input for mp3/ipod

[speck]

what do you guys use for your tunes? i need to buy either or, and need info to decide. the ipod seems way too expensive for what you get. for the dash hookups, i'm told i need the rca wire adapters and the 12 volt lighter plug adapter. neither of these come with any unit as a package, or am i wrong? i assume that these adapters are the most important thing to get it to work in the boat. i will never be using headphones with this unit, it will only be used in the dash of my 210.
what do i need to get?

[AbunDiga909]

RE: input for mp3/ipod

Anyway... If I get what you're saying, I don't think the iPod converter for the Clarion head unit is totally necissary. The only advantage that gives you is that it lets you control basically your iPod, from the dash remote. The new Nautiques have the AUX inputs in the dash already, so they don't need to be drilled. So once you have any AUX, yeah, you spend a couple bucks to get the RCA cable, and your iPod is then used through your boat. Is that the "dash hookups" you were referring to? The only use the 12 volt lighter plug would be to me, would be to charge the mp3 player/iPod when its dead, which happens enough to buy the car charger for it. Does that answer your question? I obviously use the iPod, but had to drill the AUX inputs in the glove compartment b/c they didn't come from the factory in '04. The cord is long enough where the spotter/passanger, driver, and bow-riders can control the tunes. The only thing I wish could be done would be to drill the 12 volt charger in the glove compartment for pre-'05 models. w/o it, I need to have a cable charging the iPod, connected to the dash charger on the starboard side, and the cable for the AUX on the port side--not the greatest layout...

[mcbridek]

RE: input for mp3/ipod

One option - buy a CD player that player that plays RW and MP3 CD's (all new players handle all formats). Record a few MP3 format CD's and leave them on the boat. You can get about 150 songs on a CD in MP3 format. Sort the files in Song order, that will basically create the CD in shuffle (mix up all the artists).

[speck]

why would i buy another cd player when the boat already has one? i know you are implying it for the mp3 capability, and i think that the stock clarion will not play mp3s, but why not just get the ipod/mp3 player and save the hassle?
austin, yes the hookups are the rca plugs in the glove box, my 06 has them and the 12 volt plug. i just want info on the ipod/mp3 debate. so you say i need the car charger, and the rca outputs from the unit, i am told these are extra any way you look at it.

[AbunDiga909]

ok, but i'm still a bit confused... when you say ipod/mp3 depate, as for the mp3 part, do you mean another sort of mp3 player NOT by Apple, or burning MP3 CDs? Buying the car charger is just a suggestion. I think its worth buying b/c you dont want to be out on the lake w/ a bunch of your friends, tuneless, God forbid... Having a MP3 CD is nice, but you can only put 20 songs on it. For me, I think it is a no brainer, and if you have the $250 iPod and the $60K Air 210, I think you should make the long-term investment in the AT MOST $30 AUX inputs and $40 iPod charger...

[speck]

yes when i say mp3 player i mean a dedicated player, like the competition to apple, the pc version of an ipod. i know the ipod is cool, and i know i just bought the boat, but to me the ipod seems like a ripoff. i think the mp3 players on the market will do the job without the extra frills. just store alot of music and play it back. i know that i need to watch the amount of memory. i hope that in the spring the prices will come down more and i will pick on up then, i am just trying to do some investigating now.

[TDarrington]

IPOD issues

I had the same issues with the IPOD and even got great advice from other PN members to make my own connection but as I am not an electrical engineer, I passed on that option. (Sorry I am a skier, and that is all I claim to know). I tried the RCA jacks and as I think they are either mono or not powered, the sound was terrible. I ended up buying the Griffin iTrip and it works great and well worth the money.

[AbunDiga909]

RE: IPOD issues

TD, FM transmitters are sweet & simple, but when you use them, as with cassettes, you lose SO much of the quality that MP3 players are famous for providing. When you use either the cassette converter, or the FM transmitter, you might as well Rip your CDs to your comp at 16Kbps. The AUX inputs are the best way to sustain the great quality that you get my using MP3 Players/iPods in the first place.

iPod or Comp. MP3 Player, the issues I was mentioning still stay the same. You'll still need the same RCA cable, and the battery will be the same issue. I'm not saying the battery power on the iPod is not good, I was just bringing up the "just in case" scenario, which is being prepared for the dead battery. The dead battery issue will occur on ANY MP3 player, not just iPod. With that being said, I think the only thing keeping you from an iPod is your personal preference. I can tell you before I had my Nano, I had a 5 gig Rio Carbon. Yeah, it was cool, but I kinda got fed-up w/ it. I didn't like being the only person on the boat who knew how to use it. Being a Mac-Hater, I couldn't deny the universatility (sp?) of the iPod. I quickly grew on the design and simplicity of the Apple product, and then fell under the influence of the iPod crowd. The battery life on the iPods are now 18 hrs, oppose to the mere 8 hrs they use to be. And lastly, you can get your name lazer-aligned on the back of your iPod... Yellow_Flash_Colorz:

[OKWAKEBDR]

RE: IPOD issues

I have a regular old generic Motorola mp3 player. It was a gift from my girlfriend, and probably about $50. I added a Scandisk chip to it to add some memory (about $30), and it will now hold about 400 songs. I then bought the RCA adapter (about $10) to plug it into the RCA jacks on my '05 210. All in all...about $100. Great quality, and a whole lot easier than carrying around a book of CD's. Of course, I can't control the mp3 player from the head unit or the in-dash remote...but the RCA cable will reach the driver's seat, so I can just change the tunes from there...actually, I rarely touch the thing because someone else always wants to control it. It doesn't have a charger, so I just carry a couple extra AAA batteries. Works just as well as an ipod, but without the name, and a little less cash.

[Socbum]

RE: IPOD issues

Before you jump into the Ipod make sure you try out iTunes. Ipod is designed to work directly with the iTunes player NOT Windows media player (you can get 3rd party hack software and get it to work with other stuff if you have the time). You will be spending a lot of time with the computer media player to create playlists, rip music, etc. You better like the computer player part just as much as the deviceor you will get a bit frustrated in the beginning.

If you have music already downloaded through some other source besides iTunes you should donwload iTunes and see if you can get your music over into iTunes before you make the plunge into the iPod world as well.

Personally, I hate the iTunes user interface, it is clunky and it is constantly trying to get you to the iTunes music store to purchase music. The index of the computer library is not intuitive and the media tags are inturpretted in a different way than Windows media player.

Now with all of that said...
I have about 140 Gb of music ripped using "Apple Loss Less" in my portable harddrive. I create playlists from my music lib and I also download several different Podcasts (TWIT is one of my favorites, but I'm a geek) and books on tape and load it on my 20 Gb iPod. I use the iPod in numerous environments -- driving, boating, working out, at work tunes, party tunes etc.

Because of the versatility, ease of use and storage capacity I chose the iPod. I even unlaod my digital camera shots to my iPod (it's just a storage device). Once you get a device that has the storage capacity of the 20 - 30 Gb you are going to be paying about the same.

First determine the use of the product and try out the UI before you buy it.

I hope this helps -- let us know which way you go!

[radmaster]

RE: IPOD issues

Yeah before i owned an ipod i was like whats the big deal, then when i got one home and played around with it, its just so well designed and easy to use. Itunes is different to wmp but once you get used to it you wont go back. Just a tip, go for a flash based mp3 player rather than a hard drive one, dunno how long the hard drive will hold up going over double ups all the time.

[jeepn]

RE: IPOD issues

i have a rio carbon mp3 player. i love it, the price was good, it's easy to use, and the sound is good. the only downsides are, it doens't sync directly with itunes which i live by, and i am pretty sure i read that some company bought rio and is going to quit making the mp3 player.

[ag4ever]

RE: IPOD issues

I have an ipod, and unfortunatly it was stolen. I loved it so much, that I just had to go out and get another, and my wife decides she even wanted one.

Sure itunes is not great, but it is livable. But the player is SO easy to use and intuitive that it makes up for it the most. I rarly even use the computer other than changing songs on the ipod. You can make song lists in the ipod by using the on the go feature. You select a number of songs from what is loaded on the ipod, and it makes a play lists. Then when you sync back up with itunes you can rename them anything you want.

The other good thing about the ipod is accessories. I have an otter box for mine, so I can use it when I am in the water before or after a run or just swimming. I will also use it while hunting snow geese in the conservation season as the player for my electronic call. You can get most of these specialty accessories with the other players as they are not that widely sold or used. That does not make them bad, but just less popular and not as flexable.

my 2 cents.

[nautique95]

RE: IPOD issues

Hey Guys! While we are on the topic, I am not real great at computer stuff, but I have a sandisk mp3 player which I really like, but the problem I have is that the computer loads it on the player at a low volume then when I run it through the boat stereo I have to turn the volume way up to get it to play at a reasonable level, then if you switch to the radio or cd before turning it down it about blows you out of the boat!! Any suggestions on how to fix this?? Thanks!!

[AbunDiga909]

RE: IPOD issues

95, my fam. also had an RCA SD Drive MP3 player, and we had the same problem. And I hate to say it, but we have not been able to find any cure to the problem, besided upgrading and getting away from the SD Drive...