[anthonynd4prius]

I ordered an AG package, does this mean the car doesnt come with cassette?? I would hate to use a FM transmitter just to get my mp3 player in the car I hope cassette is standard.I know the FM tranmitters are horrible. I cant live without an mp3 player.... Any suggestions?!?!?!? Oh I think that 700$ more for the jbl package isnt a good option tho......

 

[engelpm]

Hi Anthony,

i have the same issue. i'm betting on these guys to solve our problem:

http://www.coastaletech.com/04prius.htm

see the mention of a Auxiliary Audio Input Adapter?

they have a whole suite of add-ons for the Classic. We just have to be paitent for them to work their magic on the 2G.

 

[anthonynd4prius]

OMG that electric kit looks cool and I want one! Does it void the warranty? I hope not, If not I will order the aux and the ev kit! Thanks alot for the info what do you think of all this????

 

[Panjandrum]

Ohhhhhhh, I'm drooling

Definitely drooling over that new EV kit. Very sweet. Too bad I don't get my Prius for another 8 months....

 

[Jonnycat26]

Ok... it's a little goofy... but I'm considering it! And it's certainly a unique solution to the problem of playing mp3s in a stereo equipped with a cassette player.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 5711512989

 

[anthonynd4prius]

unless you get the JBL package the cassette will have no where to go. good thought tho

 

[Jonnycat26]

unless you get the JBL package the cassette will have no where to go. good thought tho

I have the JBL package... so I think I'd be set.

 

[engelpm]

There is a viable alternative to play your mp3 player, but there's a snag.

You can get a small FM transmitter that your mp3 player plugs into. Then you carefully tune the transmitter and voila - your music comes out of the speakers as if it was a radio station.

outside from the extra cables, here's the rub: you have to plug the transmitter into aux power. With my 2002 Prius, this meant an automatic 2-3mpg penalty.

I've only had my 2004 for a few weeks so i haven't tested this with the new stronger battery. Maybe the aux-power penalty has been designed out if the a/c is now run 100% from the batteries.

Still, an Aux Audio Input from coastelTech is the ultimate solution. I sent them an email asking for an ETA on this. haven't heard back. i'll let you know when i hear something.

paul

 

[Jonnycat26]

There is a viable alternative to play your mp3 player, but there's a snag.

You can get a small FM transmitter that your mp3 player plugs into. Then you carefully tune the transmitter and voila - your music comes out of the speakers as if it was a radio station.
paul

Isn't the cassette player hookup higher quality than a fm transmitter?

 

[BIF]

"Big Picture" thinking here...

MP3's have been available for several years now. Why haven't some smart engineers devised a standard MP3/Digital Device-to-head-unit control interface protocol?

It should be no more difficult than plugging in a cable, and having control of track skip, volume, etcetera, all from your steering wheel. Sheesh, it's 2004, and we're still using cassette plug-in devices to play music from external units? What is that?

Or for crying out loud, why can't we just use memory sticks of some sort, and just slide them right into the dashboard? Ggggrrrrrr!! :x

What are we living in, the 1980's? And here I was wondering why they still play Duran Duran and Men at Work at restaurants and shopping malls.

:roll:

Okay, I'm done ranting now. But I still want cassettes GONE. Okay, now I'm really done.

 

[03Jill]

Crysler or Nissan (can't remember which one) comes with a MP3 player built in. To bad the Prius doesn't. The music industry is problably pressuring them not to.

Jill

 

[Jonnycat26]

Crysler or Nissan (can't remember which one) comes with a MP3 player built in. To bad the Prius doesn't. The music industry is problably pressuring them not to.

Jill

So do Mazda and GM. And probably more. Not on all models, but it's spreading around.

 

[Zach]

So I was talking to Anthony yesterday, and he mentioned the iTrip FM transmitter for iPods. I have a co-worker with one and talked to him about his likes and dislikes. He mentioned some interference on occassion when using it in his porsche (pffft), but nothing more than what you'd expect when listening to the radio. Overall he highly recommended it. He wears a wireless radio headset at work and tunes into his ipod via the iTrip, so I tested it out. The headset quality wasn't that great, but I was satisfied.

Picked up an iTrip last night, as well as the belkin TuneDok cup holder inserts that cradle your iPod and allow for easy access positioning. Both are available at a number of online vendors, but I just stopped off at the apple store on my way home. I am hitting the road this weekend and wanted to make sure I didn't miss out due to shipping.

Apple Store iPod Accessories

I love the iTrip. Totally meets my needs, makes my iPod 100% more useful, and the signal strength and quality is great by my standards. I should mention that I'm not a true audiophile, but I do want my music to sound good, and I am stoked on this device.

My Prius came with the cassette deck, but I'm with BIF on this one, I am angered by it's very existence! :evil: So the idea of wires dangling out of it and having a tape running in there makes me wince. As soon as there's a quality, fool proof, BMW-type integrated iPod connector option, I'll be all over it.

 

[RSnyder]

. . . outside from the extra cables, here's the rub: you have to plug the transmitter into aux power. With my 2002 Prius, this meant an automatic 2-3mpg penalty. . . .
paul

Wow, how many kilowatts were you trasmitting :shock:

I didn't think you weren't allowed to affect the radios of neighboring cars.

 

[BIF]

I didn't think you weren't allowed to affect the radios of neighboring cars.

It would be nice to have an "off" button to shut off that guy's stereo. You know the guy. He's the one who's always compelled to share his rap and hip-hop music with everybody at every traffic light. I don't even hear people play rock and roll that loud anymore!

And I have occasionally wondered if there was a way to "zap" some "Chatty Cathy's" cell call, particularly when she/he is barrelling down the interstate, weaving, cutting people off, driving half-in and half-out of his/her lane, etcetera....I know some stage theatres have cell-phone disabling technology implemented during the performances. A "cell phone zapper" would be neat...if it didn't zap 911 calls, that is.

I like that bumper sticker that says something like, "Hang up the phone and drive!"...and the one on the right side of the bumper that says, "Yeah, you!"

 

[engelpm]

This Just In!

This just in from the CoastalTech folks, regarding when the aux audio input will be available for the 2G:

We are expecting around 30 days or so

woo hoo!

 

[AgentElrond]

He's the one who's always compelled to share his rap and hip-hop music with everybody at every traffic light.

I find it amusing when they've got the bass and the volume turned up so loud that their CAR is actually rattling. Give 'em a few more years while bolts loosen... I'd love to see parts fall off. Then I could hop out, pick 'em up and sell 'em back to the driver on eBay. 8)

 

[hdrygas]

The iTrip is nice and looks and fits well with look of the iPod but is difficult to change channels on the fly. I have to stop the car to do this. I got Belkins newest transmitter that has a LED display of the frequency and buttons to change it. In places with a many stations it can be hard to find a clear area to listen to the iPod with out interference. The downside is that the Belkin transmitter uses a AAA battery. It does interface nicely with their car charger.