iPod w/ ICE>Link install.
06-01-2004, 10:18 PM
#26
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Re: iPod w/ ICE>Link install.
<center><img src="http://www.rs6.com/gallery/data/500/1049ICELink_install-med.jpg"></center><p>I installed an ICELink in my RS6 last week and am very happy with it also.
I ran the wires back around the gearstick to the phone location under the arm rest - they are *just* long enough to reach there without modification and you can *just* fit the connector through the various holes and under the A/C unit without having to remove anything apart from a few pieces of carbon fibre. Hint: push a scrap piece of wire through first, duct tape the connector to it and then pull it through using the wire.
Space behind the head unit was a problem - there isn't any! I had to remove the silver box off the CD Changer adapter that Denison supplies so I could cram it in around the large bar that runs across inside this space.
Wiring was very easy - unplug a connector, plug in the splice connector, attach a ground wire to the ground wire on the radio using a supplied crimp splice. Done! Didn't need to cut or solder a single wire.
Plugged it all in and got music immediately but none of the controls worked. Then I read the ICELink newsgroup and saw that you need to upgrade the iPOD firmware to the latest version. That fixed the problem.
So now, I have a no-visible-wires, no-holes, no-screws installation of the iPOD, and I'm happy!
** Nice features:
* iPOD comes on and goes off when you select the CDC changer on the head unit as appropriate.
* Listening to a song on the iPOD, press FM, press CD and the song resumes playing right where it was.
* You can skip tracks using the headunit and even fast forward within a song.
* By selecting CD number 6 you can also adjust the levels on the iPOD using the headunit allowing you to get the same volume across your various sources.
** Features that could be improved:
* Well, I'd really like to see the song metadata on the Audi display - if a nav system can do it, why can't someone build an MP3 player that can do it?
* The display shows Track 1->2->3->1->2->3, just so you know that your next track button press has been accepted. Would be nice if it could show you position within the current playlist (modulo 100, of course).
* The display shows 00:00 counting up to 00:09 and then goes back to 00:00 just to show you a song it playing - would be nice if it could show actual position in the song instead.
* Apple should support WMA then I wouldn't have to convert all my music from WMA to AAC.
* Sometimes the ICELink doesn't respond fast enough on power-on and the radio goes back to FM when it should stay on CDC.
** Biggest concern:
* The iPOD appears to charge from the car even when the ignition is off. I worry that left for a long time in an airport parking lot this could drain the battery - though I guess the iPOD would probably get stolen before then since it's in plain view ;-) And, once it's charged I guess it isn't going to suck more current from the car's battery either.
Back at home, iTunes took about 24 hours to create AAC versions of all my music, so now I have *all* my music in the car - more songs than miles!
All I need to do now is to modify the plastic holder that was supplied so that it fits into the Audi phone space (it's too wide right now as it's designed to go on a mount attached to the dashboard).
I ran the wires back around the gearstick to the phone location under the arm rest - they are *just* long enough to reach there without modification and you can *just* fit the connector through the various holes and under the A/C unit without having to remove anything apart from a few pieces of carbon fibre. Hint: push a scrap piece of wire through first, duct tape the connector to it and then pull it through using the wire.
Space behind the head unit was a problem - there isn't any! I had to remove the silver box off the CD Changer adapter that Denison supplies so I could cram it in around the large bar that runs across inside this space.
Wiring was very easy - unplug a connector, plug in the splice connector, attach a ground wire to the ground wire on the radio using a supplied crimp splice. Done! Didn't need to cut or solder a single wire.
Plugged it all in and got music immediately but none of the controls worked. Then I read the ICELink newsgroup and saw that you need to upgrade the iPOD firmware to the latest version. That fixed the problem.
So now, I have a no-visible-wires, no-holes, no-screws installation of the iPOD, and I'm happy!
** Nice features:
* iPOD comes on and goes off when you select the CDC changer on the head unit as appropriate.
* Listening to a song on the iPOD, press FM, press CD and the song resumes playing right where it was.
* You can skip tracks using the headunit and even fast forward within a song.
* By selecting CD number 6 you can also adjust the levels on the iPOD using the headunit allowing you to get the same volume across your various sources.
** Features that could be improved:
* Well, I'd really like to see the song metadata on the Audi display - if a nav system can do it, why can't someone build an MP3 player that can do it?
* The display shows Track 1->2->3->1->2->3, just so you know that your next track button press has been accepted. Would be nice if it could show you position within the current playlist (modulo 100, of course).
* The display shows 00:00 counting up to 00:09 and then goes back to 00:00 just to show you a song it playing - would be nice if it could show actual position in the song instead.
* Apple should support WMA then I wouldn't have to convert all my music from WMA to AAC.
* Sometimes the ICELink doesn't respond fast enough on power-on and the radio goes back to FM when it should stay on CDC.
** Biggest concern:
* The iPOD appears to charge from the car even when the ignition is off. I worry that left for a long time in an airport parking lot this could drain the battery - though I guess the iPOD would probably get stolen before then since it's in plain view ;-) And, once it's charged I guess it isn't going to suck more current from the car's battery either.
Back at home, iTunes took about 24 hours to create AAC versions of all my music, so now I have *all* my music in the car - more songs than miles!
All I need to do now is to modify the plastic holder that was supplied so that it fits into the Audi phone space (it's too wide right now as it's designed to go on a mount attached to the dashboard).
06-02-2004, 02:42 AM
#29
That's where mine is currently using the belkin adapter and changer adapter.
I didnt feel the need to see what song was on, i just hit the skip button by feel or plugin the remote. Im not sure if I am goint to do it all over again to gain a couple things.
