Modification - adding a radio

[Travler]

My Wife and I have a 2006 2720 SL and we just love it but we are wanting to add a radio to the unit, and tie in the already existing speakers to the small TV we have.

Do you have any suggestions

[wbmiller3]

In my 2001 there's a wooden plate over the fridge that is intended to be removed and have a car-type radio installed. I think all the wiring is there for you. I haven't done it yet because I'm still trying to find one that has weather band...and the only ones I've found are marine radios that cost big $$$.

you better check the ohns of the factory speakers and tv, you will find out that they arnt the same. car speakers are 4 ohm and tv 16 ohm ? .

[Travler]

Originally Posted by evans27292

you better check the ohns of the factory speakers and tv, you will find out that they arnt the same. car speakers are 4 ohm and tv 16 ohm ? .

Well shoot I guess they will have to be replaced with matching ohms speakers

Now I just have to figure out how to tie my TV audio into those puppies.


Any Ideas greatly appreciated

Boy, was I confused at first. I thought you meant Tow Vehicle when you said TV and I couldn't figure out what the heck you were trying to do!

Anyway, I installed a car radio/CD player that has an auxillary input in the rear (many of the new ones do). I bought a cable to attach to this and fed it out through the telephone jack opening when I installed the radio. This AUX input and cable is normally used for MP3 players, but I can also plug it into my computer's headphone jack. (I have a device that turns my laptop computer into a television, but that's a whole other issue.) My AUX input is in the rear of the radio, which is a pain, but many new models now have front-panel AUX input and that would be much easier.

So if your television has a headphone jack and you install this kind of radio/CD player, you can plug the AUX input cable into your TV's headphone jack, set your radio/CD player to AUX, and it will feed the sound from your TV through the TM speakers. The size of the TV's headphone jack may not match the size of the pin of the AUX input cable, but RadioShack seems to always have a converter of some sort to solve that problem.

Note that your television needs to be reasonably close to the radio for this to work, otherwise you will have to do some creative wiring. Because I use my laptop PC as a television, I just set it on the kitchen counter when I need it, and it's right above the radio.

Let me know if you want a diagram or any product info.

Originally Posted by wbmiller3

In my 2001 there's a wooden plate over the fridge that is intended to be removed and have a car-type radio installed. I think all the wiring is there for you. I haven't done it yet because I'm still trying to find one that has weather band...and the only ones I've found are marine radios that cost big $$$.

We all have different budgets and definitions of "big bucks," but Bass Pro Shops sells AM/FM/CD/CD-R/Weather Band stereos for as low as $140, which is not bad for a car stereo. Look in their "Electronics - Stereos" category.

Best solution is UtahSue's (and no messing around with speakers needed), but you can get one of the car radio/CD players which has an auxiliary audio input on the FRONT panel. Sue is correct, Radioshack should have any connector adapter you might need.
I'm curious: My TV is next to the fridge on a shelf, where's your's? It would sound strange to me with the picture in front, but the sound coming from behind?

Originally Posted by pbuck1

I'm curious: My TV is next to the fridge on a shelf, where's your's? It would sound strange to me with the picture in front, but the sound coming from behind?

Sorry, pbuck1, I was editing my post while you were writing yours so you didn't see all of mine - I put it on the counter, so the sound is coming from behind me. It's not strange at all, it's almost like surround sound if you have ever experienced that.

[Bill]

Check Crutchfield.com. Lots of units, good prices and price ranges, and lots of good info.

Bill

I had a car stereo AM/FM/CD laying around in the garage from a junked S10. I put that in. Works great.

[Travler]

Originally Posted by utahsue

Boy, was I confused at first. I thought you meant Tow Vehicle when you said TV and I couldn't figure out what the heck you were trying to do!

Anyway, I installed a car radio/CD player that has an auxillary input in the rear (many of the new ones do). I bought a cable to attach to this and fed it out through the telephone jack opening when I installed the radio. This AUX input and cable is normally used for MP3 players, but I can also plug it into my computer's headphone jack. (I have a device that turns my laptop computer into a television, but that's a whole other issue.) My AUX input is in the rear of the radio, which is a pain, but many new models now have front-panel AUX input and that would be much easier.

So if your television has a headphone jack and you install this kind of radio/CD player, you can plug the AUX input cable into your TV's headphone jack, set your radio/CD player to AUX, and it will feed the sound from your TV through the TM speakers. The size of the TV's headphone jack may not match the size of the pin of the AUX input cable, but RadioShack seems to always have a converter of some sort to solve that problem.

Note that your television needs to be reasonably close to the radio for this to work, otherwise you will have to do some creative wiring. Because I use my laptop PC as a television, I just set it on the kitchen counter when I need it, and it's right above the radio.

Let me know if you want a diagram or any product info.



We all have different budgets and definitions of "big bucks," but Bass Pro Shops sells AM/FM/CD/CD-R/Weather Band stereos for as low as $140, which is not bad for a car stereo. Look in their "Electronics - Stereos" category.

Thank you I'll go with this information. We also have a portable DVD player which we run through the Television.....to watch our DVD'S. I think running the audio thru the Radio/CD player will give us enough volume to over come the AC.