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'86 stereo - MP3 in?


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hmm interesting, i guess if you have volume control on the ipod so it overpowers the static, but that would get to bug me after a short while.

 

I think that DIN plug is the same size as old school keyboard connectors, i'll have to check but if i have an old cable i could make one too for an extra aux input. or i could be way off. either way. lol.

 

I think we are on the right track though... probably closer than we think. i hope the old school AT keyboard plug is the same i could wire someting up and pull my deck outta my car and just try it, worse case i make a harness and bezel and put the stock radio from our 2000 outback in it.

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i guess if you have volume control on the ipod so it overpowers the static, but that would get to bug me after a short while.

I suppose it all has to do w/the music you listen too. :headbang: Some light jazz or piano ballad might sound crappy. I rarely notice any background noise w/ipod volume at max. I just decided that being perfect on this mod was pointless (that, and I didnt figure it out after 20 mins of messin). The 198x dual knob factory Subaru-Clarion deck isnt putting out the sounds my Kenwood in my Frontier is. And its just not going too. I have accepted this trade off for keeping my dash stock. If something cheap can be done without extra holes being poked in the dash for switches, Im all in. Otherwise what ive got works pretty well. Im watchin' to see what you guys come up with.

 

BTW the 5 pin DIN was used on older keyboards. You can get cables pretty cheaply at Radio Shack if needed. Or at the J-yard.

Edited by ihscout54
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I suppose it all has to do w/the music you listen too. :headbang: Some light jazz or piano ballad might sound crappy. I rarely notice any background noise w/ipod volume at max. I just decided that being perfect on this mod was pointless (that, and I didnt figure it out after 20 mins of messin). The 198x dual knob factory Subaru-Clarion deck isnt putting out the sounds my Kenwood in my Frontier is. And its just not going too. I have accepted this trade off for keeping my dash stock. If something cheap can be done without extra holes being poked in the dash for switches, Im all in. Otherwise what ive got works pretty well. Im watchin' to see what you guys come up with.

 

BTW the 5 pin DIN was used on older keyboards. You can get cables pretty cheaply at Radio Shack if needed. Or at the J-yard.

 

im not sayin your way is a bad way to do it or anything, if it works for ya and your are happy with it, then roll with it . but yeah, dependin on the music i would guess it would be fine. i really cant say ************, i've only got one speaker!:lol: most the time i listen to a mornin radio show and on the way home from work i listen to some reggae on the ipod.

 

*keeping to topic at hand*

Edited by xbeerd
Rant removed touting regional differences :)
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well. i pulled the deck outta my loyale this evening and found a 7 pin connector with a center pin, so 8 pin i guess. i know its not the same as the 5pin. there was a plug in the connector which did nothing but jumper 2 connectors, actually, there were 2 separate jumpers. (4 pins on the 'plug').

 

I had to leave in a hurry, and forgot to replace the plug when i put my deck in, and low and behold i had no radio anymore until i put it back in.

 

i cant imagine the radio is that different. i'd try jump the 2 pins that arent the L+, R+, - and see what happens. maybe its the opposite?

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  • 1 year later...

Sorry to dredge up an old post, but I'm working on the same thing. I've got my tape deck out, and using my DMM I did find that when there is no tape in, the circuit between the two outermost pins (white and red supposedly) is open. However, if I put a tape in (or trigger the mechanism to simulate a tape in), the circuit closes. I do see a few ohms of resistance, but it could also be my cheapo Harbor Freight DMM talking.

 

Either way, I think it's safe to say that this is our tape insertion switch. My only remaining question is whether blue is the ground for black left and yellow right, or whether it uses chassis ground. Guess I'll find out! :D

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Okay, so I tried it, and IT WORKS! IT WORKS GREAT! The sound quality in that lil stereo is pretty decent, too. Now imma hafta wire up an amp and some decent component speakers, and maybe hide a sub in back.

 

Factory stereo FTW!!!

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ha! i totally forgot about this thread,

 

did you put a resistor between the red/white pins? or just short them out with a jumper?

 

i love my stock deck, guaranteed not to get stolen, unless by an AM radio fiend.

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No resistor, just jumped it. I wasn't detecting any resistance when testing with the tape deck, and it seems to be working fine. Great, in fact. The only distortion I get is alternator noise when my mp3 player/phone is on the charger, which I will soon rectify with a capacitor of some kind.

 

Next step is gonna be to hook up an amplifier. Hard part is that I don't want it visible, and it needs to be waterproof. Prolly gonna just build some sort of waterproof box and mount it in my spare tire location. Tryna think of how I can vent the thing, too. Might just run some ducting through the firewall with a 12v computer case fan.

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why not just use a marine amplifier. Not water proof but they are water resistant. I have always wanted to try one of the Clarion units but there are many others and most will fit under the seat as long as you arent trying to push huge power.

 

Mike

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why not just use a marine amplifier. Not water proof but they are water resistant. I have always wanted to try one of the Clarion units but there are many others and most will fit under the seat as long as you arent trying to push huge power.

 

Mike

 

Thought about it, but I don't wanna spend much money, and I have 3 amps already.

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cool, i was wondering about this a while ago.

 

I wonder can we find the pre-amp circuits in the radio, so we can amplify raw sound and some nice clarity...

 

Good idea. Probably. The circuit is dead simple, so it shouldn't be difficult. However, so far I'm getting quite good sound quality as it is.

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