2005 vs 2006 audio aux in possibilities

DanMan,
Here is more information on our topic of discussion.
I have been on the phone with a tech from Audiovox today for some real
good information about XM radio integration to the Prius radio, and SMART
ADAPTER information in general, and new products to come in the next few months.
First, some clarifications. My earlier posts about the XM UNIVERSAL SMART
ADAPTER were based on the Press Release on those internet sites I referenced.
Today I discovered after my conversation with the tech,
that looking at the picture of the
UNIVERSAL RDS SMART ADAPTER to come from Audiovox and Terk in the first
quarter of 2006 gave me cause for error. The picture on the press release is
in error. It showes a hard wired connector. There will be no hard wired audio connector as shown on the Mobilewhack sites use of the picture of the RDS SMART ADAPTER.

The RDS ADAPTER device is a modulator interface (hard wired or not to the rf front
end of the radio), but a modulator just the same, a very clean one as told to me by the tech.
This new device will allow XM Radio channel and song data to be broadcast from the SMART ADAPTER
to the radio if the radio uses RDS feature. So, in conjunction with an XM1000D
tuner, it allows a clean instalation with artist and song readout on the factory
radio, using RDS technology. Channel changing etc. I cannot comment on, because I didn't ask, but it seems a difficult task from a standpoint of user interface and the way the Prius radio is set up. Could there be a remote control
involved?

But, that is not the exciting thing about the conversation.
Another product,
called the SDA XMDTLK, IS a hard wired solution like many of the SMART
ADAPTERS now being sold for various aftermarket radio's which are satellite
ready. And from what I seem to be hearing the tech say, the new product
available in a couple of months, will be for Toyota Radios specifically.
This new product will be a hard wired, non modulator solution for XM radio for
the Toyota,
using the XM1000D tuner. The product will include the adapter, the tuner, the
antenna, specifically for OEM Toyota Radios. It will PROBABLY be a one purchase
solution selling for about 199.00 retail, and may also be applicable to rebates from
XM with purchase, or with subscription. Don't know all the details, but this was
hinted at.
So, soon two new devices for integration of XM Radio will exist....one, the RDS
SMART ADAPTOR using the XM1000D tuner.
Two, a hard wired non modulated XM1000D tuner and interface called the
model XMDTLK.
They have not tested the Prius radio, but are in testing phase for other Toyota
factory radios. The subject still has little of the ambigious, but
depending on my getting my hands of one or both of the above two, and trying
it on the Prius, I can report no futher. Maybe they will turn out to be NOT as
good a solution as some of the others on the market, but I can say that after
an email to Audiovox, I actually got a call from a technical employee to answer my
questions, and my email got to him from customer service in a matter of minutes! That in itself is a rare thing in the consumer world today. So I certainly will
try to support Audiovox whenever I can.
Rod

 

Yes, more information from Audiovox confirms that the universal one is going
to be controlled by a remote control which comes with the smart adaptor, but the other dedicated hard wired one specifically for the Toyota series radios will be
controlled by the head unit, and come packaged with the XM1000D tuner and antenna. As I said there are still some things which are a little ambiguous (first of them being my ambiguous spelling of ambiguous in the last post), but any lack of facts is probably due to them not wanting to make the entire information available until it's on the market. Posting of a picture of a hard wired unit on that Moblewhack site to represent the new universal adapter led me to make the wrong conclusion. Press releases are not for
techs, but for the general public. Maybe soon I can get the exact specs of the one which is hard wired. It may be out to market before the universal one. I don't want a modulated solution, and I may even opt for a simple aux-in solution for my Roady II. As I said, there are good things about having the little Roady II head unit available for view all the time, and having a way to get it into the system cleanly and cheaply is certainly
better than the modulator method I am using now. When I go to another city
I always here a mixing of an off air stations and I hate changing the modulator
freq sometimes twice a day.
So, maybe we should try to figure out how the 2006 aux in method is used at the radio head, what pins are used, and if it actually uses the cd port etc. I have yet to meet that tech at Mark Jacobson Toyota, although the parts guys I did meet tried to help and I appreciate their efforts. I did view a diagram of the connector and the plug on the end of the aux-in cable and it seemed to be a four wire connector. How many pins are on the connector for the disk changer? And, on the 2006, does it
trigger recognition by the head unit simply by having a load on the circuit when
something is plugged into the mini jack?
We will be able to test one soon I hope, and determine the differences in the
head units from 2004 to 2006. Maybe the Triangle Area Prius Club mentioned will help us come up with some answers.
Thanks for the help.
Rod

 

On the aux-in project:
Remember to ask about the standard radio on the 2005. There is no
manual tape/cd button. So, if we find a way to integrate some aux-in
to the changer port on that radio, how would it be switched. My theory is
that some loading of the circuit may make the steering wheel mode control
include the modified cd changer port if there is something there.
Or, are we going to have to have the radio communicate with the port?
I would be willing to try to emulate something in the changer then add
aux in through whatever pins get the left right audio from the changer,
but can't get any information on the radio or the changer.
There was a person selling what he said was the Prius six disk changer on
ebay the other day. He gave the part number correctly, but his picture
had no resemblence to the changer on a site which had a picture of one
with the part number he listed. It had a cable, instructions, and the original
box and was said to be new. It did have the Toyota logo on it.
The thing went for around 47.00. I would have bought it and looked at
the circuit the radio recognizes if it had resembled the changer picture linked
to the actual Toyota parts number. He didn't answer my email question with
any authority, so I didn't buy it.

I think the darn thing can be reverse engineered for 50.00 bucks or less.

Anyway, I guess that will have to be the way to go to get it switched.

Rod

 

It's probably time for us to enter DIY mode, because only those of us who
are very interested in doing this ourselves are really going to get it done
as quickly as we might want.
I don't live that far from you, and if someone in the group, including me keeps looking on ebay and maybe some other sources, (auto parts liquidators?) we
might be able to find a standard radio (I suspect the changer port on all of them
are exactly the same), and study the pin out and see what Audiovox and some of
the others are doing to make compatible interfaces.
Connectors may be available from Digi-Key corporation...I have their latest
catalogue. DanMan may be able to teach some of us a little more about
the protocol. I may be able to at least identify the pinouts on my workbench.
I am not that current on the technology but I can understand it once I find
some publications to read. Have your husband be on the look out for a chance to buy a pulled and replaced unit which has been broken due to, say, a bad cd drive, and I will pay for it (within junk price reason). I don't want to pull mine just for testing. And, if I could get one such as above, I could keep it on the bench while I
talk with another tech on this forum and scope the outputs. Don't know if a
40mhz dual trace scope will tell us much. Comments welcome.
Rod