Good Tutorial on IPOD Install

[2yrproject]

Here's a pretty good (easy too) article from the Jalopy Journal on installing an IPOD in your car.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=11082

[soonerron]

Great atricle! I installed everything but the volume knob this weekend and could not figure out how to get the volume adjustment working! Your timing on posting this link is impeccable! Thanks a ton! Time to stop back at the Äudio Express"and see if they carry the volume knob.

[2yrproject]

Originally Posted by soonerron

Great atricle! I installed everything but the volume knob this weekend and could not figure out how to get the volume adjustment working! Your timing on posting this link is impeccable! Thanks a ton! Time to stop back at the Äudio Express"and see if they carry the volume knob.

I'm probably going this route myself. Looks like a good setup. You must be speaking of the PAC IS75 control they mentioned for the volume. Hopefully it's as easy as portrayed in the article.

[GWL]

Not only was the article good but the Jalopy Journal was a great find. Articles and videos go back to 2006 and have lots of good automotive history.

Thanks for posting, George

[2yrproject]

Originally Posted by GWL

Not only was the article good but the Jalopy Journal was a great find. Articles and videos go back to 2006 and have lots of good automotive history.

Thanks for posting, George

I know that site is dangerous, lots of ideas on how to spend even more money (just when I thought ffcars was bad enough). If you look at some of the craftsmanship posted on that site, it's amazing. Plus lots of neat old photos and info.

[jirehn]

Thanks for this post,This is a great help in stalling it in your car.

[Doug Meldrum]

I used a similar solution. I installed an ipod amp that has a cable jack and a volume control I mounted under the dash. The amp is in the trunk and the speakers are behind the seats. .



The JL Audio ipod amp CL-RLC installed behind the dash.

[ehodger]

I am thinking about going this route, no stereo just and ipod or mp3 player, Just curious what you used for and amp and speakers. Are you happy with the clarity and is there plenty of volume when driving? This is the amp I was thinking with 4 speakers.

Amazon.com: Kenwood Kac-8405 720-Watt 4/3/2-Channel Amplifier with Variable LPF/HPF: Car Electronics

Amazon.com: Kenwood Kac-8405 720-Watt 4/3/2-Channel Amplifier with Variable LPF/HPF: Car Electronics

[Doug Meldrum]

I just added links to the components I used (above). The sound is great even on the freeway. I can even hear it clear with earplugs in. I noticed the amp was discontinued but there are comparables out there. Just shop around.
Good luck.
D

[ehodger]

Did you only do the 2 speakers?

[Doug Meldrum]

Yes, just two speakers in the rear wall. I didn't have any room for additional speakers unless I made some panels and installed them in the sides of the foot boxes. I didn't think it made sense so i just used the two.

[ehodger]

I bought the exact same set up as you, except your speakers seem to have backs. Did you purchase those seperatley and are they necessary? I started reading the manual that came with the amp today. I got to the input section and I am already confused. It seems to me that I should use the low level inputs but I am not sure. Do you remember which ones you used? I don't know if you installed your system after your interior was in but that is what I am doing so running wires under the carpet is not an option so the cables that go to the inputs will not be long enough. Do you know if cables with male/female rca jacks are available and if so is there anything I need to know like type of wire, gauge, etc...?

[MPTech]

Doug Meldrum and ehodger,
I really like this setup, very clean.
Can you post a list of the parts and any more details? Would you do anything differently if you did it again?


looks like Doug's system:

• JL Audio J2 360.2 (2-channel car amplifier — 110 watts RMS x 2)
• Polk Audio db651 (6-1/2" 2-way car speakers — power range: 6-60 watts RMS (180 watts peak power)
• JL Audio CL-RLC (Remote level control and line driver)

will the remote level control work on other brands or is it specific to JL?

ehodger: what are you using for remote? (I really like the Kenwood you selected)

2yrproject: what components did you use?

Thanks guys!

[2yrproject]

I used the same amp and components as shown in the article. Most of the parts were available through Sonic Electronix (EBay store). I got an inexpensive set of marine speakers, which I mounted behind the seats. I've run all the wires and installed the amp in the trunk, but have yet to power it up. It was all pretty straight forward.

[MPTech]

Doing some research on this topic and just wanted to share some tips for anyone that may try this:

Power cable static, a trick if you must run them together is to wrap in a spiral fashion the RCA cables to the amp with a 20-22 GA cable and ground it at both ends, will kill the power input noise. Learned this from running a MSD and problems when the heater blower motor came on!! MSD offers a "protected" signal cable for these problems, and it is just a pair of wire spirally wraped with ground lugs, worked great!

You should ALWAYS route the main power wires away from RCA and speaker wires in any stereo install involving amplifiers. Otherwise you will have the static like you experienced, or even worse, alternator "whine" through the speakers that gets louder with rise in engine rpm.....prettty damn annoying...

This is also kinda cool, if you want a "mini amp" with digital inputs for iPod/iPhone, MP3 player, or MP3 files on an SD card or USB memory stick. And a remote. (but only 40W power)
Muscle Car Hidden iPod Stereo System from Woody's Custom Shop

[ehodger]

Originally Posted by MPTech

Doug Meldrum and ehodger,
I really like this setup, very clean.
Can you post a list of the parts and any more details? Would you do anything differently if you did it again?


looks like Doug's system:

• JL Audio J2 360.2 (2-channel car amplifier — 110 watts RMS x 2)
• Polk Audio db651 (6-1/2" 2-way car speakers — power range: 6-60 watts RMS (180 watts peak power)
• JL Audio CL-RLC (Remote level control and line driver)

will the remote level control work on other brands or is it specific to JL?

ehodger: what are you using for remote? (I really like the Kenwood you selected)

2yrproject: what components did you use?

Thanks guys!

I used the exact same set up as Doug I was going to use the kenwood amp but Doug seemed very happy with his setup so I went with the same amp as he did. I got it hooked up today, have not routed the power wires and RCA cables in their final resting spots yet, Just wanted to make sure it all worked properly. Sounds really good, very clear and I have not made any adjustments to the amp yet. Time will tell if I will be able to hear it at highway speeds, my hearing is not the best but it sounds good for around $200.00. I don't think the brand of amp matters for the remote. It should work on any of them.

[ehodger]

Also the remote volume control just barely fits but it does fit on the Breeze lower dash stiffening brackets so it is out of site. I don't really like the look of the speakers between the seats. When I ordered them it said that they were black but they came silver just like Doug's. If I was doing it on a car without the interior already finished I would have mounted them on the trunk side of the panel and covered them with carpet so they were not visible.

[Doug Meldrum]

I bought the exact same set up as you, except your speakers seem to have backs. Did you purchase those seperatley and are they necessary? I started reading the manual that came with the amp today. I got to the input section and I am already confused. It seems to me that I should use the low level inputs but I am not sure. Do you remember which ones you used? I don't know if you installed your system after your interior was in but that is what I am doing so running wires under the carpet is not an option so the cables that go to the inputs will not be long enough. Do you know if cables with male/female rca jacks are available and if so is there anything I need to know like type of wire, gauge, etc...?

I did some different things on my build. First I purchased a couple of fuse blocks to run components from that would give me a central fused source for my auxiliaries. One I ran to full time power and the other I ran to ignition power. I hooked all the stereo components to ignition power and eliminated all the in-line fuses.

As for the speaker covers, I just purchased some speaker baffles to protect the backs of the speakers and to push the sound forward.

There should be only one input. That is what you will connect the iPod to. I used the "level controlled outputs" to run the cables to the amp in the trunk (which I ran through the same wire bundle as the rear harness through the transmission tunnel). All of the cables, the one from the headphone jack under the dash to the RCA jacks ends and the cables from the iPod amp to the trunk amp I just made from parts purchased at Radio Shack.



Remember, try it out before you permanently install it to make sure everything works right.

Here is an under-dash picture where I mounted the volume and IPod jack (although, if I had it to do over, I would mount the iPod jack to the rear of the dash and the volume to the front for easier access):



The iPod amp will work with any amp but I found a two channel amp that would work great for the two speakers I had.

I didn't like the silver speaker grills at first and considered painting them but changed my mind because of the silver trim everywhere in the cockpit.

Hope this helps.
D

[ehodger]

Originally Posted by ehodger

Sounds really good, very clear and I have not made any adjustments to the amp yet. Time will tell if I will be able to hear it at highway speeds, my hearing is not the best but it sounds good for around $200.00.

Ok I adjusted the amp levels today and I do not think hearing it will be an issue.