bobclevenger

For what it's worth I didn't disconnect my battery (or my HU) when installing the PIE unit.

truemagellen

this is very confusing...thank you bob for all your help

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

thew

areyou getting a new one to?? or waiting for me to get mine..

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

Waiting. I don't have the time or patience to pop my dash apart at the moment.

thew

i have just now put mine back in.. Not sure when the replacement will be here.. AT least its just the HU ... I had the whole thing apart to run RCA cables thru it.. My new RCA input is so handy


And so do we belive that 80% of the PIE boxes are not working cause there bad ?

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

No. I think there is another control issue. But I could be very wrong...

thew

me to

thew

still cant get why it works a few 8's but not all
or none

bobclevenger

Yes it is very confusing. There must be a logical reason for what we are seeing, but it is not apparent yet.

thew

More info From Log Jam.

-----------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Surface logjamelectronics.com
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 1:58 PM
To: thew
Subject: FW: PIE MAZ/PC-alp works great then shuts down


Matt:
I have not sent a replacement as yet because I talked with PIE's tech support again today. I was thinking about your order this morning when I got your email that asked to also send a replacement ALP/M-RCA. It was then I realized for the first time (duh) that you also ordered the ALP/M-RCA which means you are attempting to get an aux in rather than connect a CD changer. My discussions with PIE yesterday was regarding a CD changer install and that is why they kept saying that they hadn't received any calls about a installation into an RX8. So I called PIE this morning, and talked to them at length and they told me that the MAZ/PC-ALP & ALP/M-RCA combination has only been tested on the Mazda MPV. PIE indicated that it would NOT work in the RX8. They also said that fact was verified by the way the device is acting, by working for 30 seconds and then cutting out. They indicated that the headunit wasn't receiving recognizing that a CD changer was connected so it would switch back to radio operation after 30 seconds.

Not being one that believes everything he hears, I did a little research myself and found a couple Mazda forums where some folks are saying that it will work, and a couple forums where people have tried it and it didn't work. Therefore, if you could give me a few more days to sort this out, I will hopefully get a definitive answer on whether it should work and your MAZ/PC-ALP is defective, or that it never will work, no matter how many interfaces I send you.

So give me a few more days.



Thank you for your business and your patience,
Jim
---------------------------------------------------

MY Reply

----------------------------------------------------
Well its funny I am a member of the RX8club.com we have about 3 members that Can get it to work . the other 7 -8 that have it cannot..
When we say the Listing on the PIE sight begin to list the RX8 we thought they had made some kind of change to the unit..

Thanks for checking this out.. I am forwarding these messages to the RX8club.com forum as well.. That way maybe we can get this straight once and for all..
BTW it was that Forum that pointed me to you as a customer.
You are doing a great job..

Thanks again.

Maybe you will find out why it works in some rx8's cars and not others.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

So the saga continues. Although the guy at PIE told me the Alpine cd unit would not work either.. this does not explain why it works in some 8's and not others !

Uggg.. Hey Mazda how bout some help here.....

liqiud

So here is a dumb thought...how mant of the people that have it working other than me, have split the RCA inputs to two, so that they could hook up more than one device...maybe it is just that simple?

HU --> PIE --> AZ/RCA --> RCA Y Cables --> Devices...

Of course i can only use one at a time, but it still accomplishes what i want for the time being...just a thought...maybe someone can try this, or someone can tell me wether or not they got it working without the Y Cables.

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

I'm pretty sure that it is going to require a logic device to send M-Bus signals to the PIE adapter, tricking it into believing there is a changer present.
There are several good pages on the internet that describe projects that are way over my pinhead. Perhaps one of our engineer types could translate?

Durahl

I just wanted to mention again that a couple people, including myself, have had perfect luck with the "CD aux-in hack." I've had it running since the beginning of March. It delivers crystal clear audio and I have had no problems since the install. The only thing that will keep many people from attempting it is the fact that you need to solder directly onto the CD player's circuit board. If done incorrectly you could damage the head unit permanently. With that said, it's fairly easy to accomplish and very cheap. Only parts: headphone extension cord (~$6), a ground loop isolator (about $20 from radio shack, and pretty much necessary if you're planning on using the car to power your iPod/other device), and of course soldering equipment if you don't already own it (~$20). I have the headphone extension cable peeking out of the little plastic cover piece that's at the front of the center console. The ground loop isolator and power cable remain in the back half of the console, with a couple wires and the iPod itself in the main (cupholder) section. Also, I use the Monster Cable Ultra-Low Profile charger due to the fact that it has a "Line Out" jack from the iPod.

As far as the install itself, I used the instructions posted by ectomort in the "DIY: Tape Aux-In" thread.
His post is found on page seven, at 02-01-2004 07:29 PM

Here's a link:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...in&pagenumber=7

Info needed to get to the head unit itself can be found in this post. It includes pictures and a scanned copy of the real install instructions:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-mp3-factory-head-unit-removal-install-7644/


Again, this method does have some risk involved, so be careful if you attempt it.

Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any questions,

Durahl

bobclevenger

I an using 'Y' cables too, but I'm pretty sure that it worked when I only had one device connected. BTW, it works when all three devices are playing, not that I usually do this, but it was a test.

bobclevenger

That and the cost of the CD player. That's why I didn't go that route.

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

Bob, the CD player is standard equipment

RandyP

Durahl... the GLI and the Monster did horrible things to my audio... check out this thread. I did the Tape Hack after buying ectomort's tape unit. It worked great, until I tried the Monster as a power source. On my thread, I have recordings of what it did to the audio, and the engine noise it picks up. The GLI rolls off so many highs and muddies the signal up so badly, a cassette tape would sound better. I have a recording and waveform readout from it.

Monster doesn't say much about it, but you can hear that they have noise-attenuation circuitry in the iPod dock connector. Just switch the audio plug from the earphone output to the Monster line output, and you can hear the effect of the filter pretty clearly.

When I do the same experiment with the Apple Docking Base, the character of the music isn't changed at all. It appears that Monster put in the filter to block some of the noise... but even so, for me using the Tape Hack, the Monster fills the music with static and whines with the engine RPM.

Check out the recordings... I'd like to understand why ectomort reports the Monster is "perfect" with the CD Hack, while with the Tape Hack it is "perfectly awful".

RX8J

I am as confused as any of you, I have the PIE solution working perfectly in my RX8. I have a Bose system with a CD Changer (no tape deck). I pulled the radio completely out, hooked up the PIE to the RCA adapter and viola it works just fine. I am feeding the signal from an XM Commander. I don't see what should be different??

BTW, I just finished building an electronic switch to switch inputs. I posted the scematic in this thread. I just wanted to let everyone know that it works perfectly! I have tested it in the house on a home stereo using a CD player in one input, and my iPaq (as a simulated MP3 player) in the other input. Hitting a button switches the sources to the Aux-In. I have not installed it in my car yet because I am fabricating a mount in my ashtray for the commander and I don't want to pull the dash apart again till I have both pieces. I also installed some extra lines to the switch for a couple blue led's. That way when I reach in my center console, and hit the input switch, the center console compartment will light up blue (just like my 8) to let me know the mp3 input has been selected! I have been taking lots of pictures of the input switcher, and the fabrication. I will post pics once everything is done. I am taking my time on it, but I should be done within a couple weeks.

Well, just wanted to let everyone know the switch works. Best of luck on the PIE problem.

-RX8J

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

RX8J - Do you have Nav and what is the build date of your car?

Durahl

RandyP... I have a few things in response to your last post. First, I do not use the headphone jack on the iPod, I use the line out on the monster cable power cord. Any headphone jack severely reduces quality because it is optimized to be sent to the mini speakers in headphones, hence the severe attenuation you speak of. Next, there is a difference in our setups since you appear to use the tape hack, while I use the CD player hack. This could result in a very large difference in GLI performance. The theory behind the problem is due to the fact that ground is only a reference and not actually "0 volts." This normally isn't a problem because the entire system is usually connected to the same "ground." When you have something directly wired into the speaker/stereo system (as with our hacks), and then have another ground on the same system (the power cable), you end up with slight differences in voltages between the two grounds which ends up causing the noise in the system. Because of small variations in the tape unit vs the cd unit, and also where in the electrical circuit we wired in, there could be huge differences in output and attenuation. For example, if the wires you spliced into were made to carry 2.5 volts, and the ones I hacked into were made for 3.1 volts, the effect of the ground loop could be drastically different. Anyway, you may already be familiar with all of this, but I just had to take issue with someone indirectly claiming that my setup sounded "worst than a tape deck." I have played CD's right before/after playing the iPod setup, and while they do sound slightly clearer (probably more due to digital audio compression than system setup) I definitely don't have the severe attenuation and high frequency cutout that you seem to suggest. (And yes, I did see your post proving it did happen at least in your setup). As long as we both enjoy our music, we are both successful... I was just trying to help out some of the people who might not know about some of the do-it-yourself options to the aux-in problem.

Durahl

martinl78

Well, add me to the list of people that the approx. $100 cable/adapter set doesn't work more than 30 seconds. EX is on the screen. The only thing that flashes is the number one. While it's doing this you can press the buttons on the radio to make the number go up and down. This is apparently for changing discs if you had an attached changer.

I have the stock cd player and nav. The sound through these cables is great and clear. Bummer that it only lasts for about 30 seconds.

It makes sense that it doesn't work because it's obviously awaiting info from a changer. Seems like PIE could make a version of the adapter to give it what it's looking for to spoof the HU.

Please clue me in if there are any improvements or new discoveries.

(Also, I found that I didn't have to disconnect the battery. The fuse box under the hood has a 30a fuse labeled BTN that seems to cover anything using power with the key switch turned off. Pulling this for 30 seconds and putting it back in successfully reset the clock and erased the stations from the radio.


Thanks.
Martin

thew

bummer did you try spliting your inputs ? like above ?
I am reinstall mine before it goes back and try that if noone else does..

thew

maybe we need to try to send left and right Audio Line level to the c,d,e,f pins on the HU..

Has anyone tried this ?

bobclevenger

My eyes saw "CD" and my brain read "MD".