Couldn't find any definite answer to how to set up a playlist on a USB stick, so some trial and error led to a working method.

I copied files into a folder on the USB stick (IE c:\Halestorm)

Then create a TXT file (IE c:\Halestorm.txt)

Then open the file and type your files names, with the folder path (IE Halestorm\01 You're not the one.mp3)

(alternative - output a DIR command to a text file and edit out the extra info - check google for how to do that)

Once filled out, save the file then change the .txt to .m3u.

As long as your file list is correct, your Boom Box 6.5 will play the playlist, and list it under FIND > PLAYLISTS

Example Playlist: (please no comment on music selection, the old lady has input too!)
Brian\01 A Girl Like You.mp3
Brian\01 Ah! Leah!.mp3
Brian\01 American Idiot.mp3
Brian\01 Band on the Run.mp3
Brian\01 Brother Loves Traveling Salvation.mp3
Brian\01 Carry On Wayward Son.mp3
Brian\01 Come Dancing.mp3
Brian\01 Dancing Queen.mp3
Brian\01 Desire (Extended Mix).mp3
Brian\01 Do It Again.mp3
Brian\01 Don't Go Breaking My Heart.mp3
Brian\01 Enter Sandman.mp3
Brian\01 Everything Zen.mp3
Brian\01 Evil Woman.mp3
Brian\01 Fake Healer.mp3
Brian\01 Footloose.mp3
Brian\01 Gimme Some Lovin'.mp3
Brian\01 Give a Little Bit.mp3
Brian\01 Goodbye To You.mp3
Brian\01 Harder to Breathe.mp3
Brian\01 Heavy Metal.mp3
Brian\01 Hey Man Nice Shot.mp3
Brian\01 Hot Child in the City.mp3
Brian\01 I Ran.mp3
Brian\01 I Want You to Want Me.mp3
Brian\01 Is There Something I Should Know.mp3
Brian\01 It's Not Over.mp3
Brian\01 Killing Me Softly.mp3
Brian\01 Lawyers In Love.mp3
Brian\01 Living After Midnight.mp3
Brian\01 Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress.mp3
Brian\01 Love Me Two Times.mp3
Brian\01 Major Tom (Coming Home).mp3
Brian\01 Mrs. Robinson.mp3
Brian\01 Need You Now.mp3
Brian\01 New Age Girl.mp3
Brian\01 New girl now.mp3
Brian\01 Nights In White Satin (Short Vers.mp3
Brian\01 Oh Baby, I Love Your Ways.mp3
Brian\01 On The Loose.mp3
Brian\01 Radar Love.mp3
Brian\01 Rain in the Summertime.mp3
Brian\01 Ring My Bell.mp3
Brian\01 Rock Me Tonight.mp3

 

I'm trying to figure out how to get it to read music from my phone when plugged in.

 

I LOVE the .m3u handling of this stereo! Whatever gripes anyone may have about these '14s, this feature alone basically fixes EVERYTHING that was ever wrong with all preceding generations of stereos. I can load up my "favorites" list with different playlists, and fill up the USB stick with all kinds of finely-tweaked mixes. I have lists of audiobooks for the long interstate rides, classic rock or 80s pop/rock for all purposes, percussion-heavy trance/chillout for Arizona 89A just outside Jerome, recent "Now That's What I Call Music!" mixes for when a kid's on the back, etc. etc. etc. Now that Sirius XM has lowered their bitrates and sound noisier than ever, this stereo steps up with the features, file, and playlist handling to make it all okay.

Unlike the cassette and CD players of past generations, this stereo will keep doing the job well for decades.

Designflaw, do you have an Android-based phone? Google recently changed the Android operating system so that such phones won't function as a USB bulk storage device any more. So most car stereos (and this new Harley one) won't read it like a plain ol' USB stick. There are a few things you can do:

1. I currently work around the problem by just streaming via Bluetooth if there's something on the phone I want to hear. Fortunately, this doesn't happen very often, because most stuff I want to hear, I just transfer to the USB stick. It's too easy.

2. "Root" your phone (break the carrier's limitations that prevents phone owners from running any software they want) and install an app that restores "USB Bulk Storage" or "UBS" capability. Search the Play store for those terms.

3. Give Harley a few years to update the stereo software so that it speaks Android's new "Media Transport Protocol" (MTP). Though, be forewarned that many car manufacturers aren't updating their stereos at all. They're just saying, "hey, it's Google that screwed you by dropping this popular standard... complain to them."

I use option 1 but also like option 2; it works well for the Android phones my wife and I use in her Nissan. I just haven't done it to my current phone yet.

 

There is a couple of freeware programs out there that will generate .m3u files (playlists) Besides ipods or generic MP3 players are so cheap these days and easy to create playlists on why even bother with all the extra work for a USB stick?

 

Yes I have an android, and I have noticed when plugged into a computer it doesn't read like a file directory anymore.

I understand the stick form and blue toothing music but here is my reasoning:

I wear a FF Helmet with a Scala Bluetooth head set. Because I don't want to be corded to the bike (or buy the stupid adaptor required to plug and then the module to bike to bike) I was trying to get around it all.

With my headset I can listen to music, talk on the phone, and talk bike to bike with up to 9 others all by voice commands.

So my thought was, if it would recognize my phone as music when plugged in, it would charge the phone, play music through the stereo and then my BT connection could be between the phone and headset so that I could still take calls and talk bike to bike all with out "plugging in"

 

Should work, if you use option 2. (Though you will only be able to play the music through the fairing speakers. Helmet-headset profiles aren't supported by the Harley stereo yet.)

Here's an app for re-enabling USB Mass Storage: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...storageenabler

Once you get your phone rooted and install that app, you can use it to access your files directly from your computer again, too.

 

I hate robbing time on the original OP. But this seems like the best spot.

I said above what I am trying to do with my FF helmet headset. 357, I don't want to root my phone but I have figured out how to get about 65 70% of what I want done.

With the Android you can split the blue tooth connect under settings and allow it to connect to 2 devices at the same time. I now have the music side set to my bike and plays through the radio and displays, but you have to control song selection with the phone.

Phone side is set to my headset. When taking or making a call, it pauses the music which shows on display and then call is through head set without music playing on stereo. Hang up, music starts back on its own. Bike to bike of head set still active too. Will find out tomorrow what if anything it does to music. I assume nothing since its RF vs. Blue tooth.

 

I like the idea of the flash drive over an iPod for the simple fact that I can just leave it plugged in. I've got 1,000 songs locked and loaded at all times. If someone yanks it I'm only out the $10 I spent on it and there is nothing else personal on it. I initially thought about using my old iPod touch, but don't want to have to remember to unplug it and carry it, or lock it up in the bag every time I park it somewhere. I can still stream my phone via Bluetooth if I want and it doesn't chew up the battery too bad. If it does get low, I've got two ways to charge it now. I'll have to mess around with building a couple different playlists since there isn't much riding to do right now.

 

I tried this on the 4.3 radio and it works on it as well. I haven't tried doing multiple playlists though. I was using an ipod and went to a memory stick for the same reason mwegryn stated. I did notice the radio takes longer to start up using the playlist method.

 

So this is my attempt, as a newbie around here, to contribute to the forum. I managed to find a way to do playlists on a USB stick. There are probably simpler ways, but this works for me.

I use iTunes to create and manage playlists, and it's possible to export an iTunes playlist in .m3u format to a USB stick. The .m3u file is just a text file that points to the songs, it's not the actual song files. The problem is that the .m3u file that you export contains path references (example: C:\mymusic\itunes....). Obviously, when you put the song files on the USB stick, the path references are wrong and the Infotainment system can't find the songs.

So I ran across a Visual Basic script called LocaliseM3U that someone made that removes the path references from the .m3u file, which solves the problem. So here's what I do, and it seems to work.

1. Download and save the the LocaliseM3U file to your thumb drive. I put mune in the same folder where I want my music to reside.

2. In iTunes, select the playlist you want to export, right-click and save the the file in .m3u format on the USB stick. This just creates the .m3u file. It doesn't copy the actual songs over.

3. In the iTunes song panel, select all of the songs in the playlist, then copy-paste them to the USB stick. This copies the actual song files.

4. Navigate to the USB stick folder that contains the song files, the .m3u file, and the LocaliseM3u script.

5. Drag the .m3u file, which will have the same name as your playlist, on top of the Localisem3u.vbs file. You'll get a dialog box asking you to confirm that you want to remove the absolute path references for x number of entries in the .m3u file. Click OK, and you're done.

Sounds complicated, but it's actually pretty simple. Like I said, there are probably simpler ways to do this, but this was the first one I found that worked for me.

Scott