Zune Pinout Question

mitchs_33 · 04-03-2008, 08:35 AM

I've looked over the Zune Pinout, and many of the pins are left blank. Does this mean they have no function, or that their function is unknown? The reason I ask: iPod interfaces include pins for firewire connection, which includes a 12v power supply. As far as I can see, the only Zune power supply is the 5v from the usb. Is it possible that there is a pin for a 12v power supply (i.e. via firewire) or no?

zunemonger · 04-03-2008, 08:44 AM

welll i have a wall charger for my zune but im pretty sure the juice gets stepped dwn but it doesnt say to what voltage?

Gregory · 04-03-2008, 08:24 PM

It means they have no function.

mitchs_33 · 04-04-2008, 07:33 AM

So, basically the only way to power your Zune via a 12v power source is to use some kind of power inverter or voltage divider to bring the power down to 5v? Bummer.

Gregory · 04-04-2008, 08:17 AM

You could get this.

http://zuneone.net/proddetail.asp?prod=3in1Charger

mr.handsomeman · 04-04-2008, 08:22 AM

whats the Zune pinout?

mitchs_33 · 04-04-2008, 08:41 AM

Well here is what I'm trying to do. I want to charge and play my zune in my car. But, I want to do both from the Zune interface on the bottom. I don't like the idea of having two wires coming out of my Zune, one from the Zune interface to charge and one from the 3.5 mm jack on top. That would just be awkward. Anyway, I have the following pinout on the back of my receiver:

- Permanent +12v
- Switch +12v
- Ground
- AUX In Left
- AUX In Right

So, my original plan was to just cut open the Zune Sync Cable (Which I did) and splice the corresponding wires together. Two problems:

1. The Zune is powered by +5v and the receiver output is +12v. A dangerous mistake on my part.

2. The Zune needs to be triggered to have audio out from the sync port.

So, what I'm wondering is if those Zune car chargers include the trigger (to let it know that it's plugged in and should be charging), in which case, with a small modification I could easily run two wires from the back of my receiver and solder them onto the corresponding pins of the Zune interface.

mr.handsomeman · 04-04-2008, 09:46 AM

hmm....sounds complicated.......I don't have a charger...so i don't know if it has that trigger. sorry man....

xsirex · 04-05-2008, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mitchs_33

Well here is what I'm trying to do. I want to charge and play my zune in my car. But, I want to do both from the Zune interface on the bottom. I don't like the idea of having two wires coming out of my Zune, one from the Zune interface to charge and one from the 3.5 mm jack on top. That would just be awkward. Anyway, I have the following pinout on the back of my receiver:

- Permanent +12v
- Switch +12v
- Ground
- AUX In Left
- AUX In Right

So, my original plan was to just cut open the Zune Sync Cable (Which I did) and splice the corresponding wires together. Two problems:

1. The Zune is powered by +5v and the receiver output is +12v. A dangerous mistake on my part.

2. The Zune needs to be triggered to have audio out from the sync port.

So, what I'm wondering is if those Zune car chargers include the trigger (to let it know that it's plugged in and should be charging), in which case, with a small modification I could easily run two wires from the back of my receiver and solder them onto the corresponding pins of the Zune interface.

I had the same dilemma a while back and the solution i came up with was i bought a belkin tunebase and ran leads from the lineout port to an aux port on the back of my stereo. It works great and i just neatly routed the line out cable along the side of the tunebase then dremel'd a small hole next to my cigarette lighter port to run the lineout behind the dash. All in all its looks sleek until you really start inpecting it closely. But being able to drop the zune in the cradle and hit play is well worth it.

mitchs_33 · 04-07-2008, 09:56 AM

Well, like I often do, I was making the situation more complicated than it had to be, and a simple answer was right in front of me the whole time. Although I didn't learn what all of the individual wires were for (there was that mysterious uninsulated wire, which I suspect to be linked to the trigger, and then a mesh sheath around the speaker wires, which I suspect to be a ground). I ended up buying one of those USB adapters for your 12v outlet (cigarette lighter) on Amazon for about $4 shipped. Then, I took the sync cable that I had previously hacked apart, attached all corresponding wires beside the speaker wires (Black to Black, Red to Red, Uninsulated to Uninsulated, Mesh to Mesh) and with the speaker wire I ran it to the back of my receiver. Now, when I plug the sync cable into my Zune it is triggered, it is charged, and the Audio Out runs directly to my receiver! After a quick trial to see if it all worked, I simply crimped all of my spliced wires, and bundled the loose ends all together, then taped them up. It works great!

Lucifer · 04-07-2008, 11:24 AM

an easy and cheap thing to add to the wiring is a 5v Regulator http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search which would take any input voltage between about 7 volts and maybe 24 volts and outputs at 5 volts. then all you'd need to trigger the charging state is to put a low resistance resistor on the data + and - lines for the USB port in the cable (possibly with a switch so that it's not joining the data lines while syncing) and with any luck, the audio output lines should be active, if all you need is for the zune to believe its charging, that should do it.

bedheadfred · 04-08-2008, 09:37 PM

Well what I did was take a Blackberry power adapter, which has a USB slot on the top, and plugged in my Zune cable. Charges fine. I first tried this on my iPod (before I got a Zune)

CarbonOS · 04-12-2008, 11:20 PM

It would be cool if someone could modify the iPod video virtual screen goggles for the Zune.

04-03-2008, 08:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
mitchs_33 Squirt Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 11 Reputation: 10	Zune Pinout Question I've looked over the Zune Pinout, and many of the pins are left blank. Does this mean they have no function, or that their function is unknown? The reason I ask: iPod interfaces include pins for firewire connection, which includes a 12v power supply. As far as I can see, the only Zune power supply is the 5v from the usb. Is it possible that there is a pin for a 12v power supply (i.e. via firewire) or no?

04-03-2008, 08:44 AM	#2 (permalink)
zunemonger Experienced Zuner Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 197 Reputation: 11	welll i have a wall charger for my zune but im pretty sure the juice gets stepped dwn but it doesnt say to what voltage? __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

04-03-2008, 08:24 PM	#3 (permalink)
Gregory Support Team Moderator Ultimate Zuner Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: What a stalker! Posts: 6,440 Reputation: 265	It means they have no function. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Do you live outside of the US, have Paypal, and want the Zune Pass? If so PM or visit my To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. .

04-04-2008, 08:17 AM	#5 (permalink)
Gregory Support Team Moderator Ultimate Zuner Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: What a stalker! Posts: 6,440 Reputation: 265	You could get this. http://zuneone.net/proddetail.asp?prod=3in1Charger __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Do you live outside of the US, have Paypal, and want the Zune Pass? If so PM or visit my To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. .

04-04-2008, 08:22 AM	#6 (permalink)
mr.handsomeman Expert Zuner Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 3,494 Reputation: 26	whats the Zune pinout? __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Written by the love of my life...thanks Brittany. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

04-04-2008, 07:33 AM	#4 (permalink)
mitchs_33 Squirt Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 11 Reputation: 10	So, basically the only way to power your Zune via a 12v power source is to use some kind of power inverter or voltage divider to bring the power down to 5v? Bummer.

04-04-2008, 08:41 AM	#7 (permalink)
mitchs_33 Squirt Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 11 Reputation: 10	Well here is what I'm trying to do. I want to charge and play my zune in my car. But, I want to do both from the Zune interface on the bottom. I don't like the idea of having two wires coming out of my Zune, one from the Zune interface to charge and one from the 3.5 mm jack on top. That would just be awkward. Anyway, I have the following pinout on the back of my receiver: - Permanent +12v - Switch +12v - Ground - AUX In Left - AUX In Right So, my original plan was to just cut open the Zune Sync Cable (Which I did) and splice the corresponding wires together. Two problems: 1. The Zune is powered by +5v and the receiver output is +12v. A dangerous mistake on my part. 2. The Zune needs to be triggered to have audio out from the sync port. So, what I'm wondering is if those Zune car chargers include the trigger (to let it know that it's plugged in and should be charging), in which case, with a small modification I could easily run two wires from the back of my receiver and solder them onto the corresponding pins of the Zune interface.

04-04-2008, 09:46 AM	#8 (permalink)
mr.handsomeman Expert Zuner Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 3,494 Reputation: 26	hmm....sounds complicated.......I don't have a charger...so i don't know if it has that trigger. sorry man.... __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Written by the love of my life...thanks Brittany. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

04-07-2008, 09:56 AM	#10 (permalink)
mitchs_33 Squirt Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 11 Reputation: 10	Well, like I often do, I was making the situation more complicated than it had to be, and a simple answer was right in front of me the whole time. Although I didn't learn what all of the individual wires were for (there was that mysterious uninsulated wire, which I suspect to be linked to the trigger, and then a mesh sheath around the speaker wires, which I suspect to be a ground). I ended up buying one of those USB adapters for your 12v outlet (cigarette lighter) on Amazon for about $4 shipped. Then, I took the sync cable that I had previously hacked apart, attached all corresponding wires beside the speaker wires (Black to Black, Red to Red, Uninsulated to Uninsulated, Mesh to Mesh) and with the speaker wire I ran it to the back of my receiver. Now, when I plug the sync cable into my Zune it is triggered, it is charged, and the Audio Out runs directly to my receiver! After a quick trial to see if it all worked, I simply crimped all of my spliced wires, and bundled the loose ends all together, then taped them up. It works great!

04-07-2008, 11:24 AM	#11 (permalink)
Lucifer zB Programmer Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 572 Reputation: 331	an easy and cheap thing to add to the wiring is a 5v Regulator http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=search which would take any input voltage between about 7 volts and maybe 24 volts and outputs at 5 volts. then all you'd need to trigger the charging state is to put a low resistance resistor on the data + and - lines for the USB port in the cable (possibly with a switch so that it's not joining the data lines while syncing) and with any luck, the audio output lines should be active, if all you need is for the zune to believe its charging, that should do it.

04-08-2008, 09:37 PM	#12 (permalink)
bedheadfred Zewbie Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1 Reputation: 10	Well what I did was take a Blackberry power adapter, which has a USB slot on the top, and plugged in my Zune cable. Charges fine. I first tried this on my iPod (before I got a Zune)

04-12-2008, 11:20 PM	#13 (permalink)
CarbonOS Experienced Zuner Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Vancity Posts: 139 Reputation: 19	It would be cool if someone could modify the iPod video virtual screen goggles for the Zune.

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