Bought HK Drive + Play: Someone Please List EXACTLY what I need for 3.5mm Install
10-09-2006, 05:20 PM
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Bought HK Drive + Play: Someone Please List EXACTLY what I need for 3.5mm Install
I have come across many many threads on this subject and it is a little confusing. I have asked questions and have been directed to threads where grease monkeys argue about switches that have a least 15 letters in them, and then talk about a new version with additional letter thats coming out that will fix everything etc. I just want to have the basics. Here's the deal
1) I bought an HK Drive & Play
2) I want to wire it (3.5mm) into my 2005 TL w/ Navi and keep 100% of XM functions.
3) What additional parts must I get to do this? Could someone just make a very very simple list of the parts and what each one does?
No thread does this. Every thread I go to is a bunch of people arguing about what works and what doesn't and when something new is coming out. I am not rich. I can't afford to take my car to Circuit City and guess what parts I need and then the car comes out not working. I also don't have the time or belief in myself to take my car apart to do something that I can simply pay someone $100 to do in a few hours professionally.
Thanks in advance!
1) I bought an HK Drive & Play
2) I want to wire it (3.5mm) into my 2005 TL w/ Navi and keep 100% of XM functions.
3) What additional parts must I get to do this? Could someone just make a very very simple list of the parts and what each one does?
No thread does this. Every thread I go to is a bunch of people arguing about what works and what doesn't and when something new is coming out. I am not rich. I can't afford to take my car to Circuit City and guess what parts I need and then the car comes out not working. I also don't have the time or belief in myself to take my car apart to do something that I can simply pay someone $100 to do in a few hours professionally.
Thanks in advance!
10-09-2006, 05:27 PM
#2
Well you actually answered your own question. There is only one piece that will wire the HK via 3.5mm, it is the:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-5CMe8Ju...asp?i=108DPFMT
By the way if you need one I will give you a good price
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-5CMe8Ju...asp?i=108DPFMT
By the way if you need one I will give you a good price
10-09-2006, 07:34 PM
#3
Team Anthracite Member
I wouldn't use FM connection methods, wired or not. The quality just isn't there. I wired up my HK D&P using a Blitzsafe adapter. It's a hard-wired AUX-in port which has the full bandwidth of CD as opposed to the slightly limited bandwidth of FM. It'll also be better quality. http://www.logjamelectronics.com has the Blitzsafe adapter for the TL.
10-09-2006, 08:57 PM
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Originally Posted by zax123
I wouldn't use FM connection methods, wired or not. The quality just isn't there. I wired up my HK D&P using a Blitzsafe adapter. It's a hard-wired AUX-in port which has the full bandwidth of CD as opposed to the slightly limited bandwidth of FM. It'll also be better quality. http://www.logjamelectronics.com has the Blitzsafe adapter for the TL.
10-10-2006, 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by datmrman
Which one would you chose?
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10-10-2006, 02:28 PM
#9
Originally Posted by nastinupe
What are the differences between the two. I saw this link, but am a little confused over which one to choose?
Which one would you chose?
Which one would you chose?
10-12-2006, 02:06 PM
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nastinupe, I did get your PM a few days (...weeks) ago and apologize for not being able to respond to it quicker - there were a few trips and tests which were hovering off my horizon and as much as I like Acurazine... I gotta get the grades! 
So, you asked: "What Exactly Do I Need To Install D+P"
Luckily, it's quite simple: you only need an American Express card!
But seriously, here's what I used. As others have noted, there are multiple ways to go about doing the install and this procedure is just one of them.
For my install I put the monitor above and to the left of the central A/C vents and ran the cable down into the silver trim which parallels the center counsel. The control knob I put between the driver's side air vent and the DTC/Mirror controls. I placed the brain in the driver's foot well and ran the iPod cable through the center consul into the 'bottom' storage bin underneath the armrest the driver and the passenger share.
Note: the iPod - to - D+P Brain is fragile. I already had to replace this cable once due to the plug going bad. While the procedure is straightforward it can be cumbersome and time consuming to remove all the pieces to access the parts of the car in order to swap out the cables. Moral of the story: be careful with the cable/iPod connection.
Finally, for my install I also chose to integrate Valor's iLink into the car. The iLink allows me to play videos, pictures and music on the main nav screen of the car. If you have the nav system and plan on entertaining folks on long drives (as I often have to do) this has been an excellent solution for myself. The audio out from the iLink is pumped through the D+P Aux-In and then into the Blitzsafe while the video is channeled to the screen courtesy of DOM's Video Unit.
None of this is necessary to what installing just a Drive + Play, but if you do plan on taking clients/kids/etc it may be worth you time to check into it.
Good luck!
So, you asked: "What Exactly Do I Need To Install D+P"
Luckily, it's quite simple: you only need an American Express card!
But seriously, here's what I used. As others have noted, there are multiple ways to go about doing the install and this procedure is just one of them.
What you'll need:
Those are the parts you'll need for D+P. You'll also have to power it somehow (but I'm guess you'll leave that to the installers) and figure out where to mount the controls in the car.- AUX-In Device, possible choices include:
.- Blitzsafe: Blitzsafe works by creating a 'fake' CD Changer (CD-C) to provide the AUX-In channel to the system. The adapted does not require an additional power source and is relatively easier to install IMHO compared to PIE's product. Moreover, as Blitzsafe 'fakes' a device on the radio's bus you can use the radio's controls to select Blitzsafe (this is done by pressing the CD button twice).
The install is accomplished by removing a plug behind the radio, plugging Blitzsafe into the now vacant spot on the radio and plugging in the removed cable into Blitzsafe (I know that sounds awful but it really is quite straightforward when you do it). One you've got the correct cables plugged in, all you have to do is figure out where you want to stick the device (I used Velcro to attach it in an out of sight place on the driver's side foot well).
The inputs Blitzsafe give you are the RCA stereo kind (not the headphone/minijack/3.5mm) kind - but finding an adapter to go from the 3.5mm out from the D+P brain to the Blitzsafe input is very easy.
One final note: Blitzsafe was having issues for some 2006 models. To the best of my knowledge this was only the '06 year (although I may be wrong on this) and the problem was corrected by a firmware update. Point is, if you do choose to go the Blitzsafe road give them a call (Blitzsafe can be reached at 201.569.5000 and ask for Victor) to make sure you're ordering the correct part. Few things are worse than to endure the hassle of having to remove the wrong part after you've spent your valuable time installing it.
...I speak from experience on this one!
IIRC, Blitzsafe will run you ~$100 +/- $20.
. - PIE X3: The PIE unit serves the same function as the Blitzsafe unit but does it by 'hijacking' the XM feed. In other words, the way you tell the radio to switch to the PIE unit is by selecting XM than telling the PIE unit (via a separate controller) to switch from the XM feed to another feed.
What's nice about the PIE unit is you can have up to THREE AUX-In's (plus the default XM feed). So should you decide to put in a DVD Player/Valor's iLink/Game System/etc. you'll already have extra audio AUX-In's to use.
However, bear in mind the D+P has an AUX in port so should you choose Blitzsafe (with only 1 AUX-In) and choose to add another audio source down the line you can always run it through the D+P's AUX-In.
As noted earlier, the X3 requires a separate switch too be mounted somewhere in the car. The switch is what controls the input the PIE X3 will send through to the stereo. In your case this would be the choice between XM or D+P.
There were some reports of 'XM Bleeding' occurring with the PIE product but to the best of my knowledge this issue has been resolved.
Like the Blitzsafe, the PIE X3 uses RCA stereo inputs not the 3.5mm inputs.
The PIE X3 will also require power.
I can't quite recall how much the PIE-X3's are off the top of my head.
.
- Blitzsafe: Blitzsafe works by creating a 'fake' CD Changer (CD-C) to provide the AUX-In channel to the system. The adapted does not require an additional power source and is relatively easier to install IMHO compared to PIE's product. Moreover, as Blitzsafe 'fakes' a device on the radio's bus you can use the radio's controls to select Blitzsafe (this is done by pressing the CD button twice).
- Minijack/3.5mm/headphone - to - RCA Audio: Regardless if you choose the Blitzsafe or PIE you'll have to figure out a way to convert the 3.5mm output of the D+P to RCA Stereo input. For this I bought a cable (at Circuit City I think) where one end was a 3.5mm jack and the other was Stereo RCA plugs. Spent about $10 I think for a shielded (aka heavy duty) cable.
For my install I put the monitor above and to the left of the central A/C vents and ran the cable down into the silver trim which parallels the center counsel. The control knob I put between the driver's side air vent and the DTC/Mirror controls. I placed the brain in the driver's foot well and ran the iPod cable through the center consul into the 'bottom' storage bin underneath the armrest the driver and the passenger share.
Note: the iPod - to - D+P Brain is fragile. I already had to replace this cable once due to the plug going bad. While the procedure is straightforward it can be cumbersome and time consuming to remove all the pieces to access the parts of the car in order to swap out the cables. Moral of the story: be careful with the cable/iPod connection.
Finally, for my install I also chose to integrate Valor's iLink into the car. The iLink allows me to play videos, pictures and music on the main nav screen of the car. If you have the nav system and plan on entertaining folks on long drives (as I often have to do) this has been an excellent solution for myself. The audio out from the iLink is pumped through the D+P Aux-In and then into the Blitzsafe while the video is channeled to the screen courtesy of DOM's Video Unit.
None of this is necessary to what installing just a Drive + Play, but if you do plan on taking clients/kids/etc it may be worth you time to check into it.
Good luck!
10-12-2006, 03:04 PM
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Thank you. Your response is EXACTLY what I have been looking for. Thank you for explaining EVERYTHING.
You even answered questions I forgot to ask like power sources and how to get the ipod to channel into the car from the regular radio. I will try and do the install next week. So if I get the ilink, I can see the ipod screen on the car's Navi? Cool! I think that I will get that too. That way other people can control the car or I can as well.
You even answered questions I forgot to ask like power sources and how to get the ipod to channel into the car from the regular radio. I will try and do the install next week. So if I get the ilink, I can see the ipod screen on the car's Navi? Cool! I think that I will get that too. That way other people can control the car or I can as well.
10-12-2006, 03:06 PM
#12
Team Anthracite Member
J.Edward,
How did you get audio/video out from the iPod to go to the iLink AS WELL as hook up to the D+P? The video comes out of the bottom plug of the iPod, so did you hack away at the plug yourself? Or do you have to unplug the iPod from the D+P and then plug it into the iLink? I would like to do the same thing with my iPod w/video. Thanks!
How did you get audio/video out from the iPod to go to the iLink AS WELL as hook up to the D+P? The video comes out of the bottom plug of the iPod, so did you hack away at the plug yourself? Or do you have to unplug the iPod from the D+P and then plug it into the iLink? I would like to do the same thing with my iPod w/video. Thanks!
10-12-2006, 05:47 PM
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Originally Posted by nastinupe
...So if I get the ilink, I can see the ipod screen on the car's Navi? ...That way other people can control the car or I can as well.
For the most part - the iLink is operated by remote control (I know of no way to relay 'touch commands' via the screen to the iLink... and if anyone does know - please post! 
) via a small IR eye.
You can see the video output from the iLink on the car's Navi screen. What the iLink displays at first are 5 choices (IIRC):
However, for every day musical iPod applications the D+P is infinitely easier than using the iLink’s interface as you do not have to divert your eyes far from the road (assuming you put the D+P’s LCD screen near the windshield) and you do not have to fumble around with the remote. For me the default is using the D+P unless I’m with someone.
So that’s what the iLink can do and here’s what you’d need to integrate into the car
Be advised the iLink will not work with the latest Nano (the one which comes in different colors) in addition to iPods equal to or larger than 80GB’s. See this thread for more information.
Easy – there’s one cable for the D+P and another for the iLink – no splicing required!
Also, here’s a graphic of how I wired my TL (for all you visual learners out there)
PS> If you are interested in doing this check out the Group Buy page to see what deals are going on.
) via a small IR eye.You can see the video output from the iLink on the car's Navi screen. What the iLink displays at first are 5 choices (IIRC):
.
- iPod: connects to the iPod's playlist structure. This is the easiest way to search through music choices (e.g. albums, playlists, songs, etc.) as it employees the iPod's own menu structure. The easy way of thinking of this option is if iTunes put the music on the iPod than this would be the option to access it.
Note: this is the only option to access the iTunes managed portion of the iPod. For all the other choices listed below (Photo, Music and Video) you'll need to connect the iPod to your computer, open it as a portable hard drive and copy the content over manually.
. - Photo: With this option the iLink treats the iPod like a hard drive and pulls up a list of the folders (I do not *think* it interfaces with a photo-enabled iPod’s picture list) and from these folders you can then display various pictures.
For example, let's say you had some pictures from the last AZ meet. You'd plug the iPod in to your computer, open up the iPod as a portable disk, make a folder (e.g. Latest AZ meet pictures) than copy the photofiles you want into the directory.
Then in the car, you'd use the iLink select the folder (Latest AZ meet pictures) and then the iLink would display the JPGs, BMPs, etc. in the folder. Note: I do not know what kind of images the iLink will display beyond JPGs and BMPs - I'd assume it could also handle TIFF's and GIF's but I have never tried.
. - Music: This accesses music placed in folders on the iPod not music within the iPods playlists. The procedure is the same for viewing pictures as outlined above (make a folder on the iPod, copy the songs into the folder, etc.). Or in other words, if iTunes did not put the music on the iPod, this is the feature you'd use.
(If you did use iTunes to put the music on the iPod than you'd use the 'iPod' option.)
. - Video: the unit plays most AVI's and MPG's I've put on my iPod (again, note these were not put on with iTunes, rather they were copied over manually. I do not know if iLink will play videos put on by iTunes).
. - Eject: this ejects the iPod
However, for every day musical iPod applications the D+P is infinitely easier than using the iLink’s interface as you do not have to divert your eyes far from the road (assuming you put the D+P’s LCD screen near the windshield) and you do not have to fumble around with the remote. For me the default is using the D+P unless I’m with someone.
So that’s what the iLink can do and here’s what you’d need to integrate into the car
- iLink: The iLink will need to be powered and you will have to find a way to run the cable for the IR eye (what the remote control talks to) to the “brain” of the iLink .
. - Audio AUX-In: see the above post for info on this – but if you have the D+P installed I’d run the audio out from the iLink to the AUX-In on the side of the D+P’s “brain”. In turn the “brain” will relay the audio into the Blitzsafe/PIE adapter.
Note the iLink uses RCA do export the video and audio signal so if you want to plug the audio into the D+P Brain you’ll need a converter to change the RCA plus into a 3.5mm plug.
. - DOM’s TVandNav2Go Unit (with the option ‘Plug-n-Play’ cable): this unit will need to be powered and is the device which switches between the nav feed or the alternative feed. The Plug-and-Play cable makes the installation of DOM’s unit much easier and allows you to tap into the video feed without having to splice any wires.
Furthermore, many members have also chosen to have optional back-up cameras installed too. DOM’s unit will allow you to do this in addition to being able to put the iLink video feed into the cars Navi screen.
Note: you do not have to use DOM’s unit to generate the AUX-Video in – there are other products out there on the market. However, based on my experience and what others have posted here, it has proven to be a solid solution.
Be advised the iLink will not work with the latest Nano (the one which comes in different colors) in addition to iPods equal to or larger than 80GB’s. See this thread for more information.
Originally Posted by zax123
How did you get audio/video out from the iPod to go to the iLink AS WELL as hook up to the D+P?
Also, here’s a graphic of how I wired my TL (for all you visual learners out there)
PS> If you are interested in doing this check out the Group Buy page to see what deals are going on.
10-12-2006, 07:59 PM
#14
Team Anthracite Member
J,
Your posts are incredible I must say!! Thanks for all the detail. So basically you have to unplug the cable from the bottom or your iPod when you want to switch between the D+P and the iLink right? Or do you have one that somehow splits the data/audio/video signal?
Your posts are incredible I must say!! Thanks for all the detail. So basically you have to unplug the cable from the bottom or your iPod when you want to switch between the D+P and the iLink right? Or do you have one that somehow splits the data/audio/video signal?
10-12-2006, 10:25 PM
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Originally Posted by zax123
J,
Your posts are incredible I must say!! Thanks for all the detail. So basically you have to unplug the cable from the bottom or your iPod when you want to switch between the D+P and the iLink right? Or do you have one that somehow splits the data/audio/video signal?
Your posts are incredible I must say!! Thanks for all the detail. So basically you have to unplug the cable from the bottom or your iPod when you want to switch between the D+P and the iLink right? Or do you have one that somehow splits the data/audio/video signal?
Glad I could help
I do not have a cable that splits the data/audio/video signal (nor do I know of one). In the base of my center armrest I have two iPod cables – one which goes to the Drive + Play and the other to the iLink.
Normally I use the D+P cable as I prefer the D+P over the iLink for listening to Audio. However, when I need to use the iLink I just simply unplug the iPod from the D+P cable than plug it into the iLink cable.
I think Valor also offers an optional USB cable one can use in lieu of an iPod cable with the iLink. The idea is you can plug a USB flash drive into one end of this cable and access media stored on the USB drive (the concept is similar to datmrman's secret media player). But if you already have an iPod (and I assume this to be the case as the the OP wants to install a product which requires an iPod) I'd just stick with it rather than fool with something else... that costs extra.
I do not have a cable that splits the data/audio/video signal (nor do I know of one). In the base of my center armrest I have two iPod cables – one which goes to the Drive + Play and the other to the iLink.
Normally I use the D+P cable as I prefer the D+P over the iLink for listening to Audio. However, when I need to use the iLink I just simply unplug the iPod from the D+P cable than plug it into the iLink cable.
I think Valor also offers an optional USB cable one can use in lieu of an iPod cable with the iLink. The idea is you can plug a USB flash drive into one end of this cable and access media stored on the USB drive (the concept is similar to datmrman's secret media player). But if you already have an iPod (and I assume this to be the case as the the OP wants to install a product which requires an iPod) I'd just stick with it rather than fool with something else... that costs extra.
10-18-2006, 12:37 PM
#18
Zax123 or J.Edward
So I was brainstorming and I was thinking what if I used the navi screen instead of the Harmon & Kardon screen provided? Can I run the video wire from the H&K brain to Dom's unit to display the H&K interface on the Navi screen? I like this idea more than having to mount the H&K screen on the dash somewhere.
10-18-2006, 12:39 PM
#19
Team Anthracite Member
Unfortunately, the H&K display does not use a standard video feed. It's an encoded data feed that tells the LCD matrix what to display. It wouldn't be as easy as adapting the wires to RCA and plugging them into the Dom unit. Sorry. 
10-18-2006, 12:44 PM
#20
Team Anthracite Member
Oh and by the way, the display really isn't intrusive at all, it's the controller which is more of a pain. Here's my display install:
As you can see from the first pic, it was taken with my cellphone so quality is dismal, but you still get the idea.
As you can see from the first pic, it was taken with my cellphone so quality is dismal, but you still get the idea.
05-05-2007, 12:57 PM
#22
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with the harmon/kardon FM adaptor, does this use the radio frequencies/bandwith? or is it cd quality? i am wanting to go this route but am dreading the install! thanks in advacne.
05-07-2007, 02:37 AM
#24
Safety Car
JimiThng, a hard wired solution is always best for sound quality. There is less chance of interference. I believe the FM adapter that comes with the HK is just an FM transmitter that uses radio frequencies. The two options I've mentioned above should give you better sound quality.
nastinupe, you do suck.
nastinupe, you do suck.
12-27-2007, 11:45 PM
#26
Safety Car
Originally Posted by 04 TL 04
i was wondering that if i bought the cable that has 3.5 mm jack on one side and rca cables on the other side, would i be able to plug it directly into the radio?
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