Like many others on this site, I bought the P.I.E. adapter so that I could wire my iPod directly to the Audiophile stereo. It worked great. I just added a Sirius satellite radio and was trying to split the inputs so that both could feed into the P.I.E. unit. I am having difficulty getting the audio from the Sirius unit to play due to it conflicting with the iPod. It works great hooked up alone. I am guessing that the Belkin power/audio adapter downstream of the iPod continues to output a signal regardless if the iPod is installed or not. I temporarily borrowed an audio (A/B) switch from my home entertainment system and it worked fine however I can't picture having an ugly switch like that hanging in my glovebox. What alternatives do I have that are made for automotive applications?

 

I bought a Y type adaptor so that I could use both my Sirius Sportster and Ipod on my truck. It basically splits the inputs into two. I do have to have the Sirius powered off for the Ipod to work and vice versa.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheelerfreak

I bought a Y type adaptor so that I could use both my Sirius Sportster and Ipod on my truck. It basically splits the inputs into two. I do have to have the Sirius powered off for the Ipod to work and vice versa.

Wheelerfreak, That's the same setup that I used but I'm running into difficulty. How did you hook up your iPod? Did you run out of the top with a 1/8" stereo plug or thru the bottom connector? I came out the bottom, into a power plug with audio out. I think that's what's causing me the problem. I've heard others use the Belkin power setup and I'm curious if they too have the problem when hooking up a sat. receiver.

A possible work around just came to mind. I hooked up the iPod power source to a constant hot circuit. In the past, it bothered me that my iPod was always charging. I think that I will experiment with killing the power to the Belkin adapter via a hidden micro toggle switch. I'm hoping that with no power, the preamp in the Belkin will not interfere with the parallel output from the sat. receiver. I will try this setup this week.

 

I use the headphone jack output to feed the Y adaptor, then into the PIE unit. I usually just use the Ipod's battery to power it rather than plug it into the Cig lighter. As long as one is off the other works fine, but if both are powered up it won't work.

 

Ok, so this is what I did...

I have my iPod and XM hooked into the Aux of my SCREW Lariat and it all sounds awesome.

The XM:

So the XM commander fits perfectly in the ashtray and i ran the wires up and behind the dash...u see nothing but the display and the ashtray still closes!

The iPod:

So I wanted to be able to listen to the iPod and charge it at the same time. So what I did was buy the Belkin lighter plug for it. What it does is plug into a lighter socket or aux power outlet and the other end plugs into the iPods dock connection. The lighter plug side of the cable has a 3.5mm jack on it and a little **** with a built in amp, all concealed in this lighter plug. So my audio plug will plug into the lighter plug side of this cable which is nice because I only have one cable running to the Pod, the dock connector. (dock connector handles double duty, power and audio).

Here's a link for that product (it's cheaper at BestBuy or something):
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=T6715LL%2FA

So my next issue was I wanted all cables concealed. So I installed a lighter outlet behind the dash, for the iPod's use. Then I drilled a hole big enough for the cable to slide thru, in the corner of the plastic tray on the dash, just under the rubber mat and then made a very tiny slit into the corner of the mat to allow the cable to come thru. You see no holes or cuts from either front seat, which is really clean!

Next was routing all the audio into the radio. I purchased the aux adapter but found the same problem you guys are having...tying in more than one source to the aux adapter. Using Y-cables sounds horrible and does not make for a very clean job. So I found this product form the same makers of the PIE adapter...

http://www.discountcarstereo.com/detail.aspx?ID=612

It allows for three sources, selectable by a three position switch to be used. It isolates all the signals and makes the audio that much cleaner. It uses RCA connections and just plugs right inline with the aux adapter...it also allows three sources, so if you are using an XM/Sirius and an iPod, then you still have one set of RCA's free for that obnoxious 34" LCD you can throw in the back! haha

My last phase was then installing the prewired switch that comes with the switcher. I don't have reverse sensing...so the space next to the cars lighter is empty on both sides...so i drilled the required size hole and put the switch there...it looks very clean and very factory...

And yes boys...here are some pix for your convenience! Post or PM me if you need more in depth details!

 

Running the outputs of the ipod and sirius together with a y-splitter is bad. A splitter is meant to take 1 output and split into 2 outputs feeding 2 separate inputs, not combining 2-outputs into 1 input. The latter configuration results in shorting both devices together. That's why ya can't run both at the same time. The line level outputs of both devices most likely aren't enough to blow anything out short-term, but for sure, you'll be distorting the signal needlessly depending on the input impedance of the unpowered device's output.

 

Which is why I used a box that isolates both signals completely, using a toggle switch to move between the iPod and XM.

 

Just a guess "Y" both into the same input of the PIE causes impedence issues. As one has said you need to isolate each.

 

The problem is the 2 amp outputs are wire or'ed together and hence the resulting output is a combination of both outputs. It's the same reason why one doesn't short 2 stereo amp outputs together so he can run the same speakers off 2 different amps. That's not a problem for the PIE receiving end, but it can be a problem for either the ipod or sirius output amp stage especially if either are not tolerant to signals being driven into the output amp when powered off or when both outputs fight each other when both are powered on.. My gut feeling is it's not an issue since we're talking about stuff that drives a 10Kohm or more input, but I wouldn't run like that for the long-term.

 

Just so you all know...There is a product out there...its called CleanSweep by JL Audio....around 300 bucks though....

 

Well the product I used is meant for the purpose i'm using it, and both sources (XM & iPod) sound great. The switch allows you to toggle between each and there is no bleed, or imp issues.

Aquaman...I'm not sure if you are referring to the way I wired up my system, or if you are still talking about why not to use a "y" adapter.

Isolating each source using the product I have used, eliminates any imp issues. When talking about a line level out from the XM, i wouldn't think ohms would be much of an issue. Furthermore, the box I use is line level, and acts as a pass thru. It doesn't amplife the signal at all.

 

Hi, LACityFD, you did it right! In fact, quite elegantly I might add! :-)

 

I found an alternative to the PIE at Circuit City for $59.99. Made by USA Spec (USASpec.com). The model I found was the DFFORD-1 and fits my F-250 w/o the aux button and my wife's F-150 w/ the aux button. The unit has two harnesses that plug into the existing harness and radios. My F-250 had the old style harness w/o the aux and I used that harness and my wife's F-150 used the other harness. I put the aux box in the glove box and run the cable out the cup tray on the F-250 and the ash tray on the 150. It has a plug in for the wire harness (have to buy an extra plug in cable and two y-Rca plugs for the XM radio). The unit has two places to plug in mini-rca plugs so you could run an I-pod and an XM or Sirius radio to the unit and use either. Just power down the unit not in use. On my F-250, w/o the aux button, I push the CD button twice and the aux comes up with the XM radio. sounds great and with the cables running out my useless cup holder looks good too. ON the wife's F-150, the cables come out the ash tray and when not in use, you cannot tell it's there. Just push aux and it plays the XM. Oh, yes, had to buy an extra $30 antenna for the XM radio.

 

The problem being discussed is using two devices on one input. I would think the same problem exists with the Circuit City device also! As some have said you need to isolate both devices.

 

Aquaman...sorry if i can off rude at all...i had misunderstood what you were saying.

As Kevin said, you really need to isolate both sources. Otherwise you get alot of bleed over, not to mention horrible sound quality.