5G Bluetooth

Ideally, you will need the following items:

Small Phillips Driver
Small Flat Screw Driver
Plastic iPod Opening Tool
One or two 3mm LEDs
Xacto Knife or Razor Blade
Compact Flash to 1.8" Female IDE adapter
Fully ATA compatible Compact Flash Card (2Gb min). I've had good luck with Transcend, Sandisk and Adata but others may work as well.
5th Generation iPod Video. If you use an iPod with a bad drive, just make sure that the unit is otherwise fully functional.
Drill and small drill bit (optional)
Bluetooth headphones (A2DP)
Universal Bluetooth Adapter*

There are literally hundreds of DIY guides and tutorials on how to properly open up your iPod, so I won't go into it here. I will assume that if you're actually willing to do this hack to your iPod you already know or can easily figure out how to open it up. Just use a plastic tool and take your time.

Be careful, when you finally pry it open the two halves will still be connected via the battery ribbon cable. Disconnect the battery ribbon cable as shown as well as the the headphone jack cable and separate the two halves.

Replacing the Hard Drive

I have not uploaded the instructions for the replacement of the hard drive (HD) with Compact Flash (CF) on this site yet, but you can check out the step by step here. Click on "Parts & Supplies" for info on the CF adapter.

You can still perform the mod with a 30GB HD, but you will need to use the larger 60/80 GB back cover to allow room for the BT adapter.

As for the CF card itself, you can use any size card from 2GB to 32GB depending on your budget. Remember, it must be fully ATA compliant. I've had good luck with Transcend, Sandisk and Adata but others may work as well.

Anyway, install the card into the adapter but don't install into the iPod yet.

Disassembly

Note: If you want to add a status LED to your project, you will have to continue to completely disassemble your iPod.

So, next, you have to continue the disassembly of your iPod. Remove the six screws holding the plastic front panel from the metal frame and pull apart.

Remove the logic board from the frame. Be careful with all the sticky tape and be extra careful removing the ground "strap" that wraps around the top of the frame.

Pick a spot along the center rail of the frame and drill a hole just large enough for your 3mm LED. It iwll hep to use a centerpunch and a high-speed drill with a sharp bit to do this.

Preparing the Bluetooth Module

There have been a lot of questions regarding the type of Bluetooth module used in this mod. Just about any universal module will work, some will be easier than others to wire up. Don't use a dock-based module, finding the correct connections in it will be extremely difficult.

Unlike my 4th Gen BT hack, here I used an older module from Billionton mainly due to its small size. Another difference between the two is that in the Jabra and others like it, you will need to either pair it before you close up the case or allow for a way to access the module's switch.

Prepare the BT module as shown and solder the power and audio terminals to the appropriate locations on the ipod. If you want a status LED, you'll want to solder leads to the SMT LED pads so that you can route your LED to the frame.

Reassembly

Once you have wired up the BT module, install the CF adapter. Carefuly thread the BT leads around the CF adapter and position it as shown. Use a little bit of tape to keep things in place.

Test & Restore

Carefully put the iPod pieces back together but don't snap closed just yet.

Plug your iPod into the PC using the dock connector. If iTunes does not automatically open up, do so now.

At this time, iTunes should recognize your iPod and will give you the option to restore the iPod to its original settings. Click OK and wait for it to finish.

Once the restore process is complete, your iPod will display a message telling you that the unit needs to be plugged into its wall charger to complete the process. Plug in the iPod for a few minutes and check to see that your iPod works as it should.

FAQs

Can I transfer songs wirelessly to my PC using this mod?

No, it is only for wireless headphones.

Can I control my iPod from my headphones?

No. You may be able to control volume on your headphones, but this is not a mod that allows for full AVRCP compliance (I'm working on that). You cannot skip songs, etc from the headphone controls - you actually have to touch your iPod to do that.

How much will it cost?

It depends on where you buy the parts, about $150 with an 8GB card.

Will you do the mod for me? I'm willing to pay big bucks.

Maybe. Send us an email.

Do you sell iPods already modified?

Yes, but only a few. Click on the "for sale" link on the left or contact us for availability.