First off I love the radio (9855)$450 and all the options it has. Now to get to the point, Alpine really pissed me off by not being able to connect and Ipod (KCA420i interface)$100 and satelite ( SIRIUS SIR-ALP1 interface)$100 at the same time without having to purchase a special link connector (KCA-410C - Versatile Link Terminal)$150 which they did not tell me until i got home and tried to install the radio. I even contacted the tech support at alpine and they told me I wasn't the only one to complain about this. Also tech support told me that they werent sure if i buy the special link connector if the the radio can determine if i'm playing the sat or the ipod because there sharing the same ai net link cable. This sucks ***.

And if all of this didnt **** me off there's not even a aux input, you have to purchase a special plug (Alpine KCA-121B) $20 just to have aux inputs, and when you do this you cant have the ipod or sat interfaces because now it being used up by the special plug.

Go figure I always went w/ pioneer and kenwood and i've never had these kind of problems. So just letting everone out there know before purchasing this unit all the stuff they need if they want to connect external items to a alpine headunit.

 

I'm a idiot, but apparently so is the tech support of Alpine. Its around 1:00 am and i was doing the pre wiring on harness and i noticed that the sat interface has a cross through port and from there i can hook up my ipod interface. I noticed this very late. The only thing is why didnt tech support tell me this when I had spoke to them earlier. Oh well, i'll be connecting this unit on the 12/24/05 pre x-mas gift.

 

yea, had the same problem dude- sorry didnt get around to this thread earlier... but you figured out what you have to do- so were all good

 

Hello,
I've got 2 questions, does anyone know if the alpine 9855 can have the aux adapter cable and the iPod interface unit connected simultaneously or is the satellite tuner the only unit that has a pass thru? My second question is whether or not the 9855 can be connected to operate with my steering wheel controls?

Thank you,
-C-

 

Clok420, you can not have the aux and ipod interface connected with out having the sat interface or you can purchase the KCA-410 versatile link Its like a splitter. You connect the special AI-Net cable from headunit to the 410c and it gives you 2 AI-net Connectors and 2 aux ports w/ gain controls.On the steering wheel question, they do have a special unit for that to keep the factory controls. Not sure of the part#. hope this helps.

 

You can connect it just how you found out.. you only need the versatile link adapter when connecting all of those plus an ainet cd changer. Steering wheel controls can still be used on the 9855 by purchasing an adapter, i believe it is made by peripherial or something along those lines.

 

Funny to hear someone complain about the 9855... I've owned one since June and I love the hell out it. I do wish I had waited a few months though because I just popped over to the alpine website and got a look at the 06 lineup. They finally released a dvd playing double din model that should fit perfectly into my 05 150, plus they completely redesigned the Ipod interface for all 06 models. Now all you need is one 30 dollar cable that plugs directly into the back of the unit and no longer requires a seperate hideaway box. As if that wasn't enough, the new interface is 200 times faster, has better scrolling and search functions, and can display the entire text entry for artist, title, and album info. Super sweet... I'll definately be upgrading in the summer, and maybe putting up the old 9855 on ebay. Really glad now I kept the original box.
Here is what the new double din dvd until looks like. It's priced under a grand too, if you can believe that. I've been asking alpine for something like this for years now. Flip up's are so dang flimsy and tacky looking imo.