Aux Input, On Its Way

How does it work?

I've got a question about the Aux Input. How does it work with the stock headunit anyway? I think it just plugs into the empty 16-pin connector on the back. what is this empty spot for anyway?

And, if we can get the mapping/purpose of each of the pins, then we can make our own aux input in a couple of hours. I'd even make kits for those that didn't want to do it themselves. It would be easy also to just drill a hole in the cassette placeholder and put an input jack right there to plug in your iPod or other player.

So, how to we track down the mapping of that pin connector?
 
I think you're right: that 16-pin connector is the holy grail. It apparently is the same on pretty much all Mazda radios both from the Protege (and MPV, Miata, etc) and even in the RX8, 6 and 3. I looked all over for the pin-out on this and nobody had it. A few a fried their radios trying, however.

Again- it seems like Blitzsafe might actually deliver on the aux adapter in a couple weeks. The iPod controller is a whole other story which may be delayed indefinitely.
 
The connector is the one that's "inside" of the bottom pocket of the factory deck. right were a Tape or minidisc unit would plug into it. I'd lost interest inthis since I got a new deck, but now I'm planning on using my factory deck for a garage stereo, and being able to patch it into my computer would be sweet!
 
Poseur said:
The connector is the one that's "inside" of the bottom pocket of the factory deck. right were a Tape or minidisc unit would plug into it. I'd lost interest inthis since I got a new deck, but now I'm planning on using my factory deck for a garage stereo, and being able to patch it into my computer would be sweet!

If you do happen do go ahead and do that, how do you feel about posting a step by step how-to? It would be much appreciated.

-Erik
 
bendermp5 said:
I've got a question about the Aux Input. How does it work with the stock headunit anyway? I think it just plugs into the empty 16-pin connector on the back. what is this empty spot for anyway?

And, if we can get the mapping/purpose of each of the pins, then we can make our own aux input in a couple of hours. I'd even make kits for those that didn't want to do it themselves. It would be easy also to just drill a hole in the cassette placeholder and put an input jack right there to plug in your iPod or other player.

So, how to we track down the mapping of that pin connector?

If you made one, I'd be your first customer :)

Let us know if you find any more info.

-Erik
 
Its not as simple as one pin being left audio and another being right audio. There are some funky impedances going on. I have seen atleast 5 people say that they could do it and none have come close. I think the only way to make one yourself is to get the tape connection and disect it.
 
I think our ship has come in!

The product should be arriving by the end of the week, and should be ready
to ship the end of next week.
Thanks,
Marc Speziale
BlitzSafe Technical Support
techsupport@blitzsafe.com

This is in reference to the Mazda Auxiliary Input! This is not an iPod controller, but (hopefully) a line in to that friggin' MD/Tape port that has baffled us all.
 
ipod_pr5 said:
I think our ship has come in!



This is in reference to the Mazda Auxiliary Input! This is not an iPod controller, but (hopefully) a line in to that friggin' MD/Tape port that has baffled us all.

I hope so. Was that all he had to say? Because it doesn't say anything about the Mazda Protege5. Just curious.

I also took a look at their site and it doesn't have any news either.

-Erik
 
Somebody buy it and reverse engineer it (if Blitzsafe hasn't goo-ed up the electronics). Then build and sell them to everyone else and make a mint!! JAT...
 
Thats not exactly the attitude that we should have here. Otherwise, whats a companies driving force to make such a peice?

If anything we could potentialy approach them as a sponsor or even to give the forum members a discount.
 
Poseur said:
I found this, it's for a BOSE in a Miata, Unfortunately the plug looks nowhere NEAR that of ours, but DAMN how simple could you get??? http://nxmx5.com/aux_in.html This has GOT to be crackable...
Nope, its not that simple. That Bose peice is totaly different. Considering the number of people that have tried it I can only assume that its not a straight up wiring but there are some electonics that need to be in place. In other words its not as simple as left audio + and - opn there own pins.
 
Yes, the connection most likely has a 12v pass through to inform the head unit that it is there (that way when you press the "tape/md" button and there isn't a tape/md player it won't work). Additionally, there are probably other leads to tell the head unit other information such as the status (forward,reverse,ff,rw,etc) that may or may not be necessary in order for it to work.
 
ipod_pr5 said:
I think our ship has come in!



This is in reference to the Mazda Auxiliary Input! This is not an iPod controller, but (hopefully) a line in to that friggin' MD/Tape port that has baffled us all.
Has our ship arrived yet...or did it sink out at sea? Any word? I haven't seen anything on the Blitzsafe site yet.

-Erik
 
A couple weeks back I was told by someone at Blitzsafe that the order had been placed for the Mazda Aux In adapater, it should be in within a week, then ready to ship to customers the week after that. This is the week it was supposed to be ready to ship, so I emailed them again to make sure. I got a pissy response from someone at Blitzsafe not really clear on the concept of customer service:

By hounding me, the product is not going to magically appear. I am a low man
on the totem pole in all of this. I relay info to you that I receive from a
whole chain of people. Here is how it breaks down: I get information
from my boss-------he get information from his boss-------he gets
information from the sales rep from our supplier----------overseas
manufacturer---------he gets information from the supervisor---------he gets
information from the person making the parts.

I am sure I have left out a whole list of people, but you get the idea. In
that chain of information I can almost guarantee the date gets exaggerated
and manipulated to suit everyone's needs. I apologize if you feel strung
along, but imagine how I feel, getting it from both sides. When I receive a
product, I will email you. Thank you for your interest in our products.

I'd say plenty would agree that these guys are deadbeats that should not have told anybody anything about a Mazda product if they weren't ready to ship it. I don't blame many of you for trashing them, but I'm just gonna wait it out for a bit hoping they eventually pull through. I get the feeling they are close to release the product we're all waiting for.
 
Reply with an email stating two things:
1. You are just checkingup based on the time line he gave you. They annouced the product developement and you are trying to keep them aware of the demand for it and you want a realistic time line. If its not going to be ready for several months, thats fine but you expect a realistic answer.
2. Ask for the email address for his superiors so you can start emailing someone that has the information.
 
A Real Aux-Input Lead?

I don't know how similar the RX-8 head unit is to the Protege head unit, but there are some very interesting threads in the rx8club forums relating to Aux inputs:

Custom Aux-In Module: It's a module that plugs into the Tape/MD add-on expansion bay and gives you an Aux input. Apparently, the head unit and the tape deck send messages to each other, and this module fools the head unit into thinking something valid is there. This is probably the ultimate solution, but it's not done yet. The developer has a website here for more info.

Add Aux-In to a Tape Module: If you already have a tape module, this shows you where you can solder an Aux-In cable "in parallel" with the tape's line out audio signal. This only works if you have the tape module and use some kind of dummy tape to fool the head unit into thinking that a tape is in the player.

Add Aux-In directly to head unit: In the same thread shown above, someone did a similar thing with the line out from the CD player in the head unit. This only works if you insert a CD with silent tracks on it. A CD is needed to get the head unit to switch to the CD input, and silence is needed so the CD audio and the Aux-In audio don't interfere.

The first option is probably what we are all looking for. The other options are for the impatient. I've emailed the guy developing the module to see if this will work with the Protege. I'll let you know what I hear.

If this stuff doesn't apply to the Protege, I apologize. But it seems closer than anything else I've seen.

BTW, first post.
 
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