Mate, the quality of your work (videography, editing, comentating and content) is expceptional. I have no doubt you will soon be Australia's leading car reviewer. Keep going! And remember the little people when you get there :-)
Thanks for the kind words Adam! There are many things I can improve but I think with each video I'll get better. Thanks for watching and glad you liked it.
@@MotoringBoxTV I agree with Adam. Seeing this is 2 Years old is shocking, such structured videos were still pretty rare at the time. Not to mention you used the video chapter feature, all the way back in 2019. truly exceptional, keep it up!
@@MotoringBoxTV aye well I appreciate the video man, had my eyes on a c4 corvette for quite some time but they stopped making them in 96’, this video is a life saver!
Nice work. I run a car audio company in Sydney, and i do agree with the new head units not looking right in older vehicle dashboards. Maintaining the original equipment amplifier and subwoofer - like your work...
Nice tutorial for reviving an old stereo. I'd suggest to solder your new wires directly into the board instead of soldering wires with each other mid-air. Soldering into the board makes for stronger/better connections, less prone to disconnecting by having to move the wires while installing the unit into the car and such. I'd unsolder the original audio wires (instead of cutting them) and as with the power 12v and Ground coming in from the car, I'd trace those wires to the board and solder the bluetooth unit's power wires there. If you're not planning on using the tape player part of the stereo, maybe put the bluetooth adapter thing inside?
If you're about to comment something like "Just buy a new bluetooth headunit for $10 from X" you're missing the point. This video is for those who want to retain their factory headunit so their dash looks stock standard, but are interested in enabling bluetooth audio streaming without using FM transmitters or bluetooth/wired tape adaptors. FM transmitters or bluetooth tape adaptors "do the job" and if you're happy using those, that's awesome. But they're passing your audio through the FM band or through the head of the tape drive, and the sound quality may be affected. Also, as stated I am not an expert when it comes to electrical work, but the mod outlined in the video has worked brilliantly for a number of years. Thanks for watching.
Yea the Audio Quality is gonna be affected. Compared to the perfectly good a Quality any 20-Year-old Car is known for. Also without an Enhanced Bloototh Codex (which yours apparently doesn't), the quality is not really gonna be any better than FM. It is a really cool mod, but I don't think the audio quality is its claim to fame.
@@asdanjer FM is analog, it goes up to 15khz (most adults can't hear anything above that) so there is no degradation of sound with FM at all as long as the signal is undisturbed and the receiver is decent.
@@westelaudio943 Well theoretically yes, but there is always disturbance. especially with such a mini antenna. That's why I sad that it was comparable to the default bloototh audio transmission.
@@asdanjer The effects of bad FM reception are high levels of buzz and noise (no direct loss of information, rather added unwanted information drowning out the signal), while what you get with BT is lossy compression artifacts (actual loss of information). So it's not really comparable. However, the bad sound quality of BT is always getting over-exaggerated by people, even with cheap BT receivers you get decent sound, lossy yes, but especially in a noisy environment like a car with lo-fi door speakers this doesn't really matter at all.
A female friend of my dad got him to replace the original head unit as it was faulty. A feeling of relief washed over me when I saw that it was an Alpine branded one. Personally, I like it and the funky red and white lighting it gives off at night and it doesn't clash too badly with the rest of the dash lighting. I love it's auxiliary jack.
@@MotoringBoxTV Pay no attention, it's on the right side! We never got that RHD Ford in the UK tho. It looks a bit like a UK Ford Sierra on the inside , yet like some American Lincoln town car on the outside. I've had a few cars where I wish I'd had a carpeted dashboard mind. Not really a thing here due to crap weather, but even the occasional sunny day can be a nightmare if you have a particularly light coloured dash and a certain angled windscreen!
Good on you for keeping the factory look without having to give up modern technology. I agree that most modern aftermarket radio are far too gimmicky and difficult to use. I have one in my mk1 VW and it does not fit the look of the dash at all (although it sounds great). It looks like a damn Disco at night and is distracting. However, I did something similar with what you did with my daily-driver 14 year old Ford. I installed a 3.5mm stereo Aux module that fed into the unused DVD port on my factory head unit. I then bought a wired bluetooth audio media adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter for power, and connects to the new Aux port. This way I have a direct audio connection, so no wireless interference, and it has a remote attachment so I can control the function of the cell phone (volume, next eplay tracks, pause, and phone pickup) without directly using the cellphone. This way I avoid a ticket for using a cellphone while driving, which is illegal where I'm from (Canada). It sounds great and I can still using the original controls on the steering wheel to control the head unit for volume, mute, and aux selection. I look forward to seeing more of your content - cheers!
I noticed that the unit had a microphone so i would do a little more work and make a switch so you still can switch back to the tape and bring out the microphone in the bluetooth unit so you can use the call option as well.
This is an awesome mod , especially how it keeps the original fascia and keeps it functional What I would have done different though, is I would have avoided these little back 'for car' boxes, they're expensive for what they are and don't do the best job if you just search for "12V Bluetooth" you'll find listings for tonnes of boards who do the same thing, or more! What I do is I grab the ones who have soldering pads for extra buttons , such as play, pause, skip fwd, skip back, etc Then I can solder the pads of these to the buttons in the front of the car head unit, and like that I can use the original fast forward , pause , etc buttons too. It's much safer when there's a trash song that comes on in the playlist, and you want to skip it, you can just press the original next button , rather than having to get out your phone and open the screen to press next, or maybe even needing to unlock the phone too... Which, while driving, isn't the safest
I also agree with this as it seems a shame to go to such lengths to retain the original unit only to disable the tape function and kind of make the whole thing incomplete. I actually have a small collection of tapes and although I could no doubt find the digital version of all those songs it would be nice to just be able to play the original tapes from time to time just for the fun of it!
I was thinking the same thing. Why go through all the trouble to keep the unit only to cut the wires. Just connect the bluetooth to the needed solder points and be done.
Because you know some of us will rib you, I will not. Thank you. I was injecting BT at a different point with a pcb board mounted inside some head units , though alpine one is crowded like a 2000s compact car engine bay haha . I had wondered about injecting via the tape player output, as a simpler fastet method. Your videography, audio etc were near Profesional level. Thank you once again . Very satisfying to watch you do it.
I just changed my stock head unit with the so-call "modern" one few weeks ago and its look really doesn't blend in with my old car's dashboard, which annoys me a lot. Wish i had seen this video before i did the mods...... Great video by the way and don't worry too much about people not getting the point of this video. I totally get the dilemma when it comes to streaming music with smartphones in older cars.
No, because stereo unit is shielded, so you'll never be able to connect to it or play music. That effect is called "Faraday cage". In that case you would have to add external antenna to your bluetooth module.
@@petarstefanovic98 I have already done this, before coming across this video. But used a cheaper smaller USB Bluetooth option. I took the Bluetooth out of its plastic case, found a 5v circuit inside the radio and connected the audio to the aux function on the radio, hot glued the thing inside and working perfectly, no need for external aerial. Radio was a ford 2din cd6000, a lot cheaper than buying the ripoff price of around £200 for the Ford module for it, I cost me £5 for the USB Bluetooth receiver.
I just did this on my 03 chevy radio. Took the BT unit out of the casing, heat shrunk it, and fit it inside the radio chassis next to the cassette drive. has zero issues with connecting.
Beautifully done, I've been wanting to do this to my car that I'm restoring and I've been stumped for a bit since there's no info on my stereo. Thanks for pointing out the steps to connect one and I can't wait to open up my radio for the 4th time 👍
Two things. The easier way would have been to tap into the cd changer input wires on the back of the unit. Also, car stereo wiring code is usually yellow for constant hot, and red for ignition. As that was made by alpine, that should be the case, as the wiring harness looks like the same color code.
Easier yes - but I preferred to override the tape functionality instead of CD. Secondly, the way I've wired it definitely turns the module on with the ignition in my car - so make of that what you will.
What a super-cool video!!! I am late to the party and was thinking about how to add bluetooth capability to a 1966 Corvair without destroying the look. Very helpful information. Thanks!
Ur video tutorial was great. Helped me set a Bluetooth system in 94 Benz W140 S500 Becker radio and watching this video was exactly the help I needed. Ignore the dump ass comments listed which I saw plenty 🙄. I’m pretty sure many others have and will find this very helpful.
Good Video But! The problems with your tape drive modifications in general: You must find the audio insertion point after the tape audio preamp and Dolby decoder otherwise the audio will be equalized incorrectly + Dolby decoded and sound crap. These processes maybe on the main board! You have to have a working tape transport with all the belts working etc If you bodgy it up(by removing springs etc) so the cassette audio is always on then you have no way to switch the radio on! Not all heads unit like yours have a tape switch they are normally Radio or Tape, controlled just by whether a tape is loaded or not! Also, some cassette decks will sense if a cassette is loaded with switches and all the spools are moving as they should! It they don’t it tries to eject the tape or perform a auto reverse because it thinks its come to the end of the tape etc I have modified many car head units and portable cassette radios (ghetto blasters) and the best method I have found is to intercept the radio receiver output or the volume control audio input (easy if its a shaft volume control) @ 5:00 in your video I can see 3 miniature audio cables on the main board the grey ones I bet one goes to the volume shaft look for cables like this! Intercept this L+R+G signal (leave the ground in circuit do not cut) take L+R to a 2pole switch like www.jaycar.com.au/dpdt-miniature-toggle-switch-solder-tag/p/ST0355 wire in a Blue tooth Rxer or just a 3.5mm Female socket into the other pole of the switch L+R (then you can plug whatever into it). Return the output of the switch L+R to the intercept point. You will need 2 miniature stereo shielded audio cables ground the shields in the head unit and connect all the shields at the switch end. See this diagram ua-cam.com/video/gZpZPCKW124/v-deo.html Mount switch in a practicle location
Thanks @RODS for having taken some time to provide these details! I have bought a pioneer 90ties tape radio to replace the ugly cd player in my car, followed this good tutorial, I was a bit sad as the sound was ugly after having plugged the bluetooth output to the tape output. I have tried to find some info on internet, wondered if I had to plug a digital to analog converter, and thanks to your explanation, I have plugged blutooth output somewhere after the tape output and know it works like a charm! Before I had to play a ghost tape to switch to bluetooth and know I can use bluetooth either on radio and on tape. I liked the fact that I had to put a tape to turn on bluetooth (probably because its funny to do an old move to turn on a modern device) but I prefer by far having a cristal clear sound.
The radio I have in my car has a casette deck, aux in, and control for a CD changer. Gotta love Volkswagen. Adding this will basically make it the best head unit of any car built before 2000 lol.
Thanks for the time spent on your video. The video is very well made. I appreciate the help. Now i can have the confidence to try and install bluetooth on my old system. Its awesome to have a skill like that. Hey dont worry about the critics. Its a bluetooth mod video. Not a soldering tutorial. Them soldering critics can take a hike. Good job man. Great video!
Genius. Vulcanising tape from Jaycar matey is the best solution for those shitty hard to get to wires rather than 'leccy tape. Works a treat. I have an R1150rt BMW bike with a tape head unit an based upon your video am going to give it the treatment. Thanks for the idea!
using a bluetooth receiver board from ebay is around $2 and doesnt come in that large box ... its a small circuit board that fits inside the head unit itself
received mine just today (not related to this video), yeah, the only bit is that they usually don't work at 12V, unless they do, but they are just a bit more bulky and usually they are panel mount.... actually i didn't pay much attention to the modification (it's case dependent for sure) but cassette heads have on the circuit what they call a NAB equaliser, an ALC (that is a good thing) and the signal is actually a lot low compared to the one out of a "line" or hadphone one, and it may distort... i think this project got just lucky
@@TheRunq11 most of those motor runs at 12V or 6V, and the BT board's VCC is 5V, simply using a 7805 voltage regulation IC is good enough to power it. Or you can use a BEC module (DC-DC circuit) for RC models to provide 5V, usually it's a tiny PCB that smaller than your thumb nail and weight less than 5 grams.
I love how to this day you are still commenting and active in the comment section. Wholesome! As a new subscriber, i'm looking forward to more content from your channel!
Still going mate! This video captures the imagination of a lot of car guys, so it's really interesting to hear about what people are planning or questions they might have👍
Brilliant stuff. Perfect for my old BMW and Toyota where the stereo is actually a moulded and integrated, non-DIN, part of the dash. You can actually get more advanced versions of the Bluetooth modules that have slots for SD cards and USB sticks which will wire in similarly but routed to glovebox or coin box.
I've seen a few modules online specifically for some older BMW head units, so depending on the car there may be a better solution available. Thanks for watching.
MotoringBox Yes, there are plug & play modules that will simply plug into the CD changer connection if you have it and then only for some of those with a separate plug into the rear of the head unit. From memory (in the E46 BMW at least) there are 2 Alpine versions of units and a couple of other brands (Panasonic?). The Alpines apparently have the best amplifier in them by far so this solder-in mod is a great option. Funny coincidence is that a couple of months ago in my BMW E46, I had swapped out the Tape player head unit for a CD unit from wrecked later model. Just a few days ago I said "I must chuck that useless tape unit out." Your vid was perfect timing for some experimentation!
Solder onto the connectors instead of cutting the wire and have a dedicated blank cassette for Bluetooth mode, you could probably do this entire mod with the Bluetooth module staying inside the unit instead of sitting outside if there's enough space,
Yep, solder on and don’t cut anything. Then, I bet a cassette AND the BT input could function at the same time. So you could play a tape and still get alerts and map directions through the car speakers too. Ah, the simple beauty of analog signals.
Both points are true. The only potential downsides might be whether there's any background noise being outputted by the tape drive, and bluetooth signal quality if you locate the receiver inside the head unit.
I did this year's ago on my ke55 corolla, but I soldered a head phone Jack straight to the tape reader on the male side and the female side was put through the dash above the ash tray . I drilled a hole their and on the female end of the plug I cut with a raser blade around the thick end so there was a groove . So when I pushed the female plug through the drilled out hole it would get stuck, then I hot glued the plug from behind the dash peice to make it never come out . The female end of the plug only stuck out a little bit and it wasn't showi, it looked really clean . Then I pulled the springs of the tape deck like he did and pushed it down to stay their indefinitely. I had 2 male end plug lead so when ever I wanted to listen to music I just had to plug it in . If I didn't want to use the wire to listen to music I would just throw it in the dash compartment.
Thanks for this , for anyone who has a stupid comment please , think of the logic first , some car audio units like my RFX-9020 Rockford Fosgate Unit is rare and does not have Aux in but , I for example want the system to be current , My audio system is complete RF front to back , for the RF purists out there who will probably butcher me for this , RF don't make head units anymore so kindly plug it. This is a matter of preference and this video was informative and amazing to give my Rare RF Unit a UTD lift to Bluetooth.
That is a great little mod for anyone who owns a classic car and does not want to run a modern head unit with Aux in,I myself will be trying this in my mk2 escort
@@MotoringBoxTV That's probably because the solder on those pads is old, or is a different type of solder. Reflowing the pads then soldering to them works nicely.
So helpful man! Thanks! I'm going to connect it to the solder points or find a cassette unit with an aux port if possible but I really love this concept quite a lot and appreciate you posting it! Thank you from Canada!
I'm considering doing this but I'm also a cassette lover and want to keep the functionality of it. I'm sort of thinking doing it, but buggering the ribbon cable may end up with no more use for the cassette, any suggestions?
Yoo thank you my dude, it worked so perfectly,i'm so happy , my dad couldn't afford a branded car setup , so i surprised him with this mode, thanks you × 1000000000 times brdh❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💛
Nicely done. If I'm killing the cassette deck, I'd perhaps kill the power to the motor also. Just to add to this, if you ever need a home hi-quality record player amplifier, magnetic tape decks do a great job if the record player has a magnetic cartridge; then just send the output of the cartridge to the tape head input. The frequency response is incredible; nice crisp treble and clean bass.
@@wallacewinston3627 The quality of sound coming from a HiFi system is more a function of its pre-amp. Most Power Amp stages are simple and easy to manage for Frequency Range and Total Harmonic Distortion. What is not usually good is the Pre-Amp, and that's what you pay for when you buy an expensive amp. Fortunately, most Cassette or 8 Track Car Players which one would have set aside decades ago have a very advanced Pre-Amp stage. It's input Mv is the same as that of a Magnetic Cartridge such as SURE brand or any of those popular affordable brands. The Ceramic Cartridge could never produce the HiFi wide frequency of the Magnetic Cartridges. So where they input wires of the Tape Head Would be, simply route a set of RCA Female Jacks, and that will be the Input from the Turn Table Magnetic Cartridge. Then you can use a blank Cassette, and in the case of the 8 Track, push the Cartridge Halfway in, to turn the units on. The correct was, of course, is to add an on-off Switch and Selector, but by using the blanks it does not disable the function of the Player and its quick and easy to set up. Proper Grounding from the Cartridge is essential to avoid any low humming. You'll be amazed at the Fidelity of the Music from the Records, and if you enhance that sound with a car Graphic Equalizer/Amplifier, it all runs well on 12 Volts 10 Amp Power supply.
Thanks for the comment. My head unit didn't work correctly after cutting power to the motor, so your mileage may vary. Mine freaked out and kept trying to "swap sides" of the tape, with the audio channels muted.
Cool! When I modded the stereo on my 2000 Focus I just wanted an AUX input, but I wasn't able to find an appropriate place to solder it since the amplifier in the unit is expecting a signal from a cassette tape, not an amplified signal meant for a set of headphones. I tried connecting it there and it sounded horrendous. So I did end up using the tape adapter but I couldn't notice any sound quality issues. I glued the tape door shut and mounted the aux port and a toggle switch to tell the unit that I've "inserted a tape", which I did by finding the switch that is pressed when a tape is inserted. This made it easy to switch between tape and radio (since I like listening to NPR). I'm sure there is some little black box that will convert a phone's headphone jack signal down to a line level but I wanted to do it as cheaply as possible. I only had to buy the toggle switch and the headphone jack, already had a tape adapter to sacrifice since it would be permanently installed. Another tip for someone that isn't really experienced in modding stuff is don't completely reassemble everything before you have tested it! Just make sure it's put together enough to function safely.
I have a similar system in my car, but with it just going into the Aux socket. You’ve inspired me to get rid of that setup and make it more stealth. Thanks 😊
Thank you, UA-cam! I never knew this solution even existed until this video came up in my recommended videos. I’m currently using the ‘tape worm’ method, which is not only annoying, but tends to pick up interference as well. Excellent instructional video. This is a mod that I will be making soon to my 1994 Ford Escort. Thanks again!
Not bad video; but. #1. There is no reason to cut the right and Left audio ribbon cable coming out of the tape deck, just solder the wires to the board. #2. No matter how good your bluetooth is, it's still going to be constrained by the audio processing of the head unit itself. The "Audio Quality" that suffers is the way the media was recorded. Your bluetooth audio is still going through the same equalizer that the radio and tape do. A new headunit in any respect will run circles around an old head unit like that any day of the week. As ugly as they are (and some are horrific looking even in today's cars) you're not looking at it while you're driving; least you're not supposed to. I ate it and got a new headunit anyhow (now 5 years old) and I'm not really upset with it at all, not hard to lerrn to love it when you don't have to stare it down all the time.
I think for #1 that you would have signals coming from the board and the bluetooth at the same time, his way, you eliminate it if I m seeing correctly. I agee, I put in a new head unit and it was night and day difference.
Just be sure to use one or the other inputs, use a tape, don't connect bt. Use bt, don't have a casset loaded. If you have both running at the same time, nothing will be hurt you'll just hear both inputs at the same time
There would always be a constant 12v coming from the tape section which you could wire up to the bluetooth module, which is the right way to do. So whenever you're on FM the bluetooth module would be turned off, as you hit the tape button, the bluetooth starts up, auto pairs with your phone and starts playing automatically as well. Right now the issue is, even if you have the stereo at FM, the bluetooth turns on and would start playing audio from your phone.
True, you could do that. I prefer it turning on once when the car turns on though, so the phone is already paired and ready to go. The pairing is not instantaneous plus it makes that noise everytime it does so.
I love the nostalgia of old cars but I am definitely not attached to old media formats like cassette tapes. You can still queue up 70s or 80s tracks on Spotify and get a much better experience.
Love this. I was looking to do something similar ~10 years ago in my Ford Taurus. But everything on that shitty car broke down after a while, so it wouldn’t have been worth the effort. Still glad to see it would have been possible
I have a Bluetooth tape, Ion branded. Is sadly been discontinued but it works really well in my old Honda. This vid is great though and I want to do this with my stereo
This video was super handy for me since I have a 96 fairlane. Head unit is slightly externally but internal PCBs and wiring shown in this video translates right over. Cheers!
Such a great video! I’m restoring an sx Corolla and I’ve been trying to decide whether or not to go with an aftermarket head unit... now I can keep the og tape deck... thanks so much!
I gave this a try on a 1998 Honda Goldwing motorcycle and it did not work satisfactorily. After much troubleshooting I found a solution that works for applications where if you tie into the signal wires from the cassette player the BT audio sounds distorted. What I did was follow the circuits on the board until I found where the signal from the cassette player went into the pre amplifier chip, removed it from the board, and soldered the BT signal wires into the outputs from the pre amp. My customer also wanted the cassette player to work so I added extension wires from the board to the pre amp chip, and installed a double pole double throw switch so the signal going back into the circuit board can be switched between the BT signal and the output from the pre amp chip which is coming from the cassette player. The pre amp chip was an 8 pin chip so was not too difficult to figure out what the pins were. 2 signal ins, 2 signal outs, 2 amplifier grounds, 1 main ground, and 1 power. I connected signal ground to main ground as it was shared with the signal ground to the cassette player. With this method the BT audio is clear with no distortion and everything still works.
@@MotoringBoxTV Thank you for your video, it gave me a good starting point and in the end my customer has a 1998 Honda Goldwing with Bluetooth and a working cassette player in the factory radio so he is happy.
Because listening to your car stereo through a wireless blewtooth earpiece in mono is so much better than the stereo sound out of the regular car speaker system!
You're a GENIUS mate!! :D. Thankyou for this. I have a 2001 E46 BMW and it only has a tape deck and radio. Cost an arm and a leg to install a new stereo unit or lcd head unit so I'm gonna try and do this trick.
I have a 02 Mercedes e430 I need to do this to, but I want the cassette to work also. So I think a simple relay to flip between BT and cassette is all you need. Switching out the audio lines and cassette on switch All you need is a switch to turn BT on/off. Then the cassette still works as usual and you don’t need the dummy tape in it.
You can also find cars from the 80 90s with a car stereo with only radio. But usually if you buy a car that is more than 10 years then the original stereo is for long-term replacement. replaced by something completely different. and there are actually now car stereos with classic design
Gonna give this a shot with my 92 Prelude. Just ordered the factory radio and a bluetooth receiver like that and I'll update this post if I get this working right!
wish i could do this for my 67 falcon one thing modern stereos need are bass and treble knobs like this one's so you can quickly and easily adjust without having to scroll through a settings menu
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0:38 Actually, it‘s better than CD because there are bluetooth cassette emulators. Bluetooth generally only has ~32kHz of bandwidth depending on the version, just like cassettes.
You did an amazing job... i was gonna jab at the soldering skills but you did enough for us already. Liked the film and will recommend this to pals before they ruin they're classics TY. subbed
Thanks mate. I don't mind if people have a go at my skills... I've tried to be as open as possible about how basic they are. But if it is able to inspire someone to give it a go, and do it properly (well, their definition of it anyway) it's enough.
Thanks for watching! Like, comment or sub to support the channel.
👕Or grab a shirt from www.motoringbox.com/shop
Just use a Bluetooth and plug it in to aux. Connect to phone
Or rather pair to phone
Too much trouble the way you do it.
A Bluetooth plug
See
@@me67226 you missed the point. The head unit didn't have aux.
"...like a tapeworm out of a dogs arse".
Classic.
Glad you liked it!
I'm never looking at the aux cable the same way.
🤣😂😅
I died when he said that. Legendary
my dog didn't start playing music when i plugged the worm into my phone.
i think your going to void your warranty doing that.
Should of bought that 20 year extended warranty.
Hahaha.... nice
We are calling about your car's extended warranty
Welp, now you can moddifie all your old cassette decks to be compatible with blue touch devices and say good bye to those old cassette tspes.
GEEENIIIUUUUSSS😗😗😗
Mate, the quality of your work (videography, editing, comentating and content) is expceptional. I have no doubt you will soon be Australia's leading car reviewer. Keep going! And remember the little people when you get there :-)
Thanks for the kind words Adam! There are many things I can improve but I think with each video I'll get better. Thanks for watching and glad you liked it.
Yep, I was very surprised when I saw only 5k subs.. I have a feeling there will be exponential growth very soon. Best of luck for the future mate!
@@MotoringBoxTV I agree with Adam. Seeing this is 2 Years old is shocking, such structured videos were still pretty rare at the time. Not to mention you used the video chapter feature, all the way back in 2019. truly exceptional, keep it up!
@@ezrahaskard3527 thanks so much, that means a lot to me. I never expected this video to be popular 👍
@@MotoringBoxTV aye well I appreciate the video man, had my eyes on a c4 corvette for quite some time but they stopped making them in 96’, this video is a life saver!
Nice work. I run a car audio company in Sydney, and i do agree with the new head units not looking right in older vehicle dashboards. Maintaining the original equipment amplifier and subwoofer - like your work...
Nice tutorial for reviving an old stereo. I'd suggest to solder your new wires directly into the board instead of soldering wires with each other mid-air. Soldering into the board makes for stronger/better connections, less prone to disconnecting by having to move the wires while installing the unit into the car and such. I'd unsolder the original audio wires (instead of cutting them) and as with the power 12v and Ground coming in from the car, I'd trace those wires to the board and solder the bluetooth unit's power wires there. If you're not planning on using the tape player part of the stereo, maybe put the bluetooth adapter thing inside?
If you're about to comment something like "Just buy a new bluetooth headunit for $10 from X" you're missing the point. This video is for those who want to retain their factory headunit so their dash looks stock standard, but are interested in enabling bluetooth audio streaming without using FM transmitters or bluetooth/wired tape adaptors. FM transmitters or bluetooth tape adaptors "do the job" and if you're happy using those, that's awesome. But they're passing your audio through the FM band or through the head of the tape drive, and the sound quality may be affected.
Also, as stated I am not an expert when it comes to electrical work, but the mod outlined in the video has worked brilliantly for a number of years. Thanks for watching.
Yea the Audio Quality is gonna be affected. Compared to the perfectly good a Quality any 20-Year-old Car is known for. Also without an Enhanced Bloototh Codex (which yours apparently doesn't), the quality is not really gonna be any better than FM. It is a really cool mod, but I don't think the audio quality is its claim to fame.
Another reason for doing this cheap mod is that you retain the steering wheel controls.
@@asdanjer
FM is analog, it goes up to 15khz (most adults can't hear anything above that) so there is no degradation of sound with FM at all as long as the signal is undisturbed and the receiver is decent.
@@westelaudio943 Well theoretically yes, but there is always disturbance. especially with such a mini antenna. That's why I sad that it was comparable to the default bloototh audio transmission.
@@asdanjer
The effects of bad FM reception are high levels of buzz and noise (no direct loss of information, rather added unwanted information drowning out the signal), while what you get with BT is lossy compression artifacts (actual loss of information). So it's not really comparable.
However, the bad sound quality of BT is always getting over-exaggerated by people, even with cheap BT receivers you get decent sound, lossy yes, but especially in a noisy environment like a car with lo-fi door speakers this doesn't really matter at all.
A female friend of my dad got him to replace the original head unit as it was faulty. A feeling of relief washed over me when I saw that it was an Alpine branded one.
Personally, I like it and the funky red and white lighting it gives off at night and it doesn't clash too badly with the rest of the dash lighting. I love it's auxiliary jack.
Next you will have to fix that steering wheel thats on the wrong side...lol
Nice one.
@@MotoringBoxTV Pay no attention, it's on the right side! We never got that RHD Ford in the UK tho. It looks a bit like a UK Ford Sierra on the inside , yet like some American Lincoln town car on the outside. I've had a few cars where I wish I'd had a carpeted dashboard mind. Not really a thing here due to crap weather, but even the occasional sunny day can be a nightmare if you have a particularly light coloured dash and a certain angled windscreen!
It's not on the wrong side, it's on the right side.
@@peterbonnez I see what you did there, nice!
Wrong country! LOL!
Honestly why in God's name do all the new headunits have stupid lights on them.
To see in the dark
@@Sci-Mon1 yeah but don't need to be changing colours every 2 seconds
@@Hamzaal that's like a few that actually do that. And you can change and disable the color if you want. It's not like you have to keep it on.
@@Sci-Mon1 unfortunately might don't not want to turn off at least i got it to stay on one colour
@@Hamzaal which unit do you have? On my Sony unit I had to download an app to do it.
Good on you for keeping the factory look without having to give up modern technology. I agree that most modern aftermarket radio are far too gimmicky and difficult to use. I have one in my mk1 VW and it does not fit the look of the dash at all (although it sounds great). It looks like a damn Disco at night and is distracting.
However, I did something similar with what you did with my daily-driver 14 year old Ford. I installed a 3.5mm stereo Aux module that fed into the unused DVD port on my factory head unit. I then bought a wired bluetooth audio media adapter that plugs into the cigarette lighter for power, and connects to the new Aux port. This way I have a direct audio connection, so no wireless interference, and it has a remote attachment so I can control the function of the cell phone (volume, next
eplay tracks, pause, and phone pickup) without directly using the cellphone. This way I avoid a ticket for using a cellphone while driving, which is illegal where I'm from (Canada). It sounds great and I can still using the original controls on the steering wheel to control the head unit for volume, mute, and aux selection.
I look forward to seeing more of your content - cheers!
Very important: IF SOLDIERING DIRRETLY ON A BOARD, use wet tissue paper around the solder area, it will keep the electronics from overheating.
I noticed that the unit had a microphone so i would do a little more work and make a switch so you still can switch back to the tape and bring out the microphone in the bluetooth unit so you can use the call option as well.
This is an awesome mod , especially how it keeps the original fascia and keeps it functional
What I would have done different though, is I would have avoided these little back 'for car' boxes, they're expensive for what they are and don't do the best job
if you just search for "12V Bluetooth" you'll find listings for tonnes of boards who do the same thing, or more!
What I do is I grab the ones who have soldering pads for extra buttons , such as play, pause, skip fwd, skip back, etc
Then I can solder the pads of these to the buttons in the front of the car head unit, and like that I can use the original fast forward , pause , etc buttons too.
It's much safer when there's a trash song that comes on in the playlist, and you want to skip it, you can just press the original next button , rather than having to get out your phone and open the screen to press next, or maybe even needing to unlock the phone too... Which, while driving, isn't the safest
Very impressive!
Which one do you think I need to buy for a 87 Camry cassette deck?
Why cut the ribbon cable? Simply connect to the solder points on the tape drive and have the use of both.
Because. No one uses tapes anymore. At least, not in this era.
Yes we do.
I also agree with this as it seems a shame to go to such lengths to retain the original unit only to disable the tape function and kind of make the whole thing incomplete. I actually have a small collection of tapes and although I could no doubt find the digital version of all those songs it would be nice to just be able to play the original tapes from time to time just for the fun of it!
I was thinking the same thing. Why go through all the trouble to keep the unit only to cut the wires. Just connect the bluetooth to the needed solder points and be done.
@@awesomeferret it has but it's a niche.
Now I have that darn image of a "tape worm coming out of a dogs arse" in my mind, thanks ....😂🤣😎😁
Believe me, so do I.
Great way to keep the appearance of the 1990's facade whilst running updated technology through it.
Because that was such a great look! lol
The beginnings of a fantastic channel here. I love bangernomics and cheap effective mods like this. Subbed.
Thanks mate, let's hope so. Thanks for watching!
Because you know some of us will rib you, I will not. Thank you. I was injecting BT at a different point with a pcb board mounted inside some head units , though alpine one is crowded like a 2000s compact car engine bay haha . I had wondered about injecting via the tape player output, as a simpler fastet method. Your videography, audio etc were near Profesional level. Thank you once again . Very satisfying to watch you do it.
Nice little hack, but my preference would be to keep the tape unit useable so it not only looks original, it can also function as originally intended.
You can still do that - just solder directly onto the board and don't remove the springs from the tape drive. Happy days.
I just changed my stock head unit with the so-call "modern" one few weeks ago and its look really doesn't blend in with my old car's dashboard, which annoys me a lot. Wish i had seen this video before i did the mods...... Great video by the way and don't worry too much about people not getting the point of this video. I totally get the dilemma when it comes to streaming music with smartphones in older cars.
Maybe get rid of the BT-reciever casing, and fit the board directly inside the Stereo unit?
No, because stereo unit is shielded, so you'll never be able to connect to it or play music. That effect is called "Faraday cage". In that case you would have to add external antenna to your bluetooth module.
@@petarstefanovic98 I have already done this, before coming across this video. But used a cheaper smaller USB Bluetooth option. I took the Bluetooth out of its plastic case, found a 5v circuit inside the radio and connected the audio to the aux function on the radio, hot glued the thing inside and working perfectly, no need for external aerial. Radio was a ford 2din cd6000, a lot cheaper than buying the ripoff price of around £200 for the Ford module for it, I cost me £5 for the USB Bluetooth receiver.
@@pye8man Those are not shielded as much, because it's a CD player and not a cassette player.
I just did this on my 03 chevy radio. Took the BT unit out of the casing, heat shrunk it, and fit it inside the radio chassis next to the cassette drive. has zero issues with connecting.
I laughed way too hard at the "tapeworm hanging out of a dogs @$$" part
Beautifully done, I've been wanting to do this to my car that I'm restoring and I've been stumped for a bit since there's no info on my stereo. Thanks for pointing out the steps to connect one and I can't wait to open up my radio for the 4th time 👍
Good luck mate. If you have any questions I'll do my best to assist.
@@MotoringBoxTV Hi Sean. Will this work with an AM radio only? I have an XP with the original radio. Cheers Darryl
Two things. The easier way would have been to tap into the cd changer input wires on the back of the unit. Also, car stereo wiring code is usually yellow for constant hot, and red for ignition. As that was made by alpine, that should be the case, as the wiring harness looks like the same color code.
Easier yes - but I preferred to override the tape functionality instead of CD. Secondly, the way I've wired it definitely turns the module on with the ignition in my car - so make of that what you will.
Perfect hack! Same retro look, modern functions, genius!!
I would still use cassettes. I love retro tech!!
Fantastic weight reduction profiled in this video. Remove the weight of the tape itself, as well as the springs. She's a goer!
"you'll never truly be happy" I hear you mate
I'm still pretty happy with how it's performing!
Nice work man, I used to intercept the CD stacker signal. Though you need a CD in the drive for that to work too.
What a super-cool video!!! I am late to the party and was thinking about how to add bluetooth capability to a 1966 Corvair without destroying the look. Very helpful information. Thanks!
Ur video tutorial was great. Helped me set a Bluetooth system in 94 Benz W140 S500 Becker radio and watching this video was exactly the help I needed. Ignore the dump ass comments listed which I saw plenty 🙄. I’m pretty sure many others have and will find this very helpful.
Hey that's awesome, good work!
Your first camera shot of the car interior and your outfit is a symphony in blue.
Good Video But!
The problems with your tape drive modifications in general:
You must find the audio insertion point after the tape audio preamp and Dolby decoder otherwise the audio will be equalized incorrectly + Dolby decoded and sound crap.
These processes maybe on the main board!
You have to have a working tape transport with all the belts working etc
If you bodgy it up(by removing springs etc) so the cassette audio is always on then you have no way to switch the radio on! Not all heads unit like yours have a tape switch they are normally Radio or Tape, controlled just by whether a tape is loaded or not!
Also, some cassette decks will sense if a cassette is loaded with switches and all the spools are moving as they should! It they don’t it tries to eject the tape or perform a auto reverse because it thinks its come to the end of the tape etc
I have modified many car head units and portable cassette radios (ghetto blasters) and the best method I have found is to intercept the radio receiver output or the volume control audio input (easy if its a shaft volume control)
@ 5:00 in your video I can see 3 miniature audio cables on the main board the grey ones I bet one goes to the volume shaft look for cables like this!
Intercept this L+R+G signal (leave the ground in circuit do not cut) take L+R to a 2pole switch like
www.jaycar.com.au/dpdt-miniature-toggle-switch-solder-tag/p/ST0355
wire in a Blue tooth Rxer or just a 3.5mm Female socket into the other pole of the switch L+R (then you can plug whatever into it).
Return the output of the switch L+R to the intercept point. You will need 2 miniature stereo shielded audio cables ground the shields in the head unit and connect all the shields at the switch end. See this diagram
ua-cam.com/video/gZpZPCKW124/v-deo.html
Mount switch in a practicle location
Thanks for the info, I'm sure someone watching will find it valuable!
Thanks @RODS for having taken some time to provide these details! I have bought a pioneer 90ties tape radio to replace the ugly cd player in my car, followed this good tutorial, I was a bit sad as the sound was ugly after having plugged the bluetooth output to the tape output. I have tried to find some info on internet, wondered if I had to plug a digital to analog converter, and thanks to your explanation, I have plugged blutooth output somewhere after the tape output and know it works like a charm! Before I had to play a ghost tape to switch to bluetooth and know I can use bluetooth either on radio and on tape. I liked the fact that I had to put a tape to turn on bluetooth (probably because its funny to do an old move to turn on a modern device) but I prefer by far having a cristal clear sound.
Australian accents are the Texan accents of British accents
But you'd miss Texas if it suddenly didn't exist anymore.
Not to be rude but the unique sound typical of “Southern” states is called a drawl. The only accents in Texas come from south of the border :)
The radio I have in my car has a casette deck, aux in, and control for a CD changer. Gotta love Volkswagen. Adding this will basically make it the best head unit of any car built before 2000 lol.
Thanks for the time spent on your video. The video is very well made. I appreciate the help. Now i can have the confidence to try and install bluetooth on my old system. Its awesome to have a skill like that. Hey dont worry about the critics. Its a bluetooth mod video. Not a soldering tutorial. Them soldering critics can take a hike. Good job man. Great video!
Genius.
Vulcanising tape from Jaycar matey is the best solution for those shitty hard to get to wires rather than 'leccy tape. Works a treat.
I have an R1150rt BMW bike with a tape head unit an based upon your video am going to give it the treatment.
Thanks for the idea!
Mate!... I gave you a like just for the tapeworm out of a dogs arse comment. 😂😂😂👍👍👍
using a bluetooth receiver board from ebay is around $2 and doesnt come in that large box ... its a small circuit board that fits inside the head unit itself
received mine just today (not related to this video), yeah, the only bit is that they usually don't work at 12V, unless they do, but they are just a bit more bulky and usually they are panel mount.... actually i didn't pay much attention to the modification (it's case dependent for sure) but cassette heads have on the circuit what they call a NAB equaliser, an ALC (that is a good thing) and the signal is actually a lot low compared to the one out of a "line" or hadphone one, and it may distort... i think this project got just lucky
Wouldn't it be possible to use the power from the cassette motor. So that Bluetooth would only be enabled when the radio is in tape mode.
@@Leonvolt28 Depends if the cassette motor has the correct voltage, if it has the correct voltage, it would be perfect!
@@TheRunq11 most of those motor runs at 12V or 6V, and the BT board's VCC is 5V, simply using a 7805 voltage regulation IC is good enough to power it.
Or you can use a BEC module (DC-DC circuit) for RC models to provide 5V, usually it's a tiny PCB that smaller than your thumb nail and weight less than 5 grams.
@@foxtrotbravo4495 Oh really? That's nice to know, and yeah just regulate that bitch and you'll be good.
I love how to this day you are still commenting and active in the comment section. Wholesome! As a new subscriber, i'm looking forward to more content from your channel!
Still going mate! This video captures the imagination of a lot of car guys, so it's really interesting to hear about what people are planning or questions they might have👍
Brilliant stuff. Perfect for my old BMW and Toyota where the stereo is actually a moulded and integrated, non-DIN, part of the dash. You can actually get more advanced versions of the Bluetooth modules that have slots for SD cards and USB sticks which will wire in similarly but routed to glovebox or coin box.
I've seen a few modules online specifically for some older BMW head units, so depending on the car there may be a better solution available. Thanks for watching.
MotoringBox Yes, there are plug & play modules that will simply plug into the CD changer connection if you have it and then only for some of those with a separate plug into the rear of the head unit. From memory (in the E46 BMW at least) there are 2 Alpine versions of units and a couple of other brands (Panasonic?). The Alpines apparently have the best amplifier in them by far so this solder-in mod is a great option. Funny coincidence is that a couple of months ago in my BMW E46, I had swapped out the Tape player head unit for a CD unit from wrecked later model. Just a few days ago I said "I must chuck that useless tape unit out." Your vid was perfect timing for some experimentation!
I wonder if there's a way of doing this without disabling the cassette deck.
I like streaming my music, but I also like my cassettes
Solder onto the connectors instead of cutting the wire and have a dedicated blank cassette for Bluetooth mode, you could probably do this entire mod with the Bluetooth module staying inside the unit instead of sitting outside if there's enough space,
Exactly
Yep, solder on and don’t cut anything. Then, I bet a cassette AND the BT input could function at the same time. So you could play a tape and still get alerts and map directions through the car speakers too. Ah, the simple beauty of analog signals.
@@Mrsquiggley I had a feeling that'd be the solution but I'm not an electrician and I wasn't sure if it'd cause any problems
Both points are true. The only potential downsides might be whether there's any background noise being outputted by the tape drive, and bluetooth signal quality if you locate the receiver inside the head unit.
The yellow wire is continuous and unswitched power and the red wire is switched power
As I mentioned on some other comments, my car has it the other way around.
I did this year's ago on my ke55 corolla, but I soldered a head phone Jack straight to the tape reader on the male side and the female side was put through the dash above the ash tray . I drilled a hole their and on the female end of the plug I cut with a raser blade around the thick end so there was a groove . So when I pushed the female plug through the drilled out hole it would get stuck, then I hot glued the plug from behind the dash peice to make it never come out . The female end of the plug only stuck out a little bit and it wasn't showi, it looked really clean .
Then I pulled the springs of the tape deck like he did and pushed it down to stay their indefinitely.
I had 2 male end plug lead so when ever I wanted to listen to music I just had to plug it in .
If I didn't want to use the wire to listen to music I would just throw it in the dash compartment.
Sounds a bit dodgy, but hey if it works!
Thanks for this , for anyone who has a stupid comment please , think of the logic first , some car audio units like my RFX-9020 Rockford Fosgate Unit is rare and does not have Aux in but , I for example want the system to be current , My audio system is complete RF front to back , for the RF purists out there who will probably butcher me for this , RF don't make head units anymore so kindly plug it. This is a matter of preference and this video was informative and amazing to give my Rare RF Unit a UTD lift to Bluetooth.
That is a great little mod for anyone who owns a classic car and does not want to run a modern head unit with Aux in,I myself will be trying this in my mk2 escort
"Why does my phone keep going flat??"
*uses phone for everything, leaves bluetooth on, assumes CD is dead*
That's why you also install a couple of USB sockets into the car so you can keep the phone and BT module (if not hard wiring it) charged up :)
>Not recording your favorite new albums into cassettes for that true retro feel
Plebe. :)
Why cut and splice into the wires, when you could have soldered directly to the back circuit board's solder pads?
In the past I've not had success with getting the solder to stick to the existing pads. I also didn't want to risk damaging the board.
@@MotoringBoxTV Yea, that was a good idea to avoid soldering on that pad, it would've pulled the ribbon off if not done properly.
@@MotoringBoxTV That's probably because the solder on those pads is old, or is a different type of solder. Reflowing the pads then soldering to them works nicely.
So glad I found this channel, the presenter is clear and concise :)
So helpful man! Thanks! I'm going to connect it to the solder points or find a cassette unit with an aux port if possible but I really love this concept quite a lot and appreciate you posting it! Thank you from Canada!
I'm considering doing this but I'm also a cassette lover and want to keep the functionality of it. I'm sort of thinking doing it, but buggering the ribbon cable may end up with no more use for the cassette, any suggestions?
You'd have to solder directly to the points on the board, that way both the tape and bluetooth audio sources are going through together.
Nah, there's a better way, as I said in another comment.
I've always wanted to do this but never had a car with a tape deck.
Yoo thank you my dude, it worked so perfectly,i'm so happy , my dad couldn't afford a branded car setup , so i surprised him with this mode, thanks you × 1000000000 times brdh❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💛
That's so awesome of you to do that, well done!
Nicely done. If I'm killing the cassette deck, I'd perhaps kill the power to the motor also. Just to add to this, if you ever need a home hi-quality record player amplifier, magnetic tape decks do a great job if the record player has a magnetic cartridge; then just send the output of the cartridge to the tape head input. The frequency response is incredible; nice crisp treble and clean bass.
I thought the same re: disconnecting the motor power. No annoying motor noise then!
Tell me more about this turntable amp conversion
@@wallacewinston3627 The quality of sound coming from a HiFi system is more a function of its pre-amp. Most Power Amp stages are simple and easy to manage for Frequency Range and Total Harmonic Distortion. What is not usually good is the Pre-Amp, and that's what you pay for when you buy an expensive amp. Fortunately, most Cassette or 8 Track Car Players which one would have set aside decades ago have a very advanced Pre-Amp stage. It's input Mv is the same as that of a Magnetic Cartridge such as SURE brand or any of those popular affordable brands. The Ceramic Cartridge could never produce the HiFi wide frequency of the Magnetic Cartridges. So where they input wires of the Tape Head Would be, simply route a set of RCA Female Jacks, and that will be the Input from the Turn Table Magnetic Cartridge. Then you can use a blank Cassette, and in the case of the 8 Track, push the Cartridge Halfway in, to turn the units on. The correct was, of course, is to add an on-off Switch and Selector, but by using the blanks it does not disable the function of the Player and its quick and easy to set up. Proper Grounding from the Cartridge is essential to avoid any low humming. You'll be amazed at the Fidelity of the Music from the Records, and if you enhance that sound with a car Graphic Equalizer/Amplifier, it all runs well on 12 Volts 10 Amp Power supply.
Thanks for the comment. My head unit didn't work correctly after cutting power to the motor, so your mileage may vary. Mine freaked out and kept trying to "swap sides" of the tape, with the audio channels muted.
Impossible not to watch till the end. Your work was exceptional! Greetings from Argentina!
Cool! When I modded the stereo on my 2000 Focus I just wanted an AUX input, but I wasn't able to find an appropriate place to solder it since the amplifier in the unit is expecting a signal from a cassette tape, not an amplified signal meant for a set of headphones. I tried connecting it there and it sounded horrendous. So I did end up using the tape adapter but I couldn't notice any sound quality issues. I glued the tape door shut and mounted the aux port and a toggle switch to tell the unit that I've "inserted a tape", which I did by finding the switch that is pressed when a tape is inserted. This made it easy to switch between tape and radio (since I like listening to NPR). I'm sure there is some little black box that will convert a phone's headphone jack signal down to a line level but I wanted to do it as cheaply as possible. I only had to buy the toggle switch and the headphone jack, already had a tape adapter to sacrifice since it would be permanently installed.
Another tip for someone that isn't really experienced in modding stuff is don't completely reassemble everything before you have tested it! Just make sure it's put together enough to function safely.
Sounds like you got the job done!
hello sir, can this be applied to old cd player without any aux output?
In theory yes.
MotoringBox this is a amazing video thanks i'm going to try this thanks for creating this amazing channel with its great content.....A+A+A+A+A+A+
I have a similar system in my car, but with it just going into the Aux socket. You’ve inspired me to get rid of that setup and make it more stealth. Thanks 😊
Dude's back seat is now cluttered.
I wanna do this for my Mercedes, but I also know that I'm shit with electronics lol
Which one do you have?
You got this
Thank you, UA-cam!
I never knew this solution even existed until this video came up in my recommended videos.
I’m currently using the ‘tape worm’ method, which is not only annoying, but tends to pick up interference as well.
Excellent instructional video. This is a mod that I will be making soon to my 1994 Ford Escort.
Thanks again!
Thanks mate! I trialed the tape worm adapter for a few days and the quality was pretty abysmal.
$20 bluetooth to FM adapter is working great in my 90's car.
Enjoy.
I burned a CD just last week
I recorded megadeth to a cassette a couple weeks ago
Not bad video; but.
#1. There is no reason to cut the right and Left audio ribbon cable coming out of the tape deck, just solder the wires to the board.
#2. No matter how good your bluetooth is, it's still going to be constrained by the audio processing of the head unit itself. The "Audio Quality" that suffers is the way the media was recorded. Your bluetooth audio is still going through the same equalizer that the radio and tape do.
A new headunit in any respect will run circles around an old head unit like that any day of the week. As ugly as they are (and some are horrific looking even in today's cars) you're not looking at it while you're driving; least you're not supposed to.
I ate it and got a new headunit anyhow (now 5 years old) and I'm not really upset with it at all, not hard to lerrn to love it when you don't have to stare it down all the time.
I think for #1 that you would have signals coming from the board and the bluetooth at the same time, his way, you eliminate it if I m seeing correctly. I agee, I put in a new head unit and it was night and day difference.
Just be sure to use one or the other inputs, use a tape, don't connect bt. Use bt, don't have a casset loaded.
If you have both running at the same time, nothing will be hurt you'll just hear both inputs at the same time
Empty tape in the tape player is better way because u can use the radio
On this model you can still use the radio.
He show the radio working. Good brissie station
There would always be a constant 12v coming from the tape section which you could wire up to the bluetooth module, which is the right way to do. So whenever you're on FM the bluetooth module would be turned off, as you hit the tape button, the bluetooth starts up, auto pairs with your phone and starts playing automatically as well. Right now the issue is, even if you have the stereo at FM, the bluetooth turns on and would start playing audio from your phone.
True, you could do that. I prefer it turning on once when the car turns on though, so the phone is already paired and ready to go. The pairing is not instantaneous plus it makes that noise everytime it does so.
Thank you for the Tapeworm visual. I spit coffee all over the table.
Many years from now, there's gonna be diy videos with newer tech to play music and they're gonna go, "Bluetooth" Ewww
Haha, probably. But so long as the new tech still has an aux-style output there should be no reason why I can't swap it over.
And WHAT IS WRONG with cassette tape?! Get yourself an 8-track player. That'll excite you!
I want to go back to the days of cassettes, bell-bottom jeans, and listening to Elton all day (Like I still do today! - smile).
I love the nostalgia of old cars but I am definitely not attached to old media formats like cassette tapes. You can still queue up 70s or 80s tracks on Spotify and get a much better experience.
Love this. I was looking to do something similar ~10 years ago in my Ford Taurus. But everything on that shitty car broke down after a while, so it wouldn’t have been worth the effort. Still glad to see it would have been possible
I have a Bluetooth tape, Ion branded. Is sadly been discontinued but it works really well in my old Honda. This vid is great though and I want to do this with my stereo
yea nah, if i wanted to go to that much trouble id just get the "ugly" head unit installed
This video was super handy for me since I have a 96 fairlane. Head unit is slightly externally but internal PCBs and wiring shown in this video translates right over. Cheers!
That's awesome, glad to hear it helped.
No ribbing at all, very nice job.
I like the justification for doing this: they look like...Same as most of the new cars!
Yup, it's one of my favourite mods.
Such a great video! I’m restoring an sx Corolla and I’ve been trying to decide whether or not to go with an aftermarket head unit... now I can keep the og tape deck... thanks so much!
Great video man! I love the way you keep the stock look of the car interior without the flashy head unit.
Many, many thanks! There's hope for my ancient music unit!
I gave this a try on a 1998 Honda Goldwing motorcycle and it did not work satisfactorily. After much troubleshooting I found a solution that works for applications where if you tie into the signal wires from the cassette player the BT audio sounds distorted. What I did was follow the circuits on the board until I found where the signal from the cassette player went into the pre amplifier chip, removed it from the board, and soldered the BT signal wires into the outputs from the pre amp. My customer also wanted the cassette player to work so I added extension wires from the board to the pre amp chip, and installed a double pole double throw switch so the signal going back into the circuit board can be switched between the BT signal and the output from the pre amp chip which is coming from the cassette player. The pre amp chip was an 8 pin chip so was not too difficult to figure out what the pins were. 2 signal ins, 2 signal outs, 2 amplifier grounds, 1 main ground, and 1 power. I connected signal ground to main ground as it was shared with the signal ground to the cassette player. With this method the BT audio is clear with no distortion and everything still works.
Glad to hear you worked it out in the end, I guess every head unit is different so it's difficult to provide a guide to cover everything.
@@MotoringBoxTV Thank you for your video, it gave me a good starting point and in the end my customer has a 1998 Honda Goldwing with Bluetooth and a working cassette player in the factory radio so he is happy.
Great video! Crazy I didn't think soemthing like this was even possible. Thank you, the video was very well planned, and explained every step
I've been fucking around with my audies audio for nearly a year trying to get one to work. I'm so close to finally finishing it.
Good luck!
this is literally the perfect solution to what i wanted to do thank you so much!!
This channel deserves way more than 10K subscribers...
Thanks mate, happy enough to be at 10k! We'll see where it goes.
Because listening to your car stereo through a wireless blewtooth earpiece in mono is so much better than the stereo sound out of the regular car speaker system!
Stereo. And yes.
You're a GENIUS mate!! :D. Thankyou for this. I have a 2001 E46 BMW and it only has a tape deck and radio. Cost an arm and a leg to install a new stereo unit or lcd head unit so I'm gonna try and do this trick.
Worth a shot! Good luck 👍
There is now bluetooth casete so you don't need to anything of these, but this is great tip, thank you
They're pretty terrible - and need to be ejected and recharged every few hours.
I have a 02 Mercedes e430 I need to do this to, but I want the cassette to work also. So I think a simple relay to flip between BT and cassette is all you need. Switching out the audio lines and cassette on switch All you need is a switch to turn BT on/off. Then the cassette still works as usual and you don’t need the dummy tape in it.
Sounds like it could work - if you ever get it working let me know how it goes.
It is cool because Bluetooth is often useful and not every car has a matching bluetooth radio that will look good
Thank you ....that is the cost effective solution I've been looking for a long time....again thx!!
Thanks for watching!
You can also find cars from the 80 90s with a car stereo with only radio. But usually if you buy a car that is more than 10 years then the original stereo is for long-term replacement. replaced by something completely different. and there are actually now car stereos with classic design
The best part is the pic of you with the blue tooth 🤣 I tried to connect my cellphone to MotoringBox, but it failed 🤭😂
I thought it looked a bit stupid, but glad you liked it!
MotoringBox - Sure, it is really funny. I also like your car.
Mate, this is the answer to my prayers. I have to get this for my VX R8 Clubsport.
Gonna give this a shot with my 92 Prelude. Just ordered the factory radio and a bluetooth receiver like that and I'll update this post if I get this working right!
Awesome, good luck!
wish i could do this for my 67 falcon
one thing modern stereos need are bass and treble knobs like this one's so you can quickly and easily adjust without having to scroll through a settings menu
0:38
Actually, it‘s better than CD because there are bluetooth cassette emulators.
Bluetooth generally only has ~32kHz of bandwidth depending on the version, just like cassettes.
Great modification, cheers from Alabama USA
G'Day from Australia!
You did an amazing job... i was gonna jab at the soldering skills but you did enough for us already. Liked the film and will recommend this to pals before they ruin they're classics TY. subbed
Thanks mate. I don't mind if people have a go at my skills... I've tried to be as open as possible about how basic they are. But if it is able to inspire someone to give it a go, and do it properly (well, their definition of it anyway) it's enough.