I'm just curious, but has anybody opened up their F-series unit to examine the internal components? Since the F-series is a Windows CE embedded device, I would assume that it implements a mobile processor and RAM to operate. Does anybody know if any of this hardware is upgradeable?

Furthermore, does anybody know if anything can be done hardware-wise to speed up the unit or make it more efficient (better fan (40mm?), heatsinks, etc.)? Any input would be great, I will do just about anything to make this thing run more efficiently.

Also, is it possible to replace the mic that came with the F-series with the Garmin one that's used with the 600-series Nuvi's?

It would be a fair bet to say that some of the components could be swapped out for others... maybe with off the shelf parts or with harder to find specialty stuff. But I'm not really into voiding my warranty on a $1000 piece of equipment to find out.

Yeah, the warranty would be the number one concern. Any modifications to the hardware would have to be easily swappable in case the unit needs to be serviced. I don't think some of the smaller things would void the warranty (e.g. replacing the stock fan with a higher CFM fan).

Sometimes just cracking the case and pulling a board leaves traces that void the warranty. I'd tread carefully if you care about that.

On the other hand if you want to go exploring be sure to post your findings.

Yeah, the warranty would be the number one concern. Any modifications to the hardware would have to be easily swappable in case the unit needs to be serviced. I don't think some of the smaller things would void the warranty (e.g. replacing the stock fan with a higher CFM fan).

with the xbox 360 it has a sticker between the seams to open and if that sticker is altered or cut they wont honor the warranty. just something to keep in mind. if the slow startup time is worth losing the warranty thats upto u. like others have said in the past, it also takes me a couple minutes to get situated before i leave in the morning, so its just a minor inconvenience IMO.

yeah same here...i usually remote start my car as im walking out of my apt. i live on the 3rd floor, so i remote start it, walk down the stairs, over to the car, get situated and im sure by then the unit will be done booting up and functioning.

i normally remote start my car so it has some time to get the oil flowing and warmed up by the time i reach it. so im not worried about the start up time.

Regarding boot up time.

I can actually wait a minute + to hear music. What concerns me is, if I add a backup camera, does that mean you don't get an image until full boot up?

If so, that pretty much renders the camera useless, since vehicle start up is when you need it.

What are people's experience with boot up time vs. time to back up camera image on?

Sorry pwnin, don't mean to hijack your thread, this seems relevant though.

Regarding boot up time.

 

I can actually wait a minute + to hear music. What concerns me is, if I add a backup camera, does that mean you don't get an image until full boot up?

 

If so, that pretty much renders the camera useless, since vehicle start up is when you need it.

 

What are people's experience with boot up time vs. time to back up camera image on?

 

Sorry pwnin, don't mean to hijack your thread, this seems relevant though.

That's been discussed in some other threads, do a search...as far5 boot up time, it doesn't bother me because I have a XM Xpress RC connected to the AV1 output, and it plays immediately on startup. It also gives me volume right away so I have what I need if I'm listening to XM.

so what if its been brought up, numerous people asked about the fw update hundreds of times, no one was ever told to do a search. dont tell him off jus cuz his issue isnt of your concern

anyways even if it wont show while its still booting up it can still be used for parallel parking if that need ever comes

Highly unlikely. I would bet money the RAM and processor are soldered to the motherboard like every other CE-based car navigation unit from Pioneer and just about every other manufacturer.

If the flash memory is on SD, you could possibly try a faster SD card. I have no experience with the F-series to know whether the internal flash is SD or not. Knowing how much Pioneer likes proprietary interfaces, I'm guessing that's unlikely as well.

I would bet money the RAM and processor are soldered to the motherboard like every other CE-based car navigation unit from Pioneer and just about every other manufacturer.quote]

 

Ditto...

 

 

I can see the backup camera being pointless since u the bootup time....But who knows, there might be some hack to speed up the startup or another firmware update (in the distant future) to help the issue out.

Yeah, the memory and processor are most definitely soldered to the board, rendering them non-replaceable (while under warranty, at least). Also, CatchMeIfYouCan631's comment about the sticker is something I wouldn't want to chance.

My next question is, will the warranty be voided if third party software is loaded onto the unit? Is there any possible way to allocate more memory using the on-board flash memory? I'm not very familiar with Windows CE and I didn't get much time to play with it on the unit during the firmware upgrade.

so what if its been brought up, numerous people asked about the fw update hundreds of times, no one was ever told to do a search. dont tell him off jus cuz his issue isnt of your concern

 

anyways even if it wont show while its still booting up it can still be used for parallel parking if that need ever comes

I didn't tell him off, I said try a search. The backup camera stuff is unrelated at all to the thread and that info and much more about it is in a few other camera specific threads, no need to rehash all the same info that's all. And who are you tell me anything anyway?

Yeah, the memory and processor are most definitely soldered to the board, rendering them non-replaceable (while under warranty, at least). Also, CatchMeIfYouCan631's comment about the sticker is something I wouldn't want to chance.

 

My next question is, will the warranty be voided if third party software is loaded onto the unit? Is there any possible way to allocate more memory using the on-board flash memory? I'm not very familiar with Windows CE and I didn't get much time to play with it on the unit during the firmware upgrade.

Did you actually take it apart? If so, did you make note of the part # on the CPU? I've been curious if it's some kind of ARM processor.

Messing with the firmware would void the warranty, if they found out.

If it's anything like the Z-series, you can't load 3rd party software onto it because the necessary libraries for the standard Windows CE GUI are missing. On the other hand, a screenshot I saw of an error message appears to be a standard CE error dialog so maybe the F-series has all the GUI libraries intact. To load 3rd party apps, you'd need to install a program launcher like CE Explorer and find a way to get the kernel to load that instead of the default control program.

Did you actually take it apart? If so, did you make note of the part # on the CPU? I've been curious if it's some kind of ARM processor.

It is an ARM. You can find the CPU model from the system control panel in "test mode".

As for now, since it's all locked down behind a ROM-area you can't change anything... just copy & view what's on the filesystem. See the hacking forum for more info.

so what if its been brought up, numerous people asked about the fw update hundreds of times, no one was ever told to do a search. dont tell him off jus cuz his issue isnt of your concern

 

anyways even if it wont show while its still booting up it can still be used for parallel parking if that need ever comes

 

I didn't tell him off, I said try a search. The backup camera stuff is unrelated at all to the thread and that info and much more about it is in a few other camera specific threads, no need to rehash all the same info that's all. And who are you tell me anything anyway?

it is related if hes worried about his camera because of the boot up time which is the reason this thread was made. to upgrade the hardware and make it faster. im sorry for comin off a lil harsh like that, bad day, i jus felt his question couldve been answered rather than been told to just do a search.