Jeff, this is in response to your answer to my note about the RJ45 jack in the center console. I hope you can weight in a bit and offer your comments.

Here's what I'm hoping to do. The RJ45 jack on the side of the center console is, for all intents and purposes, useless. I just purchased an iPod/iPhone interface made by XCarlink. I purchased it from the UK (http://www.xcarlink.co.uk), although the actual unit is made in China.

What I'd really like to be able to do is simply plug my standard USB-to-iPhone (iPod) cable into a plug. So, I thought I'd pop out the RJ45 jack, and replace it with a BXT USB A Female jack, which I would ideally connect directly to the XCarlink. I'm concerned about signal degradation, so I'd like to have as few intermediate connections as possible.

So, my questions are as follows:

1) how is the existing RJ45 jack seated? Can I remove this easily and replace it with something else, in this case a USB A Female?

2) has anyone every seen a USB A Female-to-iPod Female connector? (The unit ships with a mini-DIN 8 to iPod Male data cable.) If not, how about a mini-DIN 8 to USB A Female data cable?

<img src="http://www.therpmstore.com/images/audiolink-ipod_pic3.jpg">


Of course, I could just run the supplied cable up through the phone bracket grommets and not make this difficult, but I'm hoping to eliminate the "messiness" of a dangling cable when it's not connected to my iPhone.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Any and all comments welcomed!

Thanks in advance,


Chuck

 

so you can't just use a usb extension cable to pass the audio along to the XCarlink.

You need a ipod dock extension cable. Sparkfun sells one <a href="http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8743">here</a>.

<img src="http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/images/products/08743-03-L.jpg">

 

. . . and stop making myself crazy. I don't think I need any more length (seriously, no jokes there), as the supplied cable will probably be long enough. I wanted a jack as opposed to a dangling cord, but that simply may not be feasible.

 

into your dash or something like that. I just offered the extension cable as a low effort solution. I guess it's the grad student in me.

 

You'll hear no arguments on saving a nickle from this corner.

But I contacted SparkFun and it won't work as easily as I thought. I guess I'm back to just running the supplied cable up between the bracket hole and the grommet.

 

you can remove the RJ-45, but you will need to put in an adapter plate of some sort to mount the USB

 

Great. Thanks, Jeff. I'll see what works best and take lots pf photos!

 

make sure you take apart the 12V USB adapter, and wires the outputs to a std. USB female socket, or you will not charge your unit.

 

Okay, now you lost me. I have an Edge iPhone, but I hope this is still pretty self-evident.