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New Dvd Satnav Unit Fitted (Pics)


liam-20
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Just one more question on this unit , it has VMCD not being a tecky how does this work.

When I press the option it just says no encoded cd.

Any pointers would be most helpful.

Thanks

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Been doing some further jobs on my system with USB and IPOD cables.

With my car originally having the factory-fit Bluetooth/USB, the USB socket in the console storage compartment was no longer functional. My headunit had a spare USP port at the rear which is hidden once the unit is installed, so I hopefully wanted to marry this up to the socket in the console without running extra cables and fitting a new USB socket etc. And for once it was really simple to get this working- the cable from the console USB port has a connector at the front end of the console, behind the trim panel on the left hand side. This is basically a mini USB connection with a latching feature on the connectors. So disconnecting the feed which I assume comes from the Ford BT/USB module, allows you to then run a USB/mini USB cable from the head unit which connects to the console cable in it's place. To help with space at the rear of the head unit I used a short male/female USB cable with right angled fitting, then linked a 50cm or 70cm mini USB cable into this. Had planned to just use a straight-forward adaptor at the rear of the head unit but got the LH and RH versions mixed up. Wired this up and works just fine :)

As part of the same job I thought I'd also connect the IPOD cable supplied with the unit, and run this down to the console so I could use it for charging my iPhone 4S and make use of whatever IPOD features are on the head unit to play music from the phone. But all I can get to happen is the phone charges up when connected up. Getting the feeling that I need some sort of aux connection as well, but the cable which comes from the head unit only has the standard 30-pin connection for the base of the phone itself. This connects via a flylead already terminated at the rear of the unit

LFFB-11_zpsa5edcc26.jpg

Any ideas?

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Have you tried an RCA to 3.5 cable in the left hand red and white ports (auxL & auxR)?

2015-04-06%2006.06.11.jpg

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I'm not sure about the USB wiring as I don't have that on my MK2, but I believe with the right sort of male/female miniUSB/USB adaptors you might be able to use the built-in USB port without any trouble.

And for the iPhone/iPod thing, I'm having the same issues. Or at least similar... On my older stereo (WinCE 6.0) I had my old iPhone 3GS connected with the same cable as you and it worked flawlessly. Charging, music..like it was factory installed. However, on my new stereo with Android 4.4.4, I mostly cannot get the phone to work properly. Charging is still fine, but my playlists on the phone are mostly mixed up - like let's say playlist "A" has originally 20 songs in it, playlist "B" has 200 songs, but the stereo mixes them up and won't display the song count properly, therefore I can't switch to next/previous song and the iPod app usually crashes when I try to.

Also the time until the stereo recognized my phone is terrible - I'd say minutes instead of basically instantly on the old stereo. This actually might be your issue as well - the stereo just needs longer until it recognizes your phone and then you can start playing music from it. You don't need to plug in the AUX cable, that would let you play the music from the iPhone, but you would need to control it from the phone, not the stereo/steering wheel.

And another thing, if you previously used the iPod cable with some older stereo, I discovered that they are mostly not compatible with each other at all! I mean stereo and the iPod cable. I have no idea why, as the pins on it seems to be the same, but the older cable won't recognize my phone with the new stereo at all - it won't even charge it!

I tried this with iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S and the results were the same. My setup on this is, that I have the phone permanetly in the car, with SIM card in it (with 3G of course), and I have enabled iTunes Match on it. Then, when I change the playlists on my PC, it automatically downloads to my iPhone in the car so I don't have to take it home to let it sync, etc...

All that I could think of to resolve this, is either new firmware for the stereo (which, in my case, I already requested from the seller and I'm waiting on the download link at the moment), which would hopefully improve the iPod functionality, or plugging in an actual iPod - not a phone. As far as I know, iPod classic or nano have some sort of "acessory connected" feature which is displayed on the screen once you connect it to the similar stereo. Me, I'm hoping for the first option, as I don't want to buy an iPod (even used) just for this and I would also loose the iTunes Match feature on it and have to sync it manually. So far, I'm using an SD card for my music, which is basically doing the same job as an iPod would do (ok, maybe the music sync is little worse).

I have somewhere at work an adaptor for lightning port to use it on the classic 30pin cable, so I try to plug in my iPhone 6 and test it with it and also a colleague of mine has an iPod classic in his car, so I try to borrow it for a test to see what's going to happen.

When I get to it, I'll write an update on what I figured out about this issue, as it kinda bugs me and ruins my entire in-car music setup :D (I knew that I shouldn't trust Android... :D )

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hmmm

since October I have been looking to replace my factory fitted unit to one with Ipod connectivity and bluetooth handsfree

then I saw that you guys have bought a rear camera (number plate) so would be good to get that , so started looing at the video screen options, then saw this thread and im so tempted to get one of these from HK as they look like factory fitted screens !!

now im not sure what to do !!

I have been looking at the alpine CD unit at £130, then the video version at £250, but the sat nav versions are £500 + !

how much can you get one of these units for ? and is it better to get the Android version of the Windows CE version?

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android units are newer but you must bare in mind that new might not be best, any niggles an your stuck, its very unlikely you will get updates for it, the Win CE versions have been out a while, many issues have been found and fixed assuming you get a newer model. Ive noticed that the android ones have a better modular setup for the cables, much better idea than the CE ones which is fairly annoying to get in but not tricky in the slightest.

In theory the android one should be easier to modify but I wouldn't hold your breath, just because its android don't expect it to run everything you can on your phone. WinCe is in Chinese which makes it hard to modify but not impossible, these units seem to have 2 levels of operating system, both invisible to each other, one for the satnav functions, one for regular stuff, I'm not sure how the android one is setup.

I would stick with my CE one as I know it works and works well, but if I had a spare couple hundred quid id get the droid one to experiment on as its quite interesting and opens you up to using much more advanced software.

One thing, CE satnav software development has all but stopped, but map updates are ok, I use Primo 2.4, there is group of folk who update the software unofficially, but is now a few generations behind its adroid based young brothers

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cheers dee, not too worried about the sat nav, as I use my trusty tomtom GO 6000 when I need to go a place, but a sat nav always in the car might come in handy occasionally (you never know when you get stuck)

be interesting to hear of anyone who has the android version

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I was pretty surprised when I saw how much some of the established aftermarket Sat Nav/DVD head units were :o in comparison the Chinese manufactured Win CE or newer android versions are about half the price. The reversing camera is an absolute godsend and works great for me.

There are a few little niggles with some of the other functions but nothing major that i've found. Only things like the music player defaults to Repeat All every time you turn it on, instead of remembering it's last setting. And there's no 'random play' facility for the USB music player. And for some reason or other not all of the music folders I've got on my SD card show up in the music directory. Couple of other things like that I've not looked into further yet, couldn't honestly say if the Samsung/Pioneer etc versions are totally niggle-free in comparison.

Have you tried an RCA to 3.5 cable in the left hand red and white ports (auxL & auxR)?

I've got a feeling I've got one of those somewhere Stoney so I'll see if I can dig it out thanks. Was going to ask what the IPOD cable actually lets you do if it does work, as obviously the RCA cable would just route audio output into the head unit without giving any control functions of the ipod/iphone?

I would have thought the IPOD cable supplied with the unit would have worked but obviously not (yet) it charges my phone and one of the the menus shows it connected but that's it. The instruction booklet shows an IPOD icon on the main homepage menu's, I've got IPOD enabled in Factory settings but can't see any icon - can't really say if it's ever been there or not, never noticed tbh.

I have somewhere at work an adaptor for lightning port to use it on the classic 30pin cable, so I try to plug in my iPhone 6 and test it with it and also a colleague of mine has an iPod classic in his car, so I try to borrow it for a test to see what's going to happen.

When I get to it, I'll write aned out about this issue, as it kinda bugs me and ruins my entire in-car music setup :D (I knew that I shouldn't trust Android... :D )

Without knowing too much about them I was considering upgrading to the Android unit - partly for the 3G/DAB features amongst others. But now that I'm streaming radio music via various different apps maybe DAB is dead already? I'd still like to be able to run this via the head unit itself.

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I have somewhere at work an adaptor for lightning port to use it on the classic 30pin cable, so I try to plug in my iPhone 6 and test it with it and also a colleague of mine has an iPod classic in his car, so I try to borrow it for a test to see what's going to happen.

When I get to it, I'll write an update on what I figured out about this issue, as it kinda bugs me and ruins my entire in-car music setup :D (I knew that I shouldn't trust Android... :D )

Let me know how it goes with the later iPhone, I'm past overdue upgrading from my 4S which would mess up the connector strategy and probably half the stuff that's currently working ok :rolleyes:

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for the guys with these, can you tell me if an ipod classic will work with this and keep it charged? also use steering wheel controls and bluetooth hands free ?

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music from the iPod might be little tricky, but charging should definitely work, also steering wheel controls and BT handsfree are just fine. Maybe you would need to set up the steering wheel controls at the first set up of the stereo, but then it's no problem.

I'll try to borrow the iPod classic from my colleague and test it sometime this week, I'll get back to you when I'll know something more.

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cool, cheers scorpion

it does say it is ipod ready, so it should work (in theory)

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theres so many to choose from, they all look similar, this one is at £200, but a different rear to what troy has posted

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-FORD-Mondeo-FOCUS-S-MAX-KUGA-CAR-Radio-Stereo-DVD-Player-GPS-Sat-Navigation-/301430580599?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item462ea9a577

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I wouldn't go for these...for one thing, they're WinCE stereos and another thing, the manufacturer seems to be completely no-name...I know that they are all made probably in the same factory somewhere in China, but some of the manufacturers at least put their logo on it and guarantee at least some warranty and bit of after-sale support.

So if you want to go with WinCE, you might consider something like this:

http://www.koolerbuy.com/koolertron-dvd-navigation-system-with-7-inch-digital-touch-screen-tft-lcd-monitor-for-ford-cmax-p-5036.html

or

http://www.eonon.com/Car-GPS/Specific-Car-GPS/Ford/C5161E.html

and if you want something "newer", these are the droids you're looking for:

http://www.eonon.com/Car-GPS/Specific-Car-GPS/GA5161.html

or

http://www.witson.com/en/displayproduct.html?proID=102176320

Those from Eonon are probably the most "branded" stereos, the other two are from my experience also pretty solid and you won't be disappointed with them. The feature list of all of them is pretty much the same, they all support steering wheel controls, have BT handsfree/audio, GPS, iPod playback (though the Android might be little tricky in that as was mentioned earlier), DVD, SD, rear cam,...etc...

For the iPod support, let me show you a video which shows nicely what's the problem that I'm having...I sent this to the support and I'm waiting on the firmware update and hoping it will solve this...I have the phone & stereo language set to Slovak, but you will get what's going on...

As you can see, the stereo recognizes the iPhone has some music on it after almost 20 seconds and that's already after another half minute or so, until it recognized that there is actually an iPhone connected to the unit. You can see around 0:41 the little symbol near the iPhone name. And this loading happens each time you switch to the iPod playback from radio/SD...

Then, few seconds later, you can see that it loads the playlists, but the songs count in them is wrong. And when you select this playlist, it starts playing "some" song and you can't get to the playlists anymore...you have to switch to radio and then back to iPod...

So this is the issue I'm having with the iPod playback.

Other than this, the only thing worse on the Android than the WinCE is the bootup time. Since the stereo powers down completely, like when you completely turn off your phone or tablet, it takes longer to boot up when starting the car. My case is even worse because of the diesel engine that has glow plugs, so when their light sign goes off, I start the engine and cut the starting process of the stereo... - maybe if can someone give me a hint on how to bypass this and have power to the stereo going all the time during the engine start process, I would very much appreciate it ;)

So this is it so far, I'll post an update when I know something about the iPods/iPhones, but feel free to ask if you have questions ;)

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So as promised, here's an update on the issues I'm having.

Today, I received a link to the firmware update for the stereo and installed it. However, I'm not very impressed by the update. The issues I've been having seem to be still present. The iPhone recognition time is mabe a few seconds shorter, but it's still long time compared to the WinCE. At least, the playlists seems to be recognized without any problem, they're displayed with correct song count.

I tried to connect my colleague's iPod classic to the stereo as well, but the results were the same. iPod was recognized, but it took forever before it started playing any music.

One more thing I want to try is, that I only put one smaller playlist on the iPhone, approx. 40 songs, and see how it deals with it then. My suspicion is, that it could be "indexing" the library on the iPhone and that's why it takes so long to recognize it. Although my library isn't that big - about 1300 songs currently. So I'll see how this goes, it's probably the last thing that comes to my mind on this issue. Any other sugestions would be appreciated though :)

Other than this, in my case the update installed support for the Play store on my stereo - it just wasn't there from the begining, I don't know why - so now I can install apps on the thing without any difficulties...I need to check if they perhaps didn't update the support for other USB modems, I have my LTE USB stick just lying here unused, while it could be the source of internet connection and WiFi hotspot in the car...that's probably it so far, I haven't notice anything else yet, but I will give it a closer look sometime during the weekend.

Still one issue that I would like to solve, nothing software related, but as I wrote before, the power during engine start is cut for the stereo and it has to start the booting process all over. Is there a way to override this - but without having the stereo permanently under power, I don't want it to drain my battery, sometimes the car is parked for few days without starting the engine...any help on this will be great!

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from your comments Scorpion, I don't think I am going to bother getting a Chinese rip off

I am going to get a branded one instead

Cheers

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Well...not that I'm saying that you can not have issues with the Chinese units, because as you can see, you can, but to be honest, I would choose them over Clarion or Kenwood, etc....ok, it's mostly because of the design, because you get basically an OEM looking stereo...I would rather make an upgrade to better one from Ford, if not some of the Travelpilot series, then at least the Sony ones and upgraded it with some of the iPod connection kits you can buy.

Personally, my first choice was Travelpilot FX, MK2.5 stereo fascia upgrade, rear cam and iPod connectivity. But, finding a working unit with rear camera input is pretty much impossible, at least for reasonable price, so I decided to try the Chinese stereo (first was with WinCE) and it was perfect upgrade for my needs. Yes, it can has it's flaws, to be honest, most of the MK2.5 UI designs I saw online look a bit worse to me, than my MK2 UI in the stereo, but maybe I would get used to it too.

The start-up thing when stereo looses power it's because my car is a diesel and it needs to warm up the glowplugs (hope I'm using the correct term here), so you would be fine with gas engine, because you start it up all at once.

And finally, the iPod issue, well...yes, this is a weird one, but I blame the Android OS for this, let's face it, you're trying to get two rival OSes to work without issues here...I'll try to figure this one out too, and if not I still can use BT playback from my other iPhone or play music from the SD card...or go old school and listen to the radio :D

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I have just won this on eBay

http://www.alpine.co.uk/p/Products/navigation-systems6/ine-w970bt

brand new so comes complete with all leads

just not sure what leads and fascia I need to get for my car?

can anyone help me please ?

Focus 2009, and I have the ipod classic

thanks

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You will need something like this:

http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/connects2-ct23fd08-ford-mondeo-focus-s-max-double-din-silver-fascia-adaptor.html

And as for the leads, I wouldn't do any shopping yet, since you will maybe receive everything you need packed with your stereo.

The stereo looks pretty good btw, hope it will serve you well! :)

Quick update on my iPhone issues, today I tried to plug in my iPhone with fewer songs on it and voila! It worked perfectly! So I believe this issue is solved for me, as I really don't need to have all my music on the iPhone, just the current playlist(s), which is usually 30-40 songs.

The only reason I can think of is, that the stereo somehow indexes the library on the iPhone, or just goes through all the music and that's why it's so slow.

On the issue with stereo booting over during the engine start I will have to talk with an electrician, I believe that adding some sort of capacitor would help solve this issue as well.

So I guess I will be happy with the droid after all :)

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cheers

well, not getting the stereo now, so not sure what avenue I am going to take, I would like one of those Chinese units as they look great against my climate control

but still tempted to get an Alpine unit (as I have a single din and I love it)

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Hello all. First post on here. Bought my 2nd Focus 2 weeks ago, a 2010 Zetec 1.6 tdci. First was a brand new 2001 1.8 Zetec which I had to get rid of when my 4th child arrived after 5 years!!!! Broke my heart to get rid of it.......2 people carriers later, I am back :)

Anyway, really interested in getting one of these sat nav units but have a few questions before I take the plunge.

I am not the most mechanically talented person in the world. Technology, computers, phones, TV & AV equipment, I know my stuff and some, but wiring, trim etc loses me.

My questions are:

1) GPS antenna. Where have people mounted it? If on the dash, where does the cable run? If inside the pillar, how easy is the trim to get off and on?

2) WiFi or 3G? I am on Three's One Plan so get unlimited data. Can I use my phone for the hotspot and will the unit pick it up on WiFi OK?

3) Reversing camera. Want to add one as the 'leader of the opposition' finds it tricky reversing. As I don't fancy the wired one, was thinking of the wireless one? Where does it get its power from? How easy is it to install for a wirephobe?

Sorry for the first post being a long one, but am quite anal and like to get all the details in place first! Thanks. J

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Can't answer all of Jason's questions but will help where I can....

1: GPS Antenna - mine was initially mounted on the dash next to passenger A-pillar but it now lives behind the a-pillar trim on that side. Panel basically un-clips with a bit of persuasion, there's room there to mount it on the metal a-pillar panel down near where it meets the dash.

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Still working on the IPOD icon missing issue with my unit - emailed the supplier and they gave me some instructions for unlocking the icon through a different menu but password supplied doesn't work :(

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