iPod and the Mini Cooper

After I had loaded 7000+ songs onto my iPOD I was determined to banish CDs from my car. My car had recently been broken into and about 30 CDs were taken. In addition, swapping CDs during my one hour commute was just dangerous.

I'm driving a Mini Cooper, now with over 30,000 miles on it (fresh off the boat in April 2002!).

I did quite a bit of searching to piece together how to do this, so here it is all in one place for those who join us from a succesful Google search!

First of all I recommend avoiding the FM transmitter option, both analog and digital tuners. The sound is compressed and you'll inevitably hit some interference during an extended commute.

Rather, you want to wire in right to the head unit of your car stereo. On a 2002 Mini there is no easy way to do this. On a 2003 Mini and beyond your dealer can install a cable kit so that your AUX cable is available (although the default is that they run it to the glovebox - why??).

On a 2002 Mini what you need to do is use the CD changer input and turn that into your AUX input. Biltzsafe makes a special cable to do just this for about $140. You can buy the cable right from Blitzsafe and install it yourself. Howevere, I found that a nearby car dealer got a much better price from Blitzsafe and the cable plus install was less than what it would have cost me to buy just the cable directly. You'll need to connect the cable near the rear hatch panel and run it to the dashboard so a professional install is recommended.

That will give you a left/right RCA cable into your Mini head unit. When you hit the MODE button on the radio to CD-99, then you're now in AUX mode. Easy.

Now pick up a Belkin auto-adapter, about $50, and connect that to the RCA cables with a headphone to RCA adapter cable, about $4.

On my Mini I also added a 3 to 1 auto power adapter and put all the wiring back behind the center column near the carpet. All that sticks out is the Belkin iPOD connector and a phone charger cable.

Caveat - you may get some noise interference if you are charging your phone while you are playing your iPOD. For the cleanest sound, unplug your phone. Engine noise is virtually non-existent otherwise.

I drop my iPOD into the cup holder, plug it in and I'm off! Total cost (not including iPOD) was about $200 and worth every penny. When i get to work I unplug it and drop it into the cradle on my desk for sound during the workday. Cool.

Comments

[David Mahendra]

Dear Sir,
Thanks for contacting us and interest in our product.
and to answer your question :

Sony PSP Console
Product on stock : 627 pcs.
Price : US$125
I"ll pay the shipping and handling trough FedEx, UPS (with the tracking Number).

if you by for 10pcs or more the price will be : US$110
if you by for 20pcs or more the price will be : US$105
if you by for 30pcs or more the price will be : US$100
if you by for 50pcs or more the price will be : US$90

Shipping
Shipping time which usually takes 4-5 working days to your country by FedEx, DHL, UPS, or EMS. ( I"ll send the package on the day after I get the money)
Goods will be sent within 12 hours of receiving payment.
Most of the cost you are noticing actually comes from the expense of high quality packing, careful handling, and rigorous quality control.
Wholesale/Bulk orders are welcome.
We will ship to worldwide

Payment Term :
Please note that we just accept Bank Wire Transfer only, in advance to my account bank.

Interest in XBOX 360 ??? I sell that for US$250/each.
(mixed order are accepted)

Apple iPod nano 2GB ....... US$50
Apple iPod nano 4GB ....... US$75
Sony PS2 Console Aqua Limited Edition ....... US$110
Microsoft XBOX 360 Core Console ....... US$250
Apple iPod video 30GB ....... US$90
Apple iPod video 60GB ....... US$120

Please email me to ask any other question,
I"ll give you my account bank if you OK by the payment term.

For any enquiries & questions, pls feel free to contact sales@suryapet.org

K.Rgds..
David Mahendra
www.trimedia-online.net
email : sales@suryapet.org
Phone: +62-274-7447424
Yahoo massanger : s_suryapetorg@yahoo.com
Jl. Batu Sari Timur No.99 Tangerang, Jakarta, DKI
Indonesia 15121.

=======================================================

[sales]

Please beware and remember this person, name : David Mahendra from Indonesia. E-Mail: sales@suryapet.org and salesintl@bultagon.net. This person is hacking some credit card information from other person to make an order with us. Now we face with the problem of charge back status from customer credit card because card holder have no idea with the transaction that we received from David Mahendra. Please beware this kind of message that he's interested in your product and he'll give your his brother credit card to pay for goods. If you accept his card, you'll be the next person who face such a problem like us. Thank you for everyone who pass this warning to other persons you have known to beware this dishonest and cheater person.

[dee]

hey, u drive mini cooper? i want one too! where can i get it? can you give me your MC dealer contact? thanks!

[dee]

hey, u drive mini cooper? i want one too! where can i get it? can you give me your MC dealer contact? thanks!

[MK]

Could it be the same...?:

Hello

I see your website and interested to buy your product.
but before that I will ask about :

1. Can you accepted credit card for payment method, and what card type ?
2. Can you ship the products by FeDEx International Priority ?
3. Can you ship to my Shipping address in Singapore or Indonesia ?


I am very impressed with your products and want to make a great business with you. So I hope we can make a continue business, and I hope you can supply me any products for me.
I promise, I'll be your best partner business and make another order after my first order has arrived to my address.

Please confirm me as soon as possible, because I really want to make our business so fast, and after you give me the total amount of my order,
I'll send the Credit Card information, and you can charge or split it.
Still waiting your good news, include your nice services.
I hope we can join in a good business on this time and in the future.
Please Always feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Again, thank you for your attention. I hope you will keep in touch.
I appreciate to all your corporation, and I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely

Name : David Mahendra
Email : bestsunshinebuy@yahoo.com

[VoIP software]

Too bad, my cell phone won't turn on, what can I do now?