I would stay away from Hard Drive units in a 4wd vehicle unless you're just driving it on road for the look. The vibration will kill the hard drive.
In dash Navigation Systems? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter kjdahlstrom@mac.com
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
TexasBadlands said:
Do you have data to substantiate this?
-B-
That Pioneer is nice.
Video on C/Net
http://www.cnet.com/4660-11405_1-6413241.html
I have not read up on it yet, but will.
Right around the same price as the Eclipse 6600.
Both units though are twice as much as the Alpine W200 I am looking at for a great all around stereo/iPod controller, but it does not do nav.
I am not sure I really need it.
Been using an old Garman eTrex to record routes off road.
Video on C/Net
http://www.cnet.com/4660-11405_1-6413241.html
I have not read up on it yet, but will.
Right around the same price as the Eclipse 6600.
Both units though are twice as much as the Alpine W200 I am looking at for a great all around stereo/iPod controller, but it does not do nav.
I am not sure I really need it.
Been using an old Garman eTrex to record routes off road.
Beowulf said:
Yeah I do, it's called a degree in electronics engineering. The vibration will kill the hard drive as the needle which reads the head will continually bounce and eventually stop working.
Since you are a 'computer geek', you should already know that.
TexasBadlands said:
I'm sure your mother is proud of you. From tu I suppose?
TexasBadlands said:
Yes, I am a computer geek; for 41 years now. And it's not "a needle which reads the head," it is a read/write head that reads the spinning disk platter. Since you are an EE you should know that.
I didn't ask for your education, I asked if you have any data to back up your claim that a modern disk drive is failure prone due to vibration in an automotive computer/NAV system; off-road or on-road. If you have data then I would be very interested in reading what you have found. If you are speculating then say so.
All modern disk drives are well cushioned and head crashes are rare. A high-G shock can cause a head to contact the platter but that would be more likely if the unit were dropped onto concrete from 6'; not from vibrations while driving off-road.
One wonders how all of these laptops, nav systems, and carputers manage to survive in our off-road vehicles, police cars, 18 wheelers, and everyday mall cruisers.
-B-
Last edited:
Beowulf said:
I did, but I was wondering if YOU did.
I don't think hard drives are in the same situation as DVD players, as they have the optical reader as you would know.
burling said:
Guessing you are talking about this post? https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=1172064&postcount=2
The install of the eclipse is almost identical to installing a Pioneer Z1. I later removed and returned the eclipse and installed a Pioneer AVIC D1 and the only major difference was that the eclipse accepts the factory steering wheel control plug. With any pioneer you will need to use a PAC Audio (or other brand) steering wheel interface to retain use of the factory controls. You can find them at crutchfield, circuit city, etc.... This interface plugs into the pioneer and requires you to cut the wires leading to the Toyota's steering wheel interface harness and connect it to the PAC Audio unit instead. It is very easy to do and only adds about 15 minutes to the install.
Aside from that the two installs are pretty much the same.
As for why I swapped units, it was a personal preference thing coupled with an incredible deal I got on the AVIC D1. I liked the software on both units but the Pioneer was more in line with how I think where the eclipse caused me to fumble around a little more. My new unit does not play DVD movies but I can add a $90 DVD player that fits in the glove box if I feel I need to. (AVIC D1 allows for audio and video in which, with the addition of a DVD player in the glove box, would allow for movies while driving)
If you have any questions feel free to PM me or just post here.
-granger
Last edited:
Granger said:Guessing you are talking about this post? https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=1172064&postcount=2
The install of the eclipse is almost identical to installing a Pioneer Z1. I later removed and returned the eclipse and installed a Pioneer AVIC D1 and the only major difference was that the eclipse accepts the factory steering wheel control plug. With any pioneer you will need to use a PAC Audio (or other brand) steering wheel interface to retain use of the factory controls. You can find them at crutchfield, circuit city, etc.... This interface plugs into the pioneer and requires you to cut the wires leading to the Toyota's steering wheel interface harness and connect it to the PAC Audio unit instead. It is very easy to do and only adds about 15 minutes to the install.
Aside from that the two installs are pretty much the same.
As for why I swapped units, it was a personal preference thing coupled with an incredible deal I got on the AVIC D1. I liked the software on both units but the Pioneer was more in line with how I think where the eclipse caused me to fumble around a little more. My new unit does not play DVD movies but I can add a $90 DVD player that fits in the glove box if I feel I need to. (AVIC D1 allows for audio and video in which, with the addition of a DVD player in the glove box, would allow for movies while driving)
If you have any questions feel free to PM me or just post here.
Granger,
Very nice looking unit. Congrats on the install (and re-install)
Am I correct in that the D1 has 2 disc drives so you can navigate and play disc at the same time? Was there any reason (other than a good price) that made you go with the D1 instead of the Z1?
I do not have an electrical engineering degree, nor am I a computer geek, so I have to muddle my way through the choice of hard drive vs CD disc navigation.
Sounds reasonable that vibration and bumps could disrupt a hard drive, but I have personally had a CD changer in another truck that stopped working because the laser or lens or something like that got out of alignment (from vibration and bumps I assume).
burling said:
Ahhh, but you are a Texan (East Texas at that) and thereby qualified to be an expert on just about anything.
Don't worry about it. Anything electrical can fail and anything mechanical can fail. The good stuff is built to handle on and off-road vibrations. Now all the dust is another matter....
-B-
I was looking into the Pioneer and we took the plate and held it up to the 7" space and it was about 1CM too short and 1mm to tall. Custom work had to be done which included cutting the dash.
I'm looking into the Eclipse double in and will let you know once the dealer gets it in.
B
I'm looking into the Eclipse double in and will let you know once the dealer gets it in.
B
burling said:Very nice looking unit. Congrats on the install (and re-install)
Am I correct in that the D1 has 2 disc drives so you can navigate and play disc at the same time? Was there any reason (other than a good price) that made you go with the D1 instead of the Z1?
I do not have an electrical engineering degree, nor am I a computer geek, so I have to muddle my way through the choice of hard drive vs CD disc navigation.
Sounds reasonable that vibration and bumps could disrupt a hard drive, but I have personally had a CD changer in another truck that stopped working because the laser or lens or something like that got out of alignment (from vibration and bumps I assume).
The D1 and it's replacement the D2 have a DVD drive that is used for the Nav disk and a CD drive that is used for music. Neither unit's DVD drives' play DVD movies, they are there soley for supporting DVD navigation.
The Z1 is a nice unit but to me it was not worth the heafty price difference. I paid $898 shipped for the D1 (tweeter.com) vs. $1K+ more for the Z1. Plus, I didn't see a real benefit in going with the Z1 other then hard drive based nav, which in my understanding only offers slightly faster calc times. The Z1 has some features that are not on my D1 but for how I intend to use my Nav it didn't seem important. (long way of saying that for some the added features may be worth it, just wasn't for me)
I should also mention that a phone call to Pioneer's customer service resulted in them sending the latest version of the Nav software at no cost. (Same maps that are in the newer units)
The only "major" difference would be the Z1's DVD drive not being used for a Nav disk but as the AVIC D1 & 2 can not play movies with their DVD drives it doesn't matter that the Nav disk must be in the drive for Nav to work. If I decide that I want movies in my truck for my son then I will add a Audiovox MMDV3 in the glove box. Just like hooking a DVD player up to a TV, you simply plug the DVD player into the head unit and select it as a source. Your Nav system will still function while movies are playing.
Last edited:
BASICTEXT said:
Basic,
What unit did you look at? The D1, pictured above, fits fine as long as you use a trim kit ($10). The Z1 also fits by using the same trim kit.
All of the eclipse double din units will fit as well, again using that same trim kit.
All makes of the units discussed allow for music and nav at the same time. The radio and sat radio work and there is a seperate slot for CDs. Did I misunderstand your question?
Last edited:
Have had no problems with my Z1 off road in the 80 series. I have done alot of hard wheeling with it since installed and had no problems and LOVE the unit. I would have a hard time going back to a DVD based system after this head unit. Also the HD is removable via the front so when upgrades become availible it will be easy to upgrade.
clarkrw3 said:
You sound very pleased with the Z1 unit. Do you use the bluetooth capability for cellular phone? I am pretty much sold on the Z1 after hearing that you have no problem with the HD in "rough and tumble" situations, but I am trying to find out if the bluetooth works well. Are you happy with the nav software that comes with the unit? Some other sites have had negative comments regarding the nav software that comes with the unit.
DARKW3,
Have you installed any topo maps to your Z1? I'm looking at the same unit but need topo maps for the extensive trails in AZ.
Thanks!
E10DIRT
How did I become Darkw3...hehe
No, I haven't been able to load topos, however, it has most FS roads with in the country in the hard drive data. The only thing I don't like is it seems impossible to get to the GPS cordnates.
