I ordered the nav unit from vsokolov on Saturday. For those of you who ordered from him how long did it take to get your unit? I e-mailed him twice to try to get a tracking number but have not got a response. I will try to call him for one. I am in Tucson so I know it will be a while from NY. I'm just so anxious to do the install. I also ordered a Helm manual on the 14th and have not got that yet either. Not to mention the Comptech sway bar I ordered 2 weeks ago but now they say its on back order. Uggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg I want my stuff! Ok I'm done crying now.

 

Well, when I ordered my Sokolov box, Vitaliy was in Vegas at the CES show so it took a while for him to ship it. But he did eventually ship it and it got here safely. Not to mention the fact that the picture quality is FANTASTIC! Not one bit of noise on the screen and the picture is nice and sharp and bright (brightness is controllable from the adapter).

The electrical troubleshooting Helm's manual is a must have. It's smart that you're getting it! Every single electrical connector in the car is clearly printed out and the description of every single wire. It's awesome.

Good luck with the install. I'm still in the middle of mine (it's quite involved... PS/2, iPod, headrest LCDs, etc....) but it's gonna be cool.

Rob

 

Good, thats nice to know about the Helm manual. I didn't know if it would be indepth but you just confirmed that for me. I would never do a DIY project without one. There is just to much of a chance to srew something up. Question for ya. I will have a total of three 12 volt power sources I will have to hook up(nav unit, DVD, Power modulator). Where did you find your source at? Did you just run a hot wire off the battery or is there some other good place to tap into? I don't want to blow any fuses. Thanks.

 

xelvic,

I added two add-a-circuit's to the fuse box directly. One I'm using to power my PS2 (it takes 5.3A) and the other is powering my sokolov, AV switcher and LCD panels. I used 7.5A fuses in the add-a-circuits. I would highly recommend using add-a-circuits. They are VERY easy to use and you're sure you're not overloading anything. There are two free fuse positions in the interior fuse box in the driver's kick. I think it's position 29 and 31. It's clearly written OP1 and OP2 (for optional I guess), and the sockets are rated at 7.5A, so I'd use that. You only need to put a fuse in the second slot on the add-a-circuit (you'll see what I mean when you get them) because there was no original fuse in the positions you are using.

Good luck!

Oh, what's the power modulator for?

 

Where can I get the add a fuse at? The modulator is so I can have sound with my video. I dont want to use a wireless modulator because I hear they are not working good with this project. A power fm modulator connects inline with your antenna. When you turn it on it cuts the radio signal and sends its own signal to the head unit. It hijacks your radio kinda like the nav module hijacks your video monitor. Here is a pic of the one I got.

 

In Canada, I got it from Canadian Tire, but I hear places like AutoZone would have them in the US. Anywhere that sells parts for cars would have them.

Ah, power FM modulator. Gotcha. Didn't realize it was that cuz you called it power modulator... In Canada, we don't have XM, so we can wire up directly to an AUX input on the head unit. You hit CD twice and it goes into CD-C mode. The sound is fantastic.

Good luck with your install.

 

Doesnt Vsokolov come with a FM mod already.

 

Nope, the Sokolov box only does a composite video to Navi RGB conversion. Everything else is done externally. At first I was wary about this, but after seeing the quality of the video conversion, I have no qualms getting external devices to do everything else.

 

that sucks.. so you buy his unit which is 250-275 then buy a fm mod or aux 50-75 and then buy a AV switcher 50-100 your up to the same prices as avelectronics full plug and play unit. i rather get the all in 1 avelectronics unit.

 

Well, the AV electronics unit doesn't have an FM mod either. So you only have to get an external AV switcher, and that's only if you want multiple sources or multiple outputs. I haven't seen the quality of the AVE video, but I have seen pics of it, and I honestly can say that from what I've seen the Sokolov box does a better job and it's worth it to have the AV switcher apart.

 

what happened to Vsokolov group buy that i saw a couple of days ago. i think the price was $225 for the plug and play unit. Now I cant find it.

 

I don't think he has a plug and play unit. I would have got it if he did. I have done tons of reading on both the units. From everything I've heard the picture quality on the Vsokolov unit is much better then the AV unit.

 

just PM him... he does have a plug and play unit

 

Sorry if this is a litle post diggin, but the electornics isn't the most active forum ever made... and I was just wonderin some stuff.

first how is Vsokolov pronounced?? im sick of reading over it and just recognizing it as 'word' in my head.

Also I am just comparing all the options here. Is the Blitzsafe ANY different than these ones... I thought the blitzsafe was plug and play so I dont see any difference between the VA the Vsokolov and the Blitzsafe. Any info helpful.

 

whick one is better aveelectroniics or his???

 

The Sokolov box supposedly has a better picture than AVE. And since it's cheaper, it's a no-brainer.

 

My unit now is also plug and play and I'm using the real acura/honda connectors not the universal caps that have to be mounted mine just locks no tape or anything need and just press the realese and its off but it can never fall off on its own.

 

I have installed both, and both perform well. The up side to the AV electronic unit is that it is solid state and doesn't rely on a relay to switch the rources which over time could fail. It's not likely but it can happen. You get good picture on both, I'd say just get what works best for your budget. The AV electronic unit also has a nice reverse camera setup built in as well.

D.

 

When you took apart the units did you miss the two relays in the avelectronics unit and the fact that their plug and play is not the real stuff it just some 5c caps.

 

No, typically when I have someone elses electronics and it says do not open or it will void warranty for them, I listen. I don't feel the need to take everything apart. I'm fine with going on what the vendor who sells it tells me.
And Plug and play means no cutting, it just plugs in.....I wasn't aware there was a such thing as "REAL" plug and play. Who cares what connector they use as long as you don't have to cut the harness to use it. 5c, molex whatever if it plugs right in it's all plug and play. Your splitting hairs here. I have installed a lot of both types and non of them ever have any problems with connectors falling out unless you didn't plug it in right.

D.