[corp miler]

I have a first generation iPod without a remote. One of my friends who has a 2G gave me their remote. Of course the phono plug and the eithernet port don’t match up. I only want the remote so in the car I can stash the iPod away in the center compartment and use the remote to control it. Can I snip off the phono plug and just use the 2 pin eithernet connection for the other controls? I really don’t want to make a $300 mistake.

[Luca Rescigno]

Dude, don't go cutting anything. If the remote doesn't fit, it won't work.

First of all, the first generation iPod (mechanical scroll wheel) is compatible with the remote on the second generation iPods (which had mechanical buttons but a touch wheel). Neither is compatible in any way with the third generation iPod (touch wheel and touch buttons).

Also, the iPod has no "eithernet" port, which is actually spelled "ethernet." What exactly do you mean by that? Are you talking about the Firewire port?

[corp miler]

Thanks for the quick reply.... First off, I meant “firewire” not the misspelled “ethernet” -- that’s called trying to do too many things at once. The remote definitely will not plug into my 1G. There is too much space between the phono jack and the firewire on my 1G. Perhaps the reason my friend didn’t want this remote is that it didn’t fit their 2G either. Whatever the case, the remote’s plug is the wrong size. However, if the phono plug was removed, which would be easy enough, it looks like it would plug into the firewire port and control the other functions. Again, I don’t want to try it and see what happens. Was there a 1G remote offered as an accessory? I didn’t find it on the Apple site.

[Luca Rescigno]

You mean this is a remote that is supposed to fit into the Firewire port somehow, but can't? That doesn't seem to make sense. There was no remote offered with the 1G iPod, but the one that was introduced with the 2G iPod is backwards-compatible with the 1G. That one uses a circular sleeve-like connector around the headphone jack.

Either way, removing the audio plug will do you no good and render any function of the remote useless, because you're supposed to plug the headphones into the remote. But I've never heard of a remote that uses a Firewire connector...

[tooki]

So you have the remote that has the round 1/8" plug with the attached rectangular prong with 4 metal tabs on it? That's a 3G remote -- it never went in the FireWire port.

The remote you need has one plug, namely a regular earphone plug with an extra ring around it (much like a PowerBook power plug).

It was offered as an accessory, but has been discontinued for a while. They are readily available on eBay.

tooki

[corp miler]

Tooki -- you nailed it. 1/8" plug with a small rectangular 4 pin plug. The plug looked like it should plug into the firewire, but I guess not. Sorry for all the confusion. Perhaps I’ll post this incompatible remote on the marketplace. Thanks everyone for your help.