DAB in the NSX?

[WhyOne?]

I have a USA-Spec iPod adaptor on order to upgrade the cd side of the stock ICE equipment.

My mind has now turned to the radio.

I do not want to change the appearance of the interior of Y1, so the stock head unit stays, quaint cassette player and all.

I have been very impressed with the Pure Digital radio we use in the kitchen, and happened across this the other evening:

http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/uan/1789

As I rarely change radio station when driving, my cunning plan would be to accommodate the control unit in the centre console (rather than stuck to the windscreen), with the power 'hardwired' rather than running from the cigarette lighter (I hate trailing wires with a passion!) and the antennae, hopefully, discretely tucked somewhere in the rear window trim.

Can anyone see any fatal flaws in this idea?

[simonprelude]

Do you have any issues with the current Radio via the head unit or are you after some Digital only channels, I never found any issues with the radio, or even CD player in P27.

[WhyOne?]

The autochanger is fine, I just want the convenience of having access to a wider range of music.

As for the radio I like listening to 5 Live (mw and therefore very low fi), Talksport & Planet Rock (both digital only).

None of this is essential by any means - more often than not I drive the nsx with the ice turned off! But for the sake of £60 and a bit of fiddling about, it seemed a reasonable solution?

[howellr]

If you have bought one of the latest USA-Spec iPod adaptors then it comes with both ipod interface and mp3 interface. you could plug the DAB into the mp3 connection then you wouln't have to rely on the sometimes dubious quality of the FM modulator connection.
Rod

[AR]

Planet Rock

Great station, I crank it up when doing housework LOL!

[WhyOne?]

Great tip Rod! I ordered the adaptor from SoS last week so assume & hope that it will be the latest version.

Ary, I know we have never met but I still struggle with the mental image of you, marigolds on, doing the housework! You are right however - it is a great station. I particularly enjoy listening to Rick Wakeman - he is properly funny!

[markc]

Great station, I crank it up when doing housework LOL!


Ary, I know we have never met but I still struggle with the mental image of you, marigolds on, doing the housework!

Anyone else picturing Freddie Mercury... "I want to break free" :)

[Senninha]

Anyone else picturing Freddie Mercury... "I want to break free" :)

I think Ary is more the Brian May character :laugh:

[markc]

Ian,

I bought one of these (see link) similar Revo devices a while back but never got around to fitting it... http://www.radio-now.co.uk/revo_in-car_dab_digital_car_radio.htm
The Revo got horrible reviews so I'm glad it was cheap, £29 (Brand New and boxed) from Halfords in one of their clearance cabinets. In fact you pay more than that for a proper DAB aeriel, which it came with, so it was steal really.

I use an older JVC DAB headunit in the Citroen and even with a proper external (glass mounted) aerial the performance is poor. I have a newer portable "Roberts" DAB radio which works pretty well.

Anyhow my car based devices are both early DAB models so hopefully the Pure Highway is better.

The stick on windscreen mount aerials are a) not the best for reception and b) can look a little unsightly. Your idea of mounting on the aerial on the rear window could work well but they can't be too close to metal door pillars etc or reception suffers, so a full stealth aerial install might not work.

Combined with the USA-Spec adapter, and if you can get decent reception, this should be good :)

This idea still appeals to me as I like to listen to Talksport which although still a narrow bandwidth signal is MILES better than the AM alternative.

Apart from Talksport, I like Galaxy and Kiss. As a dance music boy I don't go anywhere near Planet Rock!

Cheers

Mark

[AR]

Marigolds LOL only mob enfoircers wear those and only in bad B Films.

[markc]

Marigolds LOL only mob enfoircers wear those and only in bad B Films.

Wasn't Winston Wolfe (Harvey Keitel) a "cleaner" in Pulp Fiction... didn't need marigolds as he got everyone else to do the actual cleaning. Drove a silver NSX tho' :)

[TheSebringOne]

Mark, I'm a Galaxy boy too, although I like all types of music.

The Wolf was the coolest Mr Fix It in the business, so was the colour of his NSX! ;)

[markc]

The Wolf was the coolest Mr Fix It in the business, so was the colour of his NSX! ;)

Nah, if he drove an IOP he'd have been there in nine :)

[Nick Graves]

Planet Rock/Rick Wakeman fan here! Like his comedy club, too.

DAB's a problem with the 'Lude because the twig is in the rear window. In marginal-reception areas, you need an external twig on a horizontal steel plane (to form a dipole) like the DAB units in the Civic & S2000. The Civic's JVC works fine with a converter box on its stock aerial, whereas internal stick-on twigs are no use here!

I replaced the S2000's powered beesting for its Sony with a powered multipurpose one.

I have heard of someone with a Mini whose installer mounted the twig horizontally behind the rear bumper, mounted on a vertical steel plate and apparently that worked fine.

I'm minded to try that on the 'Lude and I would suggest that it's probably the best solution for the NSX.

Just haven't got my arse into gear yet...

[WhyOne?]

I now have all the appropriate 'boxes' (USA-Spec adaptor (with aux. in for the DAB), Pure Highway DAB receiver, 2nd hand iPod Nano).

I intend to install everything in the centre console, hooking the adaptor into the OEM head unit via the plug behind the passenger seat.

I would be very grateful for any help / advice on a couple of issues please?

1/ Where is the safest / easiest place to pick-up power for the DAB reciever in this area of the car? It is designed to plug into the cigarette lighter socket, but I dont want wires trailing about the car. It must draw a tiny amount of current as it will run for hours on 2 AA batteries or USB via a mini USB port.

2/ Now easy will it be to feed the DAB aerial from the cabin to the rear hatch / engine bay? Subject to some testing to ensure the engine doesnt cause interference, I am hoping to mount the aerial beneath the black coloured glass border so it will be invisible from the outside. Will it be possible to feed the wire through the channel used for power to the heated rear screen for example?

Many thanks in advance for your advice.

Ian
:)

[WhyOne?]

I have been thinking (always dangerous!) about the 'where to get power for the DAB reciever' question.......the USA-Spec adaptor comes with the conector wire & plugs shown in the photo below.

The squarish blue plug is redundant in my set up......will the approriate power be carried in any of the multitude of wires running into this plug? If so, how do I identify them please?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Hi, Ian.

As I don’t have the Pure Highway DAB, please check the input voltage spec for the aux power or you can check inside of the cigarette socket power cable came with it.

For some of the devices, there is a voltage regulator inside the cigarette socket cable so you need to check the aux power voltage spec of your DAB.

Obviously, the power at the NSX CD changer cable is at the battery voltage so you need to be careful not to cook your brand new DAB.


You will find the pinouts and cable colour for the Acura/Honda CD Changer Blue connector (not for our NSX) as well as for the 8 pin DIN connector (for NSX) on the web including Prime Wiki but sometimes, you could misunderstand the diagram by looking at the connector from the wrong direction.

So, I think the best method is to try connecting the cable inside the boot and check the voltage on the pins at the blue connector with the multi meter.
This is also very useful to test all of your components before installing them into their permanent location.

I have old USA Spec PA11-HON iPod adaptor with previous version of loom (without the blue connector) so I can only presume from the photo in your post that the connector with the red tape/cap is the 8 pin DIN connector with some of the wires connected in parallel to the Blue connector. The 8 pin DIN is the one for the NSX CD Changer cable and the Blue one is for other Acura/Honda models.
The Black connector at the bottom of your photo goes to the USA Spec PA11-HON.

For UK NSX 2001 model, I believe OEM Alpine CD Changer was still an optional accessory and the CD Changer cables were pre-installed from the factory.
You can access the 8 pin DIN connector at both right and left side of the boot. It is the thick Blue round shape cable. If you already have OEM CD Changer inside the boot, you can easily find it.

After connecting the Red taped connector to the factory pre-installed CD changer cable, check the voltage of each pins at the Blue connector of your USA Spec loom while keeping the IGN SW in OFF position. You may find pin(s) with the battery voltage so please make a note of the pin location(s) and the colour of the cable(s). You don’t want to use this(these) for the power supply to your DAB even it draws only tiny amount of current.

Now please change the IGN SW into ACC position. The pin with the battery voltage only under this condition (IGN SW in ACC) would be best for the source of the power for your DAB. You may need to switch ON the OEM head unit before carrying out the above test as the CD Changer cable is plugged into the back of the head unit.

Carefully check the continuity to the GND level of the pins at the Blue connector. This will become the connection point for the negative side of the power cable to the DAB. I would recommend using voltage mode first for this test in order to avoid any short circuit. You should see 0.000V.

Not sure about the performance of these flat aerial for DAB frequencies attached to the glass as they don’t have any round big GND plain but you should be able to pass the cable through one of the existing grommet around the firewall. Just make sure to seal the entrance to prevent any moisture/noise getting inside the cabin.


Regards,
Kaz

[WhyOne?]

Wow!

That is brilliant and incredibly helpful Kaz - thank-you!

Looking at the Highway DAB specs, it says "In-car power supply: 12-24V DC to 5V DC (0.5A) mini USB power adapter. Input fuse rating T1AL (user-replaceable)."

Now whether that means that as you suggest there is a voltage regulator in the cig. socket or not, I am unsure......but it does look a little like it to me?

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

I just looked at the spec of Pure Highway DAB and as you mentioned, it is using the mini USB and very likely to have voltage regulator inside the cig. power plug. Also, the fuse is inside there.

So, if you are planning to source the power (12V) from the USA Spec Blue connector, you'll need to decide how to connect the power plug (or the fuse and the voltage regulator) to it.


The easiest thing is to get an aftermarket cig. socket and connect it to the cables at the USA Spec Blue connector so that you can insert the DAB’s cig. power plug without any modification. You should have enough space at the back of the interior panel behind the passenger seat or inside the centre speaker panel.

If you want to be creative and save some space, you can disassemble the cig. power plug and somehow connect the fuse and voltage regulator directly to the wires at the Blue connector.
Or, you can design your own circuit board and connect it to the Blue connector to create fused 5V power supply with mini USB connector at the end.

As mentioned previously, please try your method using the DIN connector inside the boot before installing them at their permanent location.

Good luck.


Regards,
Kaz

[WhyOne?]

Thanks Kaz.

I will indeed hook everything together in the boot 1st.

I have a spare cig. socket in the garage, so I think I will take the simple path, I am sure I will find somewhere behind the interior panel(s) to stow this slightly blulky conection.

Have a great New Year!

:)

[Problem Child]

I presume you have now finished this project so I'd be interested to see how the centre consloe looks with al your new gizmos