Ipod connection to TomTom SatNav

[fireflybob]

I have recently purchased a TomTom GO 520 SatNav. It is possible to connect an Ipod to the unit so that you can play tracks from the Ipod through the SatNav.

I have an Ipod Shuffle (thats the small one that costs about £50 - very handy for running and listening at the same time). There are no connectors available to hook up my Shuffle to the TomTom but I wondered whether anyone knows a)whether it is technically feasible to make this connection and b) whether a suitable cable with connectors is anywhere on the market to do same.

Thanks for any help.

[NeoDude]

All you need is a cable with a 3.5mm minijack either side. You can pick these up anywhere. The iPod won't be charged though, but I think you can get cigarette lighter to USB adapters for charging purposes.

[fireflybob]

Its not that simple because the connection required at the TomTom end is smaller (and incidentally "recessed") than the one at the Ipod end (not sure which is 3.5 mm).

[NeoDude]

Strange. I plug my iPod suffle into my TomTom Go910 on a daily basis. I wonder if TomTom have been sneaky and changed the connector on the newer models?

[fireflybob]

Have been all over and checked the web but there doesn't seem to be a connector to go from my Ipod Shuffle to TomTom Go 520.

[spannersatcx]

It says here

Compatible with the following iPod products: iPod mini, iPod photo, iPod nano, iPod video, iPod 3rd generation and iPod 4th generation

No shuffle.

I just use a 2gb sd card and put what songs I want on there and use the fm transmitter to listen to them through the car stereo.

[planecrazy.eu]

The wire is about £20 and worth every penny. Interfaces well, and with the new tom tom, i can then send the music through my speakers. It even stops the music when a direction is said, or when the phone rings, its great.

[mc2287]

I have tried to connect my I-pod to the Tom Tom 520 with the supplied cable (with the 2.5mm jack into the RDS socket on the Tom Tom) & the Tom Tom keeps showing the following message ''please connect your ipod to the Tom Tom to continue''. Anyone else had this problem?

[spannersatcx]

Make sure the ipod firmware is at the latest issue.

You say 2.5mm jack I thought that the ipod connected to the tomtom with a 3.5mm jack one end and a docking connector at the other, are you sure you have the right cable?

The 2.5mm jack is for connecting the headphone socket on the ipod to an aux input on a car stereo.

You should have 2 cables see here

[mc2287]

I am using the 'flat-ended' cable (as pictured on your link) which docks into the bottom of the ipod, with the 3.5mm pin (my mistake) end of the cable inserted into the RDS socket on the Tom Tom.
It would seem I have the wrong ipod firmware... so how do I get the right firmware?
Many thanks for your quick reply!

[spannersatcx]

If you use itunes it detects it automatically.

[mc2287]

I connected to I-tunes & downloaded the latest version... just tried the Tom Tom connection again with the same result.
The Tom Tom user information says
'plug the iPod Connect Cable into your iPod and into the windscreen dock'.
I'm assuming this windscreen dock is the RDS socket on the TT.
I'll have to contact TT direct for clarification, but thanks for the help.

[spannersatcx]

Just had a quick look, I don't think itunes automatically updates your ipod, now you have the latest version of itunes not necessarily the latest ipod firmware.

In iTunes, select iPod nano in the source list and click the Summary tab.
The Version section tells you whether iPod nano is up to date or needs a newer version of the software.

Click Update to install the latest version of the software.