Scott Gardner wrote in message . ..

Since it sounds like you're willing to buy a new head unit, if you
can't find one with a front-panel aux input, there are a lot of them
that have a CD changer rear input that can be easily converted to an
AUX input.

Scott Gardner

Scott

(et al.)

thanks for the advise.
As it happens, what I have now in my car (a Nissan Sentra E with 185,000
miles on it!) is an Alpine TDA 7563, which is a cassette receiver but is
able to control a CD changer.

At the back of the unit there is what Alpine calls an AI-net plug, but
according to them, my unit can not be used with a converter (AI-net to RCA)
that they sell. Just can't, they said.

A bit later in the day I called Alpine again, and this time a (different?)
guy said that "if the harness has a pink or black cable, then I should ground
that, and then the adapter would work."

Does any of this make any sense to you guys?

Is there a third party product that can do this?

Yes, buying a brand new unit is not alltogether out of the question for me,
especially since I only really need a radio (and there are three stations
where I live to which I listen), and all music I own is on my portable HD
player, so a line in is all I really want.

AIWA makes some relatively cheap units with front AUX input (which to me is
a plus, since I will have the HD player just lying on the seat next to me);
is there anything approaching a consensus about their quality?

thanks
christos