Electrical: iPods?

[LeoH]

Particularly since a lot of the country doesn't have an oldies radio station where you are, is there a way drivers have facilitated using their iPods for music in their Studes? Particularly for those who haven't rodded up their interiors?

Not that there sometimes isn't anything wrong with that...

[okc63avanti]

I have a hidden stereo system but because my avanti is a restomod it isn't totally custom, I chose to install high quality Polk Audio speakers in front kick panels and in rear window deck. The head unit is located under my passenger seat. The volume, mode, mute selections are made with an RF remote. I have a LED display mounted under the dash to display iPod text, or radio frequency. I left my original AM factory radio in the dash to preserve the dash looks. Here's the link ...

http://www.casmfg.com/Secretaudio.htm

If you have a factory radio you could use the RediRad device to play your iPod through the factory radio and speakers but sound quality would be monotone. Here's a link to an article in Old Cars Weekly ....

http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/news/newproducts/redirad-am-fm-band-radio-adapters-available

[Bob Andrews]

I have 3700 songs in my iPod. They all go with me anywhere I go. I have separate playlist for everything – oldies, modern, podcasts, etc.

The most common way to play it is through any FM radio. You can do it with a stock a.m. radio with FM converter, or at hidden stereo with FM. The ultimate is a modern stereo with a plug-in jack for your iPod, hidden out of sight.


If you have no radio and don't want to add one, there are many excellent portable players that run off batteries or accessory plug; sort of like a boombox that your iPod just plugs into.


I do love the contrast of listening to 50s music on my iPod.


Just for fun, do a search for the guy that mounted an iPod Shuffle in place of his clock. Awesome installation.

[DEEPNHOCK]

I just plug my Iphone in to my aux jack on the radio and run Pandora and/or Iheart radio.

Select your artist or genre` and let it fly....

[RadioRoy]

There are many dealers across the country who can convert your original radio to AM/FM stereo with auxiliary inputs for iPod/satellite/CD player and even additional outputs for sub woofers.

The conversion uses the original chassis, push buttons, face, controls and knobs and as such, the radio looks completely stock until you turn it on. It puts out 44 watts RMS per channel, so you don't usually need an extra amplifier. You do need to buy high quality speakers, though.

Here is the website http://www.radiosforoldcars.com/stereoF.htm look under "stereo conversions."

The only disadvantage to this system is that it is apparently more expensive than most CASO budgets will allow. Over the several months that I have been on this forum, I have received five different PM requests for quotes. When I have responded to these requests, none of them has even gotten back to me with a "no thanks." Not one. The line of communication just goes dead.

To me, that is the cyberspace equivalent of hanging up the phone on someone.

[rockne10]

Here's a possible option. I've heard no reviews from anyone I know. I'm planning on trying it myself once the radio in the '51 is back to function.

http://rediscoveradio.com/

[RadioRoy]

We may not have answered all of LeoH's questions, so let's take a look at the most popular options.

First, if you want to play your iPod with speakers in the car, you have to have some sort of an amplifier. The audio amp inside the iPod only puts out milliwatts, because the earphones are small and require little power. Additionally, the battery in the iPod cannot power a larger amplifier anyway.

Second, if you want to use the speakers you already have in the car, they must be disconnected from the radio. You cannot hook two amplifiers up to one speaker.

Option 1. The easiest/cheapest way is to get a FM modulator that attaches to the iPod, then tune the radio to he FM frequency that the modulator outs out. The advantages are that it is cheap and anyone can use it. The disadvantage is that it is noisy, goes in and out of tune, is usually only mono, fidelity is often disappointing, and it drains the iPod battery. You also need an FM radio in the car.

Option 2. Next is the type of device that plugs into the radio's antenna jack and converts the iPod signal to an AM or FM frequency. It's similar in operation to the above unit, but is hardwired rather than wireless. It is more expensive than option 1, but can still be installed by most home mechanics. The disadvantages are that you only have the fidelity of the original radio, and it is usually mono.

Option 3 is the hidden audio option mentioned in John's post. The advantage is that it has much higher fidelity. The disadvantages are that it should probably be installed professionally, it is quite a bit more expensive (speakers are not mentioned in the web ad), and you need separate speakers from the ones the radio uses.

Option 4 is the one I pointed to, where the radio is professionally rebuilt into a modern unit while retaining the original styling and operation. The advantages are best sound, similar to the hidden audio system, but takes up no additional space. It also uses the same speaker/locations that the radio uses. The disadvantages are the cost, and the cost of the speakers.

Both option 3 and 4 require high quality speakers. It has been estimated that the quality of a sound system is 60-70% speaker-centric. This is particularly true in a car where the system has to play loud to cover road noises and have as little distortion as possible.

[LeoH]

Excellent explanation Roy and I can sympathize with your reaction to the email drop offs. It's funny, but I've been tootling around the internet long enough that there wasn't a WWW even. No pictures and you logged on to one of only 6 servers in the country to access your newsgroups you were posting to.

There was a concept then, it was called netiquette.

Funny how, in only 20 years, such a quaint social acknowledgement is already passe.

I won't ask any further Roy, because it's STUPID to do so when I don't even have a car to contemplate doing any of this. But, I figure, doing research now entails questions as they come across my brain and getting answers before I forget the questions. I also now know of many more options than I was aware had existed. Awesome.

Another thing that comes to my mind, is with a Lark, the early ones anyway, they had the feature I enjoyed then and feel was well thought out where the glove box was in the middle of the dashboard. This strikes me as a convenient place to stash a radio add on, should I go that route.

[LeoH]

Thanks for the link to the remote stereo okavanti.


I've seen the term already a couple of times, what's CASO?

[Bob Andrews]

Here's the iPod install I mentioned earlier. One of my all-time favorite ideas! One correction, it was actually an iPod Nano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUj5O0ra-xY

[Bob Andrews]

I've seen the term already a couple of times, what's CASO?

Cheap Ass Studebaker Owner. Some say there is a high percentage of cheapskates in the Stude world. And, some think it's abadge of honor to be a cheapskate.

If you do a search, you will probably see the many discussions of this in the past

[LeoH]

Aaah.

Well, to be fair, Studebaker did go out of their way to create a Scotsman line.

Years ago I remember coming across someone's orange Scotsman p/u. I remember the decal with the plaid.

[bezhawk]

There are many dealers across the country who can convert your original radio to AM/FM stereo with auxiliary inputs for iPod/satellite/CD player and even additional outputs for sub woofers.

The conversion uses the original chassis, push buttons, face, controls and knobs and as such, the radio looks completely stock until you turn it on. It puts out 44 watts RMS per channel, so you don't usually need an extra amplifier. You do need to buy high quality speakers, though.

Here is the website http://www.radiosforoldcars.com/stereoF.htm look under "stereo conversions."

The only disadvantage to this system is that it is apparently more expensive than most CASO budgets will allow. Over the several months that I have been on this forum, I have received five different PM requests for quotes. When I have responded to these requests, none of them has even gotten back to me with a "no thanks." Not one. The line of communication just goes dead.

To me, that is the cyberspace equivalent of hanging up the phone on someone.

I was one of those who inquired, and I apologize for no follow up.
I WILL use either you or a similar dealer when I'm ready for the conversion.
I am still in the pricing stage, and information is a good thing to plan how dollars will be spent.

[4961Studebaker]

Something to keep in mind. For a far out there choice. It might be nice if the hidden radios could do this? (maybe they do)

BLUETOOTH RADIO (stereo that is a Bluetooth receiver)

if you have or plan on getting an IPod Touch or IPhone (yes tablets too but keeping this "in pocket")
Turn the blue tooth on and now wireless music.
Granted this technology may cost a little more. And I completely understand if you want to use your current hardware (iPod). Just something to consider.

[gordr]

What I would like to find is an mp3 player that could simply play mp3's stored on a thumb drive, and output the audio to the car radio via an aux cable or FM modulator (which I have). I can load mp3's onto a thumb drive by simply dragging and dropping, and don't have to use some proprietary software to load the device. And you know, I don't need all the text that goes with.

I know some new aftermarket stereos have USB ports on the front panel for this purpose, but I want to be able to do this with existing good factory radios in my Suburbans.

For the Studebakers, I have a boombox which uses 12 volt power, and it has a USB port to do that.