calvinpark

Actually, I have a friend in San Diego and I had him buy one today directly from their office. I plan on going to SD tomorrow evening to install in on my car.

I saw the information from www.mp3mycar.com, and contacted them for the location and stuff.. He said their office was really nice and bling bling. I was hoping I'm not spending my two bills for some cheap ebay-shop looking place. I guess that worry's taken care of now.

From what I heard, he was only given a set of cables(a pretty messy and complicated cables), BUT NOT THE BOX. They told him that for 2004 RX-8, the box isn't necessary.

I remember seeing people's post about buying the box and installing it. I guess I just purchased the long-awated new version of Ion!

I'll post the installation pictures as soon as I put it on.

lshu

I believe I got the new version Neo Ion (Dension Ice>link) too. Instead of a box, there is this thin circuitboard wrapped in plastic?/rubber? with two connectors on both sides. Saves some weight and space behind your head unit. Too bad I've been having connectivity problems with my ipod mini, where the Dension user interface cuts in and out. The technician I contacted at mp3yourcar.com has not heard of the problem, so I will be exchanging it for a new unit soon.

05 Mazda RX-8
HU version: 9.73
Dension Ice>link firmware: ICEV22.11
Ipod Mini 4GB, v1.4

~)(

Can you control the Ipod with the steering wheel controls using this thing? Post pics and a detailed review when you get a chance. (thx)

-jc

calvinpark

If any one of you want me to test some features, please post them.

Make them as detailed as possible with step by step instructions, so I can exactly replicate your scenarios.

I have a 3G iPod and my HU firmware version is 9.55. I'm sure the iPod being 3G(as opposed to a 4G, mini, or nano) won't make a difference, but I've been getting mixed signals about the 9.55 firmware so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

kachud

I have the old one and it comes with the thin circuit board wrapped in plastic. It also came with the pie unit. I guess they finally decided to get rid of the PIE conversion step.

itsallaboutgary

alright since i have people here who have purchased the Neo ION (the new version). Is it me or is there some kind of lagg SOMETIMES when changing songs. sometimes i experiment this and its kinda bugging me. lemme know what u guys think.

calvinpark

I guess everyone already knows about how Icelink is since there aren't much questions asked.

Well, it's properly installed and working as it should. Yes, the steering wheel control works.

Adiggity

Ok, so after reading this thread I've looked at a bunch of different solutions for ipod/cd changer interface/steering wheel control blah blah blah. The Neo is the only one that I found that claims the iPod can retain control of itself, and not have to use the whole "6 playlists of up 9,999 songs each". From what I understand, the factory unit thinks it is playing 6 cd's with a buttload of songs on each one. Thus all the steering wheel controls still work, because all it has to do is control those playlists like it would a CD sitting in a changer. The Neo ion claims that you can use "playlist mode" (what I just desricbed) or "direct mode" which lets you feed your stereo whatever you choose from the iPod itself from any playlist on said iPod. I can see benefits to both senerios: Driving alone, I know what's in my 6 playlists, I use the steering wheel to control my choice. But if my friend is sitting in the passenger seat, I want him to be able to pull the iPod out of the glove compartment and choose something using the iPod controls. I'm almost to my question...... really. Anyway I looked on some other forums and I only found one reference on the ENTIRE internet on how you go from "playlist mode" to "direct mode". It said the Neo has dipswitch physically on the unit itself that switches between the two modes..... Ummmm isn't that going to be behind my dashboard? So do I have to choose one method when I install, and then leave it like that? Or is that switch accessible? Am I the only one who thinks that it would be dumb not to have both options?

kachud

You switch between the modes from your ipod. When you plug your ipod into the neo and go to cd 6 on the HU a menu will appear on your ipod screen. From there you can switch all the options. I do not have any switch on the neo unit itself.

Adiggity

Oh, good. That's much better. The thread I read must have been misinformed or outdated. Thanks! I'm getting my Video iPod next week. I chose the black so it takes longer :-( Then I think I'm going with the Neo too, because I like the idea of being able to change between the two modes.

Nubo

I'm glad I found this thread because I just got the "Neo unit" yesterday and thought there must be something missing in the box. Because all I had was the Dension cradle bits, couple of cables and the Dension IceLink -- the stick-of-gum sized circuit board wrapped in plastic, which plug connectors on each end. So, I'm not sure what exactly about this setup consitutes the "Neo" part of this equation -- lol it all looks like Dension to me.

The other thing that threw me was the totally careless packaging. They just threw the various components in a cardboard box and shipped it. No enclosure, no padding, no peanuts, just everything rattling around loose inside the box, other than a couple of smaller bits in a small ziploc bag. Sigh. Maybe a little professionalism was expecting too much for my $200+? No, I don't think so.

Or maybe that's their "stress testing". If it survives and is not DOA when you get it, then it was a rugged unit. Oh well, as long as it works as advertised.

Gr8M8

For those that bought the Neo and have full-sized iPods, did you go with the Cradle connector or the Standard connector? I guess it comes down to where you intend to keep it - I'm thinking under the armrest so probably the Standard connector is best?

Cheers,
John

kachud

I went with the standard connector. That way I can use my Iphoto or my wifes mini.

BomberNYC

so i'm assuming you need to have firmware verion 9.55 and above to get this to work huh?

Nubo

The response I got from them was that they worked with Dension to bring this new RX-8 solution to market -- yes there is no "neo box", just the (apparently modified?) IceLink, cables, and dock. As far as packaging they say they chose to just ship the parts because they're waiting for packaging to be finalized and figured everyone just wanted the parts asap. I applaud their expeditiousness but would have felt better if someone would have taken a few seconds and a few cents worth of bubble wrap. Just seems hokey. I don't know I guess I'm a bit dubious at this point that it isn't just some way to unload the units that Dension gave up on. But I'm willing to give it a whirl.

Nubo

No dipswitches. Everything is done via the interface. In the "Dension" interface you can switch between the first 5 playlists using the CD changer keys "^ and v". There are a number of ways to "get outside" of those limits. "CD 6" is reserved for controlling the Dension interface itself, including getting out of it. You can switch the interface from the "Dension interface" to the standard iPod interface. This takes a few steps to navigate the menus, and then you need to undock and re-dock the iPod. From there you have full control from the iPod, but you can still advance tracks with the steering-wheel and headunit buttons (and of course steeringwheel and headunit volume control still works). Alternatively, you can stay in the Dension interface and put it into "playlist" mode, which allows you to select any playlist on the iPod. This is a rather slow process though, as button presses take a bit of time to react. I don't think you'd be using this option much, but it does let them say "you can access any playlist". Another option is to select the entire iPod as your playlist. This is useful if you just want to be in "shuffle" mode -- which you can select with the "random" button on the headunit.

Here is the manual which describes how the controls work.

http://www.mp3yourcar.com/manuals/mazda.pdf

Good luck printing it though -- the damn thing is password protected and restricts you to 150 dpi printing (=unreadable). What the hell were they thinking? Totally useless unless you plan on memorizing it or I guess you could take a laptop into the car whenever you want to look at the manual. I finally set my screen to a huge resolution, zoomed in on the thing and took screenshots of each page, then recompiled them into a *printable* manual. Sheesh. So far a lot of amateurism about the way these guys are getting this thing out the door. But so far it all seems to be working as advertised.

airspeed

Is it safe to say that we can order the Ice>link plus from Dension instead of from mp3yourcar.com now that the Dension has RX8 support? I notice that the prices from Dension dealers are a bit cheaper than from mp3yourcar.com

Nubo

The answer to that isn't clear to me. mp3yourcar is actually a front-end for neocaraudio.com. They answered my questions by saying they had "worked with Dension" to bring ths product to market. I don't have any further details on what their (Neo's) part of that work actually was. The device itself, and cradle have nothing but Dension markings. The operating instructions appear 100% Dension. I registered the device on Dension's website. The interrelationships are a bit confusing as you get bounced around the web, multiple documents from multiple sources, etc.

I do know that the kit I got from mp3yourcar.com (a.k.a. neocaraudio.com) does work.

adrian-1

I ordered my ion SP thru the mp3yourcar site also. Cable and instructions had Dension label. Everything works great. Info here.

dkuhlman

Just installed the Neo/Ice Link (no box). Seems to work fine with ver 9.53 on my HU. Anything that I need to watch out for with this configuration? Also how can you switch between the HU /steering wheel controls and use the the IPod menu? Any help is appreciated.