kafklatsch

My F500Bt had been working fine - My "IDT Mod" made using it super fun. then it happened. I got some type of a box in the upper right corner of the screen - it read "ATT". It would not go away. Mean while my avic would never get passed the "system startup in progress....." screen. I tried every thing. dozens of resets, tried testmode, tried re-installing the pioneer 3.0 upgrade. nothing worked. It was dead ....lets see, out of warranty, hacked, and bypassed, what would pioneer think if I sent it to them - I couldnt, I had to do something. I started searching the forum.. I combined some hard work from several threads and......... bingo!!!....If you have some ability to to this type of thing, read on.... if not, phone a friend.... you could FUBAR it for good.. This a reformat and reinstall process explained......

This thread http://avic411.com/index.php?/topic/22894-f500bt-2006-and-x910bt-my-flash-upgrade-updated-p4/page__view__findpost__p__166895 shows how to get into the service menu. instruction re-pasted here:

To get to the service menu hold the reset button and then hold the Power button for 5-7 seconds (reworded for clarity)

Passcode is MAP,MAP,MENU,Enter (center of joystick),MENU,Enter

*** You MUST have your 2.0, 2.06, or 3.0 (or what have you) installation SD card. DO NOT PLACE IT IN THE UNIT JUST YET. I refer to my 3.0 in this write-up. Be consistent, use the WinCe that goes with that installation version.... do not mix and match ***

NOW, you must prepare an SD card with WINCEIMG.CKS & WINCEIMG.BIN copied to it. I got the WinCE files from my Pioneer 3.0 upgrade disk. You now have your WinCE Card.

Back to the Service Menu

Once in Service Menu the reset button is the only way of navigating. Short pushes move through options. Push and hold for 1/2 second to select an option.

In the service menu, I worked my way to the "reimage WinCe using MCC/SD (format)" option.

Insert the newly created WinCE card. in the service menu, hold the reset button for a 1/2 second to start the process of reformatting your drive and reinstalling WinCE. yep.... clean fresh reformat - those pesky problems are about to be wiped away ...

after this process completes, turn off the unit, put in your install SD card and restart (again, my 3.0 Install SD Card was used - be consistent). It began the process of reinstalling the entire pioneer package again...... 30-45 minutes (refer to the http://avic411.com/index.php?/topic/23656-official-30-update-tutorial/page__view__findpost__p__173824 for the official Forum 3.0 install guide. or use the forum for install instructions for 2.0 or others)

This done, I was back to as good as new.... I reinstalled my "IDT Mod" and I am back in the saddle again. I now feel confident that any crashes or bad hacks can be remedied by using this process.

This basic research is for the Modders or anyone who understands the software proccessing.

so... IDT, DIAFTIA, STAN, ABB, GURJON, others..... please give your take

I went to specific LAt/Lon coordinates for "red light" "speed" and "mobile" camera's. I physically drove through these 3 speedcams several times and got consistent warnings of course.

I took the Speedcam spud file from my avic, converted to text, and opened in Excel. I changed the speed in all 3 cases to 35(mph?). Converted back to spud, copied back to avic.

The speeds at each of the 3 showed my change to 35mph in the red "warning box" pop up, BUT, when I accessed the dialogue box to change the speedcam parameters, none showed the speed as 35mph. One even showed 71mph.... wtf. the warning pop-up and change dialog box do not match....

QUESTION. why did the warning pop reflect my speed change to 35, but the actual "change dialog" show a different speed. this has to be linked to our speedcam issues.......

example..... "SPEED CAMERA - SPEED LIMIT UNKNOWN" when you see the speed right in the warning pop-up

OR.... sometimes failure to give verbal warning etc...

I have done everything including reformating and reinstalling 3.0 from scratch over the last year... deleted history numerous times..tried various MOD's(currently IDT skin#1 V4.9)... the problems with speedcam are the same no matter. I have no issues with understanding and following MOD install instructionss

modder comments ? ? ? others?

Sounds great, but how is the sound quality.

the sound is equal to a standard 128 bitrate mp3 - it is good enough. I use an SD card via usb, so DIVX is out of the question. I am using the f500bt, but the .3GP files should work on all F Series.

congratulations...spend as much time as you can with the grand kid..... we bought shoes for my grandkid and his foot was way bigger than the entire shoe.... growing quick and the time is flyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy'n

little off topic, but does concern the map screen button options.

I tend to adjust my screen brightness regularly, can we have a shortcut to the brightness "1 to 10" scale from the map screen? right now its multiple screens and buttons to get there. then again i may be the only one

i found a way to remove the av source button/album art and the currently playing song on the nav screen, not having the av button on the map screen frees up some space for other things, i currently am working and trying to figure a new layout for the skin#3, what i want to know is how many users actually like having it on the nav screen?

 

also please provide some reasoning if you vote,

 

 

***edited to add another option

was it a .3GP file format?

i recently downloaded YouTubeRobot to download HQ videos instead of streaming them and it converts them to a blackberry format(or should i say a format for my blackberry) that work great, full screen, high res(well high res for a small screen), and it plays smoothly

you need to do a fresh install. follow this link. You will be fine..

http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=29540&p=201098&hilit=death#p201098

I do travel the I10 corrider between houston and neworleans 3 to 4 times a month. let me know if you dont get it

I have a avic-f700bt and i tried to update the firmware and had no success i have come across many diffrent guides and files and dont know whats the right way besides to pay pioneers $120 price for the update.i tried to put the backup files in but its not taking them and honestly i think im just making it worse cause i cant get the test mode to come on any more.can anyone help and we can work sumthin out or sumthing i would like to have the update but the main concern is to get the unit back up and running its been down for about 4 weeks.so if anyone can help it would be much appreciated

My system just does not work anymore.......no matter what I try it keeps cutting off and wont turn back on unless I reset it or restart the car

try this http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=29540

ask questions if it is not clear........ we can bring it back, I now we can

I have tried all kinds of formats with no success. freezups, screen size.... all crappy......

I decided to go from a 16GB SD card down to a 2GB thinking the card size was the issue. the video was still crappy BUT, I happened to have a 10 second video file I made with my blackberry on the sd card. It was a .3GP file. It played perfect. it is not listed in the avic manual, but it is some variation of the MPEG4 which is listed.

I now have movies the fill my screen completely and video that plays without freezes or skips. I encode movies using "DVDFab6" using the "dvd to file" option. I convert to .3GP and use the following custom settings;

Frame Resolution... 720 X 540 (fills the 16:9 screen - could handle some slight tweaking - HELP?!?!?!)

Fixed BitRate....... 650kbps

Split.................. No Split

FrameRate.......... 23.976 (defaulted to this, so i left it... )

Audio BitRate....... 64kbps

Audio Channel...... Dolby Prologic II

Volume.............. 300% (for my installation).

The video is more than good enough, and though it is not as smooth as my home TV, it is very good.

I reposted and editted this due to its importance.

Originally posted at "http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=18103

looks great. I blacked out the pioneer on my unit, and got a vehicle specific splash screen.

enjoy your factory look installation.

this shouldnt be happening. put the gps antenna outside, on the roof if possible and test for a few hours. Just carefully close the wire in a rarely used door or run it thru a window slightly open.

If it does not correct, contact pioneer.

One of my cars has the crazy windshield uv heat rejecting stuff...... My F500BT would barely acquire satellites and when it did acquire, it was inaccurate and intermittent - often dropping signal for minutes at a time. I added an external antenna and the problem is gone.

The fact that you show signals received means it may require calibration or repair ..... my signals ranged from none to 2 or 3 max and the strength was low low before i added the external.

Thanks mate. The manual states installing on the windscreen should be fine?

 

The thing I don't get is even when I'm stationary at an intersection it thinks I'm 20 metres or so back? I always receive excellent satellite signal reception. If the dash was causing some kind of interference i.e delay to receiving the signal wouldn't you think that once stationary it would be fine as the sat signal is constantly being received and updated adjusted? I wouldn't think it has something to do with the mapping as the TomTom using the same supplier.

 

if the dash was causing some kind of distortion would it not affect the number of satellites reported as being received.

 

Cheers...

you do have some options

remember one point. The amplifier is really intended to just amplify the navigation output directions and such. the Music producing capabilities of the units leaves a lot to be desired. You should rely on your base system for that. I use my unit for movies and music, but high fidelity it is not

if you intend to have an indash unit pumping a 1000 watts, the thought of it cutting out 1000 watts to tell you to turn left in 1/4 mile and then full 1000 watts back in...whew...or directions given at a loud enough level to be heard over the 1000 watts....double whew!!! this would of course involve the avic unit and a separate unit.

If your intention is to use the F500BT solely, you will probably not like the audio quality, but you dont have to use the G500 amp. just use the audio out mini jack (stereo) and amplify it as you wish using an amplifier that excepts the Avic 0.5 volt 1kohm Audio output or 0.2 volt 16 ohm headphone output.

also note that most people dont miss their local am/fm until its not there..... F500BT doesnt have a radio

I have been trying all kinds of formats with no success. freezups, screen size.... all crappy......

I decided to go from a 16GB down to a 2GB thinking the card size was the issue. the video was still crappy BUT, I happened to have a 10 second video file I made with my blackberry on the sd card. It was a .3GP file. It played perfect.

I now have movies the fill my screen completely and video that plays without freezes or skips. I encode movies using "DVDFab6" using the "dvd to file" option. I convert to .3GP and use the following custom settings;

Frame Resolution... 720 X 540 (fills the F500BT 16:9 screen - could handle some slight tweaking)

Fixed BitRate....... 650kbps

Split.................. No Split

FrameRate.......... 23.976 (defaulted to this, so i left it... )

Audio BitRate....... 64kbps

Audio Channel...... Dolby Prologic II

Volume.............. 300% (for my installation).

The video is more than good enough, and though it is not as smooth as my home TV, it is very good..

My F500Bt had been working fine - My IDT 3.0 Final Software mod made using it super fun. then it happened. I got some type of a box in the upper right corner of the screen - it read "ATT". It would not go away. Mean while my avic would never get passed the "system startup in progress....." screen. I tried every thing. dozens of resets, tried testmode, tried re-installing the pioneer 3.0 upgrade. nothing worked. It was dead ....lets see, out of warranty, hacked, and bypassed, what would pioneer think if I sent it to them - I couldnt, I had to do something. I started searching the forum.. I combined some hard work from several threads and......... bingo and bingo....If you have some ability to to this type of thing, read on.... if not, phone a friend.... you could FUBAR it for good..

this thread http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25838 shows how to get into the service menu. pasted here:

To get to the service menu hold the reset button and then hold the Power button for 5-7 seconds (reworded for clarity)

Passcode is MAP,MAP,MENU,Enter (center of joystick),MENU,Enter

*** NOW, you MUST have your 2.0, 2.06, or 3.0 (or what have you) installation SD card. I refer to my 3.0 in this write-up. Be consistent, use the WinCe that goes with that installion version.... do not mix and match ***

Once in Service Menu the reset button is the only way of navigating. Short push move through options. Push and hold for 1/2 sec selects option.

In the service menu, I worked my way to the "reimage WinCe using MCC/SD (format)" option.

FIRST, you must prepare an SD card with WINCEIMG.CKS & WINCEIMG.BIN installed on it. I got the WinCE files from my Pioneer 3.0 upgrade disk. insert the newly created WinCE card. in the service menu, hold the reset button for a 1/2 second to start the process of reformatting your drive and reinstalling WinCE. yep.... clean fresh reformat - those pesky problems are about to be wiped away:wink: ...

after this process completes, turn off the unit, put in your install SD card and restart (my 3.0 was used). it began the procces of reinstalling the entire pioneer package again...... 30-45 minutes (refer to the http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=26656&start=0 for the official Forum 3.0 install guide. or use the forum for install instructions for 2.0 or others)

This done, I was back to as good as new.... I reinstalled my IDT3.0Final and i am back in the saddle again. I now feel confident that any crashes or bad hacks can be be remedied by using this process.

I will be looking forward to it! Any ideas about your skin 3?

yeah...... any hints for your next feat of magic.... i cant live without your previous mod...

i had the strangest of incidents..... I purchased a second F500BT.... i wrote down the free activation product code for the MSN direct.... but when i plugged the new unit to my OLD harness the product key changed to display the same number as the old unit (free period ended).....wtf.... both F500 showed the same product key. I called MSN and they said the MSN chip (or whatever) is actually in the cradle or harness.... they did give me my free activation for the second unit..... but the account is within the cradle/harness. as it works no matter which F500 unit i connect to it and neither works on the new cradle...

strange......

I could have sworn that I saw the icon of MSN Direct on my F700 shortly after I upgraded to 3.0, but can't find it anymore...

 

After searching, I've read I can't access MSN Direct on my F700 - is this true? Did I see a ghost? If not, how do I access MSN Direct. I could have sworn it was on the bottom of some screen, just can't remember where.

 

I have searched for this here, but can't find out *how* to access MSN Direct.

 

Cheers!

 

What you might have seen is a temporary glitch in the vBeta variable in iGo. During the boot up process, the Navi reads what board it is based off some resistor values on the board, if that value gets mis-read it might accidentally set itself to the value used by the F90/F900BT. If that happens and vBeta gets set wrong, the menu with the MSN button on it might get selected for display (the menus for all models are inside the data.zip, it just depends on a variable to select which one to show).

 

Technically, the F700BT should not have the MSN Tuner chip or the chip that holds the MSN firmware installed on its Navi board for cost savings, but you never know...

- LOL - IDT take the much needed rest and go into Ignore mode...

LOL..... yeah.... he should do that one second after he releases anything.... just ignore and get rest after the hours of hard work.....makes since right..

........ amazing ......LOL

EDIT ***** just put my money where my mouth is..again .... thanks J - merry christmas - step up guys *****

WOW,

Here we go again. If you write code and you want to write it for only smart people, i dont know where that internet site is. You will recieve dumb questions.... dont accept PM's if it bothers you. As far as the dumb questions - just have a standard reply to them. IDT you can not expect all questions to be enlightening in cyberspace (and forums). Do you have a suggestion for what one should do if they have a queston and do not see an answer - when the question is later deemed to be stupid? how does the poor guy know its about to leave his lips.... err fingertips?

I suspect that part of your frustration, is the hard work for "beer money"..... whats that $5-10 dollars??..... come on people, this mod is fantastic and worth more than a beer. i have paid twice and have just talked myself into paying again for the latest mod. I doubt IDT will admit or agree with the lack of "volunteer" funds for the many hours of hard work. I have two AVICs, one modded and one factory 3.0.... night and day and worth paying for.

But Julius, I still wont let you off the hook on the questions..... comes with the territory.... you wrote it, and a reasonable person would not "cut off" support after a few months...none of us are perfect which includes IDT3.0Final ............buck up!!!

i'm calling it quits, too many things going on right now and too many people PM'ing me with stupid questions, READ THE HOW TO, i don't need this right now, i'm pulling my mod til i clear up my head and get back on my feet,

very exciting future. Wonderful.

But i wanna know something, where can you use wifi internet? in my country it is possible just for home or maybe some hotels or some shopping centers. In your country wifi internet connection can be found everywhere? For example roads?

i will order this SDW-821 card from USA. In which internet site can i find it cheaper?

I have used my cellphone as a modem and driven hundreds of miles with the internet connection. But i had no navigation or anything "pioneer" during that time. we just need some of the great minds out there to get them simultaneously (navi and web), or at least be able to browse and not leave the pioneer environment

bump...... this one aint over just yet...... any further progress?... can we browse while pioneers navi software is running?

yeah........ google maps works with almost all current windows platforms. I am aware of it functionng in CE. In windows mobile the google map software is pretty common (cellphones)

 

Miotoo, thank you for this endeavor.. actually this thread should be jump'n

 

Will WinCE allow use of Google maps software and access the GPS feed.... inother words, can we display google maps with gps position...... fingers crossed........the thought of google in satellite view on my avic is so awesome.......please say yes - please say yes........

 

I doubt google maps as the windows mobile application it is today, will be able to run on our devices but I'll be happy to stand corrected!

i will post EU and MSN version as soon as someone has confirmed that the signpost and camera are all working as they should

 

.

has this happened yet?

...no MSN version posted, so I havent tried the 3.0v4 BETA yet.... need IDT 3.0v4 MSN.zip ....

k

Kafklatch on this thread did however manage to get his mobile phone to act as a hotspot, connecting the avic using sdio wifi.

Yeah....... I have maintained a pretty steady and highspeed connection on a jaunt from houston to New Orleans. I did suffer some reboots which I cant explain along the way.

I happened to catch a bug as it happened. While viewing the traffic flow screen, it went blank (lost its feed from msn?) I checked the status of msn and it stated 'failed'. I am in houston so my msn feed is very strong. Any fixes for this bug ?

I was confident that this would happen. Please keep it up guys. I wish I could contribute help. I will contribute $ for the hours of hard work if we can get internet while in the the pioneer invironment.

Question, will wince allow drivers that could run a keyboard via usb on our AVIC's?