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Trials and Tribulations with Stereo Install (aftermarket)

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Old 09-23-2011, 08:53 PM
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Default Trials and Tribulations with Stereo Install (aftermarket)

WARNING!
This is more or less an account of my trials and tribulations (with hopefully mild successes as well). The more experienced might possibly get a few chuckles out this, and the n00bs (like me) could find some useful information if they choose to undertake a similar installation.

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Almost a year ago I grew tired with my old phone, and hopped on down to the Verizon store to cash in my 2 year free upgrade and get a Droid X. Why a Droid? Because on the off chance that Google will be SkyNet I would rather be on their side once they become self-aware, that and I really can't stand Macintosh (for reasons I will leave out of this thread if i can help it).

I had owned my Droid for a while, figuring out all the new capabilities my 'smart' phone had that my 'stupid' phone did not. The main thing I always seemed to use on the Droid (aside from Angry Birds, texting, picture taking, and placing phone calls) was the Google maps navigation feature. It was so much easier having only one device in my life rather than the four necessary to accomplish the same quality of living.

Time went on and my love for my Droid grew and grew. I wanted to share the love I had for my Droid with anything I could. However, since I moved out of my home state and joined the working class my circle of friends kept dwindling, so I chose to share the love with my car. That's when the idea for my little project started.

I thought to myself: "There are so many vehicles and stereos that claim 'iPod compatibility', why can't there be the same for my Droid?" I researched the avenues available to me to integrate my Droid into my car. the Car Dock was fine for a while, but with it the Droid seemed an afterthought rather than as if Volvo had foresaw my desire to use my Droid in my car. I came to the conclusion that a Bluetooth connection would be the best way to connect my Droid's audio with my car's speakers. I went to Newegg.com to browse what I had found to be called 'car stereo receivers' by some and 'car stereos' by others. From my research I knew i needed stereo with Bluetooth A2dp. I found one, within my price range that I thought would look decent in my car: Naxa NCA-692. While waiting for the stereo to arrive, i browsed around the internet to find out if there might be anything else I might need to install the stereo and to get little tips and tricks that might aid my installation project. i found out i needed something called an 'Installation Kit'. After finding out this gem of information I buzzed across town to the only car audio shop I had seen to see if I could pick one up on the spot (yes, I could have ordered one online, but the risk of putting myself through a scenario akin to a birthday full of electronics and no batteries had to be averted by all means necessary). Lucky for me they had one, and cheaper than I had seen on Amazon.com!

So here I sit for a few days, installation kit in hand (well, actually it was in my car) with not a stereo to install. Then, while I was browsing through my DVR's catchings from the night before, I heard a knock at the door. Neither my Roommate nor I had ordered any food, and we have no friends that would just drop by all ***** nilly. Then, I suddenly felt like I was going to see Santa Clause. I opened the door, and there he was, good old Saint Nick. Sure, he doesn't wear his red and white costume anymore, but even in his new brown one and the deceiving acronym 'UPS', I know its him.

At this point in time I am the proud and happy owner of a new car stereo and an installation kit. I immediately started my installation project, thinking I could get all of it done before the drive to work. I was sadly mistaken. The aluminum bracket that screws into the dashboard fascia was too small to fit the aluminum cage that holds the new stereo. I had to re-size this bracket, so i went to town with a flat metal file, but got no where fast. I had to wait until the next night to use the tools in the maintenance shop at my work. So in between my work duties I would scurry off and work on re-sizing this bracket.

Once I finally got this bracket re-sized and all the little pieces sliding into each other, I started attempting to connect all the wires for my stereo. This did not go so well. i found out the next day that there is another item that would behoove you to acquire. The wiring harness. This little item (it was actually two items in my case) is a female plug which easily clicks onto its male counterpart in your car with wires that magically match up with the colors on the plugs that came with your stereo. After acquiring this item, I ran to my local Radio Shack to pick up some solder (I was already in possession of a soldering iron), and then to Lowe's for some heat shrink tubing. Once these purchases had been made, i raced home eager to solder together these two (four in my case) plugs' wires.

After the connections had been made and tested for continuity, I used the heat shrink tubing to insulate the connections. Then came the moment of truth. I connected the two home-made adapters to my car and my stereo and fired everything up. It all worked, so i proceeded with mounting the stereo in the center console. The only problem with the mounting was that the A/C control unit of the center console did not align with the screw holes to secure it to the fascia. But even without the screws, everything seemed firm, so I can wait until it is bright outside again to fix this new little bump.
 
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