Audio Systems: factory radio stolen: replace with ipod?, amp input, audio amp

Question
Greetings: I drive a 2000 Frod Explorer. The Radio/CD player was stolen, but the feed wires were left intact. I have found the atenna wire, 12 V power wires, and the speaker wires. If I have the radio replaced, it will get stolen again in my neigborhood. (The broken glass is a mess.)I would like to install a little amplifier into which I could plug my iPod and play through the existing standard car speakers. What amp should I use? How much power would be optimal for the existing speakers? Would a little electronics project amp work or will I need to buy a commercial car audio amp? What wire kit should I use to connect?

Thanks,

Barry Gragg,
NY, NY

Answer
Barry,
If the factory connector is still intact, you can purchase an adapter to plug onto the connector that has pig tails that you can connect a small amplifier (10-15 watts)up to and then connect you iPod to the amp input/s. A small amp of 10-15 watts output should be ample for most vehicles. If not you can always go to a 25 watt amp. A small electronics project amp won't give you a good HiFi sound!

TOM,
T&D ELECTRONICS
tdeser@zoominternet.net