Hi, I’m a newbie but have tried to find the answer on the forum. A few came close…I have separate iPod and auxiliary ports on my car radio. When I try to use the connections available on auxiliary, neither works, but I do hear static. There are two different sized things to plug into headphone hole and both fit the hole. I read in a post that maybe it wasn’t seating in far enough, but both choices go as far as they can, hence the static I hear. I need to be able to hear in my car, so is there another way? Also I’d like to be able to listen at home without ear plugs - hate earplugs for some reason. What device can I purchase to do that?
My version is V01.01.11A. I tried to download the newer version, but download never came through. Not sure why. Tried 2-3 times.
If you are using the Fuze via an audio patch cable, turn the volume all the way to maximum for use in the car, as this approximates the “line level” that the AUX port is looking for. Be sure to turn it back down to about 50% before using headphones.
Thanks, Bob; I was able to complete the download. I increased the volume in my car to maximum and could faintly hear speaking (it’s an audio book) but it was not recognizable and the static was bad, partly because the connection is not good because the part that goes into the headphone hole is not long enough to make good contact. These auxiliary parts are what I was given when I installed a new Pioneer radio in my car, so I would hope they are the latest and greatest. Any other ideas and any recommendations for something for home? Thanks in advance.
If the input on the car stereo is labelled AUX, then it is a standard input that should be compatible with the Fuze. Do not attempt to use a port labelled specifically for use with IPOD. They are not compatible. If the Fuze works with headphones and all you get is static on the car stereo, you may not be connected properly or worse the car stereo is not compatible. Typically, the cable you need to use with the Fuze will have a headphone plug on both ends and plugs into the front of the car stereo. Sometimes the cable will have two RCA plugs on one end and plugs into the back of the car stereo. If the car stereo has a USB port, then it may or may not be compatible. What is the model of the car stereo? In regards to volume settings, set the volume of the Fuze to max or near max, then control listening volume with the car stereo. Please don’t ever turn the volume of the car stereo all the way to max (especially late at night in my neighborhood!).
For home use, you have many options. You can use a stereo mini > two RCA “Y” adapter to plug the Fuze into your existing home stereo (if it has an available input). You can use virutally any speakers designed for computers, and there are a number of amplified speaker systems specifically for portable music players like the Fuze. Again, one designed specifically for IPOD may not be compatible. Look for one that says it works with any MP3 player.
try a new cable, my wife’s ipod sounded terrible in her car with one cable. tried a different cable and now it sounds clear. If the fuze sounds fine with headphones, it’s the cable or the stereo. You can also try canned air to clean out the jack in your stereo, could be that dirt got in the hole not allowing a good connection
and try listening to music see if maybe it’s the audiobook
Bob mentioned turning up the volume. Not the car radio volume, but the Fuze’s volume. If the Fuze is at low volume, and the car radio is at high volume you will get static. I used to see the same type of thing with cable boxes and televisions; low cable box volume and high TV volume and mostly static from the speaker. Try this just to make sure. Fuze volume at max and then play the audiobook thru the car stereo. I do this on a daily basis with a Pioneer head unit with the RCA to IP bus adapter with a 1.8mm to RCA cable and have no problem what so ever. Right now I am listening to J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Silmarillion”.
Does anyone know if a cassette adapter works? I was planning on getting one, but I wasn’t 100% sure if it would work. Could anyone enlighten me on this subject and if there are any limitations to it?
Cassette adaptors provide a very clean sound. Most problems with them involve the actual cassette deck in the head unit. Some adaptors will be ejected by the radio head if the radio thinks you have a bad cassette. This can be determined by the rotating hubs of the deck- if you have a deck that senses hub speed, simply try a different adaptor.
Many adaptors have a pair of rotating hubs with a belt between them which “fools” the head unit into thinking you have a normal cassette installed.
How the adaptor works is simple: a cassette head is mounted in the adaptor, facing outward, lined up with the deck’s head. An attenuated signal is fed to this head, and can be amplified by the car stereo. Sometimes, if you have a muffled sound, try flipping the adaptor, or selecting the reverse direction on your car deck.
I used a cassette adapter until the cassette section of my factory car stereo broke. I then bought a new unit with a front panel AUX input, which I literally installed in 30 minutes without tools. Fortunately getting the old stereo out of my mid-nineties Volvo was easy. Many cars will require a little more effort.
Not trying to revive an old thread, but I’m not sure if you ever found an answer or not. I had a similiar problem with my brand new Fuze. Plugged it into the aux port on my car stereo…just static. If I turn the Fuze and the stereo up loud, I could faintly hear a bump, bump, bump sound. So I just figured the aux input was bad, because the Fuze worked fine with headphones. So I took it in the house and plugged it into my home stereo with a Y cable…same thing! Now I KNEW that both my car stereo and my home stereo weren’t bad, and I knew my Fuze wasn’t bad because my headphones worked. The fix? If I pushed the aux cable all the way in, nothing, but if I pulled it out just a tiny bit, it worked perfect on both the home and car stereo. It’s as if the aux cable jacks (two different ones) were too long, or maybe the headphone jack on the Fuze was too deep and allowed the plugs to go in too far, but pulling them out just a bit made them work fine. It’s worth a shot.
I had to buy a cable that said for “iPhone” to get my car’s aux connection to work properly - it’s a sleeker design that lets the plug be inserted further in. The first cord I bought had a bulky plastic hand-grip that prevented the plug from being seated fully - I could tell the grip was hitting & not allowing a good connection. (Poor design of my car’s aux port.)
You may want to check that out if you haven’t already ruled it out… using the car’s aux port is very convenient.
