ROADTREK MODIFICATIONS: Getting an Mp3 Player to Work with the Roadtrek's Eclipse II Dash Radio

The Chevy series of Roadtreks since 2010 have included an Eclipse II In Dash Radio/GPS/etc. The one thing that this radio cannot do, despite it having a setting for an AUX input, is attach to a standard headphone cable on an audio device. There is no AUX jack actually on the front of the radio. There is a place in the back for a special cable - which is no longer made by the company that makes the Eclipse II - that will add a AUX jack on a cable that would end up inside the glove compartment. The input that this cable must be installed in on the Eclipse is already being used by the SIRUS satellite radio unit that comes with the radio in the Roadtrek.

Since we have gotten the Roadtrek, I have been very disappointed that I can no longer plug my mp3 player into the radio as I did when we traveled in the car, and listen to audiobooks and podcasts as we travel. We do not use SIRUS as it costs money annually to receive broadcasts. I had hoped to be able to plug my mp3 player into the USB connection that is in this radio, but that did not work. I do not own an Ipod so that connection was out as well. I just wanted a simple AUX - standard mini-headphone jack input. Mp3s could be played on a USB flash drive but every time the engine starts the USB connection must boot and there is no way to save the last place saved. Mp3s can be played if burned to a CD, but if that CD is ejected again the place will be lost. Where music is concerned this is not much of an issue, but when you are two hours into a three hour mp3 audio file you need a way to bookmark where you left off. My mp3 player has such a feature. In fact, I can have several audiobooks with different bookmarks with my little, outdated, mp3 player.

On the Sirus box there is an input to daisy chain other what they call "e-lan" devices. This is the same connection that the AUX cable would use. I have tried since almost a year ago to find out if I could connect the AUX cable to that jack. I tried all of the companies involved with this radio and there are several including the manufacturer, the distributor, a repair and parts dealer for this radio, and Roadtrek. It took until a few weeks ago in March to find out that the port on the Sirus box is not functional on the Eclipse II model, so even if I could find the discontinued AUX cable (there are a few copies on Ebay), it would not work. That was that. No Mp3s. I was told my option was to pull out the SIRUS cable from the back of the radio and install the cable - if I could find one that actually worked.

To get to the back of this radio, one must pull the dashboard panel off. This requires removing clips and screws and I have been advised that it is easy to break the clips which would result in needing a new dashboard panel. This is not something that I would risk. A car radio installer could do this, if one was willing to do this for a fee without having purchased a radio. I am sure there are some who would do that - maybe all, but I would not take the risk that something Roadtrek related was damaged in the process.

I tried a little external, battery run speaker, but the sound was terrible. I then started looking on the Internet for something that I had not thought existed. A connector to the Ipod docking connector that had a headphone jack connector on the other end. This seemed ridiculous to me. Go figure, I found exactly that. And in fact, I found two different ones. 

What I found was the DockBoss by a company called CableJive. This is a small box shaped connector that plugs into a standard Ipod docking connector. This box is connected to a cable with a stereo mini-plug that will attach to a standard 3.5mm audio out connector on any audio device including radios, mp3 players, most cell phones, tablets, etc. I did not know if it would work. The company states in their description that it has "smart" circuitry that will make the docking unit (in this case the Eclipse II radio) think that an Ipod is plugged in. I decided to take a chance and order one for the selling price of $22.95. It would be well worth it if it worked. I ordered it through Amazon.com just in case it would be necessary to return it.

My anticipation of its arrival was great. It took a week and a half to arrive. It made an odd journey per the tracking information from Massachusetts to New Jersey to New York. I am not sure why it took this odd route but was shipped by FedEx SmartPost which is FedEx shipping that uses both FedEx travel and finally the post office. It would have been here in three days had the padded envelope it was shipped in just been put in a mailbox, and likely for a lot less than half what FedEx must have charged. Anyway, it finally arrived.

I went into the Roadtrek and started the engine. The Eclipse comes on automatically - whether you want it to or not. I pressed the input selector to find Ipod. There was no such selection. I eagerly plugged it into the Eclipse radio's Ipod Connector (which is in the glove compartment with about four inches of cable). It clicked in and I plugged the other end into my mp3 player. I went again to select Ipod and there was still no selection. Hmm...

I shut everything down and pulled the DockBoss out of the Ipod connector. It was in very tightly and it was very much a struggle to get it out. I was sure I had damaged something. I looked to see if I had put it in upside down. I had not. I plugged it back in and this time it was easier going in. I had gotten out the Eclipse manual. Still there was no Ipod selection to choose. The manual said there should be. I looked to see if there was some setting that needed to be set to "enable" the Ipod connection. There was only a setting for "AUX" which was already enabled and "VTR" - the video player (yes this radio has a video player). I enabled VTR, got the player connected again, started the audio, and I could hear the mp3 playing through one of the Roadtrek's front speakers. It was not coming from both and was low in volume. I adjusted the volume on the radio and it got better but the volume control was up very high. This could not be correct.

I then tried plugging and unplugging the player from the cable with no change. I then moved the DockBoss connector and momentarily I had sound from both speakers. Ah Ha! I pushed the Ipod connector and the DockBoss tightly together and success! Good volume now came from both speakers. I tried a music track and stereo sprung forth into the Roadtrek! Finally, I had an AUX connector. This may not sound like much, but to me it was a big deal - and saved me from having to purchase an Ipod that I really don't need.

After I had the whole thing up and working - with the Roadtrek sitting in the driveway. We got in our car and headed out to a restaurant for dinner. I started to tell Meryl the whole story of getting the DockBoss to work with the Eclipse. As I was telling her, she asked, "What does the VTR setting do?" I told her that it plays videos on the display screen. She then said, "Don't the video modes lock out when driving?" Oh boy! I had not thought of that. I had never put the Roadtrek into gear when I was testing this all out - it had not occurred to me that VTR mode was going to lock out, if I did. I could not wait until later that night to find out. I turned the car around and headed back home. As soon as we got home, I put the car on a part of the driveway that would allow me to move the Roadtrek.

I got into the Roadtrek, started the engine, connected the mp3 player to the DockBoss and turned the mp3 player on. The sound came out of the Roadtrek's speakers. I put the Roadtrek into reverse - the display screen turned automatically to back up camera and the audio continued to play. I backed down the driveway with the sound of the book still coming from the speakers. I stopped and put the Roadtrek into Drive and the sound continued - thank goodness - and I pulled up the driveway. Success! Later that night, after getting home from the restaurant, I looked in the Eclipse manual. The VTR mode does lock out video when the vehicle is in gear but the sound remains playing. No problem.

(I have no idea what VTR mode is. In the world of video electronics, VTR stands for Video Tape Recorder. There was no recording that the Eclipse can do. It is usually a setting on camcorders. I can only assume that it is used to play video through the USB connection or it is implied in the manual that there is some type of VTR device that can be connected somewhere - but where?") As I noted above, the VTR mode must be enabled and it can be disabled. If you decide to get a DockBoss, make sure it is enabled on the setup menu of the Eclipse.

So here is a link to the DockBoss. If you want an AUX connection for your Eclipse II Roadtrek radio, this is the only way to get it.