Does the kit use a standard ipod docking connector? If so, is there a female ipod connector > 1/8" or RCA plug adapter anywhere on the market? This would allow connection to any type of audio device, though transport controls would be disabled.

 

So since you can't see the ipod screen on the nav screen, how do you know where you are?

Where does the iPod start...? At the first playlist or track on the entire iPod and then you skip around from there?

 

Yeah it all sounds kind of useless to me from what I'm hearing here. If you can see the songs/albums etc then I honestly don't understand the point. Does anyone have it on an 06 yet?

 

The kit uses the standard iPod Male connector. You navaigate the system by using the Skip/Seek buttons with voice feedback from files installed on iPod.
As I said earlier, it takes a little getting used to but is fucntional. You can also setup your favorite playlist and begin playing it before you connect the iPod. It will continue to play until you stop it. I normally select the playlist I want to hear then connect the iPod and my Nav screen is always in map mode anyway, so I like the setup. Could be better, maybe it will be with a software upgrade. But where else can I get up to 60 gigs of quality sounding music in the RL at this price without hacking my $50k car to death?

 

One more question for those of you that have installed...What does the iPod look like when you have it plugged in? Is it possible to navigate through the iPod while it is plugged in? I doubt that this is the case but that would even be a viable option to move between artists, playlists, etc.

I gotta say that I don't think I am impressed enough to spend the $$...All along I was under the impression that you would see a version of your iPod screen on the nav screen.

I think that I will be just as happy burning my MP3 CDs complete with track info so that I can see what I am listening to and selecting.

 

I am considering having this install done next Monday but am not sure.

Would upgrading to the 2006 DVD make any difference in being able to see the track and folder info on the Nav screen?

rlwva, is the cable long enough that you could install the wiring harness in the center console instead of the glove box. The glove box would be fine if you could control everything through the nav screen, but it seems that the center console would be easier if you are having to navigate via the iPod screen.

One last question, I assume that you iPod is the 4th generation, which model are you using?

Thanks for all you input on this.

Kris

 

iPod screen just displays "OK to disconnect" and the controls are locked.

 

I'm curious about the 06 software too. I have a 4th Gen iPod Photo and yes, the cable is long enough to mount in the center console. I thought about routing to that location but decided to stick with the instructions.

 

What functions can you utilize with the ipod interface in an 05 RL??

 

Is there any way you could post the instructions somewhere? It could tell me if the kit would be suitable for non-ipod players as well, with some mods to the cable of course. All I need is an Aux input. I guess the radio has it.

I'm also interested in how the software update went. At least I assume there's a software update that comes with it to teach the system how to deal with it?

I can host the file if needed.

 

I am getting the kit installed in the morning in my 06 A-Spec and will let everyone know.

 

I look forward to hearing how this turns out on an '06. I've been waiting anxiously for the kit to come out but have been a little hesitant to spend the $850 ($450 adapter installed + $400 for iPod). Any screenshots you could post would be greatly appreciated.

 

I got a quote from one of these car audio shops in my area and he quoted me ~ $60 for installation...you might want to shop around for the installation.

I have an '05 RL, but am interested in what is different with the '06 version...titles in the HUD? in the audio screen?

 

OK, I have to ask, why are you referring to the Head Unit/Radio as HUD? Isn't HUD Heads Up Display (used in pontiacs, vette, BMW) - or housing and urban development? Or is HUD also considered the radio/navi/hvac?

 

Just referring to the marquee that runs across the top of the screen display...I had thought someone referred to that as the Heads Up Display...I know, not a true Heads Up Display, like I believe the BMW offers (on the windshield).

 

Does anyone have an electronic copy of the install instructions? Wondering if a quick/cheap non-ipod version could be constructed. All I really need is an aux input and a way to activate it.

 

The TL music link instructions are online... https://hondacuraworld.hostasaurus.c...lMusicLink.pdf

 

Thanks for the link. After reading the instructions, I am convinced that no one, including myself, should be installing it to my car. It is not worth the risk of breaking something during all these removal of components and clips.

 

After trying to find an integration kit, the FM modulating method, and investigate connection via the XM receiver and the amp, I gave up. I couldn't believe a 05 car doesn't offer an easy way to connect the iPod.

My latest contraption is a PC speaker system with the sub and rear speaks placed in the trunk just behind the rear seats. The power cable, the control cable, and the front speakers are routed into the car. The two front speakers are placed on the rear seats which almost always are not occupied.

Unbelievably, the sound is almost as good as the car's OEM speakers.

The two speakers are small and light, thus I should not worry that they become flying objects.

 

A word [or two] of caution about the iPod interface:

1. While there is text to voice, it is not "two-way". There is no way for the operator to speak control commands. Also, once it is plugged in, you are unable to use the controls on the iPod touch screen, which, believe me, would be INFINITELY faster, easier, more logical, AND more flexible.

2. Instead of going the "extra mile", and truly interfacing the iPod with the audio control screen, allowing for the kind of selection capability that we are used to using the iPod, Acura has set it up so that one has to listen to the text/speech voice scroll through the alphabet. In other words, if you want to listen to a certain album/song by Frank Sinatra, you must:

In the Artist setting catagory, wait for it to "speak" through the alphabet until it gets to "F". You then hit select. Then you have to listen to it read the name of every artist beginning with the letter "F". When it gets to Sinatra, hit select, and then listen to the voice scroll through every song by him listed alphabetically. [In other words, if you want to listen to "What a Wonderful World." you have to listed to the computer call out the name of every song beginning with the letters A ~ W.] Also, if you happen to mis-select, there is no "backup" feature. . .you have to go back to the beginning.

To add insult to injury, there is no provision for those who enjoy classical music, which is normally searched by Composer. In other words, if you want to listen to Brahms Symphony #2, you have to listen to the computer read the alphabet up to the letter "S", then you have to wait for it to get all the way to "Sy". Of course, if you have more than one performance, or a "Symphony #2" by another composer, there is no way of telling which one the computer is referring to.

If one's tastes in music are rather basic, or if one's collection is not large, this would be ok, but for a moderately large collection [8200+ songs], it can take upwards of 5 minutes to locate the song you want.

 

Is this in an 05 or 06? This is just starting to sound more worthless the more I hear people talk about the details of it. If you can't see anything on the display and you have to go through all of that crap to find the song you want to hear, while not being able to control the ipod itself, then what is the point seriously? To get all of this seemingly worthless functionality you have to also either let some monkey rip your car apart or do it yourself and risk breaking something and having the dealer blame you. This really really sounds like something people should stay away from or am I reading this all wrong? I just don't see how anyone could spend money on this thing knowing that it does nothing really. I know the people that got them before anyone knew about them have an excuse but damn. Also has anyone verified this lack of usefulness in the 06's yet or is all of our data reservered for 05's at this point?

 

Well I had the iPod install done yesterday to my 2005 RL. At first they were not going to install it because Acura had told them that they could not guarantee it would work on a 2005. They told me that it would be at my risk whether it would work. I told them to go ahead and it does work as it was designed to. That said the sound is great, the interface could use some work. I would not bother trying to search for albums through the interface, but searching the playlists works pretty well. The one thing I would like to figure out is how to put the playlists in a random mode. Our cars don't have the random button built into the audio hard buttons. You can easily put it in random mode with all of the songs on the iPod though. I did have them route the connection cable to the center console instead of the glove box. There was plenty of cable and the end does fit through the small square hole in the top of the console so I can just open one of the flaps on the top of the center console and keep the ipod there. If I want to listen to a particular song I just unplug, find the song and plug it back in. This is definitely easier than if it was in the glove box and I can live with this if I am not able to modify it as I am thinking below.

I would like to get an additional cable to experiment a bit on unlocking the iPod. On my home dock, the dock controls the iPod, charges it and has the line out connection, but it does not lock the controls. I can either us the remote control or the iPod controls to listen to music. So I am assuming that one of the wires in the Acura unit is sending a signal to the iPod through the plug to disable the controls. If one had a wiring diagram for the plug they could cut the wire that disables the controls on the iPod and then you could control songs with both the iPod and the audio, just like the home dock I have. I tried to find an “extension cable” for the iPod dock connector, one that had a female dock connector on one end and a male dock connector on the other. You could then experiment with the wiring without having to do anything to the iPod Acura link cable. The other option would be to figure out how to get another cable for the Acura link module and experiment with it. Looking at the instructions for the TL installation, the cable that plugs into the dock port is a two part cable, so you could change the part that plugs into the iPod without having to remove the radio or mess around with the BUS connections.

Anyone know where I could either get an extension cable (as described above) or an extra Acura link iPod cable? There are plenty of places to get the wiring diagram of the dock port, so I doubt it would be to hard to figure out what wire to eliminate. I believe that Acura designed the interface the way we did for liability reasons, so we are not all messing around with the tiny iPod display while we are cruising down the freeway.

I am happy very with the upgrade. It is probably not necessary worth the cost , but I figure I will get many years of enjoyment out of it. I also had them add a wood steering wheel, wood shifter, back up sensors and a cargo mat and net.

Kris

 

Mine is an '06, and was the first that my dealership installed. As I said above, I am most disappointed in that I have over 8000 songs on my iPod, many of them with the same name [different composers; different performers, etc.) and I have had to accept that I will never be able to enjoy it the way I do at home. Plus, [and this is probably due to my slow computer] it takes almost 4-1/2 hours for it to do a sync. withe iTunes. [I typically lett it do it overnight]. Does anyone know how the interface kit for BMWs works? Surely, the technology is out there that they could have made it operable through the media interface.

 

Thanks. At least we know definitively that it performs this was on either model year car. Sorry about your disappointment and I completely understand. I was pretty hyped up about it and Acura made it sound like it would be worthwhile, which I don't agree with now reading about what it does. As far as your pc issues, it sounds like you are trying to use usb1.1 instead of 2.0. If you have an ipod older then the current generation (5g) then I would recommend using firewire. If you have a new ipod then you really need to be using usb 2.0. They will both work with 1.1 but it's lamely slow, which it sounds like you already know. I have a 4g and a 5g and I use firewire for the 4g and 2.0 for the 5g and they are both blazing fast. It takes about 30 minutes I am guessing to sync up mine at absolute most unless I am doing a fresh reload. I only have about 6000 songs so it's a bit less then you but there is no way it should be that slow. If you don't have usb 2.0 or firewire, go out and buy a pci card of either variant (I'd suggest usb 2.0 since many other things can use it as well).

 

Agreed! And this was for a TL. I imagine the RL is harder.

 

I have the instructions for the RL and they are pretty much identical, but yeah probably harder.

 

Can you post your RL instructions?

 

I havn't seen the RL instructions - but I would be more than willing to do it on the TL. When I had my TL, I had pulled all those things apart to get behind the navi and to do work - so it wouldn't be a big deal to me. The biggest thing to watch out for is the clips and screws. If anything, order a few extra of each for a few bucks from your dealer or acuraparts247.com

 

Kris

Thanks for the write up. I still not sure about the control features on the 05' RL...so are all of the steering wheel controls usable with the ipod interface? Does the channel changing buttons allow you to skip thru tracks within a playlist? What does the Mode button do?

I'm still debating on whether to have this installed...after reading these, I'm a bit more hesitant...this ipod interface even sounds like an after thought for the 06' RL

 

I have had the kit installed in my 06 for 1 week now. It took me a few hours to get the hang of the commands and how to use it. Basically, everything is controled by pushing the disc 6 button. Pushing it cycles through 1-6 on the upper display where the current temp is. 1 is for playlists, 2 is for artists, 3 is for albums, 4 is for genre, 5 is for shuffle albums, and 6 is for shuffle all songs. There is software that you load on your pc called Acura TTS. It is a software application that creates text-to-speach files based on the information tags attached to each song on your IPOD. Here is an example, please disc 6 until it displays disc 2, then press and hold SEEK/SKIP for at least 1 second. It will then begin announcing the letters associated with artists on your IPOD. To hear the artist names that begin with a desired letter, press and release the SEEK/SKIP button immediately after hearing the letter, then press and hold SEEK/SKIP for 1 full second and the it will start saying the artist names. When you hear what you are looking for press SEEK/SKIP again and it will begin playing that artist.

Kind of a pain in the butt. I am a little disappointed. However, I can play just about anything I want. The key is having all of your music on your IPOD correctly coded with the right ID tags.

Now with all of that being said, Acura had a chance to hit a homerun here and only got to first base. As others have mentioned your IPOD is immobilized while connected. It would have been awesome had they allowed you to use your IPOD's controls to find what you are looking for, or better yet use the center console wheel like you would your IPOD click wheel. Further, wouldn't it have been the bomb if they would have been able to display on your screen exactly what appears on your IPOD screen. Perhaps if they made it that easier, XM might loose out.

Just my thoughts. Others?

 

They should have offered proper MP3/WMA play from DVD/CD right from the get-go. The current implementation is a bit insulting for such a spendy car. As an option they should have offered a hard-drive audio player ala phatbox with proper nav screen integration. This ipod stuff is just a patch.

 

You are so right.

 

After trying to tap power off the rear view mirror for the V1 and removing the trim panels in the trunk to look at the amp and the XM receiver, I found that I don't have what it takes to do it without feeling bad about taking apart my car.

 

I'm nervous about surgery to the car as well. You never know if it'll all go back together again without rattles. Right now my car is quiet. I'd like to keep it that way.

To complete my rant about the current CD/MP3 implementation, what were they thinking not displaying tag info? And why use such a tiny area of this huge screen to show track info? I mean it cuts of after what, 15 characters? Do these people even try the stuff they write? Not to mention that it simply cuts MP3s off before they are done. I'm sure it has something to do with small transcoder errors introduced by stream ripper but still. If winamp can play it my RL should too.

 

Yeah I will tomorrow. They're on my computer at work.

 

In this Music Link Experiment thread on the TL forum they may be on the way to a solution for regaining ipod control:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...1&page=1&pp=25

They also list some information about a source for female dock connectors, etc.

I'm considering having the music link installed and ran to the center console in my 05 RL, if there is a way to avoid the ipod control lockout. I'm assuming that the audio transmission part of the music link works regardless of the presence of the text to speech software that has to be installed for the intended control interface. Can anyone confirm this? Thank you all for your contributions to this thread.

 

The link will work without the TTS Acura software.

I am going to try using the iPod mini adapter to see if that will allow me to regain control of the iPod while it is plugged in. I am hoping if I attach the adapter to the Acura Link connection I can then just plug my USB cable into the adapter and it won't lock out the controls. I have the nano and with the Acura link installed in the center console the cable will fit between the two lids and the nano just sits on top of it, the cable keeps it from moving around, so the controls would be easy to use. I am hoping with the mini adapter since it only offers limited functions to pass through I can still control the iPod. I believe it will only allow the power and line out to pass through the adapter. It would be great if it also allowed the channel skip to pass through. Anyone have any ideas whether this would work. I am traveling out of town so it will be a few days before I can give this a try. I will also give the link on the TL site a look.

Also, a question regarding searching for artists. When I have tried this I have not been able to get it to search all of the artists in the letter selected. It does go through the letters but then will only play the first artist for the letter selected.

Thanks,

Kris

 

I meant the iPod shuffle adapter not the mini. The adapter looks to convert the dock to a USB.

Kris

 

Another idea might be to install the adapter that allows you to hook up a dvd player/backup camera etc and use a set of the audio inputs for the ipod (if this is even offered). That way you could control it from your center console or wherever you have it and still have it wired through the audio system (instead of fm modulated). I plan on buying the attachment anyway ( http://www.tvandnav2go.com/acura-tv-navigation.html ) but have a pm out to the vendor asking about how this thing handles audio.

 

Can you post the price and also what the vender says about this option? Thanks