l008com

http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/

Lots and lots of pics. The whole procedure from beginning to end. You can hook up anything really, not just an iPod. I totally misjudged the time I thought it would take to take all those pictures and make the pages for them. But I also made a "Silence CD" you can buy through Cafepress. Sure you can just burn your own, but this one has a really sick label with iPods and RX-8's on it :-) Let me know what you think.

truemagellen

holy ****...THIS IS THE BEST DIY of not just the solder to the CD unit hack but the BEST FOR REMOVING the HEAD UNIT...

This is incredible!

I'm archiving the entire thing right now on to my computer for future reference...also talk to one of the moderators or someone else...this thing should be loaded into the DIY section immediately and hopefully moved on to the RX8club servers...with your permission of course.

Thank you so much for this INCREDIBLE DIY! Seriously ******* amazing! (and I rarely swear!)

l008com

Holy **** dude relax. Thanks, but relax. Yes by all means, move it to DIY, those other servers etc etc. There are google ads, in case you haven't noticed, so I'm all for as much traffic as possible. Especially if all those images are going to start pushing my hosting bandwidth limits, i might have to upgrade my account! Its all good though, thanks for the praise :-D

truemagellen

sorry for my craziness but its late at night and my brain is not functioning fully...but I was excited since you just saved me $240 dollars in installation fees plus $190 on parts...I wanted to do this my self from the beginning but I wasn't %100 sure until now...thank you so much for the $430 in my pocket to spend on other goodies

thai_cookie

Sweet. Now I can finally put those 3,918 and counting itunes to good use. I'm tired of burning cds.

truemagellen

$430 is in addition to my windfall of turning in change I had collected for a few years...guess how much that added up too??? I was thinking $40 maybe $50 as the machine counted it at the bank...the lady read the number to me...$515.50...HOLY CRAP! So today between you and my magic change pile I'm up $945.50 I guess I deserve to be a crazy bastard tonight now : )

l008com

::cough:: ::cough:: Affiliate Links in the Parts Column ::cough:: ::cough::

truemagellen

I'll start clicking now

l008com

Google ads are for clicking, affiliate ads are for when you actually wanna buy from amazon...
So I had forgot, but I just remembered, the radio forgets the time when you do this. I just added the directions on the last page, for setting the time. For some reason, I can never figure it out on my own unless I read my manual.

RandyP

I just went through this procedure yesterday. It would have been nice to have your pix available. You asked for feedback, so... what would have been helpful to me is:

1. Show how to pry up the upper panel, including location of the clips. I found it works well with a table knive protected by a bent piece of paper. Much thinner than a screwdriver and spreads the pressure over more area. Seems to work best prying front-to-back for me.

2. Definitely show the infamous bolt; tell people it needs a 10mm socket. Show them a deep socket and/or extender. Note in RX8Club how many people don't naturally think of extenders or deep sockets... or a screwdriver-style socket driver. Suggest putty or magnetics to keep from losing it.

3. The HU clips can be tight. Pulling it out, one should be very careful about bending the plastic, and be prepared to use a protected knife to pop the upper clips. Include pic or drawing indicating location of clips.

4. The connectors cause everybody headaches. Pix of the connectors after they are removed, showing exactly where to press them to unlatch them, would save people lots of time and frustration. One guy at RX8Club never did get the big one on the back taken off - it's latch release is underneath and is simple to release once you know where it is.

5. I found a nice physical installation at iPodLounge and posted it here. It's safer for driver and iPod to have the iPod firmly held in an easily viewed and controlled location. People are looking for a solid and reasonable mount, having it part of your DIY would benefit more readers. Arkon might want clicks then, also.

good job... most everything in one step-by-step guide. you might consider taking the f-word off the first page, it kinda erodes the authority of the write-up. same with 'sucks'. i'm no prude, i'm noticing you want clicks and suggesting these things seem counter to the kind of professionalism that gives people the warm-n-fuzzies. you've got a lot of time into the site... a bit more spent tuning up the text for clarity and a wide audience could make it a 'reference site'.

rp

drj400m

How do you figure out which are the (+) and (-) in regards to the RCA plugs.
Also am having o hard time figuring out where to solder the above wires. I can solder put cannot figure out where to solder.
Your step by step illustrations are very easy to follow.
Thanks!
Jeff

l008com

Funny story about that 10mm bolt...
There's no picture because, I lost it the first time I did this hack. I took it apart a second time to take pics. But I do say right in there to use both of your socket extensions. In your #1, are you talking about the piece around the shifter?

l008com

Hmmm someone told me that either the + or the - is the one with the white lines on it. I forget which, when I find out for sure, I'll add it to my page. As for your soldering, is that your only problem or are you ALSO having trouble figuring out where to solder on the radio itself?

RandyP

Yep. I got through the install without any damage at all. I think the OEM directions about using a wrapped screwdriver open the doors for trouble - there is so little space btwn the trim and the upper panel. The table knife with a piece of paper folded around it (a dollar bill in my case) slid in the crack with almost no resistance.

Bummer about the 10mm. I read about 3-4 people who lost it, I wonder if there's a place people can buy a replacement? Something tells me a bolt that hefty has a reason for being.

I haven't replaced The Bolt in my install yet. I'm ordering some physical mounting stuff from Arkon and want to re-route my rather short stereo jack cable. I could take an image for you, if you'd like.

I guess I missed the part about the extensions. I personally like the socket driver with a deep socket.

l008com

I'm pretty sure the big bolt is just to make it hard to steel radios, i don't think its anything you really NEED, so I haven't bothered. Also I really didn't have any trouble prying up the center panel with a medium sized flat head.

RandyP

I had a thought about replacing the bolt. I have this tool for picking up parts, it's like a metal pencil. You press on the "eraser end", and three wire prongs come out the other end. The more you press, the wider they spread. Put the bolt in the prongs and release the "eraser end" so the prongs grab it tightly. You can then position the bolt and easily wind it in a couple of turns before switching to a socket.

l008com

I think anything sticky, that dum dum stuff, or even some chewing gum, would probably keep the bolt in the socket fine.

drj400m

The problem I am having is where 2 solder the +'s and -'s. I cannot quite make out the area's on the "board".
Thanks for the quick response.

drj400m

The problem I am having is where to solder the +'s and -'s. I cannot make out the pics. I guess my problem is exactly where do you solder.
Thanks for the quick response.
Jeff

l008com

You see the diagram under the picture, it shows two rows of alternating leads. You solder the green ones. Does that help?

drj400m

Saw the diagram, but above that it says to "head unit" and to "CD module" which will have the area you diagrammed?
Also you say three conductors am I assuming correctly that the 2 (-)'s together are one and the 2 (+)' s make up the three conductors? So the (+)'s would be the L and R?
Sorry about the newbie ?'s.

l008com

Yes you join your negatives. As for the diagram, it matches up perfectly with the image, there are two blocks on the board and two blocks drawn out in the diagram.

zzum-zum

Thanks for the great DIY!!!
I'm not really interested in the I-Pod, but was thinking about changing out the single disc w/ the changer. This thread makes me a more comfortable about doing it myself.
Thanks again!!

jginiso

wow. I just read through your tutorial and the final install looks great! Excellent walkthru. The reverse steps to reinstall everything are normally not included and that's where, at least in my experience, I usually ef it up. "Hmm...how did I wind up with all these 'extra' screws?" So nice job including that.

Wish I had the time/skill necessary for that.

l008com

Ha ha I used to have more and more extra screws every time i'd take my ibook apart :-D