Anyone got a hidden headunit?

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akirony
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Anyone got a hidden headunit?

Post by akirony » Sun May 18, 2014 7:49 pm

For some reason some Lowlife POS decided to burgle my street. They took my radio and my $300 dewalt drill. I've have this radio for 3yrs. It was just a mechless cd-less radio. It's probably worth 10 bucks but now I'm tuneless. Looking for any pics of a hidden headunit if anyone could assist me. Trying to go higher end
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occasional demons
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Post by occasional demons » Sun May 18, 2014 10:57 pm

Don't have any pics, but a buddy of mine put one in the glove box of his Beetle way back in the day. I guess if you removed the tray from your glove box, you could mount a HU in there, and use a remote IR receiver/transmitter to control it. You could mount the eye to the receiver/transmitter in the radio delete plate. I used something like that when I mounted the Zune dock in my console, since the docks remote receiver was beneath the console.
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Post by Midnight_Rider » Sun May 18, 2014 11:54 pm

^^Off-topic but that reminds me of the cassette player I had in my '79 Civic- placed it sideways, loose in the glove box. :lol: I had to flip open the box to insert/remove a cassette or change the volume.
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Ramroid
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Post by Ramroid » Mon May 19, 2014 12:39 am

I installed one in my M3. It was relatively easy actually.

Get the wiring harness adapter, lengthen the wires around 4 or 5', and put it in your center console. Make a block off plate where the radio originally goes. Only thing thats a PITA is the antenna adapter, lengthening that thing is a pain.

You'll have to take the center console out and fab up a bracket to hold the radio in place, but its actually a pretty neat spot for it.

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Post by FAC3L3SS » Mon May 19, 2014 7:48 am

My only issue with hidden equipment is that the original spot has a delete panel or is empty, which to me signals there is something nicer in the vehicle which in turn will tempt theft a bit more.

Then again I leave my wallet in plain sight and someone broke into my car in my driveway to steal a 7 year old Alpine radio...
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Post by akirony » Mon May 19, 2014 8:03 am

I've thought about the delete and buying a factory radio just to fill the hole. I really only used my radio for playing music from USB sticks. Was thinking about the cubbyhole hole under but I'm not too good at fabbing interior parts like brackets. And I don't even know where I'd get wire for lengthening the antenna wire.
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Post by occasional demons » Mon May 19, 2014 8:20 am

They do sell extenders for the antenna wire. You just plug and play.

Using a factory radio isn't a bad idea, you could even use the front with the rest removed and mount it in the hole if you wanted to save a pound or two.

Unfortunately, you will have to do some kind of fabbing to mount a HU in an other than stock location.

You could mount it in the trunk, but it would take extending the connector wires quite a bit, or running different speaker wires all together. A glass mounted antenna that they sell for street rods could be mounted to the inside of the back glass.

But if you mainly use MP3 for music, the antenna may not be a deal breaker. I have no exterior antenna on the 1st gen, it is in the passenger A pillar.

I can't say reception is the best tho. I will be trying one of the glass mounts I mentioned. It appears to a small black box that attaches to the glass.

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Bill
Olha Koba, a psychologist in Kyiv, said that “anger and hate in this situation is a normal reaction and important to validate.” But it is important to channel it into something useful, she said, such as making incendiary bombs out of empty bottles.
2000 Neon MTX swap with '02 R/T PCM
1999 neon coupe 2.4 swap
2021 Forester

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akirony
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Post by akirony » Mon May 19, 2014 8:50 am

Ill try the factory faceplate. I'm ok with lengthening a few wires and the antenna too since there is a plug and play option. I wonder if I can hide it behind the factory faceplate. I'm gonna talk with a local srt guy who owned his own audio shop.
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occasional demons
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Post by occasional demons » Mon May 19, 2014 9:43 am

I think a single DIN unit will fit behind there, as long as there is enough depth. Without an adapter plate to fit the din and a half hole, it will slide right through.
Bill
Olha Koba, a psychologist in Kyiv, said that “anger and hate in this situation is a normal reaction and important to validate.” But it is important to channel it into something useful, she said, such as making incendiary bombs out of empty bottles.
2000 Neon MTX swap with '02 R/T PCM
1999 neon coupe 2.4 swap
2021 Forester

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