n$a

I bought and had installed the Modifry's DCI (Dash Control Interface), here is some feedback and constructive criticism. Before going any further, i'll state now that i am 95% satisfied with the product, it is simply great.

My setup:

- Sony head unit CDX-R5510
specs: http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/car/caraudio/pr...90&KM=CDX-R5510
picture: http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/car/caraudio/im...R5510&PCT=18604
(perfect color and shape match for my red/black interior)

- Sony subwoofer XS-AW5X
http://www.sony.jp/products/me/contents/ca...up/xs_aw5x.html
(installed under the left seat (passenger's), completely invisible !)

- Modifry's DCI for Sony units


1. Ordering process

I wanted to buy Modifry's Glove Box Organizer at the same time, to group and save on postage, but never found a way to. Tried to e-mail as well, no response. Oh well, i'll live without the Organizer.


2. Installation

Was performed on my brand new TypeV, even before i took delivery.


2a. Diagram

I had this done by my local Honda dealer (Nozawa), who have 2 technicians permanently taking care of NSX and S2000 models only. As they had never seen a DCI before, they wanted clear install instructions. Nowhere on Modifry's web site is there a complete diagram of connections. I had to draw the diagram by hand, after reading carefully all the instructions, which took me quite some time as i am not used to such installations. I suggest such a diagram be posted on his web site, showing the Head Unit, the car's harness connector, the DCI, and what cables run between these 3 elements (plus the speed sensor).


2b. Optional Harness Adapter ($12)

I took it but was not sure exactly if i would need it. In the end it was not used, because:

- harness adapters are always provided with installation kits, so i had two of these (one from Modifry and one that came with the kit)

- Modifry's Optional Harness Adapter does not have connectors at the end of the wires, making any connection to the HU a real pain. The adapter that came with the installation kit had very nice connectors that made connections with the HU's cables a breeze

- Modifry's Optional Harness Adapter adapter has the DASH SWITCH and DASH MUTE wires that connect to the DCI Wiring Harness only (and not to the Head Unit). My Honda tech offered a better way to do that: put a connector on the DCI Wiring Harness DASH SWITCH and DASH MUTE wires so that they'd plug directly into the empty slots of the other harness i had

So my recommendation is:

- change the DCI Wiring Harness so that the DASH SWITCH and DASH MUTE wires could be plugged directly into a harness adapter by providing the proper connectors on these 2 wires, which then makes the Optional Harness Adapter completely redundant and useless

or

- make a more integrated product by providing a DCI Wiring Harness and Optional Harness Adapter ALREADY connected together, so that all you'd have to do is connect the harness adapter to the car's harness (1 click), connect the DCI harness to the DCI (1 click), and connect the harness adapter cables to the HU (a few clicks), this would save all buyers a lot of time and they'd surely be ready to pay extra for the luxury



3. Functions

I wish one more function was included: OFF ( = MODE + MUTE for example, or whatever else unique combination). This way i'd seldom have to open the audio door.

The Speed Controlled Volume function was installed (by Honda !) on my car and it's a definitive plus. I already had such a function built into the audio of my Honda Beat.



Thx Modifry's for a product that makes such a noticeable difference in the S2000.

modifry

n$a - Thanks for the comments and I'm pleased you like the DCI. You took some time to put down your ideas and even though I won't be able to implement most of them it's only fair that I give you some kind of response. Here goes.

You are correct, the GoFast store has some limitations. But you should have been able to get an answer to your email and I apologize for that. I guess I'll have to make JP go sit in the corner again. If it's something you really want I'll email JP and see if we can't figure out a way to charge you for just the GBO and I'll cover the shipping.

Again, you are correct. The wiring diagram on my web site is not 100% complete and is not always easy to find. I'm working on a new web site that I hope will be better orgainzed. And I plan to include basic installation instructions with the DCI's in the near future.

But for now, the diagram that is posted only lacks the HU mute wire color, which I'm reluctant to put on because it varies by HU brand and perhaps even between models for the same brand. I'm asuming you were unable to find this drawing?


It would be great if I could do this but I have been unable to get pins for the adapters (even the adapters I buy). My guess is that the adapter companies make money selling adapters, not pins. And this would get tricky because not all adapters use the same pins. So I'd have to stock harnesses for each manufacturer of adapters, and the buyer would have to know which adapter he had, which gets way too complicated. If we had more "standard" connectors it could be done, but not with the way the stereo market is right now.

Did you say your tech actually put pins on the end of the DCI wires, or was that just his suggestion? If he installed the pins, do you know where he got them?


While that would be nice, it would require a different DCI harness for every model of stereo, which I just cant afford to do, and if I did, you couldn't afford to buy it. Some manufacturer's won't even sell me their connectors (well, that's not exactly true, I just have to buy 10,000 at a time. Let's see, that would last me till - long after I'm dead!)

I could pre-wire the DCI to my adapter, which I've considered before. But it's awfully expensive to have a manufacturer make a one-off product when you're only buying 100 at a time. (am I repeating myself?) I do plan to continue to research this and see if I can find a company to do it for a reasonable price.

I've had a few requests for an OFF function, but never really understood why. I guess it would limit the wear on the CD drive mechanism, but other than that I can't see an advantage to turning it off.

Plus, it's not that easy to add more functions. We can't use the MUTE switch because it latches, and it would require modifying the electronics built into the dash to cure that. We just need more buttons on the dash!

I've thought about adding an optional function to use the Cruise buttons for extra DCI functions but I doubt there's a real market for it.


Well, that's it. Thanks for the input and I'm sorry your DCI experience wasn't 100% perfect, but I guess that gives me something to work on.

dbzerk

I've got the Sont CDX-M9900 and i bought the wired DCI with the Harness adaptor.
I must say that i am 100% happy with the product and service.
Easy and clear instructions, made the whole installation go smoothly.
The only hard part was working out the combination to change tracks but found it straight away.

Well done!

AusS2000

I was 100% happy with my DCU (by S2kman) but then Modirfry came out with his DCI with additional controls and speed dependent volume so I had to have it. I guess you could say I'm now 120% satisfied.

n$a

Hello again,

I will post here some more feedback after i went through some minor technical issues, in case it may help others with similar issues and/or lead to an even better DCI product in the future


1. MUTE / ATT

Reading carefully the online instructions, i was under the impression the ATT wire was optional and not required with my wired Sony setup. Well i was wrong, as without this connection, the MUTE button on the dashboard was dead.

Did i misread the instructions, or is my recent Sony unit different from older models ?

Had to take the HU out to connect that ATT wire. Doing so they accidentally half unplugged the stereo miniplug, which resulted in erratic behavior of the controls. This was finally fixed today, all works perfectly, hence this late post.


2. Connectors

I suggested in the first post that Modifry could sell a ready-to-plug solution, which he replied saying that manufacturers have different connector types so he'd need several versions of adaptors. That may be a difference in the US in Japan, as over here the connectors seem to be standardized, so all harness adapters sold in Japan are ready to plug to any HU's connectors (any make and model) with absolutely no work (just 1 click per wire).

All the installation was made by the Honda dealer (Nozawa, Tokyo) so i did not get to see what they did exactly. They used a ready-to-plug Japanese harness adapter (which i provided, along with DCI installation instructions), and connected some DCI wires directly to the car's harness connector. They considered the US adaptor optionally provided by Modifry as an "unfinished job" without proper connectors...


3. Adding more functions

I understand the limitations, and the OFF function is less needed now that MUTE works. Don't forget that some countries (Japan included) do not get the Cruise Control, so i'd advise to keep the DCI to the audio buttons.

Or how about: holding the MODE button for 3 seconds to trigger OFF ? Have no idea if this is feasable, it just sounds the most logic way to switch off.


4. Selling the DCI in Japan

The techs at my Honda dealer were all impressed by that unit as i explained (boasted) all it could do, the added functionalities etc... There is definitely a market to sell it here, would require a bit of advertisement maybe. I would suspect though that the Japanese consumers would want a ready-to-plug solution with the proper connectors, otherwise the labor may turn out prohibitive (too difficult to do yourself, too expensive to have it done).



Hope this helps,
Nicolas

mwd473

Just installed the DCI with my Pioneer DEH 8600MP, the guy that installed it was amazed that the DCI existed and that some one with an S2000 made and sells it for only $90.


100% satisfied

mlrspwr

Once I got the seating of the Sony wired input pin correct, everything worked great. The factory HU is not that great, but the dash controls are.

Thankfully, this DCI solution exists, making the upgrade option much easier.

zboy

Do you have any pictures of these? I really hate that Pioneers connection is different from Kenwoods, which is different from Alipines, etc etc etc

sctyboy

n$a: I had the exact same misconception about the ATT/Mute wire, Modifry, maybe you can clarify that on the website? It wasn't a big deal at all, I popped the radio back out and connected it when I connected my powered antenna (oops, didn't realize we had one of those)

Anyway, I'd just like to chime in and thank Modifry for such a fantastic product.

achtung6

I can't express how glad I am that an enthusiast with more technical knowledge than me took it upon himself to make this awesome product that makes it possible to retain one of the neatest functions of the S2000 once you change the OEM head unit which is an absolute necessity of you're accustomed to great sound in a car.

Thanks modifry. By the way, you should have just emailed Bob with these questions. I did just this past week and I must say that his post sale support is awesome.