Psyke
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Posts posted by Psyke
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Alrighty, more tests done tonight. I unfortunately didn't have any different USB flash drives available, but I did have a number of SD cards available. Ah, but the 4.3 screen doesn't come with an SD Card reader you say? well, I happened to have a spare USB card reader at work that I brought home for the evening
. The 3 cards I tested were a Class 2 4GB card, a Class 6 4GB card and a Class10 8GB card. the higher Class number, the better the performance. As I started taking more photographs with better camera's, it became apparent having a faster SD cards was essential when I was doing burst photography, as a toddler waits for no one, least of all Daddy trying to setup a shot...I did do the same test as I did yesterday. I took the 1.85GB/372 music files and dumped them on all the cards after making sure they were all formatted to FAT32. Once the wife came home, I got to work. Plugged the reader into the USB and then plugged the Class6 SD card. The system came to life with the sounds of music. I hit shuffle and jumped around songs for a while, playing different songs at different points and it worked with no issues save the previously browsing issues. I then plugged in the Class 2 card, and as I was expecting, I started getting read errors right off the bat. this time however, I didn't even get a portion of the first song playing, suggesting that this SD card has even worse performance than my 16GB flash drive. I then moved on to the Class 10 card and it started playing almost immediately. I have also have a MicroSD card (8GB Class 2) that I'm going to try later, but I decided to scale up my test and went out and purchased a 500GB Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex drive.
Now, I've come across an issue most people won't realize, and won't know how to fix once they do figure it out. Most external Hard Drives (HDD's going forward) will be formatted in NTFS as noted above. However, unless you own an Apple computer or are running Linux, Windows Xp/Vista/7 won't let you format the drive into anything other than NTFS (or exFat, but I won't get into that), at least not the way most people tend to do it. You can only format the drive via Command line. Despite the fact that I work with PC's, this threw me for a few minutes because I've never had to format a large HDD into anything other than NTFS for myself or my clients...never had a reason *shrug*
In any case, if you ever need to format a drive that is larger than 32GB into FAT 32, this is how: go to Start and select RUN (for Windows 7 just start typing in the search programs and files area after you press start). Type in CMD and then enter. From there, you can just type FORMAT /FS:FAT32 X: replacing X with whatever drive letter you're trying to format. Then sit back, have a beer, go for a drive (not both, one or the other...geez) and chill for a bit because it's gonna take a while, which is what I'm in the middle of doing right now. Will report back later on the results.
Edit: will need to find another way; The format crapped out at one point over the course of the night (well past 50% though was when I went to bed) with a message saying windows could format in fat because the drive is too large...would have been nice to have seen that before I had started
. will try to find another app and report back here.Cheers!
Steph S.
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don't get me wrong, the system is buggy as hell, and having good documentation on the limitations of the system would be fantastic (even the uconnect site is pretty sparse on info, and that goes for the documentation for the system) instead of having to do all this trial and error BS. However, Chrysler is definitely not alone in these types of complaints.
True, it's not a full computer, so it shouldn't cost ten times as much.
ah, but it's specialized, hence the cost
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the 255 files per folder limit is definitely not just a dodge journey issue, but more a memory issue seen in most car audio systems.(do a google search, although I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule). The best reasoning I saw was this: 255 is a significant number in electronics. 2 raised to the 8th power is 256. So if the stereo reserved one byte (8 bits) to count songs 255 is a typical limit, found here: http://www.city-data.com/forum/computers/1423055-cars-their-usb-ports-sound-windows.html#ixzz1vhq9W6Y9. One thing to remember, these things are still just music players; they aren't full computers, yet, so they aren't usually equipped with very much memory, and that memory is more than likely shared by all systems (radio, hvac, system settings, etc).
In general, there is no software fix for this and audio manufactures would need to increase the amount of ram that their head units have to get around this limitation. However, because most programs like iTunes, Windows Media player, MediaMonkey and the like can sort and organize music files by artist/album/genre/etc at the folder level, the 255 limit shouldn't matter to most people because if you move the music from within the application to a portable harddrive, then it should keep the same structure.
If you want to get a general idea on how car audio system might interpret, take a look at this kenwood spec sheet. While our systems are not Kenwood, it's probably very similar as these types of things tend to be pretty standard when it it comes to audio files.
As for less problems with iIPods, the reason for this is that the head unit is really only providing the interface; the iPod itself is actually doing most of the work.
cheers!
Steph S.
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A USB stick won't work if you have more than a gig of music or 255 songs, whichever comes first. It'll only play whatever fits within the limtation.
4.3 inch screen, 2GB Thumb drive, 1.85GB in music files and 372 songs. Plays the music no problems, all tracks. Browsing is an issue however, in that the only reliable way of browsing all songs is browsing via folders, which I have it sorted by artist, then album, then song, so it keeps it pretty well organized. Browsing any other way is very limited by the software in that it's very buggy.
I then took another thumb drive, this time 16GB and loaded it up with the same music; while the system does see the tracks, it plays a few seconds of the first track, then starts cycling through each of the songs, returning an error, unable to read.
Now, there are a couple of differences between the drives. The 16GB Kingston is a very basic drive with low average read/write, and the lowest I could format it was FAT32 due to the size of the drive. The 2GB stick is a high performance (for the time) OCZ Rally2 drive I had purchase a number of years ago as a superfetch cache drive for Windows Vista. The other difference is that it's formatted in FAT. I'm going to try formatting the 2GB drive in both FAT32 and NTSF to see if the system can still recognize the files to see if that's the limiting factor, or is it the performance of the drive.
cheers!
Steph S.
Update - Fat32 worked flawlessly, while NTFS produced a "USB Error", the latter being expected. So I'm thinking more that it might very well be that perfomance of the drive is the limiting factor. I'll do some benchmarks on both drives and see what that produces.
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I really like the looks of the DRAWTITE hitch in this forum and took the picture to the U-Haul hitch dealer near me to see if theirs was as tight and clean. The lead tech told me u-hauls hitches are manufactured by DRAWTITE and will be close to the bumper.... $315 later (nice price) and i'm NOT over joyed about the finished look. I was hoping for a higher, less bulky look like Dodgeman324's.....The only thing i can see is that maybe the 2012 has a slight difference in rear profile with the "stow and go" and spare tire that makes a difference in the hitch....Oh well......
while it might have been made by drawtite, the model dodgeman has and the uhaul model you picked up are definitely different. Dodgeman's has fully straight bars from the mounts to the hitch, while yours are bent bars that drop down from the mount, then angles/curves towards the hitch. I believe I found the model Dodgeman bought here: http://www.etrailer....leid=2012201530 which includes a video for installing it if anyone is interested in doing themselves. I have no plans for hooking up a trailer, but I'm looking to install one of these at one point sans wiring harness just so I can tow bicycles (and realizing I really don't have enough room for even one bike in the trunk with the second row up....)
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My Caliber was developed something similar a couple of times, on both sides of the car. in our case it was lower ball joint, and while it did rattle on bumps, it was more apparent during stop and goes (could hear a clunk). You could always try jacking up the DJ and with the wheel off the ground, grab the wheel on either side and see if there is any play/wobbliness. if there's any play, then you might have suspension issues.
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I don't believe the 2011/2012 would fit in the 2010 or earlier models, at least not easily.; looking at the images of the two, where the floor console meets the center stack, the 2010 runs flush, while the 2011+ goes underneath and connects further back., and I think it runs lower, so there may be a gap. I just don't think it would work without some serious modifications.
Personally, the two things I really like with the newer console (apart from the look itself), are the cup holder placement and the armrest storage; The cup holders a bit higher up and the gear shift doesn't seem to intrude over it like the previous versions. With the armrest storage, It keeps the same size I believe, but is not split into two area's, making it easier to store larger items.I don't know if the 2010 or earlier models had the little tray that sits on top to hold loose change/media player, etc..
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A powered vanity mirror is on the other side, and I'm not sure how easy it would be to install, but looking at it, it should be pretty straight forward: unscrew the old, decouple the power harness, re-couple the power harness of the the new, screw it back together. As long as you have a powered vanity mirror (it has lights), then the power harness should be there and you'd be good to go. If there is no power harness, then it'd probably be a lot harder to do.
Alternatively, if you already have a regular garage door opener, you could do this : http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/index.php?/topic/1843-diy-garage-door-opener-into-your-overhead-console-wo-homelink-only/
cheers!
Steph S.
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Congrats Viberts. And, if anyone is wondering about the TI designation: transmission intégrale = AWD.
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The 3.6 doesn't support deactivation, not sure where you heard that.
the Wiki entry on it mentions support for it, while a "fan" page also mentions a quote by Chrysler when the engine was known as 'Phoenix' :
Chrysler wrote that:
“The new Phoenix of V-6 engines will feature cylinder deactivation (MDS)...the engine will operate efficiently on three cylinders when less power is needed, and in V-6 mode when more power is needed. This optimizes fuel economy when V-6 power is not required – without sacrificing vehicle performance or capability.``
The Info may be a bit dated, which is why I figured I`d ask.
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Hey folks,
The Pentastar engine does support Cylinder deactivation, but haven't been able to find any info on if the DJ takes advantage of it? Anyone happen to know?
cheers!
Steph S.
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Otherwise its not a bad vehicle, but even with the third row it is cramped for a family of five with 2 kids in boosters and a baby carrier. Need something bigger.
When you have 2 boosters and a car seat, yeah, it can be a bit cramped, and I think it'll be like that for almost anything other than a minivan. But once you drop the boosters, it's really not that bad; took my mom and wife out for mothers day dinner and the 11 year old used the 3rd row for the first time and she was in heaven having the third row to herself, while the wife was in the second row with the 3 year old in her monster car sear, the pull down armrest between them, and mom was up with me. While I can't picture a 3rd person in the second row sitting very comfortably in the middle with the car seat back there, I could still add another person to the rear seats with ease, bringing the total to 6.
cheers!
Steph S.
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Its not just software, differnt intake and exhaust.
and just to back that up,Allpar.com had this mention: "The Challenger SE's 13 horsepower increase over other Pentastar engines is due to "a more aggressively designed intake air system" which increased airflow from 214 to 220 g/s. The cam is identical"
So, if you want to get the same HP, try swapping out your air intake :D
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Most European cars from mid-size and up have oil level sensors too. That's what I really miss on my Freemont. My last car showed me the oil level every time I turned ignition on. This was a very nice feature. No need to open the hood and get dirty fingers.
Dunno, but I check my oil regularly and never get my fingers dirty; that's what the dip stick is for
. Seriously though, having a level indicator would be pretty nice.Regarding oil use in previous posts, I'm just over 3K Km and haven't noticed any oil loss due to use or otherwise. Am so far loving the Pentastar engine.
Cheers!
Steph S.
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Cloth seats here and not hearing anything. We do have a bunch of the kids things in them though, so maybe we have them weighed down enough? when I drive alone, I often drive with the radio off because I like to listen to the quietness of the ride. The only things I notice are self made rattles and vibrations (cd cases in the center tray vibrating, metal bottles in the doors rattling), but otherwise all's still nice and quiet. That said, I do know that the car will start to loosen up the longer we have it and I fully expect noises to develop over time.
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You're right; unfortunately the US SXT doesn't have it, but the Canadian SXT does...too bad they can't be consistent with their trim levels.
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The Standard cable should be all you need, but I didn't think you could stream services from the device, only music files (mp3, acc,etc). Does that portion work? Unfortunately I only have a regular nano so I can't say anything about app streaming, but you really should only need the cable that came with your phone.
cheers!
Steph S.
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as long as you leave the headlights knob to "auto", they will turn on and off on their own. The SXT should have this feature standard. The timer you can set is a security feature for those people who want to have have the lights on so they can see where they are going after they leave the car (or to illuminate around the car to make sure no one is lurking), but again, the headlights need to be set to auto for it to shut off after the time set. If they are left on, then they will stay on until the battery protection timer kicks in (I believe it's about 10 minutes).
cheers, and congrats on the new DJ!
Steph S.
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once you mentioned the evic for the challenger, I googled Hidden Evic, which brings up different ones for the 300, challenger, and Charger. The '12 charger had the only one that had a sequence that used keys that the journey shared (apart from the challenger, which didn't work for me either). For the 300, it wants you to hold down the music and compass keys on the steering wheel, which we don't have. I tried to use the back and cancel buttons (same physical locations), but that didn't work. The journey quite possibly has other menu's,and it would be great if our resident in the know people could share some of their knowledge :D.
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just found one, but not like the challenger, and more emulates the 3 key turn mentioned further above:
- get in the car, but don't start or hit the brake
- hold the down selection button on the steering wheel
- turn the car over to run (but again, don't hit the brake)
you should get a full dash diagnostic (ie - dash lights up like a christmas tree and goes through a diagnostic routine) as well as version number informations on the evic.
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I'm assuming you're seeing the light display come on the dash? only thing I could suggest is to check the sensor (right in the middle of the dash, right by the windshield, looks like a little dome) and make sure nothing is blocking it. maybe take a cloth and clean it off; if its still coming on in full light, then have the dealer take a look?
cheers!
Steph S.
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*sigh* whatever dude. You win.
cheers!
Steph S.
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Not sure what picture you looked at:
http://www.experiencealpine.com/
THEN CLICK ON THE DODGE LOGO, THEN CLICK ON THE PIC OF THE JOURNEY ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN,
it shows you a pic, of 4 6x9 speakers, 2 3.5speakers, the amp and the woofer.
" Dodge including a 7.1 channel surround sound system available on the Durango and Charger, and a premium audio system available on the Charger and Journey"
THE 7.1 IS ONLY ON THE DURANGO AND CHARGER....
After you click on DODGE logo, then the JOURNEY logo and after the picture pulls up.
If you click on the left side where you see like a siloutte of the speakers, the Journey will pop up and shows you a cross section fo were everthing is.
as I said, I clicked on system layout and gallery, but for the full sequence, I went to http://www.experiencealpine.com/ , I CLICKED ON THE DODGE LOGO, THEN CLICKED ON THE PIC OF THE JOURNEY ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN. I THEN SCROLLED TO THE RIGHT UNTIL I CAME TO SYSTEM LAYOUT, AND GOT THIS PICTURE PRESENTED TO ME:
I THEN CLOSED THAT SCREEN AND WENT AGAIN TO THE RIGHT UNTIL I FOUND GALLERY AND CLICKED ON IT AND FOUND THIS PICTURE:
Hopefully that helps you understand what I'm trying to point out, which is a presentation of a DODGE JOURNEY, with 9 speakers, and One Amp, unless you'd like to edumacate me some more. Now, I do understand that this is a probably a pretty big gaff on Alpine's side, but none the less, it presents even more confusion, particularly, as you say, THE 7.1 IS ONLY ON THE DURANGO AND CHARGER....
On a side, somewhat related note, the wife and I went to the drive in tonight to see The Avengers, and this system has no power; had seen a number of movies there with the Caliber and it was amazing for it. Also extremely annoying that the DJ would turn off, even when in Acc, every 30 minutes or so and that the interior lighting would only dim if the external lights were on... had to use my had to block out the gauges. Ah well, amazing movie none the less :D
cheers!
Steph S.
Problems with USB
in Audio, Infotainment Navigation, MyGig, UConnect, etc.
Posted
I've tried using Linux, but keep going back to Windows because of the apps I use and the compatibility it offer to my clients. I did end up finding a simple app called GUIFormat that seems to have done the job required. Now I just need to wait to be picked up tonight and try it out.
Power wise, there should be no issues unless the drive requires more than the 500mA minimum USB2.0 is supposed provide. Seeing as iPod's and iPhones are supported, and they require minimum 500mA, not to mention that it charges my Blackberry, which also requires a minimum of 500mA, I can't see this being an issue. The Drive I picked up last night does use 500mA and is a portable hard drive and not an external Hdd that would require an external power source to work properly.
And for me, this isn't a hassle; I'm trying to do this to make it easier for folks determine what will work vs what might work vs what won't work to try and cut down on frustration; it's what I do :D , although it would be nice if Chrysler did this themselves as they should already have this technical information on hand.
cheers!
Steph S.