OverLOAD

Take a look in te middle of page 8, I made a post with a summary of the main features and info up to that point.

The install is practically identical to the Tape module install. Probably a 2 or 3 out of 5 in terms of difficulty, just because the unit is so unwilling to come out of the console. It's not really tat hard, you just have to be careful. It takes about 30 minutes or so, maybe an hour if you really take your time the first time you do it.

Regards,

OverLOAD

Cary

Lots of M6 owners looking forward to the “Integrator.” Let us know when it’s ready and how to pay.

MEGAREDS

OVERLOAD:
Could I ask you to repost the specs on what the device does and how it will install, price etc.? I also came to this thread late and, although I did read it all early on, it's been a few weeks. Also, please note that the pages shown on the screen are not standard; I show this thread as having only five pages to date, so going to the middle of "page 8" is not really an option for me

jdl

MEGAREDS,
Maybe this'll help: he started posting pics/writeup on 01-12-2004 02:39 PM. Hopefully he won't need to redo it
Cheers,
-jd.

MEGAREDS

Thanks JD. I found what I was looking for at the post done on 01-17-2004 04:29 PM. I assume the target price is still around $180? Since I don't know much about audio, perhaps someone could answer (or speculate at least) as to some of my questions...

Am I correct in assuming that I can hook up an Archos Juke Box/Ipod on delivery into the new line-in, then control the Juke Box/Ipod volume and track selection through the steering wheel... If so, where will the Juke Box or Ipod draw its power? What will the wiring look like from the Juke Box/Ipod to the unit? Will the unit work with my IPAQ if I tell the software I currently use on the IPAQ to play randomly, and set the volume manually?

Thanks guys.

OverLOAD

The original target is still $50. The 'true' cost will add the cost of shipping with the method of your choice.

Initially, the devices will not have any of the plug-in modules available, but as we complete them, we will release them. While you will be able to plug in your Archos/iPod/MP3 player/etc to get the audio source to play on the speakers, You won't be able to get track control with the head unit until you get the plug-in module that remotely controls the mp3 player.

As long as your mp3 player is accessable, you can use it's controls to manipulate it. I know it's not ideal, but we've got to start this kit with the most basic setup, and then we can increase the complexity once we've got all the details figured out, and have time to develop the plug-ins

As of this point, we have enough information to make remotes control interfaces for the Archos & iPOD, and since the protocols for all of the different remote devices are so different, we've decided to modularize it, so people can customize their own Aux-IN unit the way that they prefer.

In terms of power supply, I think that the best choice, is to use the center console power plug (hidden between the two pairs of cupholders) as the source for the power. If we were to add regulators and power management circuitry to the aux-mod board, it would be redundant since there's already ample power ports and increase everyones costs. Most mp3 devices are battery powered and portable, so they usually have well designed car travel kits that make using a standard automotive 12V power accessory plug a breeze. Someone who wants a completely stealth install could tap off the power outputs behind the front colsole power plug.

As for the iPAQ mp3 output, just think of the Aux-In module at this point, as your amplifier. It will get your audio into the car and playing out of the speakers. I don't know if the iPAQ software has the capability for remote control, but if it does, and we get enough requests, we might be convinced to make a plug-in module for the Aux-IN to control it too. I havn't looked in depth at the iPAQ offerings, so a remote might not exist, and then we have no easy entry point into the system. I know it does InfraRed, but you would neeed additional iPAQ software to control the mp3 software with that, I believe.



As for now, we're concentrating on working out the last of the details for the unit, and sourcing all the components we're going to need to make a first batch of units. The Aux-Module itself will have no wires ro cables. Just two pairs of RCA inputs for you to route where ever you like, and to convert into a 1/8" mini-jack to connect to MP3 players, etc. I'll post pitcutes of the prototype module when we get gloser.

Regards,

OverLOAD

slothrop

Like some others here, I'm looking for a simple way to plug in my iPod. Don't really need remote control abilities, etc., though they'd be nice. I'm definitely up for this.

G8rboy

Thanks for keeping us updated OverLOAD... I'm impressed that you're able to stay on target for time and cost. I just can't wait to throw my stupid f$#&ing tape adapter away... I keep thinking someone is going to bust into my car because they can see I have something interesting hiding in my center console by following the wire.

I'm planning on buying a cassette blank cover and putting one of the mini-jacks there, and the second one into the first cupholder area where I keep my Lyra.

Watching the flood of Mazda cassette player modules on eBay in March should be entertaining : )

VikingDJ

I took the simple way out. I have a cassette deck. I ran a portable mp3 cd player though it using casete adaptor to test it out. It actually sounds very nice, and I'm pleased with it. I will buy ain ipod, and just hook it to that. It's clearer then an rf adaptor, and actually sounds almost as good as the cd changer.

Nufan

Well, just found this thread and read through all 13 pages, fun fun! Anyway, I'm excited for this and can't wait to own one, was considering a cassette deck for just a short while. Thanks for this thread to put that option out

A couple question about ordering:

I know this may not have entered your thought process yet but,
how do you plan to take orders? Will you set up a website to take orders or a paypal dontation thing or ebay or what?

Are you going to make a bunch at a time or make them as paid/ordered?

Just trying to get an idea of when your completed product is raring to go, how long I'll have to sit in a corner with cold shakes waiting for this thing :D

OverLOAD

At this point, since we don't know if we'll be getting orders for 50, or 5000 units, we're planning on making an initial batch of 25 or so, and then accepting orders. If the orders increase the volume enough, we'll outsource the building of the units. At this point, we plan to physically build them ourselved. There's probably close to an hour of labour per unit on the assembly, plus the packaging, shipping, and paperwork.

I'm planning on accepting cheque (it'll have to clear before we can ship), money order, paypal (depending on the terms).

The whole on-line credit card ordering stuff might happen too. It just depends on the magnitude of the demand for the module. It's not really worth setting up unless there is more of a longer term demand for the module.

If the demand really gets rolling, I'd rather outsource the entire manufacturing, and get some retailers involved. Then we could move a lot more volume. By ourselves we can probably handle close to 200 units per month without any help. If the actual number of orders correspond to the number of messages in this thread, I don't know if we'll get that many orders, but I'm sure that the demand will grow once we get the module 'out into the wild' so to speak.

Oh, and we will be doing the order fullfilment in the priority of peoples direct requests to be put on a waiting list. Once we accept payments, people who were on the wait-list will be given priority.

Regards,

OverLOAD

OverLOAD

I'd like to personally thank Plasmar & Omicron for their support. With their help we've purchaed the mp3 player, and are going to get a start on reverse engineering the text message format for displaying the text on the LCD screen.

While we don't expect to be able to get the code for LCD status text control into the early Aux-in modules, the units will be firmware upgradable, and the hardware will support the text display. Once we get the software completed we will provide an upgrade to the unit to display text from the serial port.

See the attached picture,

Regards,

OverLOAD

G8rboy

Very cool... quick question- Any chance we will we be able to flash whatever text message we want into the unit when the [Tape] button is selected? Like "MP3 Jukebox" perhaps? Or maybe you guys could charge like $5-10 for this service- adding a custom message before the unit is shipped?

Just a thought...

-Sean

OverLOAD

I can't say for sure, we have to experiement with the module to see if we can do something like that. My curent impression of the MP3 players text is that it only displays the text information when you press the display button.

I'll keep it in mind, and report my findings from the experimentation on the board.

Regards,

OverLOAD

G8rboy

I re-read my post and I wasn't super clear what I meant... Right now when I press the tape button on the stereo the LCD displays the word "Tape" or something like that. I remember you were going to look at making your module output the text "Aux-In" or something along those lines. What I was proposing was replacing the static text message "Tape" or "Aux-in" with something custom in the flash of the unit (as opposed to dynamically changing text coming in over the serial port, like song title/artist, etc).

bobclevenger

Great progress, Overload. Just in case, I want to let you know that I definitely want one of these units. IOW, "put me on the list, please."

OverLOAD

The same still applies.. After we've done the experimenting, I'l be able to say something more conclusive. It might be possible, but it might not.. It looks like the Head unit uses static messages that it uses an internally stored abel to display on the screen, but time will tell if we can override it.


Regards,

OverLOAD

Bob, sure thing..

Tigger

iTrader: (3)

OverLOAD, please add me to the list. Looking for this mod, is exaclty what led me to discover this Forum! Have to love Google.

If you need anything from me, please send a PM.

flyboyindy

So just how many people are on the list now? =) Enquiring minds want to know.... especially who gets in on the first 25 =P

[iG]

Where is the wait list? ;P

VikingDJ

FOR NOW IF YOU HAVE A CASETTE DECK< JUST BUY A TAPE ADAPTOR TO RUN WHATEVER INPUT DEEVICE YOU NEED. You'd be surprised at how good it actually sounds.

emailists

Overload- I was just about to have the MP3 Player put in- I am going to order your unit no matter what, but do you think I should not get the mazda MP3 and use your unit with an after market cd MP3 player? Since I have no immediate plans to get an ipod, etc should i just go with the stock mazda unit?

OverLOAD

27 people have emailed me requesting to be on the wait list. However anyone who has a post with an ealy date will be able to be traced, so I will hold their position relative to the date that they first posted that they wanted a unit, if they are still interested.

Of course nothings ready yet, so please be patient..

Regards,

OverLOAD

OverLOAD

We'll I spent a few hours in my car today listening to the mp3 player, and it's pretty good.

Of course the big difference between an MP3 CD player, and a hard disk based unit is pretty big, otherwise everyone would still have a portable mp3 cd player instead of hard disk based unit.

It all comes down to having technology that isn't imposing any limitations. Hard disk based units are just better that way, most people can fit their entire mp3 collection on their portable mp3 player.

It's a tough call. If I didn't have a hard drive based mp3 player, I probably would have never gotten the interest up to develop this unit. Without portable mp3 players, there wouldn't be even 1% of the demand for this kind of unit.

mp3 players are a huge discussion unto themselves, but personally I came from portable mp3 cd players, and the next logical step is definately mp3 hard disk based units. The factory mp3 cd player integrates nicely, but it seems just a bit slow on startup. I think I'll be using my hard drive based mp3 player primarily, even with the factory mp3 player.

I don't feel that I can give you an impartial answer, since I'm working on this module, and I'm biased towards HDD based mp3 players, but start a new thread, or a poll and ask what people prefer, and you will see what the majority of the people on this forum think about the subject.

Regards,

OverLOAD