Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:19:35 -0500
Reply-To: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: radio and stereo question - ignore previous (incomplete)
email!
In-Reply-To: <C55A01C7.6257%mwmiller@cwnet.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
As far as the depth thing goes and certain head units not fitting.....
i bought one of those. And it's installed : )
The trick for me, was to take a 2x4 and insert it into the open stereo hole
on the dash, and really beat on it with a hammer. That "adjusts" the
obstructing brace in the back accordingly and adds a half inch or so to the
clearance, allowing for easy installation. I wouldn't reccomend cutting this
brace out or anything rash like that, it is there to strengthen the dash,
but a little adjustment seems alright to me....
Has anyone found an acceptable adaptor to make installing a new stereo plug
and play into a vanagon? I just cut and spliced wires....
Aux inputs are great. I bought a unit with rear and front aux inputs, and i
have the rear ones wired up to a set of Aux inputs in the back. This lets
you control the stereo from the ipod, in your hand, while in bed. I also
have replaced the stock GL speaker pods with a set of BOSE bookshelf
speakers which are loose under the bed. The reason they're loose, is because
the speaker wires from the speaker pods have been extended seceretly down
into the bed area, so the speakers are hooked up and working, but that left
me with a hole where the speaker pods were in the headliner. I solved this
by installing a set of quick connect audio plugs (like you'd find on the
back of a stereo) on each side (which are wired up). So, when i get to my
destination, say i'ts a nice picnic on a summers day, i can pop the
bookshelf speakers out of the bed, grab a spare set of pre wound 25foot
speaker cables i have, plug them into my rear speaker ports, and position
the speakers whare i'd like outside the van, using the van as a boombox!
With the rear Aux input, it's real nice : )
This is one of my favorite mods i've made to my van, and can't reccomend it
highly enough! Even if you were just to install the speaker ports, and then
you could carry a seperate set of bookshelf speakers and wires when you knew
you'd be outside the van and wanting tunes..... it's just wonderful!
-Craig
'85GL turned WESTY
On Tue, Dec 2, 2008 at 12:04 AM, Mike Miller <mwmiller@cwnet.com> wrote:
> Stereos differ in size. You need to get the proper size. Most shops and on
> line places like Crutchfield can do that but they don't always.
>
> You can get just the front end [FM, MP3, Bluetooth, whatever] if you want.
> I
> don't' know about cassette players being available.
>
> Yes they make car stereos with remotes. I have one. A Sony. Terrible piece
> of gear.
>
> Mike from Marin
>
>
>
>
> On 12/1/08 5:47 PM, "Joy Hecht" <hecht.joy@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> > Sorry, I accidentally sent this too soon! Let me try again...
> >
> > I am thinking of splurging (given the poor state of the economy and all
> > that) and getting a new stereo for my van. Mine makes horrid scratchy
> > noises a lot of the time, especially if I've been running the radio on a
> > long drive - I think it overheats or something. I don't think it's the
> > speakers - I replaced them a couple of years ago, and this doesn't happen
> > with tapes. (Yeah, it's old, has a cassette player.)
> >
> > A couple of basic questions (I've never bought a car stereo before):
> >
> > - are all car (van) stereos the same size, or are they particular to
> the
> > vehicle? If the latter, is it hard to find stereos for vanagons?
> > - do car stereos and speakers come in a package, or can I reuse the
> > speakers I have and not pay to replace them? (I'm not fussy about sound
> > quality - I listen mostly to NPR news, not music.)
> > - do they still make car stereos with cassette players? Or only DVDs
> and
> > MP3 connections?
> > - and the most interesting question (to me) - do they make car stereos
> > with remotes? I'd love to be able to hang out in the back listening to
> the
> > radio, and not have to scramble and stretch to turn it off. A remote
> would
> > be grand.
> >
> > Thanks for your advice!
> >
> >
> >
> > Joy
> > and Matilda, who really can't stand that horrid old radio one day longer!
> >
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