Click for more…

Up there is some of the test pieces I stuck together in order to see if I like how I’m going to mount my iPod in my car.

That photo shows a the original grey and white Belkin TuneDok from my Grand Am with most of the cupholder-supporting bits removed. The remaining vinyl bits into which the iPod holder portion threads is sandwiched between two metal plates and set on three spaces. In the final version the plates will (hopefully) be aluminum, there will be a plate on the bottom of the assembly, and that all will be bolted into the very front of the center console of my car, in front of the gear select area, set so the driver can clearly see it between the gear select lever and the accessory power outlet, and located within arm’s reach.

In the finally mounted version I will have most of the bits of a black Belkin TuneDok there instead of the dirty, old white one which is pictured. This will be mounted by running three bolts vertically through all three plates, the vinyl piece (it’ll be a darker grey), and the spacers, then bolting through the plastic tray in the front of the center console, with a washer, a lock washer, and a nut on the underside. I’m also hoping to give all metal pieces (except for maybe the screw heads) a light coating of black paint to help hide it all. If I’m thinking right, it’ll provide a nice, solid physical mounting point for my iPod.

The other half of the problem to solve is that of the electrical connections. Those were mentioned previously, and the only thing I have left to do is find +12v in the audio bus (or whatever it is called) connector on the back of the head unit (I really hope there is a full +12v here) and get access to that. Then I have to somehow safely (and without changing any factory wiring) get to the back of the in-dash Auxiliary Audio Input and get some use out of this. In this I wish to close the switch which indicates if something is hooked up to the Aux In, then run the iPod’s audio into the Left / Right / Common lines.

I think I’m also going to etch a PCB and mount it in a shielded (probably solid aluminum) box which will tie this all together. This will give me experience etching PCBs, and it’s a really simple project to start with. The box will be mounted somewhere beneath the iPod mount. There is a bracket inside the console which appears like it may be good for tying this to.

Just as when building the first version of my iPod adapter for this car, another MIDI cable will likely be sacrificed for making the connection to the Aux In. I’m not sure what I’ll do for power wiring yet. That’ll have to get figured out later. Maybe some random 18 gauge or 20 gauge or whatever I’ve got laying around the basement twisted together with some shrink tubing or tech flex over it or something. < shrug >

Oh, and completely unrelated to everything else I’ve mentioned in this post, I also updated yesterday’s LJ post which mentions Bell’s Sparkling Ale with a non-screwed-up photo. You can see that photo here if you would like.