(updated 11/5/20)

Click here for my main website

PLEASE READ!

Product Availability Update as of 11/5/20

PALs

 I haven't been able to get Version 2 PALs since Mediatronic went out of business in 2012.  Originally I bought them wholesale for around $100 bucks and added my harnesses and sold them for around $180.  But since 2012, the GM list price went from around $190 to now over $330 - and that's for the standard original PAL - not even Version 2!

I still have three Version 2 PAL kits that I've squirreled away for the past years, so if any Vette owners are interested, I'll let them go with the latest Version 2 software and standard harness for $300.  Email me if you're interested.

BUT,

in the meantime, if you are lucky enough to find one, another way to get a Version 2 PAL is to find an original (Version 1) PAL at a dealer or other online source, and I can upgrade it for you.  Be sure you order the correct part number, GM P.N. 17800593.   Some original PALs have resurfaced at some GM dealers - click on the "upgrade page" below for details:

Click here for more details about obtaining and upgrading an original PAL kit

You will need my special installation harness to replace the one in the Version 1 PAL kit and a software upgrade to get the features offered with the Version 2 kits.  You can order my harnesses and software upgrades in the Components Only section of the Ordering Page.  I'm out of the 5 volt iPod cables, but I have OEM cables that charge 12 volt only.  If you order a Version 1 PAL kit from someone else, you can have it direct shipped to me if that is convenient for you, so I can upgrade the software in the module.  If you go this route, please have them put your name somewhere so I'll know who it's for.

You might also be able to find used PALs on ebay and other sites.  Just be sure to get the correct part number and ascertain why the person is selling it - you don't want to get a defective one.  But if he or she is selling it because they traded cars or some other reason, the used PAL is probably OK. 

You might also want to consider one of my auxiliary in harnesses below.  Since I build these myself, I can ship them quickly.

http://www.kawal.net/auxinput.htm

An auxiliary input harness combined with a Bluetooth adapter is a nice alternative to a PAL, and considerably less expensive.

 General Information

The Version 2 PAL will work for all C6 factory Nav radios and all C6 factory non-Nav radios with or without XM.  For early C6 non-Nav radios without XM, I will ship a software version which includes a radio unlocking code to create an XM band on your radio.  Please email me if you have an early non-Nav radio without XM so I will be sure to send you the correct software. 

I have both Standard and Premium XM installation harness options as described below.

For owners of the original GM PALs, you can order software upgrades that will make your PAL identical to the new Version 2 PALs.    

Note for owners of other non-Corvette Class 2 vehicles, you must email me first so I can be sure to have the correct installation harness and/or software for your PAL.  

For European customers, the European UL2 option has a different firmware for the European frequencies and your radios will not recognize a PAL or an XM band.  So the only option that I know of is to replace the factory Navigation radio with one of the new 2011-13 factory Nav radios with a USB interface as well as an auxiliary input built in.  Click HERE for details.

What is a Version 2 PAL?

Quite simply, it is the best iPod interface available for a C6 Corvette.  When the 2005 C6 Corvette came out, neither the factory Navigation radio nor the non-Nav radios had any sort of way to connect the popular Apple iPod devices to the car's audio system.  Millions of people use the iPod to store and play their own music playlists, and most modern vehicles now include various interfaces that allow car owners to play their iPods and iPhones while they are driving.  GM soon learned of their premier sport car's deficiency and promised an iPod interface called the Personal Audio Link, or PAL.

But GM moves slowly, so meanwhile, aftermarket manufacturers started building iPod interfaces for lots of vehicles lacking the ability to connect an iPod, including the C6 Corvette.  By early 2009, the promised GM PAL was still not available, and many Corvette owners gave up on the PAL and bought the various aftermarket adapters.  None of the aftermarket adapters were great, but they were adequate, and owners on the Corvette Forum voiced their opinions about this one and that one.  Since none really stood out, C6 owners were constantly wondering which one they should buy.

In April, 2009, I had to have one too, but like everyone else, I wondered what to buy.  I decided to contact the manufacturers of all of the available aftermarket iPod adapters and see if they were interested in providing their adapter for a review I was planning.  Since a thorough comparative test had never been done, all of the manufacturers were eager to be included in the review.  I received their sample products, installed each of them in my own '07 Z06 Corvette with the factory Navigation system, then operated them to see what features each of them had and how well they worked.  You can read that review by clicking HERE.

Although many Corvette owners gave up on GM, the GM PAL finally became available in August, 2009, as part number 17800593.  But it was only available for 2008 and later C6s with the factory Navigation radio and XM radio, plus it was meant to be a dealer installed accessory with a comparatively difficult installation.  Needless to say, thousands of owners of 2005-2007 Corvette owners were disappointed again.  From my experience with the aftermarket iPod adapters and from looking at the electrical information available in my Corvette Service Manuals, I couldn't see a reason why the GM PAL wouldn't work in my '07 C6.  So I bought one to see how it compared to the aftermarket adapters, especially the one I was using at the time.  The first thing I learned was that it was an awful job to install the original PAL.  It took me about five hours and required me to splice into the factory wiring harness.  Most of the aftermarket adapters (but not all) allowed a simple connection at the XM Satellite receiver which is very easy to access in a C6 Corvette.  And here I was tearing out the left, right, and center sections of my dashboard just to install this new PAL.  What a job!  Few owners would want to do this!

After the grueling installation and putting my car back together again, I was pleasantly surprised with the result.  While GM missed the mark on installation, they had created an excellent iPod interface, clearly superior to any of the aftermarket adapters.  While all of the aftermarket adapters had "generic" button interfaces you would have to memorize to perform a function, the PAL was specifically designed for the Corvette Nav radio so it was like a factory interface.  You pressed a button that said "Artist" instead of some generic label like "P3".  Plus it interfaced with the HUD in the windshield.  It was a well designed iPod interface built especially for the C6 Corvette.  I added these positive results to my earlier review and posted the results on the Corvette Forum.  This generated a lot of interest and questions about the PAL and the other aftermarket iPod adapters.

But the main problem with the PAL, even though it was clearly superior to the aftermarket competition, was the difficult installation.  Not many owners wanted to take their Corvettes into a dealer and pay some technician they didn't know a lot of money to tear apart their car.  And not many owners wanted to tear their own cars apart just to add an iPod interface.  Through the Corvette Forum, I was able to find and begin communicating with the GM engineer in charge of the PAL project.  After some involved discussions, I was able to obtain the wiring information for the PAL and how it integrated with the Corvette body wiring.  Being familiar with the aftermarket devices, I could see that the PAL wiring could be modified to enable a simple installation at the XM receiver, similar to some of the aftermarket adapters.  All of the necessary wiring for the PAL was available at the XM receiver, so why in the world would GM force you to tear into the dash and connect at the radio and make splices into the Class 2 communication wiring?  There was no satisfactory answer, so I decided to build a wiring harness that allowed the PAL to be installed at the XM receiver.  With this installation, which can be completed in as little as five minutes without any tools, the completely reversible PAL installation could be done by anyone.

On the Corvette Forum, I asked how many other owners would be interested in a PAL if I could provide a harness to allow this simple installation.  Immediately, owners responded positively, and I started building harnesses for other Corvette owners.  Corvette PAL sales also picked up because owners could now buy an accessory that they could easily install and have the best iPod interface available.  I began offering these harnesses for the original PAL and they became very popular.  In fact, they became too popular and I found too much of my time was spent building PAL harnesses.  I'm a retired engineer and I want to be driving my Corvette, not stuck in my shop building wiring harnesses all day!  As I continued my communication with the GM engineer, what I was interested in was talking to the company who designed and manufactured the PAL for GM, a company now known as Mediatronics.  I wanted to talk to them about selling me their PAL installation harness so I could modify it for an XM installation.  These installation harnesses were high OEM quality, but they needed different connectors and wiring to accomplish my goal.  If I could obtain their harnesses, it would be much easier to modify theirs than building my own, plus the product would be better quality.  After some time, I finally contacted Andrew Carrington, the CEO of Mediatronics, and our first telephone discussion lasted two hours.  I immediately found him to not only be extremely intelligent and knowledgeable about his product, he also was very receptive to new ideas in order to improve his product.  My wife and I drove our Corvette down to southern California to meet Andrew, and we began a friendship and business relationship that continues today.

Andrew and I discussed in detail what is great about the PAL and what could be improved upon.  As a result of those discussions, new software was developed that offered more features, better operation, and expanded the application of the PAL to all C6 radios - Nav and non-Nav, XM or no-XM.  Plus a new iPod cable was developed that would charge all of the latest iPods and iPhones, something that the original PAL still can't do.  GM is still selling the original part number 17800593 to Corvette owners.  It still has the original software, original wiring harness, and the original iPod cable - not one improvement has been made!  I now offer new and better XM installation harnesses, new 8' iPod cables that will charge the latest iPods and iPhones, and software upgrades so original PAL owners can enjoy the additional features and better performance of the Version 2 PALs.  But the obvious best deal for any C6 owner is the Version 2 PAL kit that includes all of these "goodies" in the kit, instead of buying an antiquated kit from GM and having me upgrade it.

So read on, and see what the Version 2 PAL kit will do for your C6.

I just finished testing the latest Nav version of the new PAL software.  It's the best yet!
Click here for a page describing the operation of the new Nav version.

 And you will also like the non-Nav PAL software with "Q-Links":
  Click here for a page describing the operation of the new non-Nav PAL .

   Click here for an Ordering page for the new PAL kits, components, and other harnesses.

The Ordering site will allow payments by credit card, Paypal, or checks.

*****

Click here for installation instructions and examples for the new Version 2 PAL

*****

Click here for downloads of Version 2 PAL Owners Manuals and Installation Sheets

*****

Click here for a comparison between the original PAL available from GM and the Version 2 PAL kits

The Version 2 PAL Kit:

NEW FEATURES (compare to original version PALs):

1.  Works with all Nav and non-Nav C6 radios.

2.  Works with XM or non-XM equipped C6 Corvettes.

3.  Simple installation with an easy connection at the XM Receiver, if equipped with XM or the XM harness is present.

4.  New longer 8' iPod cable with 5 volt charging of all newer iPod, iTouches, or iPhones. 

5.  A new PAUSE button is featured in the Playing menu.

6.  Direct Mode is now incorporated into the software, allowing you to control your device from the device itself.

7.  The Auxiliary In feature of the PAL is enabled, allowing the use of other music devices.

8.  Menus have been improved with additional features for a better user interface and more user control.

9.  Revised software to eliminate some issues with operation slowdown when using large format hard drive iPods (such as the 80 gb and 160 gb Classic) with large music libraries and also resolves some past issues with PAL lockup when buttons are pushed too quickly and overload the XM communication path. 

Here's the new 8' iPod cable with 5 volt charging capability:

These cables were included in all new version 2 PAL kits, but are no longer available.

Instead, I now have OEM PAL iPod cables, but they do not provide 5 volt charging - only 12 volt.

Here's the installation harness that allows you to connect the PAL at the easy-to-get-to XM receiver:

I'm now including a new standard installation harness that is fully wrapped, as shown above.

Note the installation instructions are on ONE PAGE!

You can have your PAL operating in 5-10 minutes, instead of spending 5+ hours tearing your dash apart and cutting into your factory wiring harness!

Here is the front of the PAL module:

The exterior is identical to the original version PAL.

Although not visible, the only difference between the original PAL module and the new one is the revised software.

Here is the rear of the PAL module:

Connect the iPod cable on the left.  Unlike the original PAL, the two RCA jacks are enabled with the new software as Auxiliary In.

This will allow you to connect the audio from other music devices into your Corvette audio system.  It can also be used to connect you cellphone headphone output to make your cellphone somewhat "handsfree".

OK, what's included in the kit and how do you get one?

PAL kit contents:

Click here for my other C6 modification websites: