question for iPod owners

[farmkid]

I've had several different MP3 players, but no actual iPods. I'm now considering getting an actual iPod but I have a question or two for iPod owners before getting one.

The reason I want one is for my wife's van. Some time ago I added a unit that plugs into the back of the head unit. The box has an auxiliary input and an iPod input. We've been using an audio cable to plug in a non-iPod MP3 player, but the problem with that is that it uses the MP3 player's battery and that battery won't last through a long trip. The iPod connector connects to a special cable with an iPod connector on the other end, essentially turning the van's sound system into an iPod dock.

If I were to buy an iPod, it would only be used in the van an nowhere else. I can save a lot of money buying a used, partially functional iPod on eBay. There are a fair number that work fine, but have bad batteries and others that have no audio. So, here are my questions for you iPod owners:
Am I right in believing that an iPod connected to such a device will not run down it's battery, such that it will continue playing as long as the key is on? The audio goes through the iPod connector in a dock situation, right? So if the headphone jack is broken it will still work in a dock? Can you transfer songs and playlists to and from the iPod without using iTunes (I would rather not use iTunes if I can help it)?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Check with the instruction manual of the thing you bought. (If there is no manual, look at the battery indicator of the iPod while you are using this thing.) I don't think all such units will charge the iPod's battery during normal use. The audio does go through the dock connector, yes, but it might not charge the iPod at the same time.

 

[RoJoHen]

My iPod pretty much stays plugged into my car through the iPod car adaptor, and it charges the iPod battery as long as the car is turned on. I never have to take my iPod out of the car in order to charge it.

However, as far as I know, you have to use iTunes.

 

[ares93]

I know the iPod Touch can charge and play music through the dock at the same time. Unless I'm mistaken so can the newer Classic models. I'm unsure about Nano and Shuffle.

Older models however cannot do what you need. I know my iPod Classic 1G (5gb) and iPod Mini 4gb (16gb) cannot even power on and charge simultaneously, not to mention play music. But those are pretty old after all.

As for iTunes. If Rockbox is available for you iPod, you can use that to avoid Imperial... uhm... i mean iTunes entanglements.

 

[Maestro]

It is possible that your current MP3 player can play music and be charged concurrently from your lighter plug with a USB lighter charger. I'm not sure if mine can, but I can charge my iTouch from there. However, my iTouch has something screwy with the 1/8 in plug, the dock port, and the casing that causes static when played while charging, and somehow reduces the transmission of the vocal channel on music when played without being hooked into the charger. I'm not sure what all is wrong, so, rather than wait until I can get my iTouch in to an Apple store for repair, I pulled my old MP3 player out, and was successfully able to get Real Player to import all of my iTunes music, play it, and ship it off to my MP3 player.

To me, this makes Real the best of all possible worlds, as I can move things as I need to.

 

[Timby]

I'm reasonably certain that any 3.5mm-iPod Dock Connector cable will not charge the iPod as it plays, though you'll get great audio fidelity from it -- there's simply no power flowing from the vehicle's 3.5mm port. You'd basically need to run two cables -- one from your car stero's line-in connector to the iPod's headphone jack (which is just a male-to-male 3.5mm audio cable, five bucks at Radio Shack), and then a Dock Connector-cigarette lighter cable, like one of these.

 

[farmkid]

It is possible that your current MP3 player can play music and be charged concurrently from your lighter plug with a USB lighter charger. I'm not sure if mine can, but I can charge my iTouch from there. However, my iTouch has something screwy with the 1/8 in plug, the dock port, and the casing that causes static when played while charging, and somehow reduces the transmission of the vocal channel on music when played without being hooked into the charger. I'm not sure what all is wrong, so, rather than wait until I can get my iTouch in to an Apple store for repair, I pulled my old MP3 player out, and was successfully able to get Real Player to import all of my iTunes music, play it, and ship it off to my MP3 player.

To me, this makes Real the best of all possible worlds, as I can move things as I need to.

All of my current MP3 players stop playing whenever they receive power from the cable. I've tried that, but it just doesn't work.

I'm reasonably certain that any 3.5mm-iPod Dock Connector cable will not charge the iPod as it plays, though you'll get great audio fidelity from it -- there's simply no power flowing from the vehicle's 3.5mm port. You'd basically need to run two cables -- one from your car stero's line-in connector to the iPod's headphone jack (which is just a male-to-male 3.5mm audio cable, five bucks at Radio Shack), and then a Dock Connector-cigarette lighter cable, like one of these.

I realize no power goes through the 3.5mm jack. The auxiliary input adapter I have has two inputs--one is a 3.5mm input that I can use with any MP3 player, and the other is a special input only for iPods. The iPod input essentially turns the van's sound system into a dock. It supplies power, receives the audio output, and allows me to control the iPod through the controls on the dash or steering wheel. My whole point is replacing my current MP3 player with an iPod is so that I'm no longer limited by the life of the battery.

 

[Sean Aaron]

The answer is down to what generation iPod it is you're looking at and whether your adapter will supply power to that generation.

Older iPods had both Firewire and USB support built in and could receive power via both these pins, but Apple discontinued Firewire support in the iPod a few years ago so those adapters that only supplied power over Firewire stopped being able to charge the newer iPods/iPhones - much to the annoyance of those car owners whose head units were amongst them. If your head unit was made in the past couple of years odds are that you're going to be fine with any generation of iPod; otherwise I would be sure to check the manual for iPod compatibility and see if anyone on the 'net has reported charging issues with newer iPods and that head unit.

I use an iPhone 4G with a cheap (£20) cradle unit that has an iPod/iPhone connector and plugs into my car's power socket/cigarette lighter and I use a 3.5mm cable to plug into an aux jack on the front of my stereo. iPhone charges and plays music just fine. This cradle also has a USB port on the side to provide power to non-Apple devices so a similar device could be a workaround if you have a non-Apple MP3 player that charges via a standard USB cable.