ozdude Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 Hi guys, I'm in the market for an AVIC here in Australia. However, since I've learned the HD3 version we have here is priced at an outlandish RRP of $A3800($US3400), I naturally started to think about ways around it. Knowing the units are based on the same platform, has anyone tried to swap out the drive in a Z2 and replace it with another drive with an image of HD3(any version)? I can easily get a hold of the HD3 drive from a friends unit and clone it. This would save me just under $2k, so obviously well worth the exercise if it's at all possible. Heck, I'd even consider buying a refurb unit cheap on ebay just to test theory myself if no one knows for sure. I can always re-sell it if it doesn't work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
soundfx Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 well in theory, if you can get your friends HD3 and remove and unlock the HDD without erasing the data, then you can clone the image and put it into your own new drive. and just install it into the new avic. But since I have never seen your HD3 version, it's just a theory. If you want to play around with it, go for it... and let us know how you did. Cheers from Canada :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MPS Posted October 18, 2007 Report Share Posted October 18, 2007 post the image ill try it here save you money and time Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ozdude Posted October 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 post the image ill try it here save you money and time Great idea, thanks. How big is the image from an AVIC approx? Also being as I would have just cloned the image with something like HDClone, what is the best way to create an image instead? Norton Ghost? We'll focus on getting the drive unlocked at this end and then take it from there. Can anyone suggest an easy place to upload an image to also? EDIT: I have another idea which should prove the same thing more or less. I'll take the Z2 drive image and load it on a fresh drive and see if it works in the HD3. That would save several steps and pretty much prove compatibility. Next thing, the one thread that talks about the image mentions a possible image on usenet, but I can't find the group any more. I use usenet every day so that would be a piece of cake and the easiest method to get the image. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MPS Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 lol yaa that can work also Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ozdude Posted October 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Ok seems the FTP version of the Z2 image will do just fine. I'm going to get cracking on it later today and hopefully we can try it over the weekend. Here goes nothing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jwq Posted October 19, 2007 Report Share Posted October 19, 2007 Ok seems the FTP version of the Z2 image will do just fine. I'm going to get cracking on it later today and hopefully we can try it over the weekend. Here goes nothing! Problem is of course that the radio part of the HD3 is completely different from the Z2, whilst you will probably also have problems with regional codes for the DVD.... re. the map database, I don't know in howfar they are compatible... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ozdude Posted October 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Ok seems the FTP version of the Z2 image will do just fine. I'm going to get cracking on it later today and hopefully we can try it over the weekend. Here goes nothing! Problem is of course that the radio part of the HD3 is completely different from the Z2, whilst you will probably also have problems with regional codes for the DVD.... re. the map database, I don't know in howfar they are compatible... Having used a lot of US headunits here over the years, what are the differences in the radio part going to do? I have had a few people tell me that US heads have different tuners in them. However, in operation I've never had an issue going back as far as 15 years with using them here. Perhaps its more of an issue in Europe. I was under the impression that region coding was hackable with the AVICs. For general DVD playback, which I nearly never use and less so as I'm actively replacing my library with High Def discs, it's not a huge issue. In fact with my previous car's factory DVD player locked to region 4, I ended up rarely using it because I had a lot of region 1 discs. Anyway, I should have the image set up on a drive to test in the next day or so. That should establish whether we can go any further or not. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jwq Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 Ok seems the FTP version of the Z2 image will do just fine. I'm going to get cracking on it later today and hopefully we can try it over the weekend. Here goes nothing! Problem is of course that the radio part of the HD3 is completely different from the Z2, whilst you will probably also have problems with regional codes for the DVD.... re. the map database, I don't know in howfar they are compatible... Having used a lot of US headunits here over the years, what are the differences in the radio part going to do? I have had a few people tell me that US heads have different tuners in them. However, in operation I've never had an issue going back as far as 15 years with using them here. Perhaps its more of an issue in Europe. I was under the impression that region coding was hackable with the AVICs. For general DVD playback, which I nearly never use and less so as I'm actively replacing my library with High Def discs, it's not a huge issue. In fact with my previous car's factory DVD player locked to region 4, I ended up rarely using it because I had a lot of region 1 discs. Anyway, I should have the image set up on a drive to test in the next day or so. That should establish whether we can go any further or not. Major difference in the radio part is that the European versions (HD1/HD3) have a different frequency grid, whilst the FM radio is also equiped with RDS and text, which also supply the TMC signal for the traffic info... in other words, the tuner is completely different and I would not be surprised if the Z2 software can't handle the radio part of the European unit... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ozdude Posted October 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Ok seems the FTP version of the Z2 image will do just fine. I'm going to get cracking on it later today and hopefully we can try it over the weekend. Here goes nothing! Problem is of course that the radio part of the HD3 is completely different from the Z2, whilst you will probably also have problems with regional codes for the DVD.... re. the map database, I don't know in howfar they are compatible... Having used a lot of US headunits here over the years, what are the differences in the radio part going to do? I have had a few people tell me that US heads have different tuners in them. However, in operation I've never had an issue going back as far as 15 years with using them here. Perhaps its more of an issue in Europe. I was under the impression that region coding was hackable with the AVICs. For general DVD playback, which I nearly never use and less so as I'm actively replacing my library with High Def discs, it's not a huge issue. In fact with my previous car's factory DVD player locked to region 4, I ended up rarely using it because I had a lot of region 1 discs. Anyway, I should have the image set up on a drive to test in the next day or so. That should establish whether we can go any further or not. Major difference in the radio part is that the European versions (HD1/HD2) have a different frequency grid, whilst the FM radio is also equiped with RDS and text, which also supply the TMC signal for the traffic info... in other words, the tuner is completely different and I would not be surprised if the Z2 software can't handle the radio part of the European unit... Yeah, that makes sense with the euro unit. However, the HD3 has none of that stuff here as our radio is basic as anything, lucky if a handful of the metropolitan stations have RDS solely for call sign purposes and that's it. The frequencies we have here are also a carbon copy of the US. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fadar Posted January 29, 2008 Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hey ozdude, how did you go with your test. I'm also in Australia and was looking to do the exact same thing. Did you manage to load a HD3 image in a Z2? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ozdude Posted January 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hey ozdude, how did you go with your test. I'm also in Australia and was looking to do the exact same thing. Did you manage to load a HD3 image in a Z2? Sorry for the lack of reply. Short answer is yes. It will work, but I need to finalise which files need replacing. I can boot the Aus image on the Z2 but I lose button labels for some strange reason. So I tried copying some directories from the US to the AUS image and found that's what needs to be done. This was before xmas, then I got busy. I'm on the verge of starting again and reckon I should have it done quickly as I can now set it up at home instead of taking time out my day at my friends shop to do it, which wasn't convenient. Will have an update in the next few days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NextLevelco Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Curious how this works out. hd3 has bluetooth built in, do you have the bluetooth for your z? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ozdude Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Curious how this works out. hd3 has bluetooth built in, do you have the bluetooth for your z? Good news I finally got stuck back into 2 nights ago and it seems like I've succeeded. In the end I simply overwrote the HD3 map files folder on to the Z2 and bingo, Australian maps. I just have to take it down to my friends shop and make sure everything else is working as it seems to be. So in the end it seems all we need is about 1.5gig worth maps, unsurprisingly a far smaller amount of data than the U.S. maps hold! I bought the bluetooth adapter online for the Z2 cheaply from the U.S. as well. The commonly available Pioneer unit available here is the same, just a bit more expensive(unsurprisingly). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmarcospga Posted August 31, 2008 Report Share Posted August 31, 2008 I have the same problem here! I live in Brazil and I bought a Z2 during my last trip to the US... I have TeleAtlas Brazilian map that worked fine with Avic D3 - What are the odds of installing them into a Z2 unit and having them working properly? Based on your thread OZDUDE it is perfectly possible, right? Could you give further details about your experience? One question to you and/or those who had to opportunity to gain access to the original HDD: can you see all directories and files on your Windows file explorer when you connect the HD to your computer? Also base on your thread it seems so, but which is/are the map directories and file names on Z2? There is a file explorer to Automobile Win CE that when used in D#, you just select the map file and execute it without any problem... Anyone who could help on this? Tks, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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