external hard drive with usb HU?
12-09-2008, 04:20 PM
#1
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external hard drive with usb HU?
okay, so i have a pioneer headunit with a usb port and "ipod controller."
well, you dont have to have an ipod, you can actually use a usb flash drive and still control it, so i was wondering (for all you computer geeks) can i go get like a usb 250gb external hardrive and put all my music on it and still control it from the radio? im not too sure because most harddrives have to be "installed" and you wouldnt be able to install it on the head unit.
any help is appreciated.
well, you dont have to have an ipod, you can actually use a usb flash drive and still control it, so i was wondering (for all you computer geeks) can i go get like a usb 250gb external hardrive and put all my music on it and still control it from the radio? im not too sure because most harddrives have to be "installed" and you wouldnt be able to install it on the head unit.
any help is appreciated.
12-09-2008, 04:22 PM
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you can get like 2, 4 or 8 gig flash drives that plug right into USB but anything like in the 50's or bigger is gonna need a power outlet for the hard drive to run. and as for controlling it i have no clue.
12-09-2008, 04:30 PM
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but my ipod is 4GB now and its full and i have around 3000 songs on my computer and dont wanna pay 250+ for a new ipod so i think a hardrive would be cheaper. just like 40GB or something.
ill have to look into it more, thanks for the help though.
more ideas are welcom
12-09-2008, 08:16 PM
#6
i saw some on the internet that are just powered by the usb..and i know my head unit charges my ipod so i know theres power, and i would like to control it from the radio as well.
but my ipod is 4GB now and its full and i have around 3000 songs on my computer and dont wanna pay 250+ for a new ipod so i think a hardrive would be cheaper. just like 40GB or something.
ill have to look into it more, thanks for the help though.
more ideas are welcom
but my ipod is 4GB now and its full and i have around 3000 songs on my computer and dont wanna pay 250+ for a new ipod so i think a hardrive would be cheaper. just like 40GB or something.
ill have to look into it more, thanks for the help though.
more ideas are welcom
12-09-2008, 09:12 PM
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and it wouldnt work if you put the drive thru the ipod cuz the ipod could only hold so many songs.
i see what your saying though, but i dont think its possible.
12-10-2008, 03:03 AM
#8
the units do have a max amount of songs directories ect they can read and that's really dependent on the unit itself but most are pretty high. Anyway most bigger HDDs use a bit of power and most usb outputs have a 500ma limit. I know my 160gb western digital draws 650ma.... but my kenwood ran it just fine. then again it has 2 usb outs so it may have 1000ma or 1amp limit. One of the guys at the shop ran into this issue with an older kenwood double din he had.... He hacked up a USB cord and an xm cig lighter (they provide the 6v or 5v that the HDD runs off of) I dont know the details of it but basiclly he made a 2a power booster that you just have to give power/ground
WIth something like that then you can reach the limit of the head unit. my kenwood has something like 10k files and 250 directories but it is the **** bam zammy so
WIth something like that then you can reach the limit of the head unit. my kenwood has something like 10k files and 250 directories but it is the **** bam zammy so
12-10-2008, 06:25 PM
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the units do have a max amount of songs directories ect they can read and that's really dependent on the unit itself but most are pretty high. Anyway most bigger HDDs use a bit of power and most usb outputs have a 500ma limit. I know my 160gb western digital draws 650ma.... but my kenwood ran it just fine. then again it has 2 usb outs so it may have 1000ma or 1amp limit. One of the guys at the shop ran into this issue with an older kenwood double din he had.... He hacked up a USB cord and an xm cig lighter (they provide the 6v or 5v that the HDD runs off of) I dont know the details of it but basiclly he made a 2a power booster that you just have to give power/ground
WIth something like that then you can reach the limit of the head unit. my kenwood has something like 10k files and 250 directories but it is the **** bam zammy so
WIth something like that then you can reach the limit of the head unit. my kenwood has something like 10k files and 250 directories but it is the **** bam zammy so
most of the milliamps and all that stuff confuses me. ive only had experience wiring LEDs to USB cords and stuff like that. but anyway, i think i would love to do this so i could have as many songs as i want....do you think my headunit would be slower like some mentioned?
12-10-2008, 09:10 PM
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i doubt that the headunit would be slower...if anything was going to happen im sure it would be that the external hard drive would not have enough power coming from your HU. The only thing that would make it slow would be the lack of power but im not sure how the HU would handle the HD because most are built for PCs. you should find a friend that has one and just try it out first before you buy one.
12-10-2008, 11:00 PM
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okay, that makes sense, i dont need something that big, maybe 50GB would do the trick lol. ill just have to experiment, i dont wanna like buy one and then it not work and i cant take it back or something...but the one you have is just plug and play correct? no installation software or anything.
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