OT : recommendations for vehicle ICE fitters?

Need recommendations for a company who will come to my home or work and
fit an adapter to the Boxsters factory fit stereo so I can plug the
iPod in (and control it, and charge it, etc)

Dension Gateway 500 seems to be the puppy (or whatever cheaper
alternative will work well) but I'm too broke to spend hours crawling
round upside down in the footwell fitting the bastard thing.
http://www.dension.com/icelinkgateway500.php

Densions site has a link to this lot :
http://www.ipodcarkitdirect.co.uk
who have a link to this lot :
http://www.incar-installer.com/

Anyone used either? Are they any good? Anyone used anyone else they'd
recommend?


TIA

 

SteveH banged the rocks together and said:

Have a look at the Dension URL I posted.

The 500 is an external box thats wired to the battery, ignition, head
unit, CD changer. Then iPod cable, aux audio & video cable and USB
cable run to the glovebox universal holder/mount thingy.

I just CBA.

 

Isn't it just a case of pulling the head unit and running the cable to
somewhere convenient? - certainly was on the Icelink I ordered for my
old Passat, but never got around to fitting.

 

What do you actually need it to do? - if it's just for an iPod, then one
of the lower range Dension products would surely be a better buy? - I
can't see why it needs all that wiring, when an iPod connection can be
done through essentially plugging in a multiplug to the back of the head
unit.

 

Erm, maybe frag has a CD changer in the car that he wants to be able to
use, too?

Frag, one of the issues with connectors like these that run the iPod via
the changer interface on the HU (which it sounds like it is) is that
iPod navigation is *dog* slow. No, I really mean that's it's about as
slow as a drunken, three-legged dog lazing about in Spanish sunshine
during siesta time.

IME you're better off either getting a unit that has a proper iPod
interface (Alpine calls them 'full speed iPod control', no idea what
other manufacturers call them) or just run via an aux in adapter box and
control the iPod on the iPod itself, which is what I ended up doing.

 

Wise words. I've got a JVC that does ipod control. It's quicker to
unplug and naviagate to the album I want manually.

John

 

Thanks for the advice.

Replacing the stereo is not an option.

Cheaper Dension adapters exist I think but they disable the CD changer.

Headunit doesn't have an Aux in.

Tried an FM transmitter unit but quality was worse than a tape, and the
signal strength, well with the transmitter 2" away from the aerial
interference still broke through.

The 500 does control the iPod through the head units CD changer
interface, no idea what speed it works at?



frag

 

My car has the PCM2.0 system, the connection between head unit and CD
changer is done via a fibre optic cable.

Not as easy to connect to as the old Mk2 Escorts y'know.

 

That was my interpretation of the specs on the site as well.

Hmm. Any chance you can get an Aux-in adapter from Dension or similar
instead of the iPod adapter.

My guess is "slow" or "very slow" - those headunits I've used to
control iPods that did so at decent speed use a dedicated iPod
interface instead and have a separate CD changer interface.

 

Harmon Kardon Drive and Play

Full speed control. Rocks


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Nice unit but it injects the audio via a FM tramsmitter or modulator