Simple Aux Input ("Poor man's iPod integration")
 

Not having an input for a portable MP3 player has been driving me crazy. I'm planning on having a Vaistech system installed in the car in a couple months, but needed something to hold me over.

I tried an FM transmitter, and while it worked well with the top down, there was way too much interference with the top up. (Also, the transmitter I have was only compatible with my Zune, so I needed another solution for my iPod anyway.) A cassette adapter was the natural choice, but I wanted something that looked a little more "built-in."

This is a quick tutorial on how I created a nice, simple aux input for my SC. It works great, and looks pretty clean. It cost me a total of about $10, and took about 3 hours (not including time for paint to dry.) It's also trivial to remove when I get my Vaistech installed.

http://www.jrj.org/JRJ/Aux_Input.html

Note that I only consider this appropriate for podcasts, not music. The cassette adapter on which it is based is just not high enough quality for music. (However, I consider most digital music, like the 128kbps and 192kbps music that is typically purchased online, to be insufficient quality for the ML sound system in the SC-- when burnt to CD, it sounds like ass-- the ML system is just too good for heavily compressed content.) For podcasts and audiobooks, though, this is a great solution!

have you seen this?

I hadn't-- very nice. However, since I plan to have a viastech system installed (and didn't want to violate my warranty) something that didn't require dismantling the dash and could be easily removed without a trace was a definite plus.

Sweet --

You also have the classiest workbench in the world.