#2 gives you the Y-cable also.



#4, yes, dealer only/dealer installed option (and one that while it's a better place to hide the iPOd, the functionality through it is not as good as through the USB/Aux Y-cable)

 

Except that the Convenience package includes Comfort Access.

 

Here's two pictures. One is up real close with the flash. It shows the detail (imperfections). The other picture is from not quite as close and I think the flash was still on.

Anyway, the makeshift cover doesn't look great up close with the flash, but from the normal sitting position, it kinda just blends in. At night, it absolutely disappears. It's just a black hole. My iPod is connected behind the cover in both pictures.

If I were to take another shot at it, I probably could contour the cover a little better, but this is good enough for me. It only cost me $3 and ten minutes and I no longer have to disconnect my iPod every time I hop out of the car.

 

Great idea!!! nice work.

 

sorry, I'm confusing Convenience Package with the Premium Package for some reason (maybe it's the stress of WAITING FOR MY CAR that's finally put me over the edge!

 

Thanks for that!

Wonder if a "friction fit" would look better? If the material is flexible enough to bend a little, yet stiff enough to hold firm, could you cut it slightly larger than the opening (either top to bottom or side to side) and make it stay through the pressure exerted on it being just a tad too big? Or are the sides for the enclosure too smooth and or splayed outward so that it would always be popping out?

 

What you describe wouldn't work unless you add something to create the friction. The plastic material that the cover is made out of is as slick as can be when against the console's plastic surface (or whatever the console is made out of). Maybe if the cover was wider and you glued a rubber strip to the sides of it that could work. Then you might have to worry about it bowing and leaving the iPod partially visible.

Someone really handy could fashion a door that would pivot on those two pegs at bottom of the console. I wish MINI had done that for us. They made that little rubber mat for the console. A door would have been even more useful.

 

Per MiniUSA, the $500 blue tooth usb/ipod option Does in fact come with a cable

 

Thanks for the cover idea; I don't know if I am up for the whole wiring job, so that might do the trick in the meantime. I was thinking about how to do it, and now I can just copy Jeru99.

 

I have the standard option, the 3.5mm AUX in the centre stack. I would like to connect my ipod directly to the stereo so that i have the steering wheel functionality. I have read through this thread and most of what seems to be discussed is extension to the secret compartment.

Short of going to my dealer for an expensive install, what is available for me to make the connection to the ICE myself?

 

For steering wheel there's pretty much only three options currently available:

1. Having it installed at the factory
2. Installation of the secret compartment iPod Integration kit
3. mObridge MOST controller

The mObridge controller also requires a visit to the dealer to install the CD changer software needed on the MINI. It's not an inexpensive option though.

 

One other option: buy a newer Mini!
Seriously, it's been hashed over a zillion times, the iPod integration price varies quite a bit by dealer, but $300-400 bucks is the least. There are some limitations in how many artists/ albums you can use (256) because the CD changer input only allows so much data. You have to really want it bad IMO. Even aftermarket headunits that have iPod attachment features scroll through the arists a lot slower than the iPod itself, etc.

 

For what it's worth, the mObridge is supposed to eliminate the list item limit by doing paging internally.

 

I'd like to do this, just removing the secret compartment liner seems to involve taking half the car apart, and I'm not comfortable doing that.

I noticed your gallery caption says you've got a ferrite clipped around the extension cables. In my experience ferrites are really, really bad for USB traffic. Rfi engineers hate USB because its really noisy, it makes very sharp trapizoidal waves on the bus, and they like to put ferrites on the data lines to quieten them. That'll kill the USB most often, it turns the trapizoidal waves into sine waves.

Also you've got a lot of extra connectors in the circuit. The USB spec actually specifically makes extension cables illegal, my theory is that's because the extra connectors can play havoc with the signal. I never had any problem with using a USB etension cable with the adapter, but just to be safe I modded an adapter by soldering the extension cable dierctly in place of the standard USB/Audio cables. (So my adapter is in the glove box, and I'd love to get it into the secret compartment.)

 

You don't have to take half the car apart -- more like a quarter, or less (and you can leave the wheels on). Not that bad, actually, as most of it is trim, and you don't really need to pull the speedo cover off.

I'm one of those RF guys. I like well behaved transmission lines, properly terminated. Those don't cause problems. I'm also concerned about coupling RF into things (don't tell Mini I actually have a transmitter in the car). That's the main purpose of the ferrite, clamping down on RF from getting into the iPod and other goodies. Not that it's that likely, since all the cables are shielded.

I added standard connectors to the Mini part to make things easy. Things are short and shielded -- a 3.5mm stereo jack, and the "A" female end of a USB 2 cable, which lets me use a (standard, short) "A" to "A" USB 2 extension up to the hidden compartment. Yes, if you ran a TDR on things, you'd see some lumps, but the overall length of the run is still a meter or less. For me, the concern about extensions and the like is that early (and cheap) pre-USB 2 cables don't pay much attention to characteristic impedance and similar picky details. I find this to be a reasonable compromise -- the USB portion is shielded, and all cables are no longer than needed.

Thought of figuring out the needed lengths of the audio and USB cables, and cutting - soldering directly to the USB+audio connector, but decided to introduce the "extras" so I could use standard cables. Either way, since I haven't cut into wiring harnesses, I could go back to OEM by replacing the USB+audio connector.

So far, this one has been noise and trouble free. I really like having things up out of the way -- glove box or secret compartment, hidden from view.

Oh, if you want to see a bad connector/adapter-- (no, not mine!)

 

K6RTM is there enough room to buy a second usb/mini jack (like @ bottom consol) hook it up instead and just run extension cables from there to secret compartment

 

I'm confused.. i see an option called "iPod Adapter" under Genuine Motor Accessories and in the picture it shows the iPod in the compartment and in the description it also says the device connector is located in the compartment too.

That seems pretty straight forward as to where the connection is IMO.

 

There are tow type of connections for iPods.

1. Secrete compartment - Only usable for iPods, connects directly to radio system and provides a way to control iPod from the stereo.

2. USB/iPod conntector - Mounted at the bottom of the center console and allows for use of iPod, Zen, any Mp3 player, Allows contorl of iPod thru stereo. Also allows use of USB sticks for Music playback. Allows control of music on USB stick for radio controls.

 

Yep, the one in the accessories listing is dealer installed and is option number one in Schatzy's list. It's probably also worth noting that it's the only reasonable option for retro-fitting an iPod connection.

 

How is this as an option? Extend the cable.
http://www.cablejive.com/extendercable.html

 

It should work just fine but many of the limitations talked about in this thread will still apply, as this is a pass thru cable only.

 

For MINIs without the USB option (such as all 2007 models) the iPod Integration in the secret compartment is the only way to get NAV and MFSW control of the iPod. The iPod is connected through the CD changer interface in the secret compartment.

 

This is exactly what I did. At present, I have my older iPod sitting under the driver's seat using this cable. I ran the cable along the driver's side of the center console, tucking it up under the edge of the plastic so it's out of the way. Everything is out of sight.

Works well if I intend to just leave the iPod in the car, but it isn't very convenient for removing and replacing the iPod. For that, I'd have to find a better place to keep the iPod.

So far, it's working fine, most of the time. Every now and again my iPod isn't recognized on startup, but that could well be because the iPod I'm using is 4 years old and reboots itself every few days, whether it's linked to my MINI or not.

An additional reason I like this extension option is that if I were removing my iPod frequently, the connector I'd be using is on the end of a $30 cable, not a $150 special Y adapter. In my previous car, I was using a Belkin iPod plug-in, and after a few years, the cable strain relief at the iPod connector end had become worn and frayed. I'd rather wear out the much cheaper component!

 

Just thought I'd let everybody in this thread knkow that comfort access has absolutely nothing to do with the bluetooth/ipod adapter. It is a separate option which allows you to enter and start the car without taking your key out of your pocket. Just seemed like a lot of people in this thread think it somehow has to do with the bluetooth/ipod feature.

 

After one of the wire ties broke (likely due to temperature extremes in the car), I went with a decidedly low-tech solution that is elegant in its simplicity: a black skull cap stuffed into the the console.

It hides the iPod. It hides the wires when the iPod isn't connected. It doesn't require any difficult wiring. And it's dirt cheap. I know it won't win any style points, but it's good enough for me.