Building an Ipod 2 OEM Radio (Alpine)

Hello

I'm working on building a converter to plug my Ipod Nano to my OEM 97' Radio (Alpine)

I've found that pin3 & pin1 are reversed from alpine original plugs.

Find out the Mbus (Alpine) protol documentation.

Now I'm building an CDC emulator with ATmega8 AVR, to plug ANY source to the factory radio.

Next step is to implement the Ipod control (FW/RV PLAY PAUSE NXT CHAP, PREV CHAP ...)

Any1 has already working on it ? Who is interested working on it with me ?

I will give all the documentation I've found to any1 who need it !

See ya!

i will not help you work on it, but if you succeed i will defenatly buy one from you.keep me updated
dave

why not just buy an FM transmitter or a new head unit that has the line in jack?
you guys must like to tinker.....

Haha look over at HIDplanet.com those guys will rip apart a brand new radio unit just to change the clock lcd from green to blue... But yes tinkering is entertaining.

Also FM transmitters BLOW!

I just had to tinker with some harnesses moving pins to empty locations to mod a Pioneer AVIC-3 and also get the factory sub to still work in an Expedition. It has a wired remote input to hook up to steering wheel controls(I don't know if it just controls volume or other functions), but when I plugged the 1/8" jack that the previous installer had attempted to use(the owner said it never worked), it kept on changing the unit as if a button was being pushed. He didn't care so I left it unhooked because I didn't know what it was ahead of time, nor did he until after I had finished. I'll probably give it a shot in the future.

Yeah FM transmitters are pretty suckky.

My friend's saturn had no "aux in" for her ipod. We went to Circuit City and bought a thingie which goes between the antenna and the radio.

Flip the switch and the ipod is in line with the radio. Turn the switch off and the radio is reconnected with the antenna. Works splendid!

OR just buy a radio with aux-in. Some of the newer cars have odd sized radios and such though, which makes buying an aftermarket radio a bit more difficult.

Yea,

I know about FM transmitters, but the sound is really awfull and it's illegal here (I'm in France). And you haven't any Ipod control on the dash !

I will not sell this kind of product but give all informations, programs and plans to build your own (it's simple to assemble, about 10 components !).

I will not change my head unit to a DIN receiver... And all the 1.5 DIN I saw have not the RDS function (usefull in europe). The only aftermarket unit will be an touchscreen LCD integration to the dash, and an Alpine Hub... but I haven't $$ to buy one at this moment !

Next episode, next week : I plan to work on it next sunday : finish and testing MBus to TTL signals on my prototype board (www.myAvr.de), next using the emulator I've found on the internet.
By the next week I will do the emulation part on chip (no more soldering!) + Ipod control.
And in 2 weeks do a small card (10x4cm) to fit under the arm rest.
After that... building a site to help other Jeepers to control their Ipod with factory radio (perhaps working on the last 1.5 DIN Chrysler radio).

PS: The target price is less than 20$USD ! So I think It worst my work !



See you next week guys !

Must you have dash controls of the ipod? It might be easier to just hold the ipod in your hand than having to reach to the dash to change songs.

Ya, I'll second that FM transmitters (and modulators) BLOW. I did however come across ONE that doesn't suck, and it happens to be the cheapest too. AND it reads usb's and SD.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4956678

I also found it for 20 bucks on clearance at Target.

iTrips suck, all static.

What's wrong with the device that ties into the antenna wiring?

$50-$60 and you can have crystal clear mp3's playing over your stock OEM radios and such.

Has anyone figured out a way to add a aux input to the factory system. I have the same 97 Alpine system. I have seen some threads on different forums with guys soldering directly to the motherboard of the factory system.

Yes, buy the auxilary input selector (around $60 from circuit city). It needs power and ground, and connects between your radio and the antenna coax. When you turn it ON it disconnects the radio from the antenna coax and allows your auxilary feed straight to the radio. When off, the radio works normally.

epitaphmike said:

Has anyone figured out a way to add a aux input to the factory system. I have the same 97 Alpine system. I have seen some threads on different forums with guys soldering directly to the motherboard of the factory system.

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What do your radios look like? Do you have model numbers? I don't know anything about the newer Jeeps because mine is an 88, but I do know about the newer Chrysler radios.