greynolds
SILVER Star
iPod adapter installed DIY (DICE unit) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jditom
- Start date
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sleeoffroad
Supporting Vendor
It is made from the Toyota cubby and a Ipod connector and some good fabrication by the stereo shop.
greynolds
SILVER Star
After using it for a few days, my results in using the DICE unit have been kind of a mixed bag so far. Sound always comes through and sounds great - definitely an improvement over using the tape adapter. However, the "steering wheel" controls and text display haven't been working very well. The controls and text display worked ok initially, but I've completely lost them for the last couple of days. The text display currently just displays the name of the last track that it had gotten and the controls are non functional - I can still use the iPod to do whatever I want though. I've reset the iPod several times with no change.
A few things I wish that it would do:
1) When in PLAYLIST mode (Disc2), display the name of the current playlist: PLAYLIST * playlistname.
2) When in ALBUM mode (Disc3), display the name of the current album: ALBUM * albumname.
Overall though (when it's working) it's a pretty workable user interface given that the Nav/Radio system wasn't really designed with iPod control in mind.
My LX was dropped off at the dealer on the way home from work for the 15k service (it just rolled to 15k on the nose as I drove into the dealer), but my next step is to disconnect the battery and hope it brings the controls and text display back to life (perhaps the battery will get disconnected as part of the 15k service). If not, I'll have to give DICE a call. I'm definitely concerned that if it's locked up after very little use in the first few days that I'm going to have to disconnect my battery every few days if I want to keep using the controls and text display - definitely not a user friendly experience if that happens.
jditom - do you pretty much stick to keeping it in the Disc1 mode or do you change around a lot? I'm wondering if experimenting with the different modes leads to it getting confused and locking up.
A few things I wish that it would do:
1) When in PLAYLIST mode (Disc2), display the name of the current playlist: PLAYLIST * playlistname.
2) When in ALBUM mode (Disc3), display the name of the current album: ALBUM * albumname.
Overall though (when it's working) it's a pretty workable user interface given that the Nav/Radio system wasn't really designed with iPod control in mind.
My LX was dropped off at the dealer on the way home from work for the 15k service (it just rolled to 15k on the nose as I drove into the dealer), but my next step is to disconnect the battery and hope it brings the controls and text display back to life (perhaps the battery will get disconnected as part of the 15k service). If not, I'll have to give DICE a call. I'm definitely concerned that if it's locked up after very little use in the first few days that I'm going to have to disconnect my battery every few days if I want to keep using the controls and text display - definitely not a user friendly experience if that happens.
jditom - do you pretty much stick to keeping it in the Disc1 mode or do you change around a lot? I'm wondering if experimenting with the different modes leads to it getting confused and locking up.
Ordered my Dice......Going to hook up Ipod and sirius sat......let you all know how it goes.
- Thread starter
- #27
It seemed like early on after my install it would freeze on the display and steering wheel controls. But if you reboot your iPod it would work. Happened a few times the first week when going from DVD to CD etc. But now a month later and everything is working great. I mostly just change playlists (disc 2) then once I pick a new playlist I go back to (disc 1) so I can change songs from the steering wheel. If all else fails you can disconnect the car battery and that will be like starting over.
You are not done yet.Now convert the cubby to have a Ipod connector on the bottom, so you just drop it in there and it will connect.
slee your one dirty SOB...that looks perfect! One
for you.
Kinda on topic......I was thinking (if the dice wont control all functions of a sirius sat) to fab a holder/faceplate for a Sirius Sportser and place it in the overhead "sunglass" compartment. It would give good access to the controls without being in your face with cradels and wires running everywhere. I could then run all the wiring down the A pillar to the dash.......Any thoughts ???
fender, that sounds like an awesome idea. Police departments use the spot for rear air control on the previous generation tahoe (it is up there above the mirror) to put switch controls. Ive seen things from traffic directors to siren controls to even a radio mounted up there. Its in a decent location and should be fairly easy to reach.
If you can do it, go for it...running the wire(s) down to the dash is as simple as taking off the grab handle that is held on by two screws and pulling the A-Pillar trim off. Then you just tuck it up behind the headliner. I had run a pair of wires up to above the rear mirror myself when i had an emergency light mounted just below my mirror.
If you can do it, go for it...running the wire(s) down to the dash is as simple as taking off the grab handle that is held on by two screws and pulling the A-Pillar trim off. Then you just tuck it up behind the headliner. I had run a pair of wires up to above the rear mirror myself when i had an emergency light mounted just below my mirror.
I'm going for it as soon as all my stuff comes in...I'm also going to hardwire my Val -one radar dector above the rearview as long as I'm doing the wiring and have the a-pillar off...Now I just need to fab up a face plate to hold the sirus in place...a dremel and a couple of tries is all it should take
- Thread starter
- #32
I'm going for it as soon as all my stuff comes in...I'm also going to hardwire my Val -one radar dector above the rearview as long as I'm doing the wiring and have the a-pillar off...Now I just need to fab up a face plate to hold the sirus in place...a dremel and a couple of tries is all it should take
Let us know how the V1 install goes. That is next on my list.
Wow thats a great idea. Thanks for posting the step by step pics.
greynolds
SILVER Star
I finally got around to disconnecting the car battery late this afternoon. For now, everything is working as expected again and hopefully it will remain that way for a while. I'm wondering if connecting / disconnecting the iPod with the ignition in accessory or on mode might possibly cause the problem. I always take the iPod with me as it's usually either too cold or too hot around here to leave it outside in a car.
On another note, the Kuda mount and DICE iPod cradle are not a happy pair. The iPod cable comes out the bottom of the cradle and is bulky enough that it requires the cradle to be mounted at the very edge of the Kuda mount and leaves no room for adjusting the angle of the cradle. I'm also not very impressed with the construction quality of the DICE cradle. So I've ordered a Pro-Fit VSM (vehicle specific mount) which is a bracket the mounts between the dashboard trim panels to the right of the radio and provides a swiveling and pivoting mounting point for whatever device you want to put on it. I should be able to mount the DICE cradle to it and they also sell various cradles of their own (but none with an iPod docking connector integrated in the cradle). Here's a link to mounting instructions with a photo:
http://www.pro-fit-intl.com/Adobe/TY-71-03-L.pdf
Panavise also makes a similar mount but without the tilt/swivel part integrated.
Well I've got my install done ,The dice was a breeze...
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the sirius was a little more of a challange as I had to fool around a little and experiment.
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I could not get the sirius sportster to run thru the Dice unit aux input...it just wouldn't recognize it ....so I got a sirius fm modulator/spliter, just run the fm out on the sportser, with the modulator cord, unplug the antenna from the head unit, pulg that into the Y/splitter then that into the head unit.
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Power was easy once I figured it out...you need to use the ciggerte lighter adapter as they don't make a 5V tranformer for the unit.......just get a cig plug extention cord and hack off the female end with 1 foot of wire atached. plug the cig adapter from the sportser into the female extention then splice the extention into the 12 volt outlet in behind the dash.
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I ran all the wires to the ashtray I removed the ashtray and used the suplied mounting bracket upsidedown inside the void left by the ashtray....the sportster looks like a custom fit as it's the same size......I left 1/2 inch of play for adustments, but you cant see any of the wires
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Note on the DICE**** If it locks up and your nav unit won't recognize the second cd changer...you need to reboot the dice unit by unplugging it from the harness (dice side) wait about 10 seconds and plug back in. Happened to me twice when I was fooling around with the sirius aux/in.
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If I were to do it all again I could do the whole install in less than an hour, now that I figured it out
.
.
the sirius was a little more of a challange as I had to fool around a little and experiment.
.
.
I could not get the sirius sportster to run thru the Dice unit aux input...it just wouldn't recognize it ....so I got a sirius fm modulator/spliter, just run the fm out on the sportser, with the modulator cord, unplug the antenna from the head unit, pulg that into the Y/splitter then that into the head unit.
..
.
Power was easy once I figured it out...you need to use the ciggerte lighter adapter as they don't make a 5V tranformer for the unit.......just get a cig plug extention cord and hack off the female end with 1 foot of wire atached. plug the cig adapter from the sportser into the female extention then splice the extention into the 12 volt outlet in behind the dash.
.
..
I ran all the wires to the ashtray I removed the ashtray and used the suplied mounting bracket upsidedown inside the void left by the ashtray....the sportster looks like a custom fit as it's the same size......I left 1/2 inch of play for adustments, but you cant see any of the wires
.
.
Note on the DICE**** If it locks up and your nav unit won't recognize the second cd changer...you need to reboot the dice unit by unplugging it from the harness (dice side) wait about 10 seconds and plug back in. Happened to me twice when I was fooling around with the sirius aux/in.
.
.
If I were to do it all again I could do the whole install in less than an hour, now that I figured it out
anybody explored the video option to play on the screen? I've got an 80g ipod, how cool would that be to be able show the video portion. Would essentially require a connection similar to that used when hooking the ipod to your television. does this company support that?
greynolds
SILVER Star
The DICE iPod cradle does have a video output, the but DICE unit itself does not have a video input. I'm pretty sure I saw a thread somewhere (may have been at ClubLexus) that documented how to get video into the nav screen.
greynolds
SILVER Star
The DICE unit is mounted behind the glove compartment, not in it. There are plenty of ways to fish the wire from behind the glove compartment out to the console area without drilling any holes. When I install the Pro-Fit mount, I'll try to remember to take some pictures that show where the cable is running.
The DICE unit and my iPod have been getting along pretty well since I had to disconnect the battery to reset the DICE unit. I've had to reboot the iPod once or twice, but overall it's working out pretty nicely.
IMHO, the DICE cradle is really a piece of junk. It's made of plastic and feels like it. The various interchangeable pieces for different iPods fit to the rest of the cradle rather loosely which doesn't inspire confidence and will probably rattle once installed.
When I ordered the Pro-Fit mount, I also ordered one of their cradles and am much more impressed, but their cradles are more generic - designed to hold pretty much any small device - and don't have an iPod connector, which means that the DICE iPod cable will need to plug directly into the iPod instead of into a cradle. I think this downside is better than using the DICE cradle though.
Oh, and I also ordered the PanaVise mount - it was inexpensive enough I figured I'd get both so I could decide which I prefered after seeing them. I haven't decided if I'm going to go with the Pro-Fit or the PanaVise mount. Both are well made. The Pro-Fit has an integrated swivel mount and is slightly lower profile. The PanaVise mount uses 3 screws to attach behind the trim (instead of 2 for the Pro-Fit) which may make for a sturdier mount and has holes that accept more variety of mounting hole patterns than the Pro-Fit unit (which only accepts the AMPS pattern, though that appears to be the standard for this sort of thing). Maybe I should just flip a coin
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USA Spec Adapter
Hi,
I used the USA Spec adapter for my '98 LC and I mounted the interface differently from what most do behind the glove compartment.
Instead I ran the cable from the back of the radio down behind the climate controls and past the transmission selector into the bottom of storage compartment of the center console. I then velcroed the USA Spec adapter to the interior side wall of the compartment. This way I have easy access to both the adapter and the ipod. Since I velcroed it to the side it does not take up any additional space in the compartment. My binoculars, gps, sunglasses, Leatherman and other stuff plus iPod all fit without any problems.
With this hook up, either my front seat or back row passengers can easily select songs or playlists from the ipod, and I can do it from the radio.
The cool thing is that there is no cradle and the iPod is always out of sight until needed. I did my install about a month ago and it has lived there ever since.
Hi,
I used the USA Spec adapter for my '98 LC and I mounted the interface differently from what most do behind the glove compartment.
Instead I ran the cable from the back of the radio down behind the climate controls and past the transmission selector into the bottom of storage compartment of the center console. I then velcroed the USA Spec adapter to the interior side wall of the compartment. This way I have easy access to both the adapter and the ipod. Since I velcroed it to the side it does not take up any additional space in the compartment. My binoculars, gps, sunglasses, Leatherman and other stuff plus iPod all fit without any problems.
With this hook up, either my front seat or back row passengers can easily select songs or playlists from the ipod, and I can do it from the radio.
The cool thing is that there is no cradle and the iPod is always out of sight until needed. I did my install about a month ago and it has lived there ever since.
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