iPod installation

[Brian Halling]

I'm trying to find a simple way of connecting an iPod (5G) to my 987 PCM. Most solutions seem to involve a costly interface (c£250-300) plus fitting, but it cost me just £4.97 for an aux-in cable to achieve this in my BMW. Has anyone found an economic iPod installation for the Boxster with PCM without resorting to the dubious quality FM transmitters?

The more expensive interfaces like the Denison Ice Link require you to specify which version of PCM you have - 1, 2 or 2.1. How do you find out?

Surprisingly my OPC has no answer for either question, and a search on this forum for 'iPod' yielded nothing. Surely I'm not the first to want an iPod connection in my Boxster.

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Hi Brian,

As you have the MOST wiring in your 987, you are looking at the Dension £££ unit I'm afraid.

I don't know the answer to the PCM version though.

There have been a few threads on this - but I find you need to specify a time limit or the search does not seem to work (for me at least!)
Try again specifying threads "older than a day" and you should get some... I hope []

 

[Mark_Bennett]

OK - older than a day yielded nothing, but older than a week gets a few!

<LINK>

 

[Tony Daniel]

You need the http://www.dension.com/icelinkgateway500.php , available for about £275 I'm afraid. I have on connected in my Boxster, but I'm using a 4GB pen drive instead of an Ipod.

The only other way is through an FM modulator through your radio. [:'(]

 

[TobyAnscombe]

I've just fitted a cheap (from fleabay) inline FM transmitter with RDS called iPugRDS; for 40 quid and an hour fitting it does the job rather nicely. Off to Champange for a weekend tomorrow so I should find out how it sounds top up and top down. The quick 10 mins round the block this afternoon sounded ok..way better than an iTrip or other wireless device

 

[Brian Halling]

Mark
Thanks for solving the forum search problem. I followed the links, and it appears that there is no cheap solution if you want good sound quality.

Tony
I have investigated the IceLink Gateway 500 version for PCM, and it seems to do the job - at a price! £280 + £80 to fit is a bit steep, especially as my 80Gb 5G cost less than £200.

Toby
I googled iPugRDS and found only two sites in Spanish, and fleabay was similarly unforthcoming. Can you provide a link?

Thanks everyone for your help. As my local car audio installer told me, 'Porsche is always a couple of years behind everyone else on ICE equipment'.

 

[IainCameron]

ORIGINAL: Brian Halling

As my local car audio installer told me, 'Porsche is always a couple of years behind everyone else on ICE equipment'.

Brian, It's not only Porsche that's years behind. My SAAB 9-3 (model yr 06) had a similar issue. The SAAB forum guys in the USA were always trying to find solutions to the problem. I did have an "ipod" interface fitted as a factory option but is was just a heap of junk as it only took the sound from the headphone socket. It is one of the many reasons that I jumped ship and bought another Germany car and with the iPod interface installed the sound is superb, as is the car, an Audi A4 Avant.

The newer iPod tuners are far better than the original incarnations. I have an 3yrs old iTune module that fits the headphone socket and it's sound is OK (Cassette tape quality) but my daughter has the newer versions that plug into the iPod multi-pin unit at the bottom of the iPod and the sound from that is far better. Only real drawback is that it does not allow charging of the iPod at the same time as does my version.


Good hunting.

 

[TobyAnscombe]

Iain

http://tinyurl.com/398x8a for the full price version....

http://tinyurl.com/2mvzef for the ebay shop where I bought mine.

http://tinyurl.com/2mo8nn for a live BIN auction.

You will need to change the connectors to BMW Mini One as the CDR23 has a ISO antenna connection rather than the old style DIN.

 

[Black80XSA]

Tony - do you have any issues with interference form Radio 2 ? - the frequency selection on the connects unit pretty much aligns with the various R2 frequencies in my area !

 

[jimso]

You might consider one of these...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Griffin-iTrip-Auto-Transmitter-Charger/dp/B000BWACX2/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/203-1348737-7487111?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185788827&sr=8-2

Have a look at a few reviews - mostly good. Mine works very well in my 986. No cross channel noise at all. Cheap too. I would say its worth a few quid to see if its good enough for you.

 

[Black80XSA]

Certainly one of the better FM transmitters, and a marked improvement over the earlier (and often dire) original.

Can't help but feel the direct connection into the aerial socket of the Connects2 unit is a better solution than relying on pure airborne communications.

 

[TobyAnscombe]

Nope - its a direct connection so in effect it swamps almost everything else. There are some weird harmonics (signal up around the 104.x area) but the easy way to work is to have either the ipod connected and no radio or no ipod and a fully functioning radio.

I have had a couple of problems where you connect a ipod and it gets stuck in the "disconnect ok" message but it could just be a dodgy connection. Once it works then it works fine.

 

[Guest]

Got an Itrip. cost me about £35 and connects into the ciggie lighter and plays back through a self selected radio frequency. Now I have my whole CD collection wherever I go !

Sue O

 

[Brian Halling]

Thanks for the tip Jimso. Yesterday I ordered an iTrip auto from Amazon for £20 with free delivery, and it dropped through my letterbox first thing this morning. It took seconds to plug it in and tune it, and it works a treat. You would need to be a serious HiFi buff to justify the expense of a direct connection.

 

[russtbird]

You did well. I was looking at something similar and was going to recommend this from Maplin - In lovely 'iPod white' & just reduced from £40 to £20.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=99122&doy=31m7&criteria=Sale

Enjoy your music but it still won't sound as good as the flat 6!