Ever since my wife got her 2008 Nissan Altima I have been trying to figure out a way to get Sirius and her iPod connected in a way that wasn't obtrusive or gaudy looking. I wanted a clean look.
At that time there was nothing available. So I just connected her Sportster 4 to an FM modulator and hid it in the compartment below the radio. She just used an stereo cable to use her iPod through her car stereo's front Aux input.
I have bugging Taylor at TSS to find a solution. We both were looking into an XM module for her car. (We decided not to get XM when we bought the car). No Luck.
Then a few months ago Taylor said a solution was coming. Then two weeks ago my
iSimple Kit from TSS Radio finally arrived.
The kit for $229 comes with the SCC1 Sirius Connect, iSimple Media Gateway, Vehicle Harness, and iSimple Sirius Connect Cable. It also has the Sirius vehicle antenna and RCA cables.
After I opened the package, I was a little overwhelmed at first. It seemed like a lot of work.
I was wrong. After opening everything and piecing the whole kit together, I knew the install would not take too long.
Before I took the dash apart, I followed the "quick install" directions from TSS and updated the firmware to the Media Gateway. This is a very important step. I simply had to go to a website and download the firmware. You need a micro USB cable to do so.
After that I went to the car and removed the dash.
I was excited to just get the unit connected so I could see how it worked. After a few minutes of disconnecting the harness to the car radio, installing the new harness, connecting back the car stereo harness, plugging in the iPod cable, and the Sirius...I was ready to go.
This is where you have to follow the "quick install" directions. You turn the car to accessory and wait three minutes. This allows all the peripherals to talk to each other. After the three minutes, you turn the car off and back on to accessory. Then I pressed the "RADIO" button on the car stereo. I then hit "TUNE" immediately and I scrolled through IPOD, AUX 1, and SIRIUS. I will explain how these work later.
I unhooked everything and had to decide where I would mount everything. This, for me, took the longest. You have to find a place where the Media Gateway and the SCC1 Sirius Tuner can be secure and not move.
Pic of the SCC1 and my hand.
Pic of the Media Gateway before it was secured.
Pic of the harness attached to the car stereo.
Close up of the iSimple iPod Connector.
After I got everything secure and plugged in to the correct spots, I tried the system out once more before I put the dash back together. All was well. Installation is complete!
Now some explanations.
When you hit SAT, you obviously go to Sirius. You can choose what you want displayed; channel name, artist, song, etc....
When you hit AUX 1, you get to listen to your iPod and use your iPod controls to search, find playlists, find artists, etc...
Your iPod will look like this (of course I have Modest Mouse on there).
When you hit IPOD, you get to listen to your iPod and all the iPod controls are done through the car stereo controls (I will not go through those, they are many, check manual).
Your iPod will look like this. In this case you can hid your iPod in your glovebox for safe keeping.
Your car stereo will look like this.
I cannot express how impressed I am with this system. This what so many people have been looking for. It's what I have been looking for. I finally get my clean install. The sound quality is second to none. Sirius sounds so crystal clear, much better than before with the FMDA and better than in my car using Sirius with an Aux Input.
If you are looking for a clean setup, look no further than the
iSimple solution at
TSS Radio.
Some useful tips:
*Make sure you check the setting of the dipswitch on the Media Gateway before installing (mine had to be changed from the default). It will be different for different brands.
*The iPod connector works with iPhones and it charges as well.
*You can use the car stereo presets for AM, FM, and Sirius. Example...A1 is 1030 AM, A2 is Backspin 39, A3 is Howard 100, A4 is 104.1 FM.
iSimple from TSS (Review)
Linear Mode
