My daughter purchased a new RX8 and one of her Christmas presents was an OmniFi. I installed one with a 60GB hard drive upgrade in my Mercury Marauder so I knew what I was in for. The only problem was where to mount the headunit. I decided that the sunglass holder was a perfect spot. Purchased the correct PIE components to add RCA inputs to the factory audio system. Here are pics of the install.

 

Looks great! Never heard of that unit though...what is it's purpose?

 

Hard drive-based MP3 player.

Nice installation. I'd probably have put the remote in place of the ashtray, but the sunglass holder is cool as well.

 

That's nice, how much do those run?

 

They have been discontinued by Rockford (the manufacturer). So you can get them quite cheap, like less than $200. For that amount, they are a very good deal.

 

how do you transfer songs onto it? what part do you connect to the pc?

 

anyone know the correct pie to buy? is the install hard?

what about this bundle
http://cgi.ebay.com/Rockford-Fosgate...QQcmdZViewItem
would that be everythign needed?

 

That's a complete package, yes.
The OmniFi uses a wireless adapter for file transfer.
As for the level of effort for the installation, I don't know for sure but can't imagine being more complicated than installing a CD changer in the trunk with it's own wired remote. It's not very hard.

 

Why are they discontinuing this product? Low sales? Seems to be quite the package for $100.

 

No idea. Ask Rockford

 

I picked up 4 of them for lees than $130.00 including shipping.

 

You can either use wireless as some kits have a D-Link wireless adapter you put in your car so you'll have to be in range of your home wireless. Or you can remove the hard drive unit and update via USB.

 

That is a good deal since it includes the home unit to (it can play your MP3's thu your stereo system / TV from your computer).

 

Don't know why it's being discontinued. There is a large user group out there, in fact Rockford's tech support pointed me to them.

 

I got mine on Amazon for $99 with the D-Link wireless antenna so I can sync my music wirelessly using my home wiFi network. Now if only I had the stupid firmware upgrade i could actually use the thing.

 

By the way i used this in my 2005 Mazda3 until I got the 8 and it worked flawlessly.

 

Firmware for the OmniFi? After you install the software and run it it will get the latest firmware and update the OmniFi.

 

Firmware on my Head Unit not the Omnifi. The only way to update that firmware is by shipping it to Cato, NY and have it done by mazdaparts.com

 

what firmware do you need?

 

can someone explain more about this? do you play it directly from this hu ? what happends to the HU already installed..

 

You have to purchase the PIE adapter in order to plug it into the Head Unit. My problem is detailed all over this website. You need to have your HU flashed in order to use the PIE if your firmware is 9.54 or earlier. Right now Mazdaparts.com will flash your HU to 9.67 for $50 plus shipping both ways.

 

That's exactly what I plan on doing (installing in the sunglasses holder). Two questions though... Does it close/latch and do you think that it's (the holder) strong enough to use as a platform for the HU. I'm just worried about the stress on that area created from pressing buttons.

 

What does PIE stand for ?

 

After reading up a little it looks like the reviews arent that bad on the omnifi but the firmware/software is quirky with a few bugs. overall it works but dont look for it to be fixed anytime soon. Most say if you can deal with the minor issues they are ok.

Tremor

 

Precision Interface Electronics

You can order it at mazdaparts.com