21st Century upgrade project - 7" DVD/Navi

[Heus33]

That looks great Rich! I wish I would have purchased this one for my Xterra as it has a double din from the factory.

Interested to hear how the quality of the bluetooth is.

btw - ck your mail today you should have something at your doorstep

 

[Sporto]

That looks great Rich! I wish I would have purchased this one for my Xterra as it has a double din from the factory.

Interested to hear how the quality of the bluetooth is.

btw - ck your mail today you should have something at your doorstep

Tom,
This one is actually not as good as a similar one that I put in my Toyota last summer. What I mean is that the hardware between the two looks identical, but the ROM OS and GPS software on this one is more clumsy and not as clean as the other one that I used before. The GPS software in the other one is IGo Primo and it has some custom themes that are really nice. This one has Sygic and while it works, it seems to be less intuitive than the IGo is. However when I get this installed and since both of these GPS's run inside Windows CE, I may try to create an image of the IGo onto a SD Card and see if I cannot get it to run in this new one. Not much I can do about the ROM OS (radio, BT, Camera etc...) but that does not bother me as much as the GPS software does at this point.

Also really looking forward to seeing what is at the door! Either way I know it will be cool! If the weather permits, I will get some of the pictures that you requested. Problem is that when I get home from work it is already dark.

Thanks again!

R

 

[Heus33]

Hey Rich - anything new to share with this project?

 

[Sporto]

Hey Rich - anything new to share with this project?

I have been doing the wiring for this the past few nights. Making some progress. However I promised Ransil and a few others when they did my wiring at the MEB Wrench and Roast, that I would never use a single 3M crimp connector, only weather packs, and solder everything. Therefore a simple wiring project becomes several days of detail work.

However it will be done soon! Probably by the weekend.


Rich

 

[Sporto]

Got the majority of the wiring harness done and installed last night. It works pretty well. I need a decent antenna. I tried one of those hidden antenna things, and it was worthless. I am tempted to buy an OEM antenna and just mount it on the fender like my factory one was. I have new fenders, and I really don't feel like drilling a hole in the one of them for an antenna, but I will if I have to.

As of now, here is what I have to say about the unit. It is a solid device that seems to be very customizable. That is where it stops....The Sygic GPS Navi interface is cumbersome and nothing like iGo Primo, so if you're interested in looking at one of these, try to stay away from the Sygic Nav system. It is just very primitive, and I have not seen a lot of places online that has themes for these that will greatly improve the experience. I will work on improving that as time goes on...

The radio works just fine, it sounds pretty good, and the interface is easy to use. My speakers are just a set of 6x9 Infinity's with a small Kenwood amp. Nothing outrageous, but it sounds okay with the top off.

I will wire in the backup camera when I get these other items taken care of.


I will add more pictures as I get things cleaned up this weekend. However this project is starting to wrap up. ;D

I am going to post on here with some external antenna suggestions and see what I can learn. If anyone reading this has any ideas let me know.

Thanks

Rich

 

[ransil]

I have been doing the wiring for this the past few nights. Making some progress. However I promised Ransil and a few others when they did my wiring at the MEB Wrench and Roast, that I would never use a single 3M crimp connector, only weather packs, and solder everything. Therefore a simple wiring project becomes several days of detail work.

However it will be done soon! Probably by the weekend.


Rich

I still have that harness it will go on the trophy wall when the garage is done.
or is it the wall of shame.. ;D

 

[Sporto]

I still have that harness it will go on the trophy wall when the garage is done.
or is it the wall of shame.. ;D

Ouch...I thought that harness was to become "that which we don't speak of" from now on!

I was a hack...I admit it...%) Now I am a reformed hack...People can change! Right?


R

 

[Heus33]

I am going to post on here with some external antenna suggestions and see what I can learn. If anyone reading this has any ideas let me know.

Thanks

Rich

Rich - My blue bronco had aftermarket fenders with no antenna hole either. I simply took a stock antenna (at least I think it was stock) and wedged it under the dash out of sight and secured it with a few fasteners. It worked great with and without a top on. Something to consider before you breakout the hole saw.

 

[70_Steve]

I am tempted to buy an OEM antenna and just mount it on the fender like my factory one was. I have new fenders, and I really don't feel like drilling a hole in the one of them for an antenna, but I will if I have to.

An alternative to drilling a hole in the fender. Drill a hole in the windshield frame.

http://classicbroncos.com/tech/isuzu-trooper-antennae

 

[Sporto]

An alternative to drilling a hole in the fender. Drill a hole in the windshield frame.

http://classicbroncos.com/tech/isuzu-trooper-antennae

I saw that article, and I have looked around for the same antenna. I picked up a universal metal mast and see what I can come up with on that path. Thanks for the lead though.



R

 

[Sporto]

Rich - My blue bronco had aftermarket fenders with no antenna hole either. I simply took a stock antenna (at least I think it was stock) and wedged it under the dash out of sight and secured it with a few fasteners. It worked great with and without a top on. Something to consider before you breakout the hole saw.

I may end up doing something like this - at last resort - I picked up a universal metal mast antenna and I am going to fabricate a mounting bracket to mount it somewhere in the back. I will get pix of whatever I come up with. I really don't want to drill into my fender if I can avoid it!


R

 

[6daze]

Go hidden?

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Hidden_Antenna_Assembly/Off-Road_Accessories

 

[Sporto]

Go hidden?

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Hidden_Antenna_Assembly/Off-Road_Accessories

I had something similar to that...

http://www.neobits.com/jensen_an150sr_amplified_am_fm_hidden_glass_mnt_p1964653.html

It worked okay, if I held it up above the seats, but when I tried to stow it, I lost almost all of my reception. I suppose if I had a glass window or something out of the way to mount it to it would have been better. I think in this case that nothing works better than a metal mast. I will post pix when I get it installed tonight.

Thanks

R

 

[Bronchole]

I had something similar to that...

http://www.neobits.com/jensen_an150sr_amplified_am_fm_hidden_glass_mnt_p1964653.html

It worked okay, if I held it up above the seats, but when I tried to stow it, I lost almost all of my reception. I suppose if I had a glass window or something out of the way to mount it to it would have been better. I think in this case that nothing works better than a metal mast. I will post pix when I get it installed tonight.

Thanks

R

I am running that antenna on the top edge of my windshield. I also run a soft top. It seems to work pretty good, but I wonder how well it would do if I was running a hard top. I'll never know

 

[Sporto]

Ok, I solved the antenna problem. I picked up a black mast and mounted it inside the cab along the back rail. I used an eye bolt to mount it in such a way that I can fold it up and down. In the down position it pulls in a buttload of stations in crystal clear reception! I am very impressed with this device...I then hooked up the iPhone to the jack, and after some adjustments on my iPhone the music was clear and loud. I also was able to play Pandora on there as well. The only drawback is that it does not charge the phone. The other one in my Toyota does.

A few other things. My twin sticks do not collide with the system, and after a lot of wiring effort it bolted up solidly to the dash.

Very happy with this project and I will post a video soon.

 

[Sporto]

Don't give up on this thread! I had to fabricate a mount for the camera and I am going to install it tonight. Hopefully after that I will have pix of the camera mounted and in action.



R

 

[Sporto]

Some pictures of the backup camera in action.

I mounted the camera to the top of the receiver hitch below the bumper. This location impedes part of the picture as you can see in the pix, but the camera is tucked away nicely and is not exposed to anything. I may circle back and get a different camera at a later date, but for now I am going to see how this works out.

 

[craigaria]

Very cool!

 

[badmuttstang]

Looks good

 

[triggers68]

I will be checking into this, Thanks! I have been looking at a Pioneer system very similar but for $850 plus another $150 for camera. If it works good it would be well worth it.