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[Lampynoiseboy]

Hi
New here, so please accept my apologies if I repeat an existing thread.

My '01 3.0 elite has a Siemens NCDC2013 with satnag, but has also had a Trafficmaster fitted. I've pulled the control box as the subscription was up, and it was never much use anyway, but whenever it spoke to me, the display showed "external audio". I'm wondering if this feature is usable for an mp3 player input?
Guessing it's an automatic override or priority input of some kind, but having pulled the head unit out, I can't make sense of all the pin abbreviations on the top.

can anyone help with this?

Cheers

[Jimbob]

low quality mono only I belive

(moving to audio section)

[Jimbob]

[movedhere] Omega General Help [move by] Jimbob.

[Dave DND]

No, its a mono signal input and no use for MP3

FM Modulator is your only solution on that head unit

[Lampynoiseboy]

low quality mono only I belive

(moving to audio section)

D'oh, sorry for the wrong forum!

That may be worth a try, do you happen to know the pins or wire colours?

Pins have CDL, CDR & CD- which I'd think were normally for an external changer, but seeing as this has the 4 disc bolted on, doesn't make any sense? There is also a TL+ & TL- ?

[TheBoy]

You cannot use the external changer inputs, as these are used by the internal changer (basically, same boards in the HU are used in cars where the changer is seperate).

The phone input, as used by Trafficmaster, is lo-fi mono only.

From memory, phone input is on Pins 34 - 36, which is audio in+, audio in-, and mute

[Dave DND]

As your PM has interest to others that have also tried and failed using this method, I have posted the rpely to your PM here.

Thanks for your comment on my audio issue.
You say that it's not suitable for an MP3 input, as it's mono, but I'm wondering why that would make a difference?
(I'm a sound engineer by trade, but I do concert/event stuff & know next to nothing about car audio!)
I see no reason why I couldn't mono the signal from my player & put that into the input where the TM was.

Not all the pins on unit are connected, and the labels are often generic ones used across the range.

The mono TM input is of exceptionally low quality, in fact its so bad, I`m going to say it again, its exceptionally low quality, nope, it commands yet another, its exceptionally low quality and is also mono, meaning that you will not get ture represenation of the stereo sound from your MP3. Remember that these units were designed to drown out the squeks and rattles of the car, and this was many years before MP3 was a reality - and the bottom line is that they are simply not designed to accomodate MP3.

I`m also stunned that as a sound engineer that you do not realise the importance of stereo and mono !!

Yes, you could conceiveably try to join together your two MP3 channels, and if you didn`t blow the MP3 player audio outputs by short circuiting this, you would find that the sound quality is appauling, but then as a sound engineer you would already know this.

The only real viable option is the use of an FM modulator for the sound, but before doing anything else, I would spend a few hours trawling this forum for those who have also thought similar, and blown up, given up, and tried and tested many things before you. Thats the beauty of this forum, there is a lot of knowledge out there, but you need to do some reading.

[Lampynoiseboy]

I do realise the difference between stereo & mono, and when rigging 20k plus line array, yes it's important. However given that in a car you are sat way off stereo center, most mp3's are of dubious quality (I use car listening time for evaluating new musical content- not always the best- or learning spanish), and most of the time as a smoker I have the window open, I'm looking for convienience not overall quality.

That's the beauty of the cd changer, when I get it working!

[TheBoy]

FM Mod is the way to go with the NCDC units. Or replace the headunit.

I have pumped music from my phone through the phone kit, into the radio, its appalling.

Cassette adapters (can't use on that unit due to no cassette) are brilliant by comparison, and we all know how poor they are

Even poor FM modulators, like iTrip for gayPods, is far, far superior to the phone input...

[Lampynoiseboy]

From memory, phone input is on Pins 34 - 36, which is audio in+, audio in-, and mute

Thanks for that, however the pins don't appear to be numbered anywhere I can find, and whilst the mute is clearly identifiable, audio in isn't. Any idea what else they could have labelled it as?

[Lampynoiseboy]

FM Mod is the way to go with the NCDC units. Or replace the headunit.

I have pumped music from my phone through the phone kit, into the radio, its appalling.

Cassette adapters (can't use on that unit due to no cassette) are brilliant by comparison, and we all know how poor they are

Even poor FM modulators, like iTrip for gayPods, is far, far superior to the phone input...

Point taken, maybe that will be the way to go.

You have given me another idea tho..... my Nokia CK-15W is almost fitted, I take it the NCDC wants only a line level input as oppose to the speaker level my kit outputs? If so I feel some attenuation coming on..... 

[TheBoy]

From memory, phone input is on Pins 34 - 36, which is audio in+, audio in-, and mute

Thanks for that, however the pins don't appear to be numbered anywhere I can find, and whilst the mute is clearly identifiable, audio in isn't. Any idea what else they could have labelled it as?

34 mute
35/36 - audio

[Lampynoiseboy]

D'oh, count the pins & you will discover there are 36. If 34 is mute, that makes 35 & 36 labelled TL+ & TL- although God knows what Tl stands for

I'll get my coat.........

Thanks!

[TheBoy]

D'oh, count the pins & you will discover there are 36. If 34 is mute, that makes 35 & 36 labelled TL+ & TL- although God knows what Tl stands for

I'll get my coat.........

Thanks!

TeL as a guess

[Lampynoiseboy]

Think I should leave now 

*checks for blonde roots*