Well... between a busy schedule and a total lack of patience, I decided to scrap the idea of installing the USA-SPEC PA11-NIS iPod adapter myself. I went by a Burlington shop I've had success with in the past (RadioActive) and they were able to slot me into a recently cancelled spot! WooHoo! About a hour later or so, I was good to go with my new toy!

I'm very please with the sound quality coming through. A buddy of mine had used the FM hook-up for himself in his Q56 and the sounds was really poor. I'm very pleased with this mode of connection. Time to get rid of most of the CDs kicking around the car! This is a great modifcation for anyone who is an iPod fan & wants the great selection it provides you at anytime.

If you were thinking of doing this mod but didn't want to be the one to pull your dash apart, the RadioActive guys (ask for Lee) can sort you out pretty quickly.

Can you post some pix of the finished install? Specifically, I'm curious about where the cables come out of the console, and where you "mount" your MP3 player while in use (e.g., in the cupholder, in the armrest, in the nav-cubby).

Also, what did Radioactive charge you to install? I've got the adapter already, and I'm debating installing it myself or having a pro do it.

my setup

Do you have a pic from the opposite angle (from the passenger side)? I'd like to see where you have the cables coming out from behind the console.

How much did it cost?

I've taken the easy way out for the connection to the iPod for the moment. I had them just put a hole in the bottom of the center storage compartment (Nav-cubby) and feed the cable through the bottom. I wanted to mount a ProClip cradle on the passenger side however I couldn't locate the mount I wanted. The one that looks & works well is does not fit the 2003.5... actually the one that they recommend for my year goes over the hazard light button & may interfere when shifting into 5th gear. Until I can sort out an acceptable alternative I'm going to just use the space up top.

RadioActive did the job in just about an hour (little over) and everything was clean. Their rates seemed pretty reasonable to me at $50/hour. The installer did comment that he probably would have done the newer model a little faster (experience with it I guess ) If you do decide to go with them, Lee is the guy to speak with to get you booked in. They are one set of lights south of the QEW @ Walkers Line.

Nice! This is the setup I wanted to do but the 2003.5 dash assembles differently and that mount won't work for me.

Sorry but i dont have any pics from the oppisiite side...i took my car to an audio shop to do it but i watched...when u remove the dash the small unit is put behind in the console and you can basically choose what side you want the wire to come out of...you can put it either left or right....i thought it would kind of get in the way if i had it on the drivers side so i threw the connection cord on the right

Thanks..Why not? my friend has an 04 which i believe is pretty similar to yours... he and my other friends actually took his dash apart...but it took a while...its possible to be done. He also has a proclip that mounts exactly like mine

This is the one that ProClip states should be used for my year...



And this is the one that I would like to use but it won't attach the same way...



If you'll note, the model such as yours does not wrap all the way around on the center console. It's made up of a center piece & two outer pillars.

BTW, I totally agree with you on not mounting it up the drivers side... at about 6'1" there was no way that mount & I were going to occupy the same space.

If you guys have found another way to make this work, I'm certainly open to suggestions!

Cheers!

so it cost you 50$ ?

Ive heard people get quoted over a 100$. Thats very reasonable.

It took me like 2 hrs to do it myself the first time. Had i known that it would only be 50$ i might have considered taking it in.

Actually, the final bill was something like $71.25 for me (1.25hrs x $50 x 14% tax). Lee (owner) did mention that his guy would probably finish it within an hour next time around. One hour @ $50 would still be $57 out the door.

thanks guys. I'm going to do an ipod mod in my wife's ride. might check this shop out.

I did my ipod mod myself on Friday and it works like a charm. It took me about 2 hours working very slowly. On top of that I also changed out my in cabin filter since you have to take the glove box off to get access to the bose unit. Overall I am happy with the instal.

I do have a question to all who have installed the usa spec mod, I know that when you press the am/fm button the ipod is suppose to pause and when you press the disc button the ipod should start playing again. However I have noticed that sometimes that setup ends up being backwards. There were times when I pressed the disc button in the disc changer mode the ipod paused and than I press the disc button again it plays but my CDs are playing. Most of the time I just ended up pressing play on my ipod to sync it with my bose. Just wondering if anyone had the same problem?

BTW My car is a 2003 6mt coupe.

I had my audio done for my ex show car (a vw) done at radioactive and they did a very clean job...

ok so about this ipod mod? im confused is the one where you tune in to a unused FM station and you can transmit the ipod tuned to your radio? why do you need to get to your bose unit?

Chewy,

I have seen a couple of oddities as you mentioned but I figure alot of it is attributed to the time delay in the Bose recognizing the iPod adaptor as you jump back and forth. I tend to do the same as you, hit play on the iPod or cycle to FM or CD and then back to the iPod to correct anything.


Pinky,

This is not an FM connection, it is a direction connection to the stock system via the CD Changer. I didn't realize it originally but it appears that the stock system can accommodate a seperate CD changer (like a trunk setup) and this is the path which the iPod adaptor will communicate on. The steering wheel controls for track-up, track-down will control the iPod, as will the fast forward on the deck itself. If you do a search on "iPod install" it will catch the main 3 or 4 threads discussing everything.

Glad to hear you liked the work at RadioActive! I've been very pleased with their work as well.