · Dec 19, 2004

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 18:52:57 -0500, Spehro Pefhany
<speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote:

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 16:39:27 -0700, the renowned Jim Thompson
thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

...Jim Thompson

If there's a cassette player, you can buy fake cassettes with coupling
transformers in them for not too much money. They have gearing in them
to fool most cassette players into allowing them to stay in place.
Best Buy sells them ("Monster" brand, IIRC) for use with iPods, for
example. I think about 20 dollars. Sound quality???

Okay, here it is:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1083714106301&skuId=6714451&type=product

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax

Spehro Pefhany · Dec 19, 2004

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 17:24:50 -0700, the renowned Jim Thompson
<thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

So who has a cassette player? Even my 4 year old peekup track has a
CD player.

...Jim Thompson

Both of our cars do, but they're more 4 years old. Remember the
expensive CD options that fit in the trunk? I've got a nice library of
jazz on cassettes.

There are in-dash CD/MP3 players that are pretty reasonable (<200.00
for Japanese brand), I've been thinking of swapping out the one in my
car for one. In the meantime, I use a Panasonic portable disk CD/MP3
player and headphones (maybe illegal in some places) when I feel like
listening to recorded music on the road. Works on the subway too.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Pooh Bear · Dec 19, 2004

Spehro Pefhany wrote:

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 16:39:27 -0700, the renowned Jim Thompson
thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

...Jim Thompson

If there's a cassette player, you can buy fake cassettes with coupling
transformers in them for not too much money. They have gearing in them
to fool most cassette players into allowing them to stay in place.
Best Buy sells them ("Monster" brand, IIRC) for use with iPods, for
example. I think about 20 dollars. Sound quality???

Okay, here it is:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1083714106301&skuId=6714451&type=product

Actually, the 'transformer' is simply another cassette head in the adaptor which
presses aginst that in the unit and couples its flux into the replay head.

They can work quite well.

My recently acquired car CD player also has a 3.5mm jack for an auxiliary input which
is sensible.

Graham

Watson A.Name - \"Watt Su · Dec 19, 2004

"Jim Thompson" <thegreatone@example.com> wrote in message
news:umf9s0df8ggp6r4u0qfbfi64ncjevc12rd@4ax.com...

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

One common adapter used the Rohm BA1404 FM stereo chip for the whole
thing, but that chip is no longer in production. It has often been
replaced by the NJM2035. Here are all the gory details.
http://members.tripod.com/~transmitters/njm2035_1.htm

Or else they use another Rohm chip, the BH1414 or BH1416 which is PLL
and much better. Nowadays with FM radios that only step in 200 kHz
increments, the PLL seems to be necesary to keep on channel.
See http://members.tripod.com/~transmitters/rohm_bh.htm

All these RF generators are supposed to adhere to the FCC part 15 limits
for intentional radiators, blah-blah, etc.

The local car boombox hopup shop installs the gizmo in the antenna lead
under the dash, puts a wire in the fusewbox, etc. No biggie.

...Jim Thompson
--

Carl D. Smith · Dec 19, 2004

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 16:39:27 -0700, Jim Thompson
<thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

...Jim Thompson

I wondered the same thing when I was contemplating XM radio, and
later contemplating installing a computer in my 2001 Ford
Explorer to do MP3s and GPS and whatever else might be fun.

I didn't want to use an FM modulator because I've never been
satisfied with the sound quality.

But the factory in dash CD player can control an external 6 disc
changer made by Ford. So you know it has line inputs. But
there's no way to just select the line inputs. It has to think
there's actually a changer connected to the dash unit.

I had thoughts of pulling the radio out and doing some reverse
engineering, but I figured that would be difficult without
actually having the changer so I could observe how they worked
together.

Then by the power of google, I found a company that make a box
that plugs into the changer input and has line input jacks.
Apparently it fools the dash unit into thinking it's a changer
and then feeds in whatever you plug into it.

Unfortunately I either forgot to bookmark the site, or it's in
there somewhere with my other thousands of bookmarks lost like a
needle in a haystack.

Googling found this which looks similar but is not the site I
found before: http://peripheralelectronics.com/2002/aux_in.asp
Look for the Aux2Car.

Carl Smith

MikeC · Dec 19, 2004

I got one of these gadgets which plugs into the cig-lighter and, while not
hi-fi, still works fairly well. Its frequency is fixed at 107.9MHz and
cannot be changed. On mine, it has an uncommited 7805 inside which I've used
to power my MP3 player as well - with beefed up heat-sinking.
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=86537&item=5738466548&rd=1>

Mike

"Jim Thompson" <thegreatone@example.com> wrote in message
news:umf9s0df8ggp6r4u0qfbfi64ncjevc12rd@4ax.com...

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

John Stewart · Dec 19, 2004

Jim Thompson wrote:

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 18:52:57 -0500, Spehro Pefhany
speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote:

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 16:39:27 -0700, the renowned Jim Thompson
thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

...Jim Thompson

If there's a cassette player, you can buy fake cassettes with coupling
transformers in them for not too much money. They have gearing in them
to fool most cassette players into allowing them to stay in place.
Best Buy sells them ("Monster" brand, IIRC) for use with iPods, for
example. I think about 20 dollars. Sound quality???

Okay, here it is:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1083714106301&skuId=6714451&type=product

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

So who has a cassette player? Even my 4 year old peekup track has a
CD player.

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

How long will the next format last? 78's managed about 50 years.
CD's- Who knows!!! JLS

Jim Thompson · Dec 19, 2004

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 06:36:18 GMT, Carl D. Smith
<cdsmith69NOSPAM@earthlink.net> wrote:

[snip]

I wondered the same thing when I was contemplating XM radio, and
later contemplating installing a computer in my 2001 Ford
Explorer to do MP3s and GPS and whatever else might be fun.

I didn't want to use an FM modulator because I've never been
satisfied with the sound quality.

But the factory in dash CD player can control an external 6 disc
changer made by Ford. So you know it has line inputs. But
there's no way to just select the line inputs. It has to think
there's actually a changer connected to the dash unit.

I had thoughts of pulling the radio out and doing some reverse
engineering, but I figured that would be difficult without
actually having the changer so I could observe how they worked
together.

Then by the power of google, I found a company that make a box
that plugs into the changer input and has line input jacks.
Apparently it fools the dash unit into thinking it's a changer
and then feeds in whatever you plug into it.

Unfortunately I either forgot to bookmark the site, or it's in
there somewhere with my other thousands of bookmarks lost like a
needle in a haystack.

Googling found this which looks similar but is not the site I
found before: http://peripheralelectronics.com/2002/aux_in.asp
Look for the Aux2Car.

Carl Smith

480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax

Martin Riddle · Dec 19, 2004

JIm,

I would go with the FM modulator.
The Cassette Tape adaptors may not work, depending on the tape transport mechanics. ie; if the tape does a vertical drop when
inserted.

Cheers

"Jim Thompson" <thegreatone@example.com> wrote in message news:umf9s0df8ggp6r4u0qfbfi64ncjevc12rd@4ax.com...

What's the best way going in today's market to introduce an external
audio source into a car radio?

I find many audio-to-FM-transmission gadgets, but no real
specifications.

Anyone with experience in this area?

(Buy, NOT build... if it was just for me I'd just hack open the radio
and add an input jack

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Jim Thompson · Dec 19, 2004

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 14:23:17 -0800, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the
Dark Remover\"" <NOSPAM@dslextreme.com> wrote:

"John Stewart" <jh.stewart@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:41C56F52.9E14B4B6@sympatico.ca...
[snip]

How long will the next format last? 78's managed about 50 years.
CD's- Who knows!!! JLS

Dunno, however one of the time capsules buried in the ground next to the
flagpoles on our campus has a VHS tape in it. Scary part is when it's
unearthed, will there be a player still available?

At least it wasn't a betamax!

480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax

Car Radio Adpater??

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repatch

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