Besides the obvious fact of someone breaking in and stealing them.. is there a problem with the extreme hot, cold temperatures with storing a large gigabyte mp3 player in your car?

I was thinking about getting a new one for christmas and getting a car hookup and just pretty much stop using my cd collection (because they're all scratched anyways). So I was just curious if this is possible without damaging the player

thanks!

11/6/2007 6:45:15 PM

just get a head unit with a hard drive in it and transfer your music to that

11/6/2007 6:56:36 PM

In Raleigh, extreme heat is more of an issue than extreme cold. However, so long as it stays out of the sun I doubt there would be damage so long as it isn't in operation at the time.

11/6/2007 7:03:23 PM

I keep mine in the glove box to keep it out of the direct sunlight (but sometimes I forget) when I'm not in the car and I haven't had a problem in the past 2 years of doing so.

When I'm in the car, the MP3 player is either on the seat next to me or sitting in front of my shifter knob.

It's connected through the input on my head unit.

[Edited on November 6, 2007 at 7:42 PM. Reason : .]

11/6/2007 7:41:51 PM

^^that's good to hear. so a head unit... can i get a little more information?

i just had in mind that there was some special cable out there that you could use to hook up your mp3 player to the original car cd player.

but do i have to buy a new cd player that has mp3 playback capability? is that a head unit? sorry i'm new to the whole car audio thing

11/6/2007 8:15:10 PM

You just need a receiver that has auxiliary audio input jacks, or a built-in 1/8" stereo input jack.

For instance, here's an inexpensive but nicely featured receiver that has the right input ...

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?i=070XDM6820

What you're looking for is the specs to say "AUX Input - Rear", or Front, etc. Basically you just need it to have it. The nice thing about this receiver is that the "iplug connector" it says it comes with is basically just an RCA audio to 1/8" stereo jack converter that is mountable. So you can more easily access the input jack to plug your MP3 player into.

All that said, as long as you get a receiver that has an Aux input (RCA audio input, same thing), you can run wires to it all day long and you get much better sound from your MP3 player. Those FM and Cassette adapter deals just don't match up.

11/6/2007 8:27:18 PM

thanks^

yeah i guess i need to figure out if my 2007 xterra's factory cd player has AUX or RCA inputs in the back. that seems like the main determining factor in what i need to buy. i've tried finding the specs but have had no luck. anybody else have an xterra?

11/6/2007 9:33:47 PM

If all else fails you can always buy a tape adapter if it has a tape player as well

11/6/2007 10:06:45 PM

tape adapters sound horrible. i've been keeping mine in the glove for a year and it still works. it charges through the cable, so i havent had it out enough to notice any battery life degradation. doesnt really matter for what i use it for.

11/7/2007 12:14:15 AM

not a problem. lcd might freeze in the winter though.

11/7/2007 12:37:19 AM

when i would keep my ipod in the car the most noticable difference was in winter - it would seem slower or laggy(screen issue mostly) but its still good. the hdd in the dash is a cool idea now that i have it but it takes so long to transfer my songs that i dont have nearly all of them on yet.

11/7/2007 1:12:44 PM

Quote :

"yeah i guess i need to figure out if my 2007 xterra's factory cd player has AUX or RCA inputs in the back. that seems like the main determining factor in what i need to buy. i've tried finding the specs but have had no luck. anybody else have an xterra?"

The AUX input should be pretty obvious and would be on the front of the radio somewhere. Also, I've never heard of a factory radio with RCA inputs. There may be some car companies that have them (Scion maybe?), but I doubt it.

If you want to keep your factory radio, you could try an FM Modulator. Should be better quality than a tape adapter:
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=251550&i=142FMMOD01&tp=1701

11/7/2007 2:55:49 PM

FM modulators only work well if you're in bigger cities (not out in BFE where you're between a million different stations and can't find one clear one). even when you find a good station, they still sound like shit.

built-in ipod dock connector ftw. in the glove box, installed by the factory. i <3 it

11/7/2007 2:58:49 PM

i did with mine for 4 years then one day the battery puffed up like the Michelin man and leaked on the circuit board.

11/7/2007 3:24:54 PM

Quote :

"FM modulators only work well if you're in bigger cities (not out in BFE where you're between a million different stations and can't find one clear one)"

Umm, I'm not sure if you're aware how an FM modulator works. It basically broadcasts over some standard radio frequency through your radio's antenna. Since you're physically wired into the antenna it takes almost no power to overpower over the air signals. You might have problems if your modulator frequency were the exact same as a local station.

I had a CD Changer in high school that used an FM modulator and it always came through much cleaner than the strongest radio station I could pick up.


[Edited on November 7, 2007 at 3:46 PM. Reason : fix italics]

[Edited on November 7, 2007 at 3:56 PM. Reason : changed RF modulator to FM modulator - oops]

11/7/2007 3:45:45 PM

well, depending on the type of battery in the player, you could run into battery-life issues with temperatures above 90. Then again, with temperatures below 50, you would also get a small increase in battery life, so go figure

11/7/2007 7:48:54 PM

What about if the mp3 player was an ipod? The temp would have some not so good affects on the hard drive right? I'm asking out of my own curiosity, not cause I think this guy has an ipod.

11/7/2007 11:08:26 PM

What kind of 'car hookup' are you considering?

If its an FM transmitter, the quality isn't so hot.
If its a cassette-adaptor thingie, the quality isn't so hot.
If its a hardwired cable you should be OK.

I investigated adding a hardwire input to my Honda and Toyota stock radios. Most were $100 or so and I'de still be stuck with the sucky quality of my stock system.

For $130 I got a Pioneer 3900 which plays CD-R's of MP3s and has a front input jack from Crutchfield. I use my MP3 player rarely now, I keep a few CD-R's (650 megs) of MP3s I like to hear. But if I want to use the MP3 player its an option. Plus the sound quality is much better than the stock system.

11/8/2007 10:56:08 AM

mine was hd based and it would over heat from time to time but when it cooled down it worked fine..
you just didn't want to leave it running when the a/c wasn't on.

11/8/2007 11:29:45 AM

I always use the "It was in extreme temperatures during shipping from manufacturer to store/online retail and then from the online retail to my house" and it works perfectly fine...I used to leave my ipod video in the car 24/7 all year and nothing happened to it. Don't do this anymore for obvious reasons cause I can't answer calls if I don't have my iphone on me

11/8/2007 12:30:41 PM