Are you going to use the bluetooth phone features of the TK30? If so, you will need to also wire into the phone audio and mute connector in the vehicle or else the phone will only work when the aux is activated (when the CD player is selected) and the phone will not work with the radio/cassette.

 

Yes - already bought a Nexxia SOT-126 (Buy SOT-126 Parrot Jaguar SOT Lead XJ, XK8, XKR ) to get the connector and wiring. The web site says says it's not suitable for the TK30, but my guess is that's because the phone wiring is only mono - it should (I hope) work ok if the line-out feature is enabled, feeding the music out to the aux-in I've now added via the Alp switcher.

-Steve

 

That should work. You just need the 18 pin connector and wires on the Nexxia. All you need to connect is power, one channel of audio and the mute.

You can cut the ISO connectors off of the TK and the Nexxia cables. Just feed a single audio channel from the TK ISO cable speaker output through a line level converter (like a PAC SNI-35) to the Jag's phone audio input.

 

While this does not include the Nav option, it may help some understand the differences in sound source locations after using the modified AINET switcher.

 

Thanks for the headsup- I didn't know that. I thought that I'd have two regular audio level outputs from the TK30 (a mono channel to connect to the Jag input) and the stereo lineout (going to the ALP switch). TK30 won't arrive for a few days, so I'm headed over to Amazon to add a PAC SNI-35 to the growing pile of parts!

-Steve

 

Update on this. Got the TK30 today (had to order from the UK, so it took a while getting here).

The good news is that the TK30 works great with the SOT126 and the 'hacked' Pie switcher (to reverse input and output connections).

I've not had to cut any of the cars wiring, and the SOT126 was almost perfect - it plugged into the yellow phone connector, and the TK30 plugged into the ISO.

Only additional connection needed was the mute (for some reason the SOT126 included the mute wire from the Jaguar connector, but didn't connect it to the ISO connector - they just left the lead hanging. Only thing I might change is that the 'ignition power' connection is only on when the ignition is on. I'm probably going to look for a power connection that's live when the ignition is in the 'accessory' position (so I can use the phone when the engine isn't running).

The mono phone audio connectors from the TK30 were already wired through to the ISO connector, and I don't seem to need the line driver you suggested - volume is good.

I have all music (USB, Aux-in, bluetooth) from the TK30 going to the PIE switcher via the TK30 lineout. That's working well, except that between tracks or on very, very quiet sections it switches back to the CD changer.

My quick and dirty fix for that is going to be to burn myself a CD with 60 minutes of silence (so that I still have silence between MP3 tracks!), but I'm also looking at adding a 'forced' switch to the pie (just like the older Alpine unit) - my thought being that volume is ok, and 'silence is silence', so an additional pre-amp is going to add noise when turned up enough to stop the pie switching. I do have an LD10 though, so I might try that out just in case I'm wrong.

The TK30 display is almost a perfect fit in the coin tray, but is very slightly too long to fit in the 'ashtray' part. I'm hoping to get a used one, and dremel it out so that it mounts flush. Should only need to remove one coin slot. It should (I hope) then look almost factory.

At the moment I've not mounted anything, and have wires everywhere, but my plan is to mount aux-in & USB (to the TK30) in the central console cubby box. I'm probably going to add a Panavise phone mount to the right of the shifter. One thing I like about the TK30 is that it has no problem browsing/playing music via from my 80Gb HDD player, and can charge it at the same time.

Once it's all in and working, I'll post photos and more details.

Thanks to all who helped me work this out so far!

-Steve

 

Those outputs on the ISO cable are meant to drive speakers. The audio input in the yellow Jag connector is line level. Does the SOT-126 have a built in attenuator or line level converter already? Without an attenuator or converter, I would be a bit concerned about over-driving the Jag connector mono-phone input.

The LD-10 preamp has over 90 db S/N ratio, so it will not add any perceptible noise, especially in an automobile environment. It obviously will not help during complete pauses in the music, but it can prevent drop-outs on quiet passages.


Also consider a Kuda mount. It has room in its shell to hide a charger which you can hardwire to the cig. lighter power and eliminate the dangling wire.

 

Thanks for the advice- I checked and you're absolutely correct. I put the converter in to be safe (though the volume didn't seem at all excessive without it).

At this point I've got it all buttoned up (headed out of town this week), and didn't put the LD10 in. That's a pretty easy test to do later. I'm hoping that I can find a coin-tray this week, and have to here to work with at the weekend.

I'd seen the Kuda online, but it didn't grab me (maybe it looks better in the flesh); the Panavise was available this week for a reasonable price so I'll try that first (I have those in several other vehicles, and like them).

I might not even fit it - I've fitted the Tk30 USB connector in the center console, and it charges my phone fine and keeps it out of sight. Only time I need to see the phone is to use the GPS, and while I still have the Nav I don't really need that (I'm not finding the Nav as bad as others - but there aren't many new roads in this area!)

-Steve

 

Here's a couple of photos of the Motorola TK30 installed. I bought a used coin tray, and dremeled it out so that the TK30 display would fit, tilted at a slight angle. If I remove the TK30 I can just put the original coin tray back in place.

I'm pleased with the results, it doesn't look out of place, and gives me bluetooth hands free/aux-in and access to my entire CD collection (on a flash drive plugged in the center console). Sound quality is great, and I've not had to cut any cables or permanently modify the car. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who's looking to update the system, but keep everything looking stock.

-Steve

 

Nice job !!

 

Hi folks,

I'm just in the middle of trying to fit the switcher in-between the amp and the Nav unit. I've found that the original AINet cable (thats hardwired into the back of the nav unit then clicks into the side of the amp) is quite firmly attached to the Amp. Am i missing something, a locking screw or something? I'm not overly keen on putting more force onto it than I currently am!

Cheers
Russ

 

Not missing anything, it is just very hard to pull out. Sometimes wiggling left to right will help.

There are two "teeth" on the sides that lock in and the outside of the connector slides back slightly to squeeze them in and release as you pull on it. If you take a close look at the male side of the AI-AUX you can see how it works.

It's an awkward reach for sure. Good luck!

 

Thanks Charlie, got it shifted in the end, pretty easy once the angle was right.

Glad to report the whole set up's working nicely now!

 

Fitted one today. Again, very easy. Worked first time.

Thanks again to WhiteXKR for the idea and helpful hints.

Mark B