How to Use an iPod With a Car Radio

Most contemporary car radios come with a special "auxiliary" jack intended to allow input from iPods and other portable music players. The simplest way of connecting your iPod to the car stereo is just the same as connecting an iPod to a home stereo--just use a cable to link the iPod and the input jack, in this case the "auxiliary" jack. If your car radio doesn't have an auxiliary jack, there are a couple of other options you can try to get connected to your iPod on the road.

Instructions

1. Connect one end of a 3.5mm stereo cable connector to the headphone jack of your iPod.

2. Insert the other end of the 3.5mm cable connector to the auxiliary/MP3 jack on your car stereo.

3. Power the iPod on and switch your car stereo to auxiliary mode--this is usually as simple as locating the button labelled "AUX" and pushing it once, or may involve pushing a "Mode" button several times.

Tips & Warnings

• If your car stereo doesn't have an iPod/Auxiliary connector jack, you can purchase a cassette adapter that plugs into the tape deck to connect your iPod to the stereo.

• Another method of connecting your iPod to the car radio involves using a short-range radio transmitter constructed specially for this purpose; the transmitter cable plugs into your iPod headphone jack. Then you just tune both the transmitter and your car radio to an FM station not currently occupied by a radio station and operate your iPod as usual; the sound will come through the car stereo.

References

• Apple iPod Instructions