MAKE MP3 CD FOR CAR STEREO ARCHIVE
MAKE MP3 CD FOR CAR STEREO PATCH
MAKE MP3 CD FOR CAR STEREO PORTABLE

This instructable allows you to 'trick' the OEM radio into playing your MP3 audio as if it came from the CD changer.

You likely can't easily do what you suggest, unless your head unit already supports your CD changer.

MAKE MP3 CD FOR CAR STEREO PORTABLE

Then, play the files with an iPod Classic or some other portable player with a decent DAC (ie *not* most phones). You can find more info on doing this sort of thing online.

MAKE MP3 CD FOR CAR STEREO ARCHIVE

If you go this route, I would recommend using a program called Exact Audio Copy to rip them as FLAC - if you're going to do something, do it right, and as a bonus even if you don't play them these files can be kept as a full-fledged archive for future use - and then use another program to copy and convert to mp3 en masse later if necessary. The second is to rip your CD collection and use the files. If you want to make this somewhat more permanent and safer I'm sure you can figure out a way to mount it somewhere in your car, although if you want it to look good too you might have to get creative. The first is to use a decent portable CD player that can use a DC charger. I assume you still use CDs because of the sound quality - I can't think of any other reason - so I see two options. There is no easy, permanent way to do what you suggest. Push the jack through your hole you drilled and use the nut supplied with the jack to screw onto the jack and hold it in place.Īka_bigred is right, sort of. Choose the location you like best to mount the jack. This made an excellent location to mount the external jack since it was inconspicuous and also I could wire it up at my workbench instead of in the car. When drilling in the dash, be very careful and know exactly what's behind your drill bit so you don't accidentally drill into something important! On mine, I had a spacer/junk bin that was right below the radio.

MAKE MP3 CD FOR CAR STEREO PATCH

Soldering directly without this patch cable could be a pain later if you ever need to remove the dash or stereo for repairs, etc. Take caution to match the pins (refer to plug layout diagram if needed) This cable serves as the quick-disconnect patch cable, should you need to remove your stereo or take apart your dash in the future. Plug the cable into the internal jack, and solder the wire ends to the external jack. Use the old headphone cable and cut to the appropriate length to connect the internal and external jacks. Carefully drill a hole in the dash just larger than the jack to mount the external jack. Now that you have the internal jack mounted & wired, find a nice location in the dash where you will mount the external jack to plug in your MP3 player. It may sound complex, but is quite simple with some basic electronics/soldering skills. In order to prevent a mixing of the audio from the changer & your new pirate Aux input, you have to play a special CD which contains tracks with perfect silence. What you need: - Stock car stereo with a CD changer input - Basic Soldering Skills - Soldering Iron & Solder - Hand held Volt/Multimeter (to find right wires) - Small gauge speaker wire (anything around 18-14 gauge will work) - 2 panel mount 1/8' stereo phone jacks ($2.99 for 2 at Radio shack) - 1/8' stereo plug cable ($5.99 at Radio Shack) - Old pair of headphones (really just need the wire & 1/8' plug) Essentially what you are doing is sending a pirated signal from the MP3 player onto the line that would normally be sending audio from the CD changer. I decided to leverage the CD player in my car to add a CD-quality auxiliary input for my MP3 player. So you've got this great little MP3 player or Ipod, but your old-school car only has a CD changer? Sure you can get an FM modulator, but they don't work so great and are notorious for poor sound quality.

Make mp3 cd for car stereo