Seity

Firing up the "aux in" on a 2008 Toyota Yaris

2016-03-28T00:00:00+01:00

We own a 2008 Toyota Yaris, which we bought second-hand with a car stereo claiming all sorts of capabilities such as iPod compatibility, built-in satnav etc. In fact, the unit required a TomTom unit to be inserted for much of the action, and most of the extra functionality doesn't work without the TomTom in place. For us, this means it just doesn't work at all, as we never take that with us. However, I did read that it is possible to add a simple aux-in cable to allow the unit to work with a plugged-in phone. This sounds more interesting, and is a bit of a work-in-progress, so I'm writing down what I've figured out so far, partly for my own reference but also in case anyone else is struggling the same way.

The head unit is described by Toyota as a TNS 400, and has the number 33802 inscribed on the front. In fact, you may be struck by how similar it looks to another unit - the Eclipse AVN2227p. This information is handy when searching for manuals and the like!

On the back of the unit there is a 13-pin DIN socket that takes a plug known as an AUX105. As it turns out, I'm not the only person who bought one of these cheap off Amazon, only to find that it only works on the left channel, and that sounds pretty duff anyway. This is due to a mis-wiring, it appears. The correct wiring, as found on a really helpful post on www.caraudio.com is as shown below...

The pins that need to be connected are:

6 = audio in (right)
7 = audio ground (common)
8 = audio in (left)

When I had my first shot at installing it, I came across some snippets and bits of information that might help if you're stuck or preparing for action:

This video on Youtube was very handy to help get the trim off
There isn't much clearance between the back of the radio and the car bulkhead, so a cable with either a right-angle plug or at least a shallow one would be easier. In fact, I was able to cut away my (too long) plug so that I was able to make it fit. Would have helped to know that in advance, though!

A new phase in the life of the Seity blog

2016-02-12T23:38:00+00:00

I decided a bit of server consolidation was required, partly because my old Seity blog was hosted on an aging copy of Drupal, installed on a server in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard." (with apologies to Douglas Adams).

Although I do have another blog lurking around, it turned out that nostalgia had left me quite liking the years-old content of this particular blog, so I thought I would migrate it to somewhere else, and in a form I could manage more easily in future. So, welcome to the new version of the Seity blog, hosted as a static site using Pelican. Having nailed that, and set up a theme to keep me going a while, I felt an update was timely!

So here we go. What's new? Well, I'm still doing training a bit like Wild Training, but different. As I'm working in Rickmansworth, I tracked down the Bodycoach Gym there and found some Metafit classes, which are good fun. Being a friendly gym with weight rooms, they're also seeing some use.

After some difficult years of intensive but very interesting training, Mrs H is now a yoga teacher, running some excellent classes in and around Amersham. She goes under the name Yoga By Ellie, and I'm lucky enough to make it along to a couple of her classes most weeks. I'm really enjoying it, I have to say. There are a good few men coming along to the classes, and we're all getting more flexible, week by week. All in all it is a great antidote to the other things I'm doing - running, working, walking, ferrying children around etc.

Did I mention that Charlotte, whose christening featured on this blog, is now gone 7? Yikes!

Local exercise

2011-08-10T21:32:00+01:00

Not been here a while, so I thought I'd write something! I've recently started doing outdoor exercise in Amersham, with the nice chaps from Wild Training. We meet in the evenings and Saturday mornings, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it as something that will get you fit, quick!

I'm astonished

2009-07-14T20:45:00+01:00

I am really, truly astonished! Now, don't get me wrong; I know that the internet is a big place. In fact, very big. However, just how many Tim Hodsons can there be out there with such similar interests and backgrounds! I'm referring to the other Tim Hodson with the most obvious domain name for such nomenclature - who mentions drumming in a cathedral, sound engineering, web design etc as playing a major part in his existence. Now, my puppeteering is admittedly non-existent, and I'm no librarian, but in the past I have played drums (badly), performed music in a cathedral (on various occasions) and have a mixing desk in the cupboard upstairs (albeit used rather less than I'd like).

So why am I spending whole minutes of my life writing this? Wikipedia would call it disambiguation! Just so people who know me can be confident that this is me rather than another kind of Tim Hodson, I should point out that I play flute whenever I have a good excuse, spend far too much time in front of a computer and have notably reduced hair! Oh yes - and while I am no inventor, I am honoured to be the source of the so-called "Hodson bodge"...

Oh yes - and I don't live in Wolverhampton. It's Amersham for the likes of me, I'm afraid!

Places to stay nearby

2009-03-07T00:33:00+00:00

There are a range of places nearby to stay. We will add to this list as time allows, but two very nice places to start looking are The King's Arms and The Crown. Both of these are within walking distance of the Church that Charlotte's christening will be held at, and both are not bad on the food front, either!

Directions for getting to The Old Swan from the church

2009-02-26T11:11:00+00:00

The pub is about a 20 minute drive from the church, and is situated deep into some glorious Bucks countryside! The basic directions are:

From the church, go down the high street away from Tesco, past the Market Square etc
You will hit a roundabout for the dual carriageway: turn right, towards Great Missenden
As you near Great Missenden, cross two roundabouts going straight ahead
Take a right turn almost exactly 1 mile later, signposted towards The Lee (Leather Lane)
At the end, turn left
As you enter Lee, with a nice grass square, turn left
Continue down the road, across the crossroads, and the pub is just up there on the left

Charlotte's Christening

2009-02-26T10:59:00+00:00

Lottie is being christened on April 19th. The christening itself is taking place at St Mary's Church, Amersham - the service starts at 10:15. The church usually runs a few christenings at the same time, which means that the church gets extremely packed! We would therefore recommend that those attending the service get to the church somewhat earlier - the vicar recommends being in the church no later than 10:00. There should be a set of seats reserved for us at the back of the church (we are told).

For those not familiar with the church, the best place to park is in the public car park behind the garage. When you turn onto Amersham Old Town high street from the Tesco roundabout, you pass the garage on the right, and the public car park is next on the right immediately after the garage. To get to the church from there, use the footpath at the back of the car park which runs next to a small river; head away from Tesco. Stay by the river, passing a small green on the left. You won't miss the church!

After the christening, guests are invited to join us for a buffet lunch at The Old Swan pub in Lee. Their address is Swan Lane, The Lee, Bucks HP16 9NU.

By the way, if you have any questions about what's happening, eg getting there etc, do call/email us. We'll also keep this site updated with any new information that may be useful.

See you there!

Comments

How it went!

Submitted by Tim Hodson on Tue, 14/07/2009 - 10:13.

Just to let anyone know who happens to be reading this, that the Old Swan pub is a really good place to go! The beer they had on tap on the day was so good that I have been finding it seriously difficult to match anywhere else since. The trick, I think, is probably to go there on a lovely day, as part of a long walk which you get to/from by train, so you can sit down and enjoy it without having to worry about driving afterwards! Oh yes - the food was lovely too.