Unconventional wiring question - please help!!

[wontwa]

I've looked all over, called around, etc. with no luck on this one and hoping someone here can help. I'm trying to wire a dash mount 8 track player into my existing car audio system.

(please withhold jokes about 8-tracks *******. I'm a huge music fan and recently acquired a ton of these - yes, free)

I have a Jeep Wrangler with an Alpine Cd deck. The Alpine is wired directly to 2 front and 2 rear speakers, with an RCA running to a Pioneer GM-X362 amp that powers a small subwoofer in the back.

The dash mount 8 track player is this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=013&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=230106424604&rd=1&rd=1

The wiring on the back of the 8 track deck is one power wire and left and right speakers...

I'm trying to figure out if there's any way I can run this into all 4 speakers and with the sub? I don't know enough about car audio to know what else I need to purchase, and as soon as I mention 8 track to the local big car audio places I'm told it's not possible.

I did find this website where some guy hooked up an 8 track and an XM radio to a 62 Buick, so I know it's possible, I just can't figure out the configuration and necessary items I need to purchase:

http://girasoli.org/?p=63

Thank you in advance for any help....!!

Click to read more...

 

[Omarvelous 10+ year member]

Well....

You should be able to just get a LOC, and connect it from the L/R to a audio in on the HU via interconnects.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Yeah, you can just connect it to the h/u via the inputs.

 

[wontwa]

Thank you for your replys, unfortunately I'm not sure what HU (or h/u) or LOC mean?

Any links to examples would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks again!!

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

Does your Alpine deck (Head unit) have an auxilary input?

An LOC (Line-out Coverter) is a device that turns a speaker-level signal into an RCA signal.

What we're saying is get a line out converter, and hook it up to the speaker outputs of the 8-track, which will yield an RCA output. Then, plug that into the input on the Alpine. Voila.

 

[wontwa]

I follow - I'll give that a shot, thanks for the reply!!

 

[wontwa]

Before pulling the dashboard apart, thought I'd see if my head unit has line-ins, and it appears that it doesn't. I have an Alpine CDE-7856 and found this photo of the back:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Alpine-CDE-7856-AM-FM-CD-Player_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38641QQihZ018QQitemZ280102353986QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD4V

Am I correct in thinking there's no line in, and is there any kind of wiring/soldering/adapter or workaround for this, or should i just bite the bullet and buy a new deck? Note: I purchased this years ago, got about 2 months of use and pulled it out of the car I sold. It's practically brand new.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Am I correct in thinking there's no line in

Yes

and is there any kind of wiring/soldering/adapter or workaround for this, or should i just bite the bullet and buy a new deck? Note: I purchased this years ago, got about 2 months of use and pulled it out of the car I sold. It's practically brand new.

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Sadly it would appear that you're going to be in the market for a new deck if you are deadset on using that 8-track.

The upside to that is that there are tons of decks available in most every pricerange that offer a built-in aux. input or the ability to add one via an optional adapter.

 

[wontwa]

I've done some looking around and I think buying a new head unit is the way to go. I have an iPod that I've been running through an FM broadcast deal (which I hate), and I see that there's some decent price head units that'll handle both my iPod and 8-track issues.

Thanks for everyone's help - I've learned a lot of stuff I've been meaning to look into!

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[sdmtnbiker420 10+ year member]

FM broadcast is the best way to butcher your music.

Good luck on the search, direct connection is the way to go. I hate FM modulators.

 

[Kriszilla 10+ year member]

One thing you might check... If your deck is M-bus or AI-Net, Alpine makes an Aux input that you can plug in if your deck supports it. Go to Crutchfield and do a search on the KCM-122B and the KCA-121B. They're about $15.