Does the sound come out of the little Sony Speakers?

-At the moment no, it comes out of the cars stereo, because for some reason I can't split the sigle (static and such). But I'm working on it!

Those sony speakers sound good!

[This message has been edited by David Bartlett (edited 06-28-2002).]

I gotta do this!!!!!!!!!!And I thought installing my Z-34 instrument cluster was good enough to be different.

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A coward dies a thousand deaths..................A soldier dies but once.

Had to bring this one back up - I finally got a 1meg player and flashed a really cool Voyager startup screen onto it, but would LOVE to get that Fiero logo on there.... Did the file ever get posted, or is it not being let out of the bag? I can't WAIT to get this thing into the car!

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Bob Williams
Multi-colored '87 GT, a work in progress!

quote HARD WAY: Well soon to be easy way is to create a board that bypasses the ac to dc converter that the 1100w needs. I mad one but I'm still in the testing phase. Make sure its reliable, safe and small.

Yeah I would definately hack the 1100w's power supply and use 12v/5v or whatever it uses. Oh yeah looks awesome.

Ivan

Lets not let this die.. I NEED CLOSURE!! =) Good work David!

nice work dave.

By the way folkes im dave's best friend. The system is sweet man. I watched FIRST BLOOD all the way home from paintball. No problems.

Dont let dave tell u it was easy. I was at his house like 2 days in a row trying to figure out how to cram that dvd player in there.

PS. i also came up with the title "fiero vision" hahha thats trademarked dave!

PEACE

paintball and fieros...why don't you guys live in NC.

HAHHA.... yea between us working, dave working on his car, and us seeing our girfriends, its pretty hard to fit in paintball. But i have like 2000 buck CDn invested in paintball, so i better play!

quote Originally posted by Mac: As well, where did you buy the DVD player from? If you don't mind, I'd like to try your setup myself.. Any info would be a great help.. Thanks!

Anyone interesting in doing this install, The Super Walmart near me is running a special on these Apex 1100W DVD players, they had an entire endcap full of them them for $68 USD. I almost bought two of them. one for the house and one for the Fiero.

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1988 Fiero - It's like an Actual Miniature Car

If your looking for this background or a slightly different version... then look here.
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/009804.html

You are too smart for your own good.

*top*

- dosed

That looks friggin awesome!!!

Hey Im in TO, u ever make yer way down here??? Im thinking of DVD + TV in mah car too..but tryin to decide on setiup and style selection!

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Whaddya' mean Fieros catch fire?!

I've been watching this thread for quite some time and am now in the process of fitting my Fiero with this player.

David, can you take some closeups of how you mounted the dvd drive? I've got the plastic base off, but am afraid that the shift cable will interfere with the drive mechanism. Did you cut down the mounting feet on the drive, or are they the same length?

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Greg

I'm in the process of getting a new digital camera this week so you'll have to wait for some pictures; but I didn't cut the feet on the drive. I had to cut the metal housing and move the wiring harness inside of it. The front two feet of the drive sits on a custom bracket just above the shift cables.

I'm anxiously awaiting some additional pictures. In the meantime, where did you mount the remote sensor and the hard buttons? Or did you even use the hard buttons? What metal housing did you cut? Was it the base of the center hump or the edges that flare upward? I notice that your drive sets a an upward angle. is this a result of your cutting the center console metal.

Sorry for all the questions but I have everything I need including the power inverter and FM modulator.

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Greg

Cool.. I can't wait for pics of your install. The remote sensor is mounted under the screen in the dash. That way you can't see it but it works from anywhere in the car.

You have to cut the right side flare-up, cut a 2inch cut upwards, and 2inch cut back towards the computer. Then you can simply push it in. I'll take some pics with my new camera when I get home.

I havent mounted the buttons anywhere yet, although Im planning on putting them in the shift surround. I did make an eject button that is moon shaped and fills out the lighter hole.

Finally the cd rom has to sit on an upwards angle to clear the shift console surround. It's a lot of tight fitting, and the console moves a round a little, so take that into consideration.

Did you seperate the remote sensor from the board, or is the hard button/sensor board all mounted below the screen? I was actually thinking about mounting that whole piece (space providing) in the area where you have your power window/mirror switches. My Formula doesn't have these options, so that area is just a blank piece of ABS. Although, it would be easier to use the remote for everything.

I look forward to seeing you additional pictures. If possible, could you take a couple of detailed photos of the passenger's side where you did the cutting. I really don't want to go and cut the wrong thing or worse yet...through the wrong thing! I'm snapping pictures myself as I go along. I'll post some here once I get it done.

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Greg

The remote sensor and eject button were seperated from the board. The board it self is a little and ugly to mount anywhere and the remote can do more stuff. Plus you can hide it easier.

Have you gotten any new pictures yet, David? I'm just about ready to start fitting the DVD transport drive in the center console. I got my first glimpse of video in the car last night! Man, this is going to be cool!

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Greg

Sorry for the delay Greg: Here you go. It still needs some cleaning, but I havent had time lately.

I took these about five mintues ago so the light isn't great. let me know if you need more. Also I wasn't on marcro so there kinda fuzzy.. Ah well I realized it by the time I took the following pic.

Heres the ON/OFF toggle switches I've been working on.

[This message has been edited by David Bartlett (edited 08-22-2002).]

Tried like hell last night to get the drive in the center console. I'm having quite a bit of problems. Did you cut the underside of the center console out to aid in the clearance for the drive? I've taken all the insulation out, but haven't cut into the plastic yet. Does the DVD drive mount on your plate in the front and basically rest on the bottom of the console in the back? Everywhere I placed the drive last night, I had problems with the drive catching on something when it opens and closes. I'm sure you've noticed that when the drive opens, the section with the laser and motors drops down. It got high-centered everytime. It may prove to be a problem later on, but I even tried cutting the mounting feet off to try and decrease the overall height of the unit.

Any other suggestions and help that you may have would be greatly appreciated. And take as many pictures as you feel like taking. If you don't want to post them all here, you can email me at gjones72@earthlink.net. On a postive note, I have the panel for the LCD made, finished and mounted in the car. I think it looks pretty good. Now if I can only get this darn thing in the console!

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Greg

Yea it took a while to get it to fit and work right. I'm still working some minor things out. I'll explain later.

The front feet rest on the plate and the back two feet rest on the metal console about 1cm from the bottom. This provides the angle or driveclearence for the shift console surrond. You need the feet of the drive or similar to provide the clearence for the laser like you stated.

I had to remove all the foam and I removed a square section of plastic from the console. The problem with this is it doesn't provide any support for you elbow extra. So you have to slide a piece of sheetmetal in. I used the top of the apex player, It works oK, but I'm looking for something a little thicker.

I found that there is a certain spot where everthing will fit. It will take some work but you'll get it right.

BTW if you think getting the console to fit is hard, wait to you try the flip down door. hahah

The problem I'm currently facing, is that the console moves around slighly when weight is applyed to the top. SO basically it will work for a few days until it shifts, then the cd drive will get stuck. You give it a slight tap and everything works fine. I plan on making the console a little more ridged and everthing should be great.

One last thing, make sure you glue the litte tape on the video card ribbon cable down. It can pop off and cause many problems later on.

Good Luck.

Thanks for the quick reply, David. I'm bound and determined to get this thing in there. I had a sneaking suspicion that you cut the underside of the console out. My initial thought was to mount the dvd drive onto the underside of the console using the crossbar that the round thing that goes in the center of the DVD is on. I think that this would work, but there wasn't enough clearance once I put the center console back in. Maybe if I cut the underside of the console out, I can mount the drive onto the new metal insert and have enough clearance.

Well, at least I have a couple of options to go with. If all else fails, I'll just make a small enclosure for the DVD innards and mount it under the dash on the passenger's side. Not nearly as trick as what you accomplished, but functional. And if you have any other pictures, send them my way!

I'll post some pictures once I get everything done. I'm taking in-progress pictures so I can make a CD to play in the car showing the install. That's the great thing about this player...it will play a CD full of JPGs as a slideshow!

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Greg

Thats a good idea.. I think I will do that this week.

Originally I planned to have the electronics and dvd-rom mounted all within the console it self. Actually I had it there, but found it a little hard to remove and repair. Not to mention it bumped around alot.

I'll take some measurements and more pics this week.

Had to bring this one back up because I am looking to use the PSOne screen for my interior set-up. Not a DVD player yet, but for now a PSOne game console. Looks like we have some great work going on here! If any more pics could be posted of final product and such, I'd be grateful. I'm not quite sure where the project left off in the thread, b/c the pics aren't working for me (not all of them t least). Thanks!

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I am Hartz.

I gotta say that is awesome! Great pics. I love seeing the mind work to completely customize something that it wasn't originally designed for. BTW There are 12 volt dvd players the same size as an aftermarket radio (6x2x6) for @ $129.90. But then it would not be near as fun to install!

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'87 2.8v6 5spd

Hey guys Apex also makes a 12 volt version for automotive use. I beleive it would have better shock protection and it is about half the size of the home version from what I can tell in the pics on here. It also has a plug in for an external IR you can run to a more convenient location. I have installed them in a handfull of vehicles and they work fine. They will skip with heavy bass though. Most of these low dollar dvd players will skip, thats just getting what you are paying for. If you pay more for a Kenwood, Alpine, Etc. they are made better to withstand the abuse of a car. These brands have rarely skipped in the most bass heavy vehicles that I have built.

Skipping is hardly the problem, the problem is that the console shifts and moves with the car and peoples arms. So the door doesn't always swing up nice. I've havent seen those portable apex players yet.