02-28-2022, 11:12 AM
This is unabashed coach pimpage, I admit.
It is also a tale about scope creep, but one with a good outcome. I had a Sony head unit, that was connected to a remote CD player. These days Rhonda and I just hooked our phones through a AUX in cable to listen to tunes. When it became time to switch phones to permit fair play time for HER music, I did not like her standing up in front of the windshield to switch the phones. That glass is not going to hold anyone in if you hit something. So I started to search for a Bluetooth radio that would wirelessly pair with the phones. Simple enough, right?
Well, the hole for the original is single DIN size, so that really limited the selection.
And then I wanted Sony so that the passenger control stalk on her side worked with the radio.
And then I wanted Apple CarPlay compatibility.
And then I wanted rear view camera capability.
And then I wanted an equalizer to fix the sound balance between the speakers and the subwoofer.
And I found such a unit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0971W...UTF8&psc=1
Wait, how does a 9 inch screen work with a single DIN opening? The body of the unit is single DIN and the screen attaches on the front with some adjustability up and down, plus tilt adjustment. The install was pretty straightforward EXCEPT the single DIN opening had to be moved 1/4 in to the left to prevent the screen from hitting the TV outcropping. That was simple enough using an oscillating saw.
As you can seen, I was able to install without obscuring any lights or switches.
The Apple CarPlay gives me the Maps on the screen, plus Siri control of Music, Phone, and hands free texting.
Tim at RVcam hooked me up with some adaptor cables so that I could use the existing Sony cable to the rear with the new head unit. That saved having to run a new cable from front to back. That was easier than trying to frankencobble a wireless adapter to the head unit. I ran the power leads including backup from the old camera location across to the left A pillar and into the head unit.
Well, what to do with the hole left by the old monitor? How about installing a speaker there to match the one on the other side? But that would require an amp, and RCA cables to the amp. In for a penny in for a pound. So I ran more cables down the A pillar, and installed the amp in the center of the console. I was lucky that power and ground was already there in the interior of the console from a long ago abandoned Motorola phone system.
Seriously, I never expected to find something that works so well in integrating all of the different functions I was hoping for. And the work to install was far less than it could have been.
And yes, I did get a color camera upgrade for the back. That’s next on the install list.
The only downside I can see is now I will be hearing a lot more of 80s music.
So
Wait
It is also a tale about scope creep, but one with a good outcome. I had a Sony head unit, that was connected to a remote CD player. These days Rhonda and I just hooked our phones through a AUX in cable to listen to tunes. When it became time to switch phones to permit fair play time for HER music, I did not like her standing up in front of the windshield to switch the phones. That glass is not going to hold anyone in if you hit something. So I started to search for a Bluetooth radio that would wirelessly pair with the phones. Simple enough, right?
Well, the hole for the original is single DIN size, so that really limited the selection.
And then I wanted Sony so that the passenger control stalk on her side worked with the radio.
And then I wanted Apple CarPlay compatibility.
And then I wanted rear view camera capability.
And then I wanted an equalizer to fix the sound balance between the speakers and the subwoofer.
And I found such a unit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0971W...UTF8&psc=1
Wait, how does a 9 inch screen work with a single DIN opening? The body of the unit is single DIN and the screen attaches on the front with some adjustability up and down, plus tilt adjustment. The install was pretty straightforward EXCEPT the single DIN opening had to be moved 1/4 in to the left to prevent the screen from hitting the TV outcropping. That was simple enough using an oscillating saw.
As you can seen, I was able to install without obscuring any lights or switches.
The Apple CarPlay gives me the Maps on the screen, plus Siri control of Music, Phone, and hands free texting.
Tim at RVcam hooked me up with some adaptor cables so that I could use the existing Sony cable to the rear with the new head unit. That saved having to run a new cable from front to back. That was easier than trying to frankencobble a wireless adapter to the head unit. I ran the power leads including backup from the old camera location across to the left A pillar and into the head unit.
Well, what to do with the hole left by the old monitor? How about installing a speaker there to match the one on the other side? But that would require an amp, and RCA cables to the amp. In for a penny in for a pound. So I ran more cables down the A pillar, and installed the amp in the center of the console. I was lucky that power and ground was already there in the interior of the console from a long ago abandoned Motorola phone system.
Seriously, I never expected to find something that works so well in integrating all of the different functions I was hoping for. And the work to install was far less than it could have been.
And yes, I did get a color camera upgrade for the back. That’s next on the install list.
The only downside I can see is now I will be hearing a lot more of 80s music.
So
Wait
Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home
)