Anyone Taken the Stereo out?

[warren77]

Hi Alan

Unit I have purchased is a single DVD which can read MP3s. CD = 650Meg. DVD = 4.3Gig. So you get your 6 CDs worth (within reason) on your DVD.

it also has an ipod connection - so that is another 20 gig of music (for the ipod I will leave in the car).

I have had a look at the manual - leaves a bit to be desired. But then again, manuals are for wimps!

Gets installed tomorrow (being lazy) and will give an update mid next week.

Thanks for the best wishes - as explained to me, no man deserves to be happy all his life!

[DAGGLES]

Hi Alan. The unit which I wrote about in an earlier comment has a Virtual CD drive which enables you to upload approximately 6 cd's worth of music so it would be much the same as you plan on using although there is no "cd stacker" as such.

However, having said that, I have a 30gb Ipod which has over 4,000 songs and video's loaded thereon. My unit has the Ipod connector (comes standard) which No Limit conveniently located in the glove box for me. So I just connect the Ipod, pop it into the glovebox and there's no need to touch it unless I unhook it to download more songs off itunes. It also charges the Ipod whilst it is plugged in and playing. The unit in the car displays all the same menus that the Ipod does including upcoming songs etc and the many different playlists I have put together. I can flick to the next song (or back to a previous song) and change the volume using the steering wheel controls. The remote control that comes with the unit can be used too but I've only used it a couple of times. I'd reckon I would be able to drive a substantial distance before the ipod would start repeating. It also comes with a USB point which they have also located in the glove box.

If you have an Ipod like I do then you probably won't use the VCD. If not, it is apparently quite easy to use the Vcd, I just haven't bothered. I have a music DVD sitting in there at the moment (Robbie Williams live at Knebworth - not everyone's cup of tea) but it's good flicking over and watching my favourite concert DVD whilst caught in Melbourne's horrendous peak traffic.

Another thing about the DVD player which I haven't had time to test out yet is the claim that you can play a DVD and with wireless headphones a person can sit in the back and hear the DVD, whilst also watching it through the front seats, and I can still listen to the radio or Ipod. It's called 2zone and I can see there is an on screen button that coordinates this. An IT guy here where I work is going to have a play with it next week to see if we can get that to work.

I too am very interested to hear about how Warren's fitting goes and see whether the HMI is affected like mine was.

Regards

[warren77]

Daggles I am suspecting I will loose the HMI as well. That doesn't bother me.
I am disappointed I loose the voice controls and the bluetooth. So will see how that goes.

it is a tradeoff - GPS, unit bluetooth and ipod control, versus the factory bluetooth. GPS won out.

[AlanD]

Hi all especially Warren & Daggles.

Thanks for the info about the head units that you have and the DVD facility. Some time ago I read an article about the ability of DVD readers to read data off a DVD disc. Many of the Home Theatre type units can't unless you trick them by adding a very long audio "commentary" attached to a still photo. I think this is because the reader "expects" an image file with a linked audio file for DVD playback - whatever.

But after some extra thought I note that the unit that has caught my eye has two SD slots - one for the GPS Mapping and the other for audio/still picture content, and seeing as you can now buy SD cards up to 32 Gigabyte in size my concerns about long duration audio can probably be arranged that way.

Thanks also for the iPod information - but my mp3 player is an iRiver and it's interface pinouts are not compatible with those of an iPod - and I ain't going to buy another player until the one I have turns up its toes.

Cheers

[warren77]

Update: Just got a phone call from installer.
Unit supplied is having a DVD issue - mechanical.
Also, some of the buttons on the steering wheel are reversed.
IN terms of the CAN bus and face plate, it all fits in perfectly.

Sent off an email to the supplier - that will be the real test as to their customer service.

[AlanD]

Hi Warren,

Really, really hope this isn't due to a transport securing screw(s) not being removed before installation.

I've learned to be very shy of "gung ho" technical and trades people.

Probably nmy own fault, because in another pre-retirement life I used to train Electricians and got pretty agitated at some of the stories fed back to us by apprentices.

Hoping your installer sorted out the problems

Cheers

[warren77]

I will be asking about the screws - my first thoughts as well.
But some of the buttons being backwards is an issue.
Email was sent 5 hours ago and no response - Hong Kong is on the same time as WA, so should be getting a response soon.

[LRsedan]

Hope you sort it out mate.

Buttons working backwards maybe be an easy fix of a wiring loom swap over? Ie: reverse the polarity so to speak?

[warren77]

Seems the installer is on the dumb side of stupid.
5 minutes in the car park I had DVD, cd and sat nav working.
Got the manual out and fixed the buttons.
Quick view
sound quality is ok
no voice or Bluetooth.
Unit Bluetooth is ok
is a tad slow
screen quality is good
nav is good.
Menu system is ok

So far I am happy. Apart from my choice of installer.

[AlanD]

Great news

Hopefully the install was good so far as the physical part was concerned? No damage to the fascia or surrounds?

What is it that seems a bit slow? The unit's bluetooth?

All's well that ends well

Cheers

[Dusty1]

Glad it's working for you.
Alan, do you have to be a qualified person to install radios? I used to put them in my cars (and friends), but don't now. Is there a 'formal' certificate course for this? Otherwise it's really just luck of the draw which installer you get. I've always preferred smaller shops, where the guy who owns the shop does some of the instals himself: it's his reputation that's at stake if it's not done right.

[warren77]

No damage. Physically a good job.

Slow: the unit takes about 10 seconds to boot up by displaying a warning screen. Trying to disable that.

Bluetooth is a bit crackly. Not as good as factory

[AlanD]

Hi Dusty, Hi Warren,

Dusty,

I suspect that the difficulty is in not damaging the trim panels as you make your way towards the radio - there is an excellent post towards the top of this thread about this and is specific to the MA MB Mondeo.

I would expect that the after market unit that Warren has had fitted came with the proper connectors to plug into the Modeo's wiring harness.

From that point onwards it becomes a matter of getting the the box to communicate with the driver's inputs from the steering wheel - where Warren 's installer appears to have had some difficulty, but which Warren has sorted out after consulting the manual, and as we all know this is a measure of last resort Well done Warren!

There are courses that can be attempted, or there used to be when I was involved in putting together an Electronics Servicing Course for a State TAFE Department, but with the tendency towards throw away items I suspect this has been dealt a natural death.

At apractical level I don't regard the task as one which requires high levels of skill, but experience plays a big part - the first one you do is a learning curve and after that it gets easier, but if you are working on your own vehicle you can chew up considerable time because of the care factor. In modern vehicles there is also the risk that if you do get any wires crossed you may do nasty things to the other onboard electronic systems - Then it gets expensive because you won't get a warranty fix for this :

Warren:

Another question: Where did your installer located the GPS antenna? And I suspect that the slow boot up might result from the system acquiring enough satellites to get a start point fix for the GPS system. That onboard processor can only do one thing at a time but it can do them very quicklyFrom cold my Tomtom can take up to 60 seconds to get a fix if I have turned it off at a different place to where I am starting. By that stage I'm at the end of the street 1km away from the house!

Also, if you have had a chance to use the GPS, has it been up to your expectations?

Cheers

[warren77]

The GPS is ok. It uses Tom Tom maps.
Accuracy is good.

The unit I have purchased is actually a Windows CE Device.
It takes about 10 seconds to boot up, we the OS loads
Music will then start playing
I haven't worked out how to preload the Navigation as yet in the background (without doing some hacking). It takes about 10 seconds to then load but music will continue.
So, that isn't the issue with the slow boot up - it is the unit's boot up time.

[Dusty1]

Any idea of when the photos will be up? I'm sure I'm not the only one who is busting to see them!!

[warren77]

Hi Guys

Sorry I have been flat out with last minute wedding plans.

The unit is being returned - the DVD drive mechanism is extremely noisy. I am not happy with that, nor the unit itself.

Issues
DVD Drive is noisy
Mode and Skip Forward / Back buttons will not work
Ipod integration works but is extremely clunky
Can't adjust volume when using the rear view camera (can't hear parking sensors)
Bluetooth is crackly
Build quality (front buttons) is lacking
System is slow to boot up - 14 seconds

What is good
Navigation software is good (iGo)
GPS works perfectly
Rear view camera is excellent
Charges ipod and turns it off when not playing
screen quality is great
touch screen is accurate


The one Daggles got sounds like a much better quality system than the one I got.
I will not publish the name of the person I bought if off in public, but will do so in a private message.

I may of just got a faulty unit but a bit disconcerting. The installer who I used (although not great) said that any unit which required shipping screws suggests poor quality parts i.e. Clarion, Alpine, Sony do not use shipping screws.

Sorry guys.

[DAGGLES]

Hi Warren. Bad news about the system. My supplier said that if it didn't work to my complete satisfaction (within 28 days) I could return it for a full refund, less freight costs. I haven't had to do it so not sure whether that would have been easier said than done.

My system is still working well. Haven't had any of the issues you've mentioned, although the GPS sometimes takes a minute to find me when I initially start it up. Thereafter it is okay though.

If I knew how to upload photo's onto this forum of mine (I've mentioned before I'm not technologically savy) I would.

Hopefully you get the original unit back in without any hassles.

All the best for your wedding and I assume honeymoon. If you get the chance at your reception to find a quiet inconspicuous place to observe everyone having fun I recommend you do it. It's worth the memory. The night goes so quickly you don't really get to make many observations so if you get an opp, set aside 5 minutes with your new bride and watch everyone having a ball.

[jweb]

I have some stereo keys which i purchased to use on my sisters fiesta,they also work on the mondeo,of ebay.If your interested let me know,I ended up not using them,because the headunit was too small,double din and a half.Very annoying