navigation system

[ntenna]

Originally posted by Task125

yes, the screen is smaller but it works fine,the radio is easy to fine tune it all comes up on the screen. hardest part of install was putting the gps ant. under dash,you need small fingers. took about 1/2 hour. I bet i could do another in 15 to 20 min its that easy. mike

Good deal!

Oo.

 

[SilverFox]

JMc, I'll bet your truck blows those high tech Germans out of the water. Too bad they have to know it's a "one of a kind".

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Originally posted by ntenna

Plus: No foldout hitting the dash or bloking the AC vents (sorry, John M. , no offense, that is one nice rig you have there even if the screen gets in front of the vents!

ntenna - no offense taken - when the flip out, motorized screen is fully extended, yes it does block direct (visual) access from the center airvent. However it is not a significant issue because when it is in this position, the rear surface of the screen is a good 3/4 of an inch clear in front of the center airvent. Even when I have the blower cranked up to the max with aircon selected, there is a healthy airflow above and around both sides of the screen housing simply by positioning the airvent directional vanes to effectively push air left and right, rather than straight out.



If on the other hand, I select heat then I will manually close the vents, to prevent the rear of the screen from being "cooked". I discussed this overheating possibility with Alpine at the time and they had no empirical evidence to confirm/deny that excessive exposure to hot air on the rear surface of the screen would be detrimental. Common sense tells me that, sustained over a period of time cannot be a good thing, so why risk it? Besides, it just leaves more air for the other two vents.



If I was really concerned, I would have considered some sort of heat reflective surface placed between the screen and the vent, when the screen is extended.

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Panzer

Originally posted by SilverFox

JMc, I'll bet your truck blows those high tech Germans out of the water. Too bad they have to know it's a "one of a kind".

Actually, I have been asked by one of the locals if this is how they roll them off the DC production line in St. Louis and I kinda "hinted", that the factory options list was pretty extensive :-laf . A member of the local Polizei pulled me over once - he had nothing better to do at the time - just curious - and commented favorably on my "Panzer"

 

[ntenna]

Hey, that's an idea!



The next time my wife calls our truck a tank, I can remind her that it would be better to use the German version!

 

[michaelmurray]

Clarion

Nice work there John! Wow!



Have you considered the Clarion 1/2DIN SRK5 center channel speaker to go with your 1-DIN head unit? I haven't heard the speaker, but it is a perfect size for our trucks.



Also, I'm curious why you went with the Alpine over the Clarion VRX935VD. Thanks.



Michael

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Re: Clarion

Michael, I elected to go with the Alpine rather than the Clarion, head unit at the time back in early 2000 for several good reasons.

I got an absolutely excellent price on Alpine, (more bang for my buck). I was taking my truck overseas to be primarily based in England and Alpine Europe Technical services are headquartered about 10 miles from my home in Milton Keynes, (about 75 miles north of London)

This consideration was important because, mixing and matching DVD style regional specific elements in conjunction with some special customising for screen outputs supporting NTSC and the European PAL playback was required. The head unit and GPS+ system are European spec because of subtle differences in the North American units compared with European product. Warranty, support and maintenance was therefore a consideration.



Finally, at that time of original install, the comparable Clarion product was not in the same league as the Alpine product.



If I was doing it all again now, the decisions would be much harder :{ Back then DD5. 1 was the best theater sound format available but now DTS support is also increasingly supported by the audio manufacturers. Thanks for the heads-up on the 1/2 DIN center channel speaker - that immediately grabbed my attention and I will be researching into that possiblity a bit later... . in conjunction with some upgrades to my own system in the next 12 months.



BTW, if anyone is considering in-car DVD at some time in the future, don't forget to roadtest any potential system for compatibilities with the double density style, standard DVDs (with multiple sound formats) coming out of Hollywood for the past year. These can give you major performance problems on playback for some in-car DVD units, which have a much lower performance laser compared with the domestic product in your home for instance.



JMc

 

[Dean Upson]

I got the SPIII a couple of weeks ago and wanted to wait to comment on it until I had a chance to try it out. I opted for the Garmin SPIII because of its price, capabilities and mostly for it's portability. It can be used in any vehicle that you happen to be in with no hookup issues whatso ever. I have the unit placed on my extreme left dash and the (optional) window mounted antenna mounted mid bottom windshield. The wiring can be neatly tucked away so it is hardly noticeable. The performance to me was awesome. The mapping software that comes with it is excellent and it is very easy to use.

I would suggest getting the deluxe model because it comes with a "beanbag" mount and a more permanent mount if you want to go that way. You also get the mapping software for all of the US and part of Canada. There is a 128mb data card and a USB card programmer that will download map sets in a few minutes that would take hours with the serial hookup. I bought a windshield suction cup/magnetic mount antenna (you don't HAVE to have it) and an ac/data port adapter (power and data come into the same port on the GPS). The best part is the Garmin support. I had a problem with my USB 2. 0 not recognizing the USB 1. 1 Data Card Programmer. Garmin sent me a "fix" for that in a very short time, the support was great and it is an 800 number. They are great folks and surprisingly (to me) very customer oriented.

I have praised other vendors on previous posts, but praise is only given by me if it is well-deserved. Garmin is a first class outfit with first class people in their Tech Support.



Dean

 

[Jeremiah]

GPS units

Originally posted by Dean Upson

I got the SPIII a couple of weeks ago and wanted to wait to comment on it until I had a chance to try it out. I opted for the Garmin SPIII because of its price, capabilities and mostly for it's portability. It can be used in any vehicle that you happen to be in with no hookup issues whatso ever. I have the unit placed on my extreme left dash and the (optional) window mounted antenna mounted mid bottom windshield. The wiring can be neatly tucked away so it is hardly noticeable. The performance to me was awesome. The mapping software that comes with it is excellent and it is very easy to use.

I would suggest getting the deluxe model because it comes with a "beanbag" mount and a more permanent mount if you want to go that way. You also get the mapping software for all of the US and part of Canada. There is a 128mb data card and a USB card programmer that will download map sets in a few minutes that would take hours with the serial hookup. I bought a windshield suction cup/magnetic mount antenna (you don't HAVE to have it) and an ac/data port adapter (power and data come into the same port on the GPS). The best part is the Garmin support. I had a problem with my USB 2. 0 not recognizing the USB 1. 1 Data Card Programmer. Garmin sent me a "fix" for that in a very short time, the support was great and it is an 800 number. They are great folks and surprisingly (to me) very customer oriented.

I have praised other vendors on previous posts, but praise is only given by me if it is well-deserved. Garmin is a first class outfit with first class people in their Tech Support.



Dean [/QUO



The proof is in the pudding, as they say. I used the SPIII all the way from Colorado to Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D. C. With a couple of exceptions, every street address was located and accuracy was as close as 14 feet. On the occasions where the numerical address was different, I found it had been changed by the owner of the business/residence. Can't do much about that. Altitude, speed across the ground, elapsed time, etc. is equally accurate. The device is as perfect as they come! I also agree with using the bean-bag mount. It makes changing the unit from vehicle to vehicle as simple as unplugging it from the cigarette lighter. I didn't buy the external antenna and haven't needed it the first time.

 

[Big Dawg]

Originally posted by SilverFox

Hey, let your wife look at the porn, that way, when you arrive at destination you don't have to waste all that time on foreplay...

Good one... SilverFox

 

[SilverFox]