[IcedSuPrA]

hello,
Before i start, let me say that i dont know much about audio and speakers and all that, and most of the time my radio is off when i drive the supra..

i am about to upgrade my sound system in the supra along with the head unit..This is mainly cosmetic so i can get rid of my old stock head unit and get something that looks fresh to go along with my completely brand new interior...i am going to upgrade the speakers, but nothing special..i will probably just go with some basic same size as stock speakers..

Now for my head unit..I am looking for a double din flat screen to fit right into the stock dash...if anyone has any suggestions please let me know which ones are good..
I would like one with all the bells and whistles (gps, bluetooth, satellite, dvd, etc etc)
Now my biggest pet peeves with the supra is trying to keep it mainly stock looking on the interior and also that big ugly stock antenna that goes up when u trun the radio on..
First off about the interior, does anyone know of a head unit that uses some sort of very small gps antenna to mount, so i dont have to mount some ugly looking box on my dash for everyone to see??

and my next big issue is, does anyone know if there is a way that you can make the stock antenna work like it does with the stock head unit?? meaning, can you make it only go up when you use the fm radio and make it go down when using cd's or satellite radio? I don't want it to be up when im driving around cause its ugly as sin..and shaving it isn't an option..
Is it true that the supra has a secondary antenna built into the rear window somewhere, so i can just disable the stock antenna all together??

This is such a big deal to me that it has been the reason i havent upgraded my head unit in the 6 years i owned this supra

any info you can give me would help
thanks in advance
Anthony

 

[quick_dry]

I think most aftermarket head units will control the aerial in the way you want (I know my older Clarion does this).
I'm in the market for a new unit fitting your requirements so am interested to see what results come back.

 

[IcedSuPrA]

anyone have any suggestions for us...

 

[flightz71]

Alpine headunits have separate turn on wires for amps and power antenna. Amplifier will turn on when headunit is on, power antenna will only rise when the radio is turned on. Pioneer on the other hand utlize the same wire for both functions. Turning on the headunit will turn on amps and the power antenna regardless whether you're using FM/AM or another source. Only way to bypass the antenna being always up is to install your own custom switch on the power antenna wire side, making it so you can raise and lower the antenna at will when your headunit is on.

Both Alpine and Pioneer GPS antenna are all nice compact and flat squares that won't look bad sitting on the dash.

Pioneer headunits are better now imo, only slightly lacking on SQ becasue it doesn't use a true 24bit burrbrown digital out for the iPod. Sound quality is still superub though. Also, pioneers have graphic equalizers built in whereas Alpine you need to buy the imprint unit. Pioneer's recent top of the line (Z130bt) also has HD radio built into the headunit without having to buy a separate module.

Check out the Pioneer Z120bt, it's the one I have and it's spectacular. One of the best iPod interfaces, excellent navigation, very clean looking unit.

 

[Evolved 6-speed]

The kenwood dnx 6960 I have sits perfectly into the supra double DIN opening and has selectable button illumination so it can match the factor green.

The GPS antenna is about the size of those mini chocolate candies (cube shaped) you buy during halloween and mounts on a magnetic pad. PM me if you want some pics.

 

[euhysh]

It has 2 antenna, once you take your stock headunit out, you will see two antenna plugged into it, one large and one small. I only use the small one plugged into my aftermarket headunit with use of an adapter. Gets decent reception, but once I drive out over 30 miles from the stations, nothing.

 

[IcedSuPrA]

^^^^^ and your stock antenna doesnt go up at all anymore??

i talked to a local car audio shop in my area that works on all high end cars etc etc and he seems to be pushing me toward the pioneer 930xx model which is supposed to be pretty new and has all the options that i want..this guy said that the pioneer can be programmed to work the antenna the wat it works from factory..i ddint talk to him about anything else but the pioneer and also i hear that the gps on pioneer is superb and others lack in map quality and things like that...

Flightz71...when you say the antenna and amp will go on when the "radio" is turned on, are you talking about the headunit itself or just the "fm radio" function...if it goes down when i go from radio to cd or satellite i will be happy...

wiring up more switches etc etc is out of the question to control the antenna..i am trying to minimize the amount of wiring in the car..i am trying to keep it as stock as i can while making modern upgrades to the interior

thanks
Anthony

 

[IcedSuPrA]

can anyone tell me off hand weather there is any cutting or fitment issues when putting in one of these head units...also do they fit flush like factory fitment or do they stick out slightly from the dash?

I want this to fit like it came from the factory and i will not cut my brand new dash panels

please help

 

[IcedSuPrA]

ok so i found out that there is no cutting and it will fit like factory...thats one problem solved...now i do need a definite answer on the antenna issue ....i keep hearing from the people at my local audio shop that its possible to do what i want with this unit and on here some people say it isnt...
Im leanign toward the people on here since i am just thinking the shop is just trying to sell me the unit and will say whatever to get me to buy it there....but then again they sell other brands and they specifically sent me toward the Pioneer AVIC-X930BT...just cause it is what I want as far as fitment etc etc..i dont want a flip out screen or anything like that..i like flush mounted and also the Maps for the GPS are pretty nice with Pioneer units..
Can anyone recommend another unit just like this one??

Also this local shop told me that I can mount the GPS antenna under the dash so its not ugly as hell sitting on my dash, and it will still work fine...Is this true?? I always thought they had to be in clear view of the sky or they dont get a signal

all help is appreciated

thanks
Anthony

 

[Evolved 6-speed]

Pictures as promised.

Excuse the dash; I can't believe how much dust is visible using the macro mode.


The antenna is wire is tucked in the seam between the dash and back glass, and then is routed behind the a-pillar and underneath the dash panels to the headunit.

As you can see the headunit fits perfectly snug into the Supra's dash opening. The supplied cover plate from Kenwood is not needed.

The fit is dead on, with a very thin (and even) gap between the headunit edge and dash panel.

 

[flightz71]

^^^^^ and your stock antenna doesnt go up at all anymore??

i talked to a local car audio shop in my area that works on all high end cars etc etc and he seems to be pushing me toward the pioneer 930xx model which is supposed to be pretty new and has all the options that i want..this guy said that the pioneer can be programmed to work the antenna the wat it works from factory..i ddint talk to him about anything else but the pioneer and also i hear that the gps on pioneer is superb and others lack in map quality and things like that...

Flightz71...when you say the antenna and amp will go on when the "radio" is turned on, are you talking about the headunit itself or just the "fm radio" function...if it goes down when i go from radio to cd or satellite i will be happy...

wiring up more switches etc etc is out of the question to control the antenna..i am trying to minimize the amount of wiring in the car..i am trying to keep it as stock as i can while making modern upgrades to the interior

thanks
Anthony

^^^^^ and your stock antenna doesnt go up at all anymore??

i talked to a local car audio shop in my area that works on all high end cars etc etc and he seems to be pushing me toward the pioneer 930xx model which is supposed to be pretty new and has all the options that i want..this guy said that the pioneer can be programmed to work the antenna the wat it works from factory..i ddint talk to him about anything else but the pioneer and also i hear that the gps on pioneer is superb and others lack in map quality and things like that...

Flightz71...when you say the antenna and amp will go on when the "radio" is turned on, are you talking about the headunit itself or just the "fm radio" function...if it goes down when i go from radio to cd or satellite i will be happy...

wiring up more switches etc etc is out of the question to control the antenna..i am trying to minimize the amount of wiring in the car..i am trying to keep it as stock as i can while making modern upgrades to the interior

thanks
Anthony

Anthony

I noticed the ambiguity in my explanation and have made corrections accordingly. Let me rephase, it is NOT optional to install a switch unless you use a headunit that has seperate +12V for Amplifier turn on and Power Antenna Turn on. NO pioneer head units have this. Adding a switch just requires u to add 2 extra wires (you cut the antenna wire on the harness adapter plug, solder a long piece of wire on each end and run it to a switch), and the switch and just be mounted under your steering column, nice and simple. The purpose of this switch is to control when the power antenna gets +12V therefore lowering and raising it at your own will. If the feature is built into your headunit (seperate +12V power antenna wire), that wire only sees +12V when the radio (FM/AM is on).

Hope this helps.

-Calvin

 

[IcedSuPrA]

^^^^^ that helps me out alot more but you have to excuse me when it comes to wiring and car audio etc etc i am totally clueless to this stuff, so sorry if i sound like a moron asking the dumbest of questions..

i have been talking to the crutchfield techs about this same issue and they pretty much told me the same thing, but they gave me some other suggestions for other Units that offer what i want. The only other unit I sorta like is the Clarion unit that is the same, but only this unit doesnt have any SD card slots and that is one of my requirements....now my problem is that I really really want the Pioneer unit because it is beautiful, it has every feature that i want, and its tried and true cause my friend has it, but the antenna thing is killing me and i really really dont want to wire a switch in the car for this reason....I guess i will just have to weigh out the benefits of each unit..
BTW the unit I want is this one
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/GPS-Navigation/AVIC-Z130BT

can anyone suggest one that is similar to this one from another good brand..I see that kenwood unit in the pics is pretty nice..
I know there is someone out there that knows of the perfect unit for me...pretty much I want one that is satellite radio ready with navi/bluetooth and has sd card slots, that is flat in the dash and doesnt flip or slide out in any way...and oh yeah the antenna issue..

AND finally for my last question...does anyone know if you can mount the GPS antennas under the dash out of sight completely and have it still work properly?? I seem to think the local car audio guy i talked to is just trying to sell me by saying anything...and does anyone have any clever places to mount the bluetooth mic?? I dont want that in sight either..do they make units with the mic built in??

thanks again and sorry for the newb questions
Anthony

 

[sparkboy]

I mounted the GPS antenna under the dash on duct just behind the clock location. Works great.
My pioneer originally did not control the antenna properly when connected to the factory 21 pin (or so) harness. It would only go up when radio was selected, but would not retract until the unit was powered off. I have since removed the 21 (or so) pin harness that ran to the factory amp, and connected into the 15 pin (or so) harness. Now it works perfectly, down with everything but radio, retracts with everything selected but radio. No more RC car look for me, unless listening to the radio.

 

[IcedSuPrA]

^^^^^ wow you just made my day right there....hopefully you know what you are talking about cause your the first one that is saying it can be done...can you pm me and tell me how this is done etc etc if you have the time...im car audio illiterate so you gotta help me out a little bit...

Actually the way you said that the pioneer unit puts the antenna up when you select "radio" and doesnt go down until you turn off the radio completely..thats how my stock 1994 head unit works...but if i just select "CD" right off the bat it turns stock unit on but the antenna doesnt go up....could this be because you have a 98 and my car is a 94??..
i also want this to be the case if i select "satellite radio"
.i could work with that with the pioneer unit since i rarely listen to the regular fm radio anymore anyway...
thanks for the help ..

Also which pioneer hea dunit do you have //im looking at the new 130bt

Anthony

 

[sparkboy]

There is no question that it can be done, my antenna works perfectly. It did not always work right though. As you describe, originally the antenna would only go up when radio was selected, but would never retract until powered off.
I believe there are some differences between the model years, but the important question is do you have a factory amp and is it connected to the radio via a 15 pin or a 10 pin harness? My above post was way off on the pin count. If so, and you plan to retain the factory amp harness, don't connect your antenna wire to the 15 pin harness, go straight to the 10 pin harness to the right of the radio location.
My Pioneer is an Avic D3. It is older, but has the two wires as discussed, one for antenna and one for amp turn on...
Hope that helps

 

[IcedSuPrA]

^^^^^Sparkboy
See what flightz71 said (quote below) about the pioneer head units having one wire for the antenna and amp, but some units have them separate...are you saying the head unit you have is a pioneer and it has 2 separate wires for this??
IDK if im totally confused but to me this seems like 2 different opinions...I hope that Sparkboy is right about this cause ill be buying the pioneer unit tommorw if thats the case..
ALso btw i have the factory amp..I guess i will have to tear my dash apart to find out how many pins there are on the connector...
BTW even if it works the way yours worked when you first hooked it up will be satisfactory for me..i can just power the unit off after listening to FM radio and then switch to cd or whatever like i do now with the factory unit..as long as it isnt up all the time even if im just watching a dvd or playing audio from an SD card

Alpine headunits have separate turn on wires for amps and power antenna. Amplifier will turn on when headunit is on, power antenna will only rise when the radio is turned on. Pioneer on the other hand utlize the same wire for both functions. Turning on the headunit will turn on amps and the power antenna regardless whether you're using FM/AM or another source. Only way to bypass the antenna being always up is to install your own custom switch on the power antenna wire side, making it so you can raise and lower the antenna at will when your headunit is on.

 

[sparkboy]

^^^^^Sparkboy
See what flightz71 said (quote below) about the pioneer head units having one wire for the antenna and amp, but some units have them separate...are you saying the head unit you have is a pioneer and it has 2 separate wires for this??
IDK if im totally confused but to me this seems like 2 different opinions...I hope that Sparkboy is right about this cause ill be buying the pioneer unit tommorw if thats the case..
ALso btw i have the factory amp..I guess i will have to tear my dash apart to find out how many pins there are on the connector...
BTW even if it works the way yours worked when you first hooked it up will be satisfactory for me..i can just power the unit off after listening to FM radio and then switch to cd or whatever like i do now with the factory unit..as long as it isnt up all the time even if im just watching a dvd or playing audio from an SD card

Flightz knows his shit so I wouldn't question him, I can only speak from my experiences..
Keep in mind that my Pioneer is a few years old, my car is a 98, and I no longer use the factory amp so there could be some differences..Yes, my Pioneer AVIC D3 has two wires. A blue/white for remote turn on of the amp, and a blue wire for antenna control. There is also a setting within the head unit for antenna control. I believe the options are Radio or Power so the antenna wire could actually be used as a second remote turn on if required, raise the antenna upon power up, or raise and retract the antenna for radio operation only.
On my car, the connector for the factory radio is a 15 pin (R6). The antenna wire from this 15 pin (R6) connector runs down to the factory amp and back up to a 10 pin (IH1) connector just to the right of the radio. I believe if you were to bypass this loop (radio to amp harness), and connect directly to the antenna wire at the 10 pin (IH1) connector, it would work... I think it is this loop to the factory amp that causes problems with aftermarket stereos/antenna control.
Cliff Notes: Do not connect the antenna control wire to the factory radio (R6) connector, connect it to the 10 pin (IH1) connector after the factory radio/amp harness loop.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong...

 

[IcedSuPrA]

^^^ you also seem to know what your talking about...hopefully flightz71 will chime in here and give some more input...

I know there has to be a way to do this...these things are so advanced that i dont believe that there isnt a way to program this..

thanks again..
Anyone else have any info on this subject please let us know...this is killing me and its is the only thing holding me back from buying this head unit, but to me its a very big deal...i dont want to be driving an RC car around town

 

[sparkboy]

^^^ you also seem to know what your talking about...hopefully flightz71 will chime in here and give some more input...

I know there has to be a way to do this...these things are so advanced that i dont believe that there isnt a way to program this..

thanks again..
Anyone else have any info on this subject please let us know...this is killing me and its is the only thing holding me back from buying this head unit, but to me its a very big deal...i dont want to be driving an RC car around town

I really don't know shit, just spent a lot of time getting my car right. The RC car look was not an option for me.

 

[dmeranda]

It has 2 antenna, once you take your stock headunit out, you will see two antenna plugged into it, one large and one small. I only use the small one plugged into my aftermarket headunit with use of an adapter. Gets decent reception, but once I drive out over 30 miles from the stations, nothing.

Where did you find an adapter for the smaller antenna connector? The standard sized Motorola connector is the larger one, and I can not find anything that fits the smaller one.