nuxx.net
Making, baking, and (un-)breaking things in Southeast Michigan.

Category: automotive

Honda Music Link (and me) in the NYT

January 24, 2007

Well, the iPod article which I was quoted for in the New York Times seems to have been published.

To quote from page 2:

Honda’s Music Link also offers voice commands, but some owners have had problems with the system. Steve Vigneau of Shelby Township, Mich., said he had Music Link in his Civic and found the system hard to use and slow to operate. The software uses Honda’s text-to-speech technology and needs to be installed on a home computer so it can link with iTunes.

Chris Naughton, a Honda spokesman, said that text-to-speech “has not been as trouble-free as we expected, but many Music Link users are still quite pleased that with a single connection they can get a high-quality audio connection, head unit control and constant charging.”

Not great, but I’m happy enough with it.

And, of course, here’s the obligatory link to my Honda Music Link iPod Adapter Review. (It may be changed slightly in the future… the date-by-date updates at the bottom are becoming a bit tedious.)

automotivecomputersmoved from livejournal

iSight Car Mount

January 2, 2007

I know this is old news, but I finally banged together a page about my iSight Car Mount.

There are embedded videos of the tests I did, both driving around a bit and a stop-motion video of my drive to work.

And yes, this is related to the silly Flash question I had earlier. I was able to find a newer version of the player which has a click-to-play button available, so that should a noisy video be clicked on my the user, it doesn’t immediately deafen them.

I think there is still a lot to do with Gallery and it’s video support, and I need to figure out a better way to transcode files consistently and add hinting needed for lighttpd’s flv streaming support.

But, for now, it works. :)

automotivemaking thingsmoved from livejournal

Cookies and Car

December 9, 2006

· Windshield wiper blades changed. (Pain in the ass.)
· Air filter changed. (Easy.)
· Tires at 32psi after cold weather. (Will likely have to redo with arrival sub-zero temps.)
· Chocolate chip cookies baking.
· Packages sent off to Australia and Scotland.

Now, to balance my checkbook.

automotivefoodmoved from livejournal

NYT

December 6, 2006

Hmm, someone writing an article on vehicular iPod integration for the New York Times just emailed me with some questions about the Honda Music Link. My answers may have been a bit much, but I hope he got what he is looking for.

The name the person who wrote is Jim Motavalli and he appears to be a fairly frequent writer of enviromental-type stories, with many contributions to the NYT. It’ll be interesting to see what the final story is like.

automotiveelectronicsmoved from livejournal

Speakers and Stuff

November 21, 2006

All previous speakers returned, original speakers reinstalled. Played with the amp enough to realize that the ‘High Cut’ setting is not a low-pass filter as I would have expected, but is instead a high-pass filter. Therefore, having it set too high basically keeps appropriate bass from going to the speakers at all.

I’d had some difficulty adjusting this previously, but after replacing the speakers and retuning things, everything is MUCH better. I’ve got the filter letting everything possible go to the rear subs and the missing bass is now there. The rear levels have also been adjusted at the amp to be appropriate, although these may need a wee bit more tweaking. This remains to be seen, though.

Other tasks I have successfully completed tonight:

· Returned both pairs of crappy Pioneer speakers.
· Acquired Thai food.
· Ate Thai food with Belgian beer.
· Watched Frontline’s A Hidden Life
· Balanced my checkbook.
· Washed my sheets.

I guess that’s a plenty full night.

automotivefoodmoved from livejournal

Pioneer TS-G1341R Speakers vs. 2006 Honda Civic EX

November 20, 2006


Pioneer TS-G1341R Speakers fitted into gutted 2006 Honda Civic EX Rear Deck Speakers

Tonight’s project-cum-technical disappointment was what you see above. That is, my fitting some aftermarket Pioneer TS-G1341R 5¼” into the shells of Honda OEM speakers from the rear deck of my car.

See, ever since installing the Bass System Kit (photo gallery retired) a year ago, I just haven’t been wholly satisfied with the sound in my vehicle. The bass was improved over the factory bass, but it still sounded rather warbly and distorted even with ‘normal’-ish bass, such as the guitar in some pieces. Much electronic stuff was just right out.

Earlier today I decided that I’d pick up a cheaper, but likely decent set of speakers as replacements for the ones which shipped with the bass system kit. So, poking around, I came across the Pioneer TS-G1341Rs which are fairly widely available. So, at lunch I swung by Best Buy and grabbed a pair for just under US$50.

By gutting the leftover original speakers and some ¼” MDF I was able to nicely fit the new speakers in, and even wire them up to use the original Honda connectors. This is good because I can easily swap my new speakers in and out for the ones from the Bass System Kit.

Why would I want to swap them? Because the new speakers sound like crap. They sound worse than the ones with the Bass System Kit. In fact, they are more in line with the very original OEM speakers.

So, I don’t know what I’m going to do right now. Probably return them, and possibly acquire some (better 6½” speakers and an aftermarket mounting bracket. Or… something. I don’t know.

Bah. At least it only took a few hours.

automotivemaking thingsmoved from livejournal

Today I…

May 7, 2006

Today I…

– Watched a pair of T-38’s take off.
– Watched other aircraft fly about.
– Went to the dirt mall. It’s full of dirty, trashy, awful people.
– Drove through Algonac, East China, and all other routes along M-29 between New Baltimore and Port Huron.
– Poked around beneath the Blue Water Bridge, likely raising the ire of the DHS. I’m sure there were lots of cameras pointing at me.
– Gazed longingly at the land of the more free (aka Canada).
– Visited Kate and Ben in Lapeer.
– Found a local place to buy Yves veggie products: Kroger
– Became frustrated at the PIC programmer I am building, as it doesn’t appear to be behaving properly.

automotiveelectronicsmoved from livejournal

Honda Music Link iPod Adapter Review Update

January 27, 2006

Yeah, I know I post about this a lot, but I wanted to let you all know that I have added four pieces of email to my Honda Music Link iPod Adapter Review. These letters from from individuals who also had issues similar to mine, and also gave me permission to repost their correspondence.

So, if you’re interested, head on over there and give their notes a read. The links are at the top… If not, ignore this. :)

automotivemoved from livejournalnuxx.net