smille11
San Diego
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Joined: 01/15/2007
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Don’t own one but the concept is amazing.
What we want to do is to be able to plug in an IPod on a wall mount dock in the trailer while we are boondocking, listen to the music on the outside speakers and not kill the batteries after 2 CD’s worth of music.
We have a Concertone AM/FM/CD player that came on our trailer which we have no problem replacing. We have 2- GP 27 batteries and 3- 18watt solar panels. We seldom to never use hookups, strictly monitor the light usage, no TV, and don’t use the heater, but would LOVE to have music.
* Ipods have there own battery… will it need to pull off of the 12 volt?
* Can it only play through the radio? Or is there a receiver/docking station that would replace my radio totally? Would buying a “boombox” and connecting it through my radio be the thing to do?
* Will playing the Ipod through the radio take less battery power than playing a CD?
Any ideas of a low watt, 12 volt system we could implement or install? Energy saving is the key. Also we are buying IPods for each other for Christmas would like those to be the big investment.
Thank You!
Sue Ellen
2007 Roo 21SS
2006 Tundra V8
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jplunkett
Virginia
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Joined: 04/04/2008
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smille11 wrote:Don’t own one but the concept is amazing.
What we want to do is to be able to plug in an IPod on a wall mount dock in the trailer while we are boondocking, listen to the music on the outside speakers and not kill the batteries after 2 CD’s worth of music.
We have a Concertone AM/FM/CD player that came on our trailer which we have no problem replacing. We have 2- GP 27 batteries and 3- 18watt solar panels. We seldom to never use hookups, strictly monitor the light usage, no TV, and don’t use the heater, but would LOVE to have music.
* Ipods have there own battery… will it need to pull off of the 12 volt?
iPods do have an internal power supply. The new ones are pretty good about batter consumption - they darken the screen - but will need to be recharged some way. I've used a car charger to accomplish this. Running video on them will burn through battery life since the screen continues to be active
* Can it only play through the radio? Or is there a receiver/docking station that would replace my radio totally? Would buying a “boombox” and connecting it through my radio be the thing to do?
Yes - if you have an input you can run it though a radio, or get an FM adapter and broadcast to an unused frequency. You can also get boom boxes with iPod connectors and a variety of desktop sound systems that accept iPod input.
* Will playing the Ipod through the radio take less battery power than playing a CD?
I would think so. You won't have to spin the CD platter, but the amplifier draw will be about the same.
Any ideas of a low watt, 12 volt system we could implement or install? Energy saving is the key. Also we are buying IPods for each other for Christmas would like those to be the big investment.
No experience here, but a google search will probably pull up some options.
Thank You!
Sue Ellen
safe travels,
John & Elizabeth Plunkett
Louisa, Virginia
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strollin
San Martin, CA
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Joined: 06/12/2003
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If you get a boombox type of portable stereo with an iPod dock on it you will be able to listen to it outside without using your Concertone built-in and without using any power from your trailer batteries.
The key to making the batteries last in any portable unit is to keep the volume on the low side. Playing the music louder uses more power than playing it softer.
Here's a possible candidate for your boombox: Sony ZS-S2IP S2 Sport
I haven't used that particular boombox but it should fit your needs, runs on 6 "C" batteries and has a dock for an iPod.
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Big Katuna
Deland, FL
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Joined: 12/27/2003
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There are so many ways to go. iPods have a stereo headphone output that you can plug into with an adapter with RCA' jacks out that can connect to anything with RCA jacks.
They also have another connector on them that can be accessed which has full song/album info, volume control, pause, stop, ffwd, etc.
You could buy a cheap ($30) docking station with a remote control and then plug THAT into a stereo, boom box, ext speakers, etc and you could control the volume, pause etc with the remote.
You can buy a more expensive iPod compatible boom box that has a remote.
You can buy an in dash player that connects to the iPod via that connector and it will allow you to read all the song, album info on the screen of the player, control the iPod with an iPod style wheel, etc. They start at $125 or so. Not too bad.
I have had a set of powered Bose Roomate speakers for about 20 years that I use. No remote that way but they plug into anything with a headphone jack so I use them on my outside TV as well.
You can use AC powered speakers with a small 300 watt inverter; won't draw much more than a 12 VDC device.
There are all kinds of iPod accessories on Ebay for sale and they are pretty cheap.
You also have to decide if you want an iPod with a hard drive or solid state memory. The hard drive versions are the 120 GB ones and don't have as long of battery life as the ememory ones. The storage capacity is much greater though. Are you going to mow the grass with headphones? You would probably want the Nano then. The solid state iPods are more rugged as they don't have a hard drive.
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waroads
WA
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Joined: 02/28/2007
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We use our Zune with our trailer stereo and it works great. I would imagine it's much the same for Ipod's. Inside the trailer we use the stereo headphone out to the Auxiliary in on the trailer stereo and listen that way. Our 12v plug for the TV is right there also so I can use that to charge via the car charger if I want, but rarely do. We also have a speaker dock that runs off of 3 2AA batteries that we can use outside (at least until I get the exterior speakers running) that gives good sound. Check out the Zune's also, they have a better interface in my opinion and usually the same price as comparable ipod's. There are also some feature differences between the two that may or may not float your boat.
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Fizz
Ottawa, Canada
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Joined: 07/28/2003
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Don't get hung up on iPod. There are many other players that will do all you want at a better price. Since you're not concerned with 'portability' you have a great choice out there.
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az99
N.Y.
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Joined: 12/26/2006
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Fizz wrote:Don't get hung up on iPod. There are many other players that will do all you want at a better price. Since you're not concerned with 'portability' you have a great choice out there. I'll second that. As an owner of 2 iPODS , I will not be the owner of a third.
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pulsar
Lewisville, NC
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Joined: 12/30/2001
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I've never wanted an iPod until the current generation iPod Touch. I don't think there is anything that comes close to it. My only questions is whether or not I can justify the cost of the 32 GB model. I suspect the price of the whole line will be reduced after the Christmas shopping season.
Tom
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1998 CRV toad - manual transmission
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