Easy Car Electronic Upgrades

Ultimate In-car Entertainment Upgrades

If you're in the market for new entertainment electronics in your car, you have a lot of decisions to make. The following list includes a few of the more popular upgrades:

 Multi-CD Changers: A CD changer lets you keep several CDs simultaneously on tap so that you don't have to juggle discs while driving. Most CD changers are mounted in the trunk or installed under the front seat.

iPod Docks: Why carry around dozens of CDs when you already have hundreds of albums stored on your iPod? An iPod dock makes it easy to connect your iPod to your car's audio system.  

Bluetooth Hands-free Kits: Most jurisdictions make it illegal to drive while talking on a cell phone. If you have a Bluetooth-enabled phone, a Bluetooth hands-free kit routes your calls through your car's audio system and in most cases will provide voice dialing (if supported by your phone).

DVD Players with LCD Display: The place you're most likely to want to install video is for backseat passengers. If that's what you want, companies like Sony and Kenwood will be happy to provide the systems.

Electronic upgrades come in varying degrees of difficulty. Some are "so simple that even a child could do it," while others require a degree in advanced automotive electronics. So what's an example of a relatively easy installation?

The simplest installations actually involve no real installation at all. Some small devices, like satellite radio receivers and some radar detectors, simply need to be placed on top of the dashboard or affixed to the inside of the windshield. Usually these devices will come with some means of attaching them to the dashboard or windshield surface -- a suction cup, for instance, or an adhesive strip. Some in-car DVD players clip on a headrest or even a sun visor. Audio devices will also need to be interfaced with your vehicle's audio system.

If you have an older car that's equipped with a cassette player, yet you want to listen to CD-or MP3-quality sound, you do have options. A simulated cassette with a cable on one end can extend from your old car radio the device. The cassette adapter will play the audio signal through your vehicle's audio system as though it were a tape. But what if you don't even have a cassette deck as an option? A small FM radio transmitter (available from many electronics retailers) can broadcast the signal from the portable device to your car's antenna. Another option is a small cable that can interface the portable device with the radio's AUX jack or you may be able to use a USB cable, if your stereo supports it. If all goes well, installing such devices can take only a few minutes and the only danger is that the adhesive strip might mar the dashboard surface.

But not every installation goes exactly as planned. In fact, if you ask just about anyone that regularly tackles an automotive electronics upgrade they'll let you know that it's wise to expect the unexpected. Read the next page for a small sample of things that can go wrong.