fitting an aux line

[harrygrey382]

Hi,
I've done a fair bit of DIY'ing in the house but have never extended into the auto area. I've got an old diesel Merc ('75) with no radio (does have newish speakers), and I sometimes get tired of the sweet music of the engine...
So I want to spend the BAIR minimum (hopefully <£10 (not inc postage) init cost) on a radio. But I would quite like to use my ipod with it. Is there anyway of adding an auxilary line to a tape/radio player without using one of those stupid tape converters or radio transmitters? Could I just soler a wire and socket into the preamp stage? I wouldn't mind sacrificing the tape player.
Thanks for any help
Harry

[zigzagflux]

That's certainly a cheap radio, isn't it? I've hacked into some stock radios, and connected RCA's into the preamp output, but haven't attempted to locate the input. Might be a fun project.

There are some relatively cheap head units out there that have auxiliary inputs, using a stereo mini jack. I would initially search out some of those. Panasonic, alpine, JVC come to mind.

eBay may be another avenue to locate a used head unit.

[harrygrey382]

well ebay was the intended source... And the ones with the socket already there inlfate prices somewhat, but I'm looking for them. But what you describe of hacking into them is really just what I'm after. I want a line input for my mp3 player, nothing fancy.
So it's not a complex job? Finding the right pins to solder to?

[Perry Babin]

You can inject signal into the tape circuit but none of the circuits are referenced to ground. If you tap into the circuit, you would have to restore/maintain biasing for the circuit. it won't be quite as simple as soldering wires to the tape circuit.

Even if you can get it to work, you would have to operate the ipod off of batteries. If you use an in-car charger, you'll likely have ground loop noise.

Why don't you find a cheap amplifier and drive the amp directly with the ipod?

[harrygrey382]

yeah I considered that, but assumed they'd be too expensive. Also they might atttract thieves? And I'd quite like a radio.
After more searching on here it seemed that people have done the tape hacking thing though with some success?

[djQUAN]

there are amps that cost around $10-$20 if you look hard enough.

if the amp costs that much, the thieves won't bother stealing it.

if you need an am/fm tuner, you could use a walkman in place of the ipod.