Mikelikes2drive

hmmm where are u from? haah if u were from socal i would pay u to do this for me -___- too complicated for my non techno suave mind

Shinka in MD

...sorry Mike, you couldn't afford me...

JeRKy 8 Owner

All I have to say about this DIY is

Shinka in MD

Do you have a question or is there something that is unclear jerky8 owner? Please let me know and I'll do my best to clarify...

willhave8

WOW Wish I had a quarter of the patience and time you invested in this. Well done. This is a great DIY

truemagellen

wtf as in he wishes he could do it but it is too complicated for him

jerky 8 is a funny guy

Shinka in MD

oh, it's not that difficult, once you figure out where everything will fit and how to take everything apart (which I owe many people including yourself Truemagellen for helping me with... many, unwittingly helped by just posting pics of the interior with various panels removed, and info on how to disassemble various parts of the 8 in their DIYs- that info was invaluable in pre-planning this project)...

This DIY seems like a lot more than it is because it's really maybe 4 DIYs in one, and when I add the last part (how to make the LEDs on your add-ons follow the dimming of your instrument panel) it will be 5-in-one... Maybe I should have broke it up into 'Mounting a cell phone and hidden charger for your cellphone', 'Adding a cellular power amp and antenna', 'Installing a bluetooth handsfree adapter', and 'Mounting your Valentine V1 with remote display' (and later, 'Adding panel dimming to the LED indicators on your add-ons')... But since most of the stuff was done in parallel and to some extent depended on other parts of the project, I opted to post it all in the same thread.

It wasn't that hard at all when compared to RX8 XTC who replaced the entire wiring harness in his 8 so he could add the factory Nav:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...6&page=1&pp=15

...now THAT was HARD!!!

Shinka in MD

I've finally had some time to document the various wiring and mods with pdf circuit diagrams (sorry about the freehand drawings... it would have looked better if I had some time to draw them in AutoCAD...

the first diagram shows the wiring to the center console to provide power to my cell phone charger and to the interface that switches the Wilson cellular amplifer on and off...

Shinka in MD

this pdf is the full interface for the cell phone and hang-up cup, the cellular amplifier power, the switch to automatically power on the amplifier when the cell phone is inserted in the hang-up cup, and the panel dimmer interface circuit that I built to make the LED power indicator in the hang-up cup follow the same dimming rules as the rest of the lighting in the instrument panel. When the headlights or fog lights are turned on, the LED dims appropriately, and if the panel is adjusted to be dimmer, the LED gets dimmer also.

The photo shows the prototype interface that switches the power amp on and off, as well as the dimmer circuitry, and the connectors that attach to the harness I installed. Attaching things this way allows me to pull individual components out and work on them if I want to make any changes or repairs by simply unplugging them.

Another note: The dimmer circuits have potentiometers (adjustable resistors) to set the brightness for 'day' and 'nite' modes; these were necessary during the initial selection of the LEDs so that I could match their brightness at both levels with the lighting in the instrument panel. The pots (adjustable resistors) will be removed and replaced with fixed resistors once their final value has been determined. I wanted things to match and look like it was part of the instrumentation, and not be overly bright and draw attention to them. I also spent a lot of time searching for LEDs that closely matched the color (orange-red)of the night time lighting of instrument panel for the same reason.

Shinka in MD

this PDF is a simplified diagram of the dimmer interface that makes it easier to understand how the LED is controlled by the 8's instrument panel dimmer....

Shinka in MD

This PDF is a compilation of the instrument panel dimmer from several pages in the factory electrical wiring manual... it shows how the various lamps in the instrument panel are connected across a common bus and controlled by the dimmer switch next to the DSC switch.

Shinka in MD

This PDF shows how power is switched by the new switch I installed next to the panel dimmer and DSC switches, and the dimmer circuit for the power-on LED. When the switch is turned on it sends power to the Valentine V1 from one side of the switch, and the other side will be used to send power to the Blinder- Extreme in the future. Currently that side is used to send power to the power indicator LED dimmer circuit.

Note that the LEDs that I specified in the schematics (Agilent) were specially chosen to closely match the color of the center console lighting... a reddish-orange. Other colors could be used, but I didn't like the 'Christmas Tree' effect of many different colors of lights in the cockpit... your tastes may vary... I also used a very dim blue LED in the cellular phone hang-up cup to make it easier to see where to place the phone in the dark. This, along with the orange power indicator matches closely the way the tachometer is lit at night...

The first photo shows a close up of the front of the switch/LED add-on.

The second photo is a wider shot that shows the short harness and connector that allows me to unplug it from the harness I install in the 8 so that I can work on it or make changes during the development of this project.

The third photo shows the temporary dimmer I built to illuminate the power indicator until my blinder interface is built. It's not much bigger than a postage stamp, and when the potentiometers (variable resistors) are replaced with fixed resistors, it's size will shrink even more.

Shinka in MD

In this PDF are the technical details of the Blinder Extreme EX-01A interface box which I will interface to the dimmer system after I install the Blinder, which unfortunately won't be until next spring (I don't have a garage and winter is already here...)

The top half is the physical layout of the components in the box and the bottom half is the schematic of the interface...

One interesting thing I noticed when I reverse-engineered the interface was how easy it would be to add addition transceiver units to the system... they're all simply connected in parallel...

truemagellen

so for red vs green is is a matter of voltage flux and reverse polarity?

btw those diagrams are awesome

Shinka in MD

yes, that is right.... when there is an alert, the voltage polarity to the LEDs reverses and the LED changes color...

BTW, for the benefit of anyone else reading this, what truemagellen is referring to is how the Blinder Extreme LASER warning works...

thanks for the support, truemagellen!

truemagellen

too bad it isn't just a matter of polarity as I'd rather have it red all the time and green during alerts I'm sure there is a way to fix this

probably involves a relay or two

but the dim on hit you are designing that is the perfect solution

Shinka in MD

I've worked out an interface that I think I will be using instead of the Blinder LED.... it will have an orange-red LED to indicate power is getting to the Blinder interface box and an ultra-bright blue (to match the flashers on top of police cars) LED that will be the alert LED mounted side-by-side in the switch blank panel along with the power switch. I may even make the blue LED flash rapidly during an alert.

truemagellen

we need to chat over email Jim

Shinka in MD

I will most likely completely replace the Blinder interface box... it's almost as easy for me to build a completely new circuit board that has my additions as it is to build an interface to the Blinder interface box... there really isn't much in there anyways... one transistor, several diodes and a couple of resistors... and the connectors to the outside world (the Blinder transponders do most of the work). If I decide to add another transponder or two (like maybe 3 in the front and 2 in the back), it's a simple matter to add more connectors. Among other things I am an electrical engineer and have designed a lot of circuitry in my life, so designing a circuit board and sending it out to a house that specializes in prototype circuit boards is relatively inexpensive ($50 for several boards). I'll put the design for all of my interfaces on one board since they're so small, and cut apart the sections when I get them back from the board house. It sounds like a good winter project since I can't work on installing my 8's Blinder until next spring when warmer weather comes back.

Shinka in MD

Just one last thing I forgot to add with this update...

About one month has passed since I completed the majority of the IHF1000 install...

I still think that it was worth every bit of effort I put into it, as it works seamlessly with my 8... it's unobtrusive, the voice dial has continued to work flawlessly and without glitches... my hands never have to leave the wheel and stick, and my eyes never leave the road. I couldn't be happier... unless maybe if Mazda would have made it standard equipment on all 8s... that would have made us all happier! Happy Holidays everyone!

NVMYGT

Shinka in MD,
Do you think that the motorola unit you mounted to your vents would fit in the location of the ashtray? If so, do you think that you would be able to close the lid to completely conceal it? Like you, I want to retain a factory look and think that this would give me the ultimate "Bond Effect".

truemagellen

I have seen this motorola unit in person and there is little doubt in my mind that it wouldn't fit

I'm looking forward to your "Bond Effect" pics

NVMYGT

Perhaps while I'm in there I'll add a start button to complete the look.

Shinka in MD

To verify truemagellen's post, there is no question there is room enough to mount the user interface in the ashtray, with room to spare, and not block the cigar lighter. I mounted my Valentine 1 remote display there instead, and it is roughly the same size footprint, maybe slightly smaller, but is much deeper... the IHF1000 user interface is no more than a half an inch in depth... I'll post some exact measurements as soon as possible. One note- when i removed the ashtray insert to mount my V1 display, I noticed that the red lens for the ashtray night illumination is part of the ashtray insert; I had a very thin piece of red plexiglass that I glued to the ashtray assembly... it has to be quite thin because the area you have to glue it to is curved, and a thicker piece wouldn't bend and would allow white light to escape around the edges. Alternately you might be able to 'paint' the bulb itself with red translucent nail polish to get the same effect.


BTW NVMYGT... a few words of wisdom before you complete your install... I highly recommend temporarily installing the user interface for a few days before you commit to a permanant install anywhere... place a few calls and answer a few, and make sure that it's within easy reach and easy to see without taking your eyes off the road, and that other things that move during the operation of your 8 (such as the gear shift) don't block your view or access to the user interface, and that the interface isn't located such that you accidentally activate it while reaching for other controls... the place I chose to install mine was done after testing it at different locations... and finding them unsuitable for various reasons. Don't forget, the whole idea of this installation is to make it safer and more convenient to operate your cell phone while you're driving. And always remember... drive the car first and talk second... and gesturing with your hands can't be seen by the person on the other end of the line!!!

NVMYGT

Shinka,
Do you think it would be better to remove the bulb and the IHF1000 lights will be enough or do you think it would be better using your suggestion?