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Opinions on Best iPod Interface

FM Transmitters are fine, but it is just lame to have to have it dangling around everywhere and in my way. I got the Monster one which is by far better than cheaper ones. Sam's Club has it for $40 charges & transmits from Apple stuff. But, I want to just have a way to directly input to stereo. I don't mind having one cord coming out of the dash that I plug things into. I just don't want to have to use up my cig lighter/charger and have multiple cords.
 


Last year on boxing day I picked up a $100 FM transmitter for $20 and its still just as ****ty as the $5 i got from my work.

The issue here is that there are ZERO free FM bands so no matter what you do, it gets cut off sometimes.
 
Response to your PM: This was installed on my 04 GTP. Also it was for a Philips MP3 Player for audio hook up only. You can't control the MP3 Player. For my setup, there is a band button the PAC works for. And allows me to select, AM, FM1, FM2, Aux 1, Aux 2, CD. My radio has 2 Ports on them, a 12 & 24 pin port. I have pictures of the back & front of mine (though for some reason it won't let me upload the pics even though they are within all sizes.)[/QUOTE]

Can you email me the pics? I sent you a PM.
 
I replied, what I meant by pics of the back & front was just pics of the stock unit. I don't have any pics of the PAC Audio Part installed, but it is very simple to hook up. I added 2 pictures, front & back of stock stereo in an album for my profile. find them there and that gives you an idea what stereo system i used the PAC part on.
 
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Texas said:
FM Transmitters are fine, but it is just lame to have to have it dangling around everywhere and in my way. I got the Monster one which is by far better than cheaper ones. Sam's Club has it for $40 charges & transmits from Apple stuff. But, I want to just have a way to directly input to stereo. I don't mind having one cord coming out of the dash that I plug things into. I just don't want to have to use up my cig lighter/charger and have multiple cords.
Click to expand...

ya don't listen to him.. fm transmitters suck.. i used a MONSTER one for the longest time because of limited options.. but compared to a cassette tape they're junk
 
BossyRN said:
So is there an iPod interface for the monsoon system?
Click to expand...

I have a 2006 GXP witht e Monsoon system with 6-disc changer, XM and OnStar (although the latter two are not used). I've been activaly seaching for an MP3 interface for a couple weeks, and ran across this thread. I just picked up the ISimple and an IPod today at Best Buy. I'll try to get it in on Sunday and report back, so if anyone is on the verge, you might wait for my report.

Along my way, I found a unit that should fit in the tiny ashtray to the right of the gear shift. It is the SanDisk Sansa Clip+. Looked like a nice little unit, and will probably be what I go with if the ISimple doesn't allow me to control the IPOD through the stereo.

I'll report back in a day or two.

Oh, new to the board, new GXP owner. Love the car. Maroon.
 


Bummer, dudes. The Peripheral Electonics (aka PAC) ISGM74 does NOT work with the 06 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP Monsoon with the 6 six changer, XM, and Onstar. When I plugged it it, it didn't even recognice XM bands (even through I only get the intro channel). It goes back to Best Buy.

The IPOD Nano is pretty sweet, but without an interface into the radio, it's just useless to me. It might have to go back as well, until I find a better solution.

***** UPDATE ****
OKay, I'm going out tomorrow night and hook it up again, and play with it some more. Maybe I'll leave the XM plug out, since I don't use it anyway. I've also sourced another unit, the Soundgate GMPD2 which claims to work on my car. If I don't have any luck with the ISGM74, I'll look into that one.
 
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Yeah i tried that ipod interface too, and it did the same thing. I brought the isimple Tranzit IS77 for my 04 monsoon system and it works!!!! Its a fm modulator, I think. And it sounds nice and crisp, no static. U need a part to go into and out of the antenna. The guy at isimple said u can't ground it into radio, whatever that means. We had to ground it into the fuse box. Of course I didn't do this my husband did, and it worked. Mickey Shor is an electronics store and they sold me the isimple for 69.99. Its 89.99 at best buy. If you go to wwwisimplesoultions.com its 74.99 with free shipping.
 
Get an alpine headunit with the ipod full speed cable. Its awesome! It has exactly what your looking for. Full control of the ipod through the head unit. you do not have to touch the ipod at all. u can simply run the wire into your glove box or run it into the bottom section of your center console like i did and leave it. It has a full display aswell. it will tell you song titles albums and so on about each song. u can set it to cycle through the info or to display a specific piece of information. i have had mine for about 4 years and have yet to have a problem with it and have zero complaints. I think mine is a cda 9852. the newer models available at bestbuy and the like also have these capabilities and i believe a few of the other manufacturers other than Alpine have finally started to catch on to this now too but im not sure.
 
I got this response back from a technical help line asking about the GMPD2:

"the GMPD2 will work just fine. It’s a 12 volt charging unit. It can charge newer I-pods with this. http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-passPORT-Charging-Adapter-iPhone/dp/B001HN6CVA
You will have to install this at the XM tuner located in the trunk at the driver wheel well. If you have any further questions let me know. Have a great day."

.
I've ordered the interface and the 12v to 5v converter. Should be here Wednesday or Thursday. I'll let you know.
 
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update.. i tried out the isgm73.. and well.. it uh kinda works. plugged it all in but the only way i good get it to activate was by hitting the onstar button... you could hear the lady chatting away softly in background while the music came thumpin great thru the stereo. so there's gotta be a way to send just the ipod signal.. tryin to find a wiring diagram for that onstar so i know what wires are doing what and i could probably tap into them.. just gotta figure out what wires are what. might swing by a pro installer and get his 2 cents
 


Success!
Okay, at least partially. The GMPD2 does play songs from my iPod Nano, and I can control it from the steering wheel. It displays the playlists, as far as I can tell (I'm not fully loaded yet with playlists), but does NOT display the title or artist on the HU, but that might be a function of the MP3 songs that I have loaded so far. I'm new to the iPod, so I'm still loading songs and setting up playlists.

In my car, 06 GXP with the Monsoon and factory XM player, my iPod is mounted in the trunk, in the left wheel well with the XM unit. It plugs into the XM radio there, so the iPod stays in the trunk, out of sight and harm's way. I also had to buy a small plug that goes between their cable and the iPod to charge the iPod, clled the Scosche passPORT Charging Adapter for iPod touch 2G, 3G; iPod nano 4G; iPhone 3G (Black). The total for both this and the harness, with 2 day shipping (I ordered it from Amazon late MOnday night, got it Wednesday), was $168.58. iPod was another $150. A little pricey, but considering how long it would take to install a new head, and work out all the little details, etc., a small price to pay. I have more money than time right now, so I don't might it.

I was trying to get a second-generation iPod Classic (30 GB) to work, but the harness wasn't made for that unit. Bummer. Could have had a lot more songs for a lot less cash outlay, as the old iPod was free from a friend.

EDIT:
I get the display of songs when I press the center of the TUNE knob. I was having trouble switching off of the current playlist, but I unplugged and plugged the iPod back in and it seems to be okay.
 
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try the Soundgate GMPDAUX1 , I just installed that on my 06 GP , it gets rid of GSM buzz (I use it with my iphone 3gs) but the instructions give you an option for setting up either with a CD changer, just a standard deck, or the XM satellite option. check out the soundgate website for more info but that one works for me , and it charges your iphone too.
 
I have an 02 GT withOUT the cassett deck or xm, will one of these PAC systems work with my car?
Is there another system that is recomended/prefered?

Also, what kind of speakers would you recomend to use as replacements for the front door speakers?

Thanks!
 


I just got the ISGM74 for $149 at Frys electronics for my 2005 GP GT. i know it is pretty simple to install, but i didn't want to bother with it, so i had them do it. Took about 30 minutes and it works just fine. I thought i was going to control it using the CD/AUX button but it is controlled using the BAND button on the stereo. You have to hit BAND button a 2 or 3 times until it shows AUX1. I have used both the Belkins and the freaking expensive Monster FM transmitter and the sound SUCKS on both!!The is a Much much more better sound as good as CD quality. I am loving it so far. I can control my iphone 3G or IPod from the head unit and using the controls on the steering wheel.

My only problem is i haven't being able to get play list or artist display on my stereo.
Something else i noticed is the display light on my stereo seem to have dimmed, not quite as bright before the install. I cant even see anything during the day and barely in the dark. The display light has always seem low even before the install. Anyone know what to replace in my stereo to get a much brighter display light/led?
 
Whether you use the internal amp or RCA's...you'll have to feed the onstar outputs in-line so that the signal is fed to your speakers. Think of it this way...you have two sources for sound but they both share common speakers. Or, you could always wire up an in dash speaker specifically for onstar that runs separate from your stereo system. Best thing to do is let somebody else wire it up for you. The wiring harness you need will cost about $100 so that your stereo can be integrated with your vehicle's RAP system.
 
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