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Another Busy Weekend - Part II

1K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  jdbower 
#1 ·
My second project was a bit more interesting. I’ve been tempted to install a satellite radio, but then you have to count in the monthly fees, the installation of a new antenna, and a bunch of other issues. It finally dawned on me that if all I’m getting is commercial-free radio, why shouldn’t I just install an MP3 player?

I mostly installed a Neo Car MP3 Player from www.ssiamerica.com. At first I wanted the best one there, but then I remembered that I’ve got about 2G of MP3s and that’s more than enough music for me (besides, I think I can just replace the drive with a standard laptop drive in the future). This decision saved me about $300.
http://www.ssiamerica.com/products/neo35/index.shtml

I installed the player on the ledge beneath the passenger side rear seat. It’s a tight enough fit and I managed to edge one of the mounting brackets under a plastic trim piece, so I don’t think I even need to screw it down (I’m always leery of permanent installations for some reason). The best part is that it’s a small unit, so I can still fold the seat flat. Of course, this won’t work for people with the third-row seats since it will be in your passengers’ footwell.

I ran the power along the passenger side to the fusebox in the front passenger footwell. I realized that they made a mistake by putting the fuse close to the player. While the player is protected, you should be careful and install a redundant fuse at the fusebox because if the power gets cut it can be grounded against the chassis and do bad things.

The system has a removable tray that locks into the car (the lock also cuts the power to the unit in the open position, meaning that they don’t have to support hot-swapping). You can take it out and plug it into a remote USB docking station to copy files from your PC (or Mac, if you’re so inclined). I had some issues with my Sony Vaio notebook running XP Pro. I needed to download the latest drivers and you have to make sure that everything is hooked up before you use the key to turn the unit on. If you screw up, the driver reports the unit information as garbage and won’t let you access the drive. Rebooting the unit at this point will yield a bunch of blacked-out letters. If this happens, disconnect the USB cable and let the unit boot normally. Then use the key to power it off, plug in the USB cable, and then power it on again.

I downloaded this program to sync my directory trees. It works, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to sync everything at once (it shows the directories that have deltas, but you have to sync the directories one at a time). Hey, it’s free.
http://download.com.com/3000-2248-5902027.html?tag=lst-0-1

I say it’s mostly installed for a few reasons. First, I didn’t bother to run the cables for the remote display properly (it’s sitting on the passenger seat now). Second, and more importantly, I haven’t integrated it into the MCS yet. I’m stuck with an FM modulator, but the one that was provided only has standard connectors and not the type that the MCS uses. I’ll head over to a car audio store next week to see if I can find anything or just get them to splice it in. In the meantime, I’m using the VES’s FM modulator and audio in jacks – but having the screen down blocks my vision somewhat.
 
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#2 ·
Pics

Here's the unit head-on under the seat (it's tough to take a picture like this, this was the best of about eight attempts):


Here's the rear seat folded flat with the unit underneath (you can still see my tools on the seat next to it):


Here's the unit with the third seat footwell cover lifted:


Here's the remote display:


And here's the FM Modulator that was included in the kit:


I used my high-quality MCS removal tool to look behind the MCS:


Then I looked at the antenna connectors on the FM modulator:


I've ordered some adaptors the a "VW/Euro" style that looks like the MCS connector from an online store, I may try to install the FM modulator myself or I'll just find an audio install place to do it for me. In the meantime I'll be OK with using the VES.
 
#3 ·
Interesting VES quirk

The IR remote of the OEM video entertainment system actually sets off my V1 laser detector. I'm used to Trailblazer brake lights, but now I have to worry about someone trying to change audio sources.
 
#5 ·
I'm sure it's possible...

I'm about 80% sure that the antenna is the cable along the passenger side just under the carpeting (remove the doorsill and unscrew the plastic trim to get at them). There are a few problems with splicing in that may be easy if you know what you're doing (which I do not).

First, you may end up cutting a 32-pin control cable instead of an antenna (NOT fun to try to put back together).

Second, antennas are very sensitive to bad crimps. You'll have to make sure that you have a good connection to both the antenna wire and the shielding.

Finally, each connector can introduce loss (which you can compensate for with an antenna booster) and noise (which may not be able to be compensated for).

I've purchased the following items:
A Euro-to-Standard antenna cable
A Standard to Euro antenna cable
Two 12' antenna cables to go back to the rear seat area.
A signal booster

If I get ambitious I've also ordered two more antenna cables to practice splicing as well as eight each of the standard antenna ends.

Once I get these, I'm hoping that I can trace the antenna wire back to verify that it's the one I'm thinking about. Then I'll try to splice one of the spare antenna cables to see what's involved. I may also chicken out and have a professional do it, but that's no fun!
 
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