Lebowski Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 [i'm splitting this in various posts since the forum says there are too many pictures] When I acquired my freemont, it was only available with the dreaded uconnect 4.3 (aka POS) and without the option of a video system (and even if available I wouldn't have ordered it due to the exorbitant price). Also, this is a company car, so I cannot do any permanent modification or anything that leaves some mark, that precluded installing an after market roof DVD or installing headrest monitors. Before Christmas I saw this HD dvb-t receiver that can also play media from an usb drive. Dvb-t is the digital television standard used in Europe, and, just like ATSC, is not suitable for mobile reception, but I thought I could use it to play movies, since it plays almost everything (avi, mkv, mp4, etc.) The price was right (21 EUR, more or less $27) so I bought it without thinking. It turns out it fits perfectly in the compartment in front of the cup holders. At the time I connected to the AV-in of my gps receiver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted March 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 After Christmas I ordered from aliexpress a 7" monitor for $45 (with 800x480 resolution, most models only have 480x272 and I think it is not acceptable for this screen size), and a 4.3" monitor for $22 (in this case 480x272 is acceptable, though, again, you have to be careful since there are a lot with lower resolution). I also bought a car antenna on ebay for $9. It's not bad, but it's not very good. It works but not better than a bow tie antenna that I made with a piece of wire. This one at least is easy to hide in the space above the rearview mirror. I intended to mount the 7" monitor on the armrest, while the 4.3" one was for the "passenger" This is a general view of the whole system (note that the supply cable is in plain sight just because I'm waiting for a 12V to 5V step down converter, for the time being I'm using the stock 220V power supply with an inverter). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted March 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 And this is how a rear seat passenger sees it (from the photos you can't see the quality of the video, obviously it is not comparable to the plasma screen I have at home, but it is good enough). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted March 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 This is the simple holder I made for the monitor, held in place with two (hidden) screws and covered in felt to avoid scratching the plastic of the center console (it doesn't touch it but one never knows). I put some felt behind the monitor to avoid damaging the leather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted March 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Opening the armrest you can see where the monitor cable... ..enters the well (where I also put the inverter as a provisional power supply). In order to lay the video and audo cables hidden in the console, I had to open a hole below the usb connector. It doesn't matter because it's hidden and I can cover it when I return the car. I left in place some pins to eventually connect an audio amplifier so the kids can listen to a movie wearing headphones while we adults listen to some good music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted March 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 This is the view from the driver side And this is the receiver, where I also put the 4.3" monitor with a couple of rubber bricks and some double sided adhesive tape. It is not centered in order not to cover the usb socket and the IR receiver. Beware in order to connect both monitors in parallel, you need a video amplifier. I modified the input stage of the 4.3" one instead, removing the 75Ohm resistor in parallel to its input, hence making it an high impedance input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redtomatoman Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Wow, impressive project. Clean installation with wires hidden. Looks great. Enjoy! Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcgusto82 Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Nice. Looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 A little update: I got tired of the front sceen being so low, so I put it in the space under the Uconnect 4.3" screen. I removed the screen from the original enclosure, separated the circuit board and, removing the pins, I passed the cable through one of the existing holes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 I glued the circuit 90º behind the screen Here I added some cables so I could put the buttons somewhere else (under the center console) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 (edited) The screen in the final location Then I made a bezel with a piece of cardboard painted black, but I didn't like it Edited October 14, 2013 by Lebowski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 So I covered it with leatherette But still I didn't like it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lebowski Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 ...so I made another one (no photos but the procedure is similar) (sorry for the multiple posts, the board wouldn't let me put all images in a single one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrisjohn6 Posted November 15, 2013 Report Share Posted November 15, 2013 Nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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