Hey, all!

I just got my 2005 xB in Blue Onyx Pearl; a great ride and lots of fun bumping down the freeway!

The only thing that's missing is real iPod and XM integration into the stereo. (I wasn't willing to pay $699 for the 'privilege' of a substandard XM unit, thankyouverymuch.)

I currently have a first-generation iPod I hook up to my old car's head unit (which has an 1/8" stereo input). I'm going to do the same kind of setup (but using RCA instead) at first, but my Master Plan is to get a 2004 Alpine head unit that'll be compatible with the sweet iPod->Alpine Ai-NET head unit hookup coming out late September; then I'll get a fresh new 4th-generation iPod to go with it! :D

Also, I use my Bluetooth phone (a Sony Ericsson Z600) in the car all the time with a headset, but I'd much prefer my phone to be fully hooked-in with my stereo, to mute the music and route the phone over the speakers whenever a call comes in.

Here's my three-phase plan to add XM, iPod, and Bluetooth to my sweet xB. I'm not making any speaker/amp/subwoofer upgrade plans yet, but I want to hear everyone's critiques and comments on these head unit and other choices!

My remaining unsolved questions:

1) Will the CDA-9820XM unit play well with the KCA-420i Ai-NET adapter for the iPod? It looks compatible, but there's no real way to know until the iPod adapter comes out.

2) Is it okay to order an Alpine head unit online from a non-authorized retailer? Crutchfield has them for $100 more than everyone else, but they're just about the only authorized retailer that has the CDA-9820XM online.

-=-=-=- PHASE ONE -=-=-=-

1) Head unit: Alpine CDA-9820XM (CD and AM/FM radio with XM tuner built-in, just add an antenna)
* $268--$340

2) XM antenna: Terk XMICRO
* $27.99--$49.99

3) Dash kit and wiring harness: Scosche SCN2056 and Scosche TA02
* SCN2056 $13.95
* TA02 $6.95

4) www.rakuten.co.jp/nojima/img1001909457.jpeg]Ai-NET RCA adapter (male Ai-NET to female RCA) KCA-121B[/url] (to hook up my current 1st gen iPod until Phase 2)
* $19.99

Phase 1 subtotal: $336

-=-=-=- PHASE TWO -=-=-=-

5) Ai-NET iPod adapter KCA-420i
* $100, release "late September"

6) New iPod 20G
* $299

Phase 2 subtotal: $399

Total Phase 1 + 2: $735

-=-=-=- PHASE THREE -=-=-=-

7) Bluetooth car kit: Sony Ericsson HCB-300 (to be released in September)
* $199

Total Phase 1 + 2 + 3: $934

 

i want to see pics! i am thinking of doing the Ipod setup in my xB too. i'd like to see what you've done. :D

 

To answer your questions, yes all the alpine stuff will work and you should have no problems. Now if you buy the unit from the internet, you are going to have a problem with any warranty issues. We get this a lot from DIY installers, they come to my shop to have us look at something that they messed up, and we send it to alpine with a check for $100(min repair charge).

Sometimes it is better to buy from smaller shops cause they might be able to work with you a little more. The 9820xm unit, we included a free antenna with hidden install if the buyer desides that they want us to do the install for them.

Jason

 

That's pretty smart. I'll call a few places tomorrow and see if they can make me some offers I can't refuse.

 

Check out this site. It makes it possible to hook up and control an ipod with any radio.

http://densionusa.com/merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT

 

I saw that, and it's pretty cool, but I really want something that fully integrates with the stereo like Alpine's hookup. The iceLink product only lets you change tracks, and doesn't have any way to display song, track, or playlist information on the stereo's display.

I'll wait for Alpine's deal, I think it's a lot slicker; plus, I can hide my iPod away and pretend I have a big hard drive MP3 player built in to my stereo. ;)

 

I've been thinking the exact same thing. But am holding off to research some carputer options.

Take a look at this site and read the forums.
http://www.mp3car.com


The ultimate goal would be:
A touch screen LCD with computer.
wireless internet to connect with home network
Switching controls for rearview camera
GPS
Bluetooth intergration for GPS receiver and cell phone.

The results would be.
iPod: wouldn't need the physical iPod---the iPod would sync via firewire to load to the carputer HD to be played with iTunes)

Bluetooth: Stock bluetooth devices like a pocket PC or the new Bluetooth GSP receivers. Just store the GPS receiver until needed, put it on dash it connects with carputer via bluetooth.

Cell phone: Bluetooth would display Caller ID on LCD, allow to take calls, interrupt music playback and store Caller ID to my Contacts in outlook which would sync to a bluetooth phone.

PDA (pocket PC): Bluetooth would synch Outlook contacts to both cell phone, and maybe one day to the iPod contacts list.

Wireless: Just park next to a access point and you're on the net or use your bluetooth phone for internet connections.


These guys are working on opensource software for this kind of thing.
http://www.mediaengine.org/index.php?downloads
From the forums it appears to be one of the more popular apps, so it has better support from forums.
That software handles some of the more tricky intergration and gives you a car friendly interface.

There's a hook in the interface to run external applications, but you could customize buttons since it's visual basic.
Basicaly you'd have a Windows XP machine with HD, bluetooth, and wireless in your car. So anything you can do at home would be available in your car.

Lots of posibilities, lots of details, lots of research.

 

i love my alpine 9835 but have heard nothing but bad things about the 9820xm especially from dealers, there are only 2 sets of rca's, no eq, no sub out and the quality of the cd is reduced dramatically

 

about the bluetooth car kit...i would check out the parrot 3100 it has a screen so you can see who is calling you and a **** to go thru numbers while having your phone still in your pocket. here's a link http://www.driveblue.com/(bhriw145jb...px?root=ck3100 lowest price i've seen online is about $224

Hope this helps,

 

Over the past few months, the FoxBox has been upgraded to the Alpine CDA-9820XM head unit, and I just finished Phase II -- the KCA-420i iPod adapter!

And since I know you all love photos, I've put up photos of my install:





More images available on my Scion xB gallery. Check 'em out and let me know what you all think!

http://foxden.org/gallery/scion

The CDA-9820XM was really easy to install; I got a Terk XMICRO antenna and put it on the back right corner of the roof, and ran the coax cable under the seal of the back hatch door, under the cargo compartment, and then under the plastic cover over the passenger-side doors.

The KCA-420i was a bit more fun. I decided to drill a hole in the back of the compartment with the swing door under where the original radio was, and I fed the KCA-420i's iPod cable through that, behind the glove box, and under the plastic molding covering the passenger side door. I put the (very small) 420i's box under the passenger seat, then threaded the second cable that plugged into the Ai-NET jack on the back of the CDA-9820XM. No problem!

Overall, sound quality is awesome. I love having iPod, XM, FM/AM, and CD capability all in one unit -- it absolutely rocks! Unfortunately, the interface for the iPod is pretty much a slim layer on top of the Alpine CD changer interface, so scrolling through playlists, artists, or albums is SLO-O-O-O-W. Like, half a second per item. Thankfully, it's easy enough to select a playlist and put it on random, which is the majority of what I listen to on my iPod in the car. Still, we have a long way to go.

Soon, I'll finish Phase 3 (the Bluetooth car kit) and my stereo adventure will be complete! :D Well, for now, anyway...