One Very Happy Camper

[PKRWUD]

Well, I have just completed my latest quest, and couldn't be happier.

As you may recall, this past Christmas I received Apple's new iPod MP3 player/HDD. Now, I have never been "into" MP3's, and was having trouble getting excited about this little gizmo at first. Before long, that changed. When I realized that it would hold the majority of my 300 CD collection, and would transfer them all in less than 10 minutes, I became fascinated. After transfering 665 songs to it, I became obsessed.

My mission was to figure out a way of connecting my iPod to the Sony Xplode stereo in my truck. I bought one of those dinky little FM transmitters, and that kinda worked, but it sounded no better than a weak FM station, and was really just a tease. I did some research, and found that my Sony has the ability to control a multi CD player, so I figured there must be a way to hardwire the iPod to it.

Well, there is, but it wouldn't be easy. It requires a Sony part, called a Source Selector XA-107, and nobody has them anymore. I even called Sony, and they said there is no current order for them to have any more made, but that if they did, it would be 6 to 9 months before they were available. Joy.

I searched the web for days, and although I found several places that listed it as an item they sold, they all had it listed as being on backorder, with no anticipated delivery date. I also stumbled across a website devoted to the car audio enthusiast, and there was a story there about a guy who installed an old PC in his trunk, along with a power convertor, and used it to store his MP3's on. It then connected to his Sony car stereo through an XA-107 (which is why the story came up in one of my searches). The story was dated 2 or 3 years ago, but there was an email address for the author, and I figured I had nothing to lose, so I emailed him. A few days went by, and then I received an email from him. As it turned out, he bought 2 XA-107's when he built his system, and he still had the second one, brand new and in the box. he offered it to me for a fraction of what I was willing to pay, and shipped it to me via Priority Mail (thank you PayPal!!!).

It arrived yesterday, and within 30 minutes, was installed in the F-150. It works killer. Now I can just plug in the iPod, and instantly have access to 665 of my favorite songs, in top digital quality. Made me feel like a kid again! For the first time in years, I just wanted to drive around aimlessly so that I could listen to the stereo! Silly, I know, but very rewarding.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share.

Take care,
-Chris