I had to revert back to my old swap radio, which for its time was very ahead of it time.
It's a digital cassette/cd combo (din and a half) but I have not cassettes, or CD so it just a radio. It works well but I cant plug my MP3 player into it.
What out there that fits, that I can swap in? There use to be a market but my guess that died a while ago.
I use a Pontiac radio from a 1995 Grand Prix. It's AM/FM/CD with a 7-band equalizer. It's been modified to accept a 1/8" RCA jack from an mp3 player, iPhone, or Android phone. The screen lights are the same color as the rest of the instruments and gauges. Buy the adapter plug and play wiring harness and antenna extender and it's a 15 minute job to install.
I use a Pontiac radio from a 1995 Grand Prix. It's AM/FM/CD with a 7-band equalizer. It's been modified to accept a 1/8" RCA jack from an mp3 player, iPhone, or Android phone. The screen lights are the same color as the rest of the instruments and gauges. Buy the adapter plug and play wiring harness and antenna extender and it's a 15 minute job to install.
Thats an economical approach and the one that I use. I believe that mine is from a 1990's Grand Prix as well and it looks and fits like stock. I made the adapter harness but I recommend the completed one. You can still find these radios in the junkyards but if I were to do it again I would use the premium GM Monsoon Radio for more power and better sound.
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I had to revert back to my old swap radio, which for its time was very ahead of it time.
It's a digital cassette/cd combo (din and a half) but I have not cassettes, or CD so it just a radio. It works well but I cant plug my MP3 player into it.
What out there that fits, that I can swap in? There use to be a market but my guess that died a while ago.
This is one that I put in my '88 Fiero but it was a couple of years ago and I can't find the paperwork on it. I don't remember what it cost, but it has everything on it, including a microphone so you can use it in place of your phone for hands-off operation. It has all kinds of features to include lights that respond to music if you want a mini-Disco in your car (lol). The thumb drive has about 828 songs on it. I created it for my own tastes, but I am sure you can set it up for streaming, your phone input or whatever...
If this has too many features for what you want, you might want to contact Pioneer and see what they have. Installation was easy enough a 10-year old could probably do it. If you have problems trying to figure out which speaker wires are which, you can use a 9-volt battery to hook up each set of wires and the battery will cause the speaker to make a pop when you hook up the battery. Then you can label the wires. I know there are some wiring diagrams available in here, too. I have them on CD, so if you get stuck, contact me in here and I will gladly help you. Like I said, when I was growing up, I installed and repaired car radios, 4-and 8-track stereo systems, etc. in vehicles when I was working in my Dad's electronics store.
BTW, if you don't like the red lighting, you can actually change it to blue. There may be other options, too, that I don't know about.
[This message has been edited by eti engineer (edited 12-08-2021).]
I currently have a single DIN Pioneer media player with Bluetooth, USB, and aux input. I have a backup camera with the monitor in the rear view mirror (good camera and works well, but in daytime glare can make it hard to see). I used a Metra install kit, and the media player doesn't look bad, but is obvious aftermarket refit.
If you choose a single DIN unit, you could dress it up pretty nicely with this: Custom Radio Trim Plate
I have a Retro in my Tempest and it works pretty well.
------------------ 1965 Tempest 400 CID 2018 Chevy Colorado Z71 3.6 2017 BMW X3 3.0 T 2015 BMW 535iX M Sport 2008 G6 GT "Street" Coupe 200K miles 2005 Buick 3.6 Rendezvous 225K miles
Well, I posted earlier about changing your existing radio, but in the meantime, if you just want to plug in an aux source, you can do one of these Cassette to aux adapters
Crude, and a little unwieldy, but they are cheap, zero effort, and they work. Sound quality is comparable to a cassette - pretty good. Not a bad stop-gap solution until you do something for real. My son and daughter used these in their cars until we had the chances to swap out the factory cassette/radio units (which were easy because they were double DIN in the first place).
I went with a expensive one on amazon. I'll see how the wiring goes but I'm pretty good at that. Just have to make sure I can get in mounted and fitted in there.
Reading through this thread.....People sure go through a lot of effort when all they really want/need is an aux input.
I got an RF adapter for like $20. It just goes in between the radio antenae and the stereo. A Couple wires like hot and ground and you're done. I have an aux port right near the right window switch that plugs into an MP3 player. The MP3 player also has a mini USB plug that is the power source directly wired into the car.
Got a cheap MP3 player for $20. I plug into my computer to load like 1000 songs, audio files etc and then just plug the MP3 player into the aux and power cord in my car. Done.I can remove to change the songs in literally a second or to take on a hike or whatever. I can go through folders and scroll through songs on the MP3 player or do a random play or whatever.
I used to use an RF adapter when CD changers were around and the RF sound was CD quality then.
Sounds really good. Should be the equivalent to a built in radio aux on quality.
If you want to listen to the radio, there's a switch to turn off the RF adapter as it interferes with the radio signal and creates static if on while listening to radio.
Total cost was like $40 and I still got the factory radio. Also when some shinier tech comes out I'll just upgrade the mp3 to whatever the new shiny object is (Cassette>>CD changer>>MP3 Player>>XXX?)
My only complaint is I have to remember to pause the MP3 player to continue where I left off when I turn off the car (It doesn't stop automatically like a cassette or CD used to in the old days). If you're doing an audio book or something that's annoying but if you just do random songs i won't matter.
This is a little bit off topic, but I didnt know so many people still used mp3 players nowadays... I download my music through spotify at the highest quality and play it through bluetooth.
Also I got the KD-X270BT, it is a little expensive at $100 but it sounds really good, and has 13 bands of EQ adjustment.
I am also attempting to put in a boss BE7ACP, which is $250 and is double din with apple car play. I wanted wireless apple car play but the cheapest option for that is $400
[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 12-16-2021).]
Put in a Pioneer DMH-160BT last weekend It was kinda expensive for a Walmart purchase but the wifey is happy with it. Needs all speakers upgraded and one of those powered subwoofers behind the seat
Put in a Pioneer DMH-160BT last weekend It was kinda expensive for a Walmart purchase but the wifey is happy with it. Needs all speakers upgraded and one of those powered subwoofers behind the seat
This is a little bit off topic, but I didnt know so many people still used mp3 players nowadays... I download my music through spotify at the highest quality and play it through bluetooth.
Also I got the KD-X270BT, it is a little expensive at $100 but it sounds really good, and has 13 bands of EQ adjustment.
I am also attempting to put in a boss BE7ACP, which is $250 and is double din with apple car play. I wanted wireless apple car play but the cheapest option for that is $400
LOL People in this thread are literally using cassetes to get an aux port, or USB drives plugged into radios and you're saying mp3 players are outdated? Re the USB, the only difference is the mp3 player has an interface whereas the USB is storage without an interface.
Tons of people use mp3 players. Apparently you never went on a day hike or left your suburbia without a big hunking phone with a two hour battery life attached to your hip? An mp3 player has a 12-24 hour battery life easy and is the size of 2 fingers and weighs about an ounce.
Also I'm sure there's a way to use bluetooth through an rf adapter. Although wireless just adds a layer of noise and potential interference.
[This message has been edited by reinhart (edited 12-18-2021).]
