Blaupunkt low-level outputs? You betcha! :D

[mix_vt_cal]

Ditto!

How could I arrange for a kit to be sent to Melbourne?

Cheers,

Mike.

[VZ-Rob]

G'day Phreddy
I'm in Melbourne, Just bought a VZ S ute06'
Will keep the BP h/u.
Keen on your BPoint mod for the 6 stacker
also the Blue light kit is a treat
would look cool as I have the Turismo Blue finish
Spend about 6 hours in the saddle each week
70/30 work/rec.
Not much room for amps & Kit
will pick up the CS-2329 Kevlar splits for the doors (73mm deep)
with new 4g flex silicone cable
What do you recomend for the dash?

[cold_carve]

VZ-Rob.... ive jus got both mods from phreddy... (mate got nothin but praise for ya work phreddy!) and Rob u would be more than impressed AUX in, is nice n clear - the switch looks sweet and the RCA's they too work a treat! - got me amp in over the weekend -

[gnome]

Hey,
Is it possible to do this mod to the VX headunit?

I have seen this mod available to give RCA outputs on VT/VX http://www.cyber.com.au/users/grant/rca.html
Is there any real difference between the 2?

What exactly does the PCB that phreddy has designed do?

[Phreddy]

Hey Gnome.

I've seen this mod - and it works quite nicely.

The big difference with my mod is that there's a buffer circuit added in between the head unit circuitry and the outside world, so that external loading or fault conditions won't degrade the signal quality - or in extreme cases damage the head unit pre-amp components! (at worst, the buffer board might be damaged, but that's better than the whole head unit!) I also incorporated a switching circuit for the "remote" output to the amp, and had to come up with a fixed connector assembly running out on short external cables because there's absolutely NO SPACE behind the stereo in the VY/VZ models.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the simpler mod process described above, but it could lead to damage to the head unit in certain fault or interference conditions.

Cheerz!

[gnome]

Thanks for clearing that up phreddy.
does your mod work on the VX head unit?
Do you know what voltage pre-out your mod is getting? I think the other one i mentioned is aroung 1V (not the greatest, but does the job)
If you mod the VX, please PM me some details and pricing.

Cheers

[rorz]

Hey Phreddy. Am interested in your Aux mod and pre-out mod. Have tried to contact you without any luck. Can you send me some details. Thanks.

[gnome]

Is Phreddy still around, please send us a pm if you are.

Cheers

[Phreddy]

Thanks for your patience guys, I am indeed still here - in fact now bigger and better than ever!!

(I've recently decided to go into business for myself after losing my full-time job. To all who have been waiting so patiently, my thanks - and a request for one last bit of tolerance whilst I clear things up....)

Gnome, Rorz - will be back to you real soon. The outputs for the VX unit should really be quite a bit simpler (and therefore a bit cheaper too) due to the fact that there's more room behind the H/U in the earlier models. (in other words, it's far easier to mount the RCA sockets directly on the rear panel of the VX stereo, rather than having to bugger around with the external cable assembly required with the VY/VZ units...)

I'll be around a bit more from now on, so hang in there all! (also, keep an eye out for my custom built sub enclosures too! Like a thump in your back, but still want your boot space?? We need to talk!!)

Cheerz, and in Arnie's immortal words - I'll be back!!

[noizwerx]

Phreddy,

some more info and prices on both the audio mods would be great

Cheers

Shaun

[Phreddy]

There's some info on my web site, but a word of warning - you might fall off your chair laughing!!

(HTML isn't exactly one of my strengths....)

www.asr-audio.com.au - it's constantly under construction, and will look a bit better soon I hope...

Cheerz!

[MrCalais]

Is there anyone that could install this in SA?

[Phreddy]

MrCalais - I have sent a kit or two to fellas in SA some while back.

Bear with me for the moment, I'll see if I can find their contact details again - I'll get in touch on your behalf asking if they'd be interested, and forward an e-mail addy to you.

Alternatively I could do a "partial install" - you send the H/U and cradle to me, I perform the mod overnight, and get it on the way back to you the following day. Just a thort....

Cheerz!

[raedd2]

Hey Phreddy,
Have you had much to do with the VE Head Units at all???
I 've got the VE Calais and I'm sure it has preamp outputs because the Calais V is equiped with subwoofers. I've got a picture of the wiring\connectors of both the Calais & Calais V, can you tell from the pictures if what I'm pointing to is in fact the Preamp/sub outputs (appreciate your input, understand if your busy with everything else).

[davey g-force]

Hey Phreddy,
Have you had much to do with the VE Head Units at all???
I 've got the VE Calais and I'm sure it has preamp outputs because the Calais V is equiped with subwoofers. I've got a picture of the wiring\connectors of both the Calais & Calais V, can you tell from the pictures if what I'm pointing to is in fact the Preamp/sub outputs (appreciate your input, understand if your busy with everything else).

Do you mean RCA or low-level outputs? (Plugs which go from the back of the deck to an amplifier?) If so, that looks nothing like them. Be interesting to hear what Phreddy has to say...

[Phreddy]

G'day there fellas.

Hmmmm - interesting.......

Not quite sure what to make of that. It might well be low level outputs, just not routed via RCA sockets as normal. However, I'm wondering if it is a true low level, because the cabling to me looks as if it's not shielded. (shielded cable has the centre wire surrounded with the ground conductor, "shielding" it from stray interference)

It appears to be a totally different connector arrangement to the VY/VZ units too - which is interesting, 'coz the Blaupunkt connector fell into some Euro "standard" which I thought they might continue with. (I assume the VE has a Blaupunkt unit also? Or have Holden gone with a different manufacturer again???)

Anyhow, the only way for me to really determine the nature of that output would be to get my hands on one and poke around with the 'scope. My feelings though (based on the type of wire leading off from that socket) are that it's not a true low level out. Might be a similar setup to the system in the Monaro/GTO where the parcel shelf subs have their own separate amplifier, but is fed from the rear speaker signals - an onboard LOC in the amp takes care of attenuating the speaker signal suitably to drive the amp input.

That's just an assumption though - impossible to say with any certainty one way or another without either having a look at one in front of me, or studying the circuit diagram for the unit. (and I don't like my chances of geting one of those!!)

Cheerz!

PS - Dave, Sunday would be fine....

[raedd2]

"It appears to be a totally different connector arrangement to the VY/VZ units too - which is interesting, 'coz the Blaupunkt connector fell into some Euro "standard" which I thought they might continue with. (I assume the VE has a Blaupunkt unit also? Or have Holden gone with a different manufacturer again???)"

Just confirming that the H/U is a Bluespot unit, what could I use to test the pins for the correct outputs required (remote switch,+,-,left & right,etc..), a multimeter? or something else?

I am awaiting some feed back from "Doctor Bob" in another thread with info on the wiring layout, if I'm lucking an get some helpful info I'll post it here, I've installed an amp in the spare tyre well (no spare tyre) with 2 cooling fans connected to a thermostat sensor, but have stopped short of completing the install until I get the H/U wiring layout.

[Phreddy]

Thanks for that raedd2. Sounds like you're setting your system up quite nicely there....

Bluespot, huh?? Hmmmm - I was under the impression that "Blaupunkt" roughly translated to "Blue Point". (never studied languages, so I could be completely on the wrong track!)

Anyways, the equipment I'd be using to test those outputs would be an oscilloscope. It gives a real-time view of the signal waveform in the amplitude (voltage) and time domains. I'd read the output voltage at this point (with a test CD playing pink noise at a reasonable high volume setting) and that would lead me to my primary determination, then I'd possibly couple that with some kind of impedance reading of the load these wires terminate into. If I saw a voltage swing of around 2V peak-to-peak, and read a load impedance of a few kilohms or more, then I would suggest that this is in fact a true low level output.

Conversely, if I'm reading a voltage swing of substantially more than that (like more than 8 or 10V P-P), and the load impedance is down below 100 ohms or so, then it would be a "high level" output, possibly low pass filtered inside the head unit for the sub output.

Anyhow, if Doctor Bob's on the case I'm sure we'll get some answers before too long.

Cheerz!

[raedd2]

Bluespot or Blue Point, I'm not 100% on that either?
Thanks for the pointers though, will give the oscilloscope a a crack (just need to pop up to jaycar first).

Cheers

[Phreddy]

You're gonna buy a 'scope just for this??

Yer keen bro!

[raedd2]

You're gonna buy a 'scope just for this??

Yer keen bro!

Is the scope exspensive?

I probably won't buy one until I work out what else I can use it for. I'm always tinkering around with my car (past & present).

The navigation is my next project once I get over this hurdle. The Nav system (Blaupunkt DX-V?? I think it is) the dealers are offering is a bit pricey ($3000) even if it does use both dash and audio system lcd's and hidden under the dash.
There must be a better option short of getting that unit cheap on eBay??

[davey g-force]

raedd2, if you're in Sydney, might I suggest you pop in and see Phreddy and become his VE "guinea pig"? He'll be able to help you out.

...And yes, there is also an ulterior motive to this suggestion for other VE owners and soon-to-be owners!

[raedd2]

raedd2, if you're in Sydney, might I suggest you pop in and see Phreddy and become his VE "guinea pig"? He'll be able to help you out.

...And yes, there is also an ulterior motive to this suggestion for other VE owners and soon-to-be owners!

That sounds like a plan davey g-force, would have to check with Phreddy though? never been a guinea pig, what suburb is Phreddy in? I'm up the road from Bankstown (Yagoona).

[davey g-force]

That sounds like a plan davey g-force, would have to check with Phreddy though? never been a guinea pig, what suburb is Phreddy in? I'm up the road from Bankstown (Yagoona).

Phreddy's in Penrith, so not that far really. Send him a PM!

[Phreddy]

LOL!! Thanks for all the plugs Dave - and yeah, I'd love to get familiar with a VE. I gotta start expanding the "product range" to get things rolling along sufficiently.

Raedd2 - definitely shoot me a PM, I'm sure we can work something out. Oh, and an oscilloscope is a little spendy, and not particularly useful for tinkering with your car. It's more used for audio/video, radio, or digital equipment. It would be fine to satisfy some curiosities I guess - like what the waveform to the fuel injectors looks like, the pulses from the crank sensor, stuff like that.... For general tracing circuits and checking fuses and stuff, a decent multimeter would be far more useful, and less of a strain on the wallet!

BTW - a little off topic I guess, but the discussions about the sat-nav stuff.... I'm in the middle of developing a gadget which sits between a protable GPS receiver and the bluetooth input to the stereo - you run an input from the earphone socket on your portable nav unit, and when it needs to interrupt with voice instructions the music is muted, instructions are given, and the music is switched back automatically. It can also run in parallel with the bluetooth input, so the hands free kit will work as well. Just finalising some design and prototype details, more news to follow.....

Cheerz!