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Classic/Nano LOD wont work on Ipod Touch? Need Clarification...

post #1 of 9
11/15/09 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
So a friend gave me an old LOD (made by Brainsalad) that he used to use with his Classic 4G. He says he has tried it on his Nano 4G before and remembers it worked on that. Now I try using it on my Touch 2G, and it doesnt work at all.

I tried searching for reasons why and found a post that said to turn off the Touch completely, then connect the dock and power it back on. That didnt work either. The Touch acts as if the LOD isnt even connected, and just plays music out of its internal speakers.

So I did more searching, and found a couple posts that say the reason it doesnt work on the Touch is not because of any pin configuration changes, but because the Touch needs a resistor on one of the pins. Is this true? Can someone provide some clarification on this?

And if that is the case, does anyone know where to find an inexpensive LOD for the Touch? Ive been looking at the Fiio LOD, but it seems it will not work on the Touch (although the pictures say otherwise lol)
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post #2 of 9
11/15/09 at 5:51pm
Yes Apple have changed the pin layout a couple of times so older docks will not work with newer units, and yes one of the changes involves a resistor. PM qusp for technical details and he also makes nice docks but not inexpensive ones.
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post #3 of 9
11/15/09 at 8:49pm
Thread Starter 
I went through some old threads and now I'm wondering if is this what is needed in order to get an LOD to work on the Touch:

Quote:
3 = Right Audio
4 = Left Audio
11 = Ground Bridged to 15 and the point I connected both Audio grounds
21 = Bridged to Ground 30 with 68k resistor, to suppress compatibility message from iPod.
To end up with something like this?



Anyone have a link to a good thread with info for DIY for Touch LOD's?
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post #4 of 9
11/15/09 at 9:42pm
Potato; yes, what you found is correct. When I build, I use pins 2, 3, and 4 for audio ground, right, and left channels respectively. I connect pins 11, 15, and 16 together and then connect that bundle with pin 21 using a 68k ohm resistor. It works perfectly with my touch 2G and iPhone 3G.

I also make LODs, feel free to contact me if you're interested. If you're planning to do it yourself, then good luck! It won't be too hard if you have some soldering experience.
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post #5 of 9
11/16/09 at 3:46am
any idea on the pin lineup for the ipod touch 3g?
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post #6 of 9
11/26/09 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
So I just wanted to report that I was able to build my own LOD for my Touch 2G thanks to this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/doe...pinout-308093/ and Punnisher's tutorial here http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/how...-cable-316475/

Heres what was needed and what pins/resistors I used. With this setup I just plug it in the Touch and it starts playing through the dock (no pop-up messages of any sort). Volume will automatically be set to halfway, although changing it does nothing. Pulling the dock out will cause the music to stop playing.

Quote:
Pin 3 = Right Audio

Pin 4 = Left Audio

Pin 11 = Ground

Pin 15 connect to Pin 11

Pin 11 & 15 connect to Pin 21 with 100kOhm resistor

Here are some pics





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post #7 of 9
11/26/09 at 10:26pm
Yea the pin layout has changed over the years however if you have the right cable it will still work with the new ipods A cable that I got for my 4G nano works with my 1 G touch and my 5 g nano
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post #8 of 9
11/26/09 at 11:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Young Spade View Post
Yea the pin layout has changed over the years however if you have the right cable it will still work with the new ipods A cable that I got for my 4G nano works with my 1 G touch and my 5 g nano
It seems that its not so much the pin layout thats different (in fact, all the audio pins are still the same), but more so needing to "trick" the Touch/Iphone into knowing an accessory is attached. Remember, the Touch 2G and iPhone will play music through the speakers if there is no headphone attached.
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post #9 of 9
1/1/10 at 8:59am

nano 4G and 5G differences!?

Hi...To add to this thread, I thought folk may be interested to know the experiences I've had with 4G and 5G nano devices. I have a 2G nano, 4G nano and now a 5G nano in this household. When we bought the 4G nano we had all the issues of old chargers and docks not working so re-invested, but I had not expected the 5G nano to differ again from the 4G!! Okay, so the position of the dock connector has moved again, but my docks can accommodate that, but I have a docking cradle that I use with the 4G system that successfully charges the nano and has a 3.5mm audio output to my hi-fi...works fine with the 4G, but whilst it will charge the 5G, there's no audio output; (the 5G sits in the cradle and just continues to play through its internal speaker).

I also have a low cost speaker dock which, whilst it won't charge the 4G it will play sound, but will do neither with the 5G.

So it would appear that there are some pinout or other circuitry differences between the 4G and 5G nanos. Can anyone shed any light? All very frustrating!
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