The cool thing about the US side colour scheme is the fact that if you have an Ebony interior, it matches almost perfectly.

Even the backlighting is close enough to the non-Navi backlighting to make the iRiver seem like it was made for the car.

 

How long is the cord for the remote on the iRiver?

 

iRiver also has the smaller versions, which have a 1.5 GB drive - it's about the size of a stopwatch, and really designed for portability.

Same basic set of features, just no remote.

Oh, and one thing, the cords are pretty long. I end up having to do some cable management when I walk around with it - fortunately my jacket has a lot of pockets.

 

From plug to remote - 1 m. It's long, trust me.

However, it's not really long enough to stretch from the center arm console to the center stack without doing some crazy cord management.

Right now, I leave the remote hanging between the parking brake and the cup holder flip lid and grab it when I want to look at the song name.

 

Haha...you knew why I asked Thanks

 

Come on, there are only so many reasons you'd ask that question.

And honestly, only one that makes sense on this forum.

 

Actually...I was thinking if it was long enough to strangle someone...


j/k of course

 

Thought of that already as well - and not worth it. Cables like that have relatively thin wiring inside. They won't last very long. Better off using a standard piece of wire or rope.

 

And not to mention it's an expensive route to take for it... Then you'd have to purchase another remote for the iRiver

 

Well, that's not too bad. I think it's only $25 for the remote.

Still not the best idea, but if you really had to strangle somebody, it would do in a pinch.

 

I'm joining the thread late, but your best bet is the aux adapter and an MP3 player like an iPod. That way you get great sound quality and you get ton of music available at your fingertips. I carry my iPod in my TSX all the time.

 

Definitely.

And if you can afford it, get the iLink, I think it's called?

That thing that lets you control the iPod through the steering wheel interface.

 

I also vote for a potable. I personally use a Neuros Audio Player from 2 years ago. Basically a larger iPod with integrated FM broadcast and a few more features.

 

I think you're talking about the IceLink from Dension? I was thinking of getting that and having a custom setup for my iPod in my TSX, but I wasn't able to find any reviews of it last time I checked. I think it's time for a recheck!

 

Yeah, that's it!

The only bad thing is finding a good mount point. From looking at custom installs, the cable for the IceLink is pretty short, so you have to mount the iPod somewhere in the front.

And since the front is relatively busy, I can't imagine where you'd be able to mount it.

 

Acutally, I think the best place to mount an iPod using the IceLink would be in the center console, as this guy did with his 2003 Accord:

http://homepage.mac.com/davewiller/I...toAlbum15.html

I would like to do a similar setup, but I want something bigger than a 40GB iPod. Perhaps I will look into the IceLink again when the 60GB version comes out.

 

Nice!

So the cable was longer than I though! That's good. I really thought it was short.

And if you're really looking for size, then I don't think any sized HDD based player would work for you. Eventually, you'll outgrow it and then be looking for the next bigger size again.

 

Yes... I know. That is why I would rather put a media PC in my car with an external HD (perhaps 200GB) for portability. However, I refuse to do such a mod unless I can get the touch screen to control the PC. ::Sigh::

What I really need is an iPod that uses 2.5" hard drives. For car use, it would be nice if it was a little bigger, both in terms of size and storage capacity. There is no reason why the iPod has to be as small as it is.

In terms of ease of use, the iPod with IceLink cable is definitely the way to go.

 

The only problem is there's no interconnects for it to a normal PC. If somebody made that, then we might be able to connect the PC directly to the touch screen and have it as another input.

I don't have the service manual for the Nav, so I don't know if that's even possible. Or even if Windows/OSX/Linux would have the correct drivers.

 

I proposed that earlier, I think.

Basically a HDD style MP3 player that uses HDD cartridges. I believe Iomega tried something like that, but with their small sized cartridges, it was a big flop.

The biggest problem with the cartridge idea is the packaging issue. How do you package the HDD without it being (a) too bulky, (b) too delicate or (c) too expensive?

 

Revenent,

Your modulard HD idea is very good, IMO. I'd love to have an iPod/Zen/iRiver that had five 20GB modules that could be interchanged. Not only would this be cheaper and smaller than a single 100GB hard drive (especially when we are talking about 1.8" hard drives), but it would be nice for organizational purposes.

As for the touch screen, I don't think it should be that hard to wire into a computer. I do not have my TSX yet (it's on the way), but I don't think Acura/Honda would create a completely proprietary LCD screen and driver, espcially since the Nav system uses Windows CE. If the wires for the touchscreen control could be located, I am sure they could be re-wired into a PC. Perhaps I am being too optimistic...

Another option that I have looked into is the Dension DMP3-A. It could easily be mounted in a trunk or glove box with a 200GB 3.5" hard drive, and can be controlled via a remote LCD unit. Seems to be the cheapest and least intusive option available right now.

Seeing as to how Dension makes the IceLink, I wonder why they didn't use the same technology in the DMP3-A in order to use the steering wheel buttons to control the unit. Otherwise, it would seem like a perfect solution...

 

Comments to the first paragraph:

While the cost of the drive itself may be lower, you still have to package it in a way such that it is "idiot proof" to install and handle on a daily basis. Right now, people are used to the concept of flash memory, CDs, tapes - basically portable media that is somewhat durable when in its protective holder. Hard drives generally aren't as durable - even though some are rated at 300 Gs at idle.

Another thing is the interface. I believe 1.8" drives still have the seperate data and power ports. Since data transfers are at a relatively high rate (as data is buffered, not read at real-time), it has to have a way to make sure the contacts don't get dirty (think Nintendo cartridges). Currently, I haven't seen anything on the market with external connectors that aren't prone to dirt or dust.

We might be better off waiting for crystalline or optical memory. Supposedly the density of that is enormous - more than enough to satisfy even the whoriest of MP3 whores. But considering we haven't even seen prototypes, I'm not holding my breath.


Comments to the second paragraph:

From what I've seen of touchscreens on the market built for the PC, they generally use a second connector (usually a serial port) to connect to the PC for input purposes. If the Nav system uses a Windows CE base, then I don't know how they plug it in - I don't think Windows CE supports serial ports.

Also, we need to figure out the exact model of the touchscreen to even begin wondering what drivers we can use.

Too bad I'm a software designer. If I was into hardware, I might actually go and research it some more and build the damn thing.

 

Many good points.

Regarding the touch screen model, I currently have a friend looking into it. He is an electrical engineer, and has many great sources for this kind of information. If he is able to find the exact model, I will let you guys know.

 

Excellent! With that information, other people on this board who've already built a media PC into their car should be able to use that and connect their touch screen right to the PC.

Hopefully.

 

My Neuros has interchangeable backpacks. I regularly use the 128MB flash vs. 20GB HDD. But, they use the cheaper 2.5" HDDs.

 

But the hard drive part is built in, right? As in you can't take it out and slap in another drive?

 

No. You just buy the "player" (that is all that it is) and a bunch of 20GB backpacks. Each comes with it's own battery. You just slap the gray player onto it and play.

 

Hmmmmmm - now that's pretty interesting. Just went and took a look at their site.

Very nice specs - the only thing most people would hate is the size.

At 10 hours of battery life, it's still better than the iPod.

At $260 per 40 GB cartridge, it's not too bad - almost the same price as a 20 GB iPod or iHP-120.

If I had known about this before, it would have made the short list. Though the weight would give me pause as I need my MP3 player for jogging.

 

I have been told by someone in the OE department at Alpine that the TSX navi/head unit runs on a detuned flavor of Windows CE "Mobile" with an Alpine-created-for-Honda user interface glued on over it.

The "drivers" for the touch screen were almost certainly written by Alpine internally for this application. I will guaran-damn-tee you that there is no API for touch screens included in what Alpine bought/licensed from the Evil Empire of Redmond. The software stack as software engineers would understand it is probably trimmed wayyyy down. There's the climate-control app, the audio app, and the navi app that the OS has to manage, and it has interfaces with the vehicle bus (VSS, fuel state, maybe a few others) and the GPS receiver and the touch screen. Each of the apps accesses the speech-recognition service.

So there is a "driver" for the touch screen... but if you want to use it for something you are probably out of luck. You will probably need to get the data sheet on the glass and write your own. Not that hard if you have the real data sheet, I'm told (hey, it's all just zeros and ones, right? : )

 

Anybody wanna try reverse engineering the driver?

 

Very interesting information, elduderino.

Of course Alpine would have to code their own criver for the custom Windows CE OS that the NAV system is running. However, I wonder if other standard touch screen drivers available for Windows XP would suffice. Once again, I doubt Alpine would completely design their own I/O for a touchscreen.

Also, in terms of complexity, a driver for a touch screen shouldn't be all that hard to code. However, I have no experience with coding drivers.

 

It all depends on the monitor side of things. If I remember the standard input driver layout properly, it's not too bad on the driver side.

 

If anyone really wants to take this on, I may be able to get sample code on the touch screen. Anybody ID'd the maker or model number of the touch screen? (My money is on Toshiba/Panasonic - Alpine uses a Toshiba LCD in all their new 7" indash units, and Panasonic is a supplier to Honda already, and they have an LCD JV company.)

 

If it involves Windows-related code, I best stay out. Don't want to get into any legal issues.

 

http://www.neurosaudio.com/

http://www.neurosaudio.com/store/pro...t%5Fid=4016000

this thing is pretty pimp

 

Read up - Lung Fu Mo Shi already pointed it out.

 

Do you suppose an Acura dealer would know and/or release information regarding the LCD manufacturer? If so, I would be more than willing to call.

 

I think it's more of a matter of whether they'd tell you or not.

You're definitely welcome to try.

 

Well, it can't hurt...

I will try and contact them sometime tomorrow, or when I visit the dealership later in the week.

 

a girl i met on a european vacation trip with my folks and relatives lives in co.

she goes to univ of northern colorado in greeley