How To: Auxiliary input for the Craig

[r00b]

awesome, just what I needed.

[todd1561]

Woops, just realized there was a bug with the webpage where you couldn't see all 3 of the pictures in Firefox, just fixed that.

Todd

[mluder]

Cool... thanks for the explanation.

Now I have to decide if I want to modify my stock radio... The cassette deck is shot anyway so maybe...

Steve

Glad to see there's some interest in this. Those were my gripes with the FM transmitter as well. If you're OK with a soldering iron (I'm pretty terrible) you should be able to make this work easily enough.



Thanks I'll check them out.



You really don't need to worry about the wiring schematics, I just put them up there in case anyone was interested. That and it took some time to track them all down so I didn't want to lose them. All you really need to do is pop off the bottom cover of the unit and you'll easily be able to match up my pictures with your unit. Then just solder some long pieces of wire to the points I specified and just terminate those leads on the other end to just a 3.5mm headphone jack or some other connector of your choosing. The second part is just putting the switch in the radio power circuit so it doesn't interfere with your new AUX device. That step is the last picture. Just run your new wires out the back of the unit using the holes the antenna wire goes through.

I kinda wish I had taken more pictures, I wasn't really expecting much interest, I figured most people who want to integreate 21st century media players into 30 year old stereos would just buy a new stereo. But glad to see there are some tinkerers out there.

Todd

[hippieman9]

I'm answering the question that no one is asking with this How-To. Basically, how to modify the Craig to accept sound input from devices such as MP3 players without losing any functionality and without using FM transmitters or tape deck adapters. I put the directions (mainly just pictures) up on my little website that until last night hasn't changed in well over 2 years. So I won't repeat it all here.

http://1561project.com/?page=ipod-craig

Maybe this will help someone one day, I don't think anyone has bothered to do this before. On another note, anyone have any inexpensive suggestions for stock speaker replacements? In case it wasn't obvious, I'm not much of an audiophile, so I'm just looking for something that's a good match with the Craig and isn't 30 years old and disintegrated.

Later,
Todd

What AUX jack did you use?

[todd1561]

It was just a standard panel mount 1/8” headphone jack. But you could use whatever you like.

Here’s an example: https://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Stereo-.../dp/B000ML4A2Q

[CFI]

This is interesting, but I don’t understand what you did in that last picture. You spliced a switch into that red wire? Do you have a picture of the switch or where you mounted it?

[todd1561]

The switch is to cut power to the radio circuit. By doing this you eliminate any radio interference to allow just your aux music to play unencumbered. You can mount the switch anywhere you want, I have mine under the drivers right knee pad along with the 1/8" headphone input jack.

[DMC-81]

This is interesting, but I don’t understand what you did in that last picture. You spliced a switch into that red wire? Do you have a picture of the switch or where you mounted it?

I used Todd's great how-to and ideas shared in this thread to do this a few years ago. Here are 2 pictures if they help:



It shows the added iPod wire harness completed. I routed it under the console. I used one of a pair of DMC on/off switches (K111639) to switch between the radio and AUX.

I installed the 1/8" MP3 jack in the ashtray as mentioned above as there is already a 3/16" hole in the back bottom of the tray.



The location of the switch and the jack makes the modification invisible.

Also, there are more pictures of this mod and repair of the Craig in the interior restoration album on my profile if you are interested in more detail.

[CFI]

Awesome, thank you.

[Malevy]

I'm answering the question that no one is asking with this How-To. Basically, how to modify the Craig to accept sound input from devices such as MP3 players without losing any functionality and without using FM transmitters or tape deck adapters. I put the directions (mainly just pictures) up on my little website that until last night hasn't changed in well over 2 years. So I won't repeat it all here.

http://1561project.com/?page=ipod-craig

Maybe this will help someone one day, I don't think anyone has bothered to do this before. On another note, anyone have any inexpensive suggestions for stock speaker replacements? In case it wasn't obvious, I'm not much of an audiophile, so I'm just looking for something that's a good match with the Craig and isn't 30 years old and disintegrated.

Later,
Todd

Sorry to nit-pick, but the volume control is downstream of the tone controls as well as the loudness circuitry. Hooking up the AUX input at the volume control renders all of that useless.

You can also use a connector with a built in switch to cut off the radio audio.

Here is one I fixed up a few weeks back.

https://streamable.com/umx2dv

Got a few more Craig's on the shelf.. Just not sure there is any interest in them!