audio in

No, your Prius radio does not have AUX in. But there are ways - here is what I did:

Order AUX-BOX.
Order AB-TOY cable.
Order Toyota part# 08695-00370 wire harness.

Follow the ilustrated installation guide to be found elsewhere in Audio and Electronics forum. I'd do it for you, but the search is giving me memory allocation errors, so I don't want to push it right now...

Search for AB-TOY or AUX-BOX, you'll find it.

 

While waiting for Coastal Dave's AUX-in kit I'm using the cassette adapter that comes with the Roady Car kit. It works fine except when I want to play a real tape cassette I have to eject it. You can buy the cassette adapters separately at Radio Shack etc.

 

There is still one more way to solve your problem. Delphi and others sell a switch that interupts the antenna that brings the broadcast FM signals to the radio, and inserts just the FM freqency you select on the Roady2 and the FM radio. All other frequencies are blocked (except perhaps a very strong local FM signal as you pass it's antenna).
When you deselect the X-M radio, the regular FM antenna is reconnected for normal FM radio operation. That should work well and costs under $100. I've seen them for less.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pepa\";p=\"59985)</div>

I think the threads you're looking for are:

• 
  
  Thanks for posting this, Pepa -- I'm also currently planning on seeing what Coastal Dave comes up with, but I'm curious about the alternatives!

 

I was also waiting for the Coastal's aux-in. In the meantime, I tried some of these FM modulators, found them unacceptable. Poor quality audio, frequency drifts with change of temperature, saturated FM here in Chicagoland - it's hard to find empty frequency...

I got tired of waiting, and since Santa said I was good boy in '04 I ordered and installed the above setup. Little pricey - but it does work great! And my 20G Archos Jukebox fits in the front armrest compartment like if it was build for it

 

Hmmm... you tempt me, Pepa, you tempt me!

 

Pepa,

Which Archos do you have? I'm looking at picking up a Gmini120. I think it should fit nicely in the the box below the radio.

Chris

 

I have Archos Jukebox 20G, it's three years old, they don't sell it anymore. It is great unit though. I don't know much about the Gmini, but I do know that it only plays MP3s and has 20G HD.

You may like to also check AV100 series products instead. The size is the same as Archos Jukebox (fits nicely in the front shelf on armrest console). I'm actually considering buying this one, because they have version in 40G (AV140) and it plays not only MP3, but also video (DivX) and has video output that can be played on TV - hence through upcoming Coastal's Video-in! The best price I got is $308.

Side note - when you look at the Archos line of products and the pricing, I could never understand what is the iPod mania all about...

 

fred,

they're wrong. You'll also need Toyota part# 08695-00370 wire harness - that's the cable that actually plugs in the CD changer connector on the back of the radio.

 

fred,

the only thing you need to plug into the cigarette lighter outlet is your MP3 player or whatever you're going to use in the car. The AUX BOX gets the power from the radio. I'm not even doing that - I got the 2300 mAh batteries for my Archos and it lasts me three days of commuting...

You're almost there - happy listening!
Now if and when Coastal Dave releases the audio/video AUX-IN, what the heck are we going to do with the AUX-BOX? :roll:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pepa\";p=\"64693)</div>

No offense meant to Dave and I am sure he has alot on his plate, but it seems his Prius stuff is literally taking years to get released. Where is the video kit that was promised? The auxillary input? I would buy these in a minute, but the longer we have to wait, the more likely we are to find other solutions like the Aux-Box.