OK who has figured out how to make the mp3 adapter from scratch using radio shack parts I know some one out there has done this.

Or if no one want sto come off the secret where do I get the adapter.

Tired of having a stack of cds in the car.

 

OK what year is your MINI? 05's and up will play MP3 Files off of a CD-Rom. No adapter needed unless you want all kind of track info

Then it depends if you have an iPod or not... If not just get the aux imput, If you have an ipPod... click here

 

Yeah I want the auxilary mp3 adapter that plugs into the factory head unit.
I have an 03 for reference

Hasnt someone figured out how to make one of these from scratch by now?

 

I could be wrong but you should be able to purhase an Aux input from your local dealer and install yourself.

 

It depends on whether they use a proprietary connector or not. If you can find that then it should be pretty simple. Maybe www.mouser.com has the connector. I'd be surprised in Radio Shack did. In fact you could just just wire up a 3.5mm plug instead of a jack to eliminate the need for an extra cable between the jack and ipod. Come to that you could just swap out the jack for a plug in the factory unit. It'd probably cost about $5-10 to make your own. You'd have to figure out the wiring for the connector is all.

 

Okay, this is a little off topic, but I couldn't resist. The idea of wiring up a plug to eliminate the need for extra cable reminded me of a little-make that a long-problem I had.

I had the Aux Adapter installed in my car. Then I started looking for a cable to use between the player and the car stereo. The dealer had them in one length: 10 feet long!

It was great, I could plug in my player, wrap the cable around the MINI two or three times(okay, that was a little bit of an exaggeration) then plug it into the Aux Adapter. After several weeks, I found 6 foot cables and thought I had it made! It was almost two months before I found one at a Radio Shack that was just 1 foot long. That was the fourth Radio Shck I had been to.

 

Do you own an iPod?


If so I highly recommend the MINI OEM iPod adaptor ($149 + install). I have a new black 4GB Apple Nano iPod and the integration between that and my H/K stereo is simply flawless. My only caveat with the OEM adaptor is that the current firmware support does not support ID tags (Song/Artist/Album) in the stereo display. But other than that, the integration is clean and works great. I love the ability to control the iPod from my steering wheel or stereo faceplate. Another plus of the OEM adaptor, is that it automatically charges the battery of your iPod thus eliminating the need for additional cables or power cords.

There are other aftermarket alternatives such as the Dension Ice Link integration.
When I had my '04 MCS, I had the OEM AUX input jack in the glovebox, and while nice and all, I much prefer the OEM iPod adaptor for sound quality and convenience.

 

If you wish, we can meet somewhere or simply come out to one of our Thrusday nite meets in the West Kendall area, (Check our website www.minisofmiami.com for info) and I will be happy to demonstrate to you my iPod adaptor/HK stereo integration in my '05 MCS.

Let me know.

PS: The MINI OEM AUX input jack retails for $40 at your local MINI dealer parts counter dept.