I'm the quick study type; I have been that with many things for a long time. The downside about being a quick study is I can figure out many complex things quickly, but rack up a slew of--largely--remedial and some complex questions that google fails me (unless I spend 30 min to figure out each yes or no question like, say, if the x series uses the same software as the f series)

So I'm making this thread for 'noobs' ask quid-quo-pro tempo questions. And having read about 400 pages and watched 20 youtube videos in the last ten days I can lead with a slew of questions You'll surely see my contributing in other threads as I get a grip. promise (don't hurt me)

Please wantonly and quickly ask that question that is bugging you here! (the one you were afraid to ask in fear of being scorn)

My first random wantonly asked question that could blow up in my face is:

Using the USB connection on the F900BT, how many MP3s can the unit read before getting sluggish? Based on similar situations in the past I know the sluggishness is caused by the count of mp3s not the space usage. For example, 100 MP3s that have a file size of 20 megs loads up just as fast as 100 MP3s that have a file size of 3 megs. The number of MP3s make the 'list' longer that the F900BT has to load up. The longer the list the bigger the lag until the lag makes the stereo unusable.

Do we know about how many mp3s can be on a USB stick (or portable HD) without bogging the unit down?

Eye-Fi is a special SD card that has wifi. It is made for digital cameras. It automatically connects to your network and uploads the pictures from your camera to a computer on your network when in range.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye-Fi

I'm looking for something that does the same thing, but in reverse: something that grabs mp3s from a folder on your network and downloads them to the card. One of these would let me drop MP3s in a folder from home using a laptop, and watch them show up on the sd card in my pioneer.

Eye-Fi doesn't make one that works in reverse. The solution doesn't have to be a small sd card. A device that did the same thing and could be hooked up to the pioneer's usb cable would be even better.

Anyone know of such a device?

get the hell out of my thread. I've probably done more searches and helped more people on the net in 1995 then you've done in your life.

You are exactly what this thread is not about. I don't need to know you.

Here's what I do know.

I hooked my girlfriend up with a pioneer deh-7900bt stereo 2 years ago. It has bluetooth and was usb ready. I coughed up $100 for the usb box. I found an external notebook drive that had a low enough power consumption requirement to run straight off the USB cable (which isn't as common as it sounds). I think it was a 120 gig. Then I learned the USB boxs limit was 80 gigs(??) something like that. No problem, the 120 gig still worked, I didn't mind losing the space. Next, I learned a relatively low mp3 count caused the stereo to lag horribibly.. taking several minutes just to load up all the mp3 names into a list (can't remember what the reasonable mp3 count limit was).

So I thought, at least I can zip up 100 mp3s in to archives, and the unit would just ignore them, yet not slow down. Then I could just drag the notebook drive to a PC and unarc a zip as needed, but still keep my collection organized on the harddrive. That worked.

So, I think the same thing can be done with the F-series, but better: I won't have to drag the laptop drive to a pc, I can just unzip a part of my collection as needed with the stereo without going anywhere.

I'll have to go back and look which brand notebook drive worked on the deh7900bt and see if it works with the f90bt I plan to get. I believe it was simpletech. and I can tell you the seagate notebook drive i tried did NOT work, and the maxtor onetouch(?) did NOT work. Those two required slightly too much power from the usb cable. They struggled to power up and the 7900bt did not recognize them ever. This info was true 1.5 to 2 years ago. It could be different now, but I'm guessing it is not.

Yo, I just caved and ordered a refurb f90bt for $492 complete. That's as far as I could take my Ferengi magic on this one, not far.

I've been trying to figure out what is in the box. The pictures usually show the unit, the gps module, and sometimes the speed wire, handbrake wire, and/or rca type harness.

So.. I plan to hook this thing up without an amp for now. It would be correct to buy a harness on ebay for the standard installation, yeah? The standard installation harness is not in the box, right? or does the one in the box with rca outs also have the other wiring?

A quick answer would help me order fast if needed so I don't wait again when it gets here.

thanks, i hope

or does the one in the box with rca outs also have the other wiring?

 

A quick answer would help me order fast if needed so I don't wait again when it gets here.

 

thanks, i hope

What other wiring are you referring to. The unit should have all the wiring to install the unit minus the vehicle specific harness. That you can get just about anywhere.

I just ordered the scion xb harness after I made the post.

(I'm not using amp for now, or the corisponding rca cables) Where are the wires that power the speakers directly* when doing a standard installation? Are these wires located on the power harness included in the f90bt box?

*through the scion harness of course

I just got a Blackberry Tour. People on the other end of the phone call when I'm using the Bluetooth on my F700BT tell me I sound like I'm far away in a cave. After endless searching on the crackberry forums, it seems that the Outgoing audio on the Bluetooth software is low.

Here is my question. Is it possible to increase outgoing audio on the F700BT?

Thank you, overlord masters, for not smiting me with your baseball bats of doom.

Someone please verify this is correct:

to do the softmod I have to still ground the brake wire, but not the mute wire. I do not have to run the brake wire to the emergency break, I just ground it behind the stereo.

Is this correct? Please validate. I came to this conclusion after pages and pages of reading.

Also, somewhere in my readings it said the speed wire helped the gps unit stay accurate, is this correct?

Also,

In a review at amazon.com someone wrote:

Great System (Once it is installed properly), December 14, 2008

By J. Huften (Pasadena, MD United States) - See all my reviews

I purchased this for our 2005 Honda Odyssey. Crutchfield did not have the

mounting kit so I ordered it from another company. I also purchased the

PAC SWI-PS for the steering wheel buttons. When I tried installing it myself

I had an annoying hiss coming from the speakers. Also, the computer voice

was very scratchy. I called Crutchfield and they sent me a noise filter. I

wasn't sure that was the problem so I checked some forums, avic411.com,

and found that someone else had the same problem and they installed a

PAC OEM-2. The problem stemmed from my factory amp putting off too

much voltage and this PAC OEM-2 allows you to lower the amount of volts

that go into the speakers (or something like that). I ordered one from

Crutchfield. I then paid someone to install it. He did an excellent job. He is

in Baltimore (12 Voltz is the name of his company) and is very reasonably priced. Crutchfield is definitely

a top notch company. They helped me as much as they could through my

first atept at installing this stereo. I literally called them about 15 times.

For the price, this stereo has everything that you want. The sound is

excellent and the navigation works great. So if you have a factory amp and

you are having a hiss (soft shushing noise) from your speakers definitely

order the PAC OEM-2 with this stereo.

product says:

The PAC OEM-2 is a universal sound system interface and controller which can be used for a variety of purposes:

connecting an aftermarket radio to a common-ground speaker system;

converting a factory radio's speaker-level outputs to preamp-level signal that can be connected to aftermarket amplifiers;

adding aftermarket amplifiers to factory premium systems (Bose, JBL, etc.);

connecting an aftermarket radio to a factory amplifier.

The unit has independent level controls for each of its 4 channels, so you can adjust output for any amplifier. It also features remote turn-on outputs for amps and power antennas.

Details:

4-channel input and output wiring

power, switched power, illumination, remote turn-on, and ground connections

input power range: 2 to 60 watts RMS

frequency response 20-20,000 Hz

1-year warranty

I'll figure out this later.I plan to put in the steering wheel adapter.

(note: part of the reason i'm posting this is so I can refer to it later and know where it is)

notable old thread:

https://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12167