| odessa |
I'd like to continue a good tradition of some of the the members on this forum who post very detailed messages that are very helpful to others.
This posting is about a succesful intall of NAV conversion unit sold by Sam (productinquirynow@yahoo.com) done on my 2003 MDX with NAV and RES. There are several threads on this forum about it, (check out posting by jywong )
I received this unit as part of the Group Buy. The thing is that when I received a unit from Sam, I realized that it'll take more then a guy with 2 left hands (me ;) ) to install it. I found a reffernce on this forum to a guy named Henry from
Monney Car Audio (http://www.monney.com/)
395 San Bruno Ave E, San Bruno, CA 94066
Phone: (650) 742-9292
I saw a first reffence to him on thread http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/show...ghlight=monney. It turned out that they didn't have any experience with Sam's units. But it all worked out at the end. They did an excellent job and are probably the most knowledgeble installers in
San Francisco Bay Area.
Here are the main points in the installation:
1. Installation should not void warranty.
Basically the unit is designed to be plugged in. The only problem was that since I had a factory installed RES, they had to split 2 wires from DVD player to feed it into Sam's unit. You are better off using after market DVD player and just plug it in to Sam's unit.
2. Sound. You have 2 options: use FM modulator that comes with Sam's unit, or buy an additional Blitz-something adaptor (you can buy it from Sam). FM modulator delivers sound as good as your FM reception, as opposed to adaptor that will deliver CD quality sound. I am fine with modulator and I didn't hear how the adaptor sounds, but I suspect it's better than modulator.
3. Actual plugs of Sam's unit are very tricky to plug into manufacturer plug and Nav system, but doable.
4. The so called 'Red Button' switches between original screen that carries NAV, rear camera, trip computor, etc. and Sam's unit. The installers put it under stearing wheel, but it seems to be too low. I would probably put it somewhere else.
Here are some pictures.
This is Sam's unit sitting on top of factory installed NAV dvd drive under passenger seat.
This is the button that switches between NAV screen and DVD/TV unit.
This is where installers put IR receiver, can't see it and it doesn't interfere with Air conditioning. One thing though is that I would make it more visible, otherwise you have to really point the remote control to it.
Here is 1 of 2 antenas:
Here is a link to a 1-minute video on my web site. In the video I show switching between DVD and TV (8 meg):
http://russiantreasure.com/shop/mdx.wmv
Ok, folks, hope it helps. Sorry coudn't produce a more descriptive story, but will be happy to answer questions.
Don't watch and Drive :)
Lenny. |
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| HARDROCK |
Thanks for the excellant report! You answered several questions I had about the process of installing Sam's unit and the video clip was great! I'm going to have the same system installed down here in the L.A. area and am currently trying to find a shop that will work with me and the info I'm learning from this site. What kind of rear flip-down system did you use?
Thanks again! |
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| uvaone |
| could someone tell me what's the resonable installation cost for this? |
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| odessa |
The Flip-down came with manufacturer installed RES. The resonable cost for the install is $250-$400 depending on shop experience.
REMEMBER !!!
If you have factory installed RES, you need to know what wires to split between flip down and front display if you want to watch DVDs in the front. Sam knows the wire numbers. |
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| SanDogDewey |
quote:
Originally posted by odessa
The resonable cost for the install is $250-$400 depending on shop experience.
$250-400 Ouch!!! I installed mine in 2 1/2 hours with a screwdriver, a bag of zipties, some double sided tape, coathanger and a couple inline splices. I know some guys aren't handy but $125 to $200 an hour is pricey. |
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| LoCalMDX |
How good is the tuner reception. I'm wondering if it is worth it.
:8: |
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| odessa |
| Tunner reception is fine in most metropolitan areas. On freeway outside of San francisco it's not good. Whether it's worth installing depends on your life style. I often have to sit in a car waiting for my kids or wife and it's kind of fun. |
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| SanDogDewey |
quote:
Originally posted by LoCalMDX
How good is the tuner reception. I'm wondering if it is worth it.
:8:
As for being mobile....in San Diego it works great on the Coronado bridge! Hmmmm, go figure. The stretch of 15 between Miramar and down to 8 isn't so bad. It all depends where you are. I haven't tried some of the amplified antennas yet though. Even though you can't receive TV video everywhere, sometimes I like to listen to the TV news on the way to work. As for video, I'm sticking with DVDs. |
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| GTBLUEBAI |
hello everyone
I am new to ACURAMDX.ORG and just recently bought a 2003 Acura Mdx Havasu Blue. I recently heard of the DVD/TV tunner/conversion.
Since i have the base model mdx,
Does this device work with the base model mdx? If so how much does it cost, also installation?
Any answers will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You |
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| hockeyplayer |
| unfortunately for you GT, you need the navigation color screen to make the system work. |
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| ryan |
Odessa
I probably will use the San Bruno shop. How much did they charge you and how long did it take them to install?
When you switch from TV/DVD to NAV, does NAV starts from the begining or does it come on where you left off? I would hate to see if NAV starts from beginning everytime I switch from DVD.
If the NAV is working in the background, do you hear the nav voice?
Did you hook up the camera? do you find it useful to turn it on when you are driving? Does it act like a rear-view mirror?
You had that unit for about a month now. Does it work well? Any problems?
Thank you for your suggestions and feedbacks.
Ryan |
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| cdawg |
| The navigation system continues to run in the background, it's a seperate unit, it's just the screen that's intercepted. It still provides voice commands over the DVD audio as well, at least mine does. |
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| DChan415 |
quote:
Originally posted by SanDogDewey
$250-400 Ouch!!! I installed mine in 2 1/2 hours with a screwdriver, a bag of zipties, some double sided tape, coathanger and a couple inline splices. I know some guys aren't handy but $125 to $200 an hour is pricey.
Has it fallen off your headliner yet? |
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| andrushka |
sup guys
listen this all sounds nice..
now i was wondering, i got a 97 acura rl 3.5
can i do this on my navigation screen?????
thanks |
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| jamest26 |
odessa,
how much did it cost you to install the unit at monney? since i live close to san bruno, i would like to have them install it as well. i appreciate your input.
james |
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| navwithtv |
| NO SPAM ALLOWED |
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| chrisqns |
| My MDX has it.. There's this company....nav-tv. They were the first company to do this stuff. They make sure the job is done right and they have a network of dealers/installers nationwide. DVD player/changer is highly recommended, as tv reception varies as the vehicle travels. You can have back-up camera, television if you want, and dvd player/changer. Put the car into reverse and back-up camera comes on. |
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