PJK3's Odyssey Project - DONE!
01-02-2005, 01:06 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
PJK3's Odyssey Project - DONE!
updated as of 1/24/05!
it is here!! skip down a post or two if you just want to see pics and don't want to read my rambling log...
--------------------------------------------
coming soon!
and be forewarned, i'm pretty busy in coming weeks, so this will be a slow growth thread...
i'm gonna try and use this top thread as a kind of worklog/update, so it'll change often.
if you're indifferent about the adventures of my Odyssey, then move on...
for all you EJ's who remember the jokes, i hope this proves entertaining, and i'm open to comments! regretfully, i don't have the $30,000 budget my dream system requires... 
pre-05
initial components ordered, bought, etc. leather pre-ordered.
12/31/04
leather starts to go in... this was a mistake... should have waited till after the holiday.
1/2/05
so far, i'm still assembling components, and mostly waiting on wiring from Knukonceptz. that, and the rear Boston NX67's which are back ordered locally...
they should be in by the end of the week.
leather went in this weekend... THAT was a fiasco
. poor Jim had to hear me bitch about it 20 ways to tomorrow when he just called to see how New Years was... thanks Jim! 
. in the end, the owner is making his best efforts to smooth things out, but i gave him a very harsh commentary 
on why his installers should NOT use air tools/impacts to put simple seat bolts in... 
after spending most of my new years eve night and a good part of new years day at his shop helping the owner (and making sure it was done right) fix the problems and getting the install finished - i will admit, imo - it looks great. the wife likes it a whole lot, and that's really the big thing.
sigh. i hope the electronics install goes faster. just waiting on wiring shipment and a few free weekends.
1/3/05
Knukonceptz online order tracking system is in the pot, so i can't see where my wire is.
front windows tinted this afternoon... (part of the make up for the screwup on the leather)
1/6&7/05
KnuKonceptz order came in... looks like it was botched a bit. they are sending the right stuff out asap... still cables look good, etc.
1/9/05
test fit amps and other minor items for size constraints. looks to be no problems (not surprised)
took detailed measurements of the rear well (versus previous rough measurements - dang why can't Honda make a simple rectangular well?) concerned on mounting depth issues w/ sub, height of enclosure, and being able to mount the sub to face downward.
1/10/05
KnuKonceptz makeup order arrived today via priority USPS. considering i called them Thursday/Friday and got it Monday, i'm impressed.
also - scrapped current sub box plans due to size/depth constraints in the Ody well. need to develop a new plan or abandon to an ugly basic enclosure.
1/11/05
hooked up and tested Alphasonik amp. i'm going to hate those connecctors, but everything worked fine. no sound quality testing done, just looking for proper function.
And so it begins...
--
be forewarned, i'm not the fastest of installers... my anal attention to detail can bite me at times in these situations...
also - there may be numerous typo's below for reasons that will be more obvious later, and my telling may be a bit haphazard as i try to recall events, and try to be brief (for the same reasons above)
--
1/21/05
ran to Home Depot, bought what i thought were the last few supplies and a sheet of MDF.
began pulling seats, interior panels, old speakers, old HU, dash panels, and generally gutting the Ody. pulled out all the gear and laid it out for the big day on Saturday. i pulled the old HU out and installed the brackets on the CD and DVD players, then set them into the dash to test fit.
i figured i had plenty time so, after starting aroud 8p, i wrapped up for the night around 11p to get a good nights rest.
1/22/05
a couple friends came over (thanks Dave and Ash!) and we kicked into gear at 8 am on finishing the last gut pulls and building a box. one of my friends is an accomplished wood worker, so i gave him my drawings and set him loose. me and my other friend began to pull up carpet, and lay cable. the rain hit us (lightly) and forced a stop for juggling things into the garage, and others out...
ran RCA audio and speaker runs, then ran 2 more speaker runs for tweeters (chose to mount crossovers in back) on the left side of the van.
dremelled out the stock mounts to fit Boston's tweeter flush mounts and installed and wired the tweeters
power goes in, and i choose the worst grommet on the vehicle to use, and ended up losing 3 hours to pulling 4 gage power through a 2 inch thick grommet. (sigh) ran power up the right hand side (fuse box side)
we positioned the screen and prepped the install area.
time was against me... and it was starting to get late.
the amp board was built and gear laid out. my bud finished the box late (the rain slowed him down, as did the rather thicker than expected carpet. we didn't get speaker 1 installed, the HU or DVD wired, nor a single amp or crossover connection made. eventually, around 8p my friends had to leave, and i plugged on a bit longer before dropping of exhaustion for the night at 10p
1/23/05
oh crap, panic starts to roll in... 8:30 am and i've still got a ton of hookups to do, HU harnesses to install, a screen to install/wire, and all 4 speakers (sans tweeters). amps need to be mounted and wired, and sub installed into the enclosure. i lose time to a Home Depot run for stuff i forgot Friday night...
did i mention, the Ody is the only thing that can fit our family?? and i've got seatbelts pulled out and everything... (only way to remove some panels that had to come out.) this thing HAS to be together by Sun night.
HU and DVD harnesses are soldered and wired up, all connections to factory harness are made and tested. CD and DVD power up.
headliner cut and all video wire pulled.
12:30p was building the MDF mount boards for the screen and had a mishap w/ the jigsaw (IDIOT!)... NEVER NEVER play w/ power tools or their blades when they are plugged in! actually it is pretty bad, but not horrible... several large gashes on my index and middle fingers of my right hand. 
thank God in heaven, i retain my finger still... real men don't get stitches...
this is a perfect example when you let panic and haste cloud thinking... this was a stupid mistake, and i cannot believe i made it.
the wife helps me clean and bandage it up, and back to the Ody i go.
sigh.
never going to finish now, as simple tasks are overly tough w/ limited right hand mobility.
mount the screen bracket using MDF spacers/mounts and industrical velcro. VERY surprised at how strong this connection is, but it was slow going and took forever.
2p another friend (thanks Shawn!) came to the rescue.
front midbass speakers go in, and power connections are made. the screen is hooked up and powered up... video and sound on first try.
4:30 doh! the screws that came w/ the screen are too short for my way thick headliner -- another run to HD to find fine threaded metric screws 4mm x 20 mm.
screen mounts up and looks great. tested in place and all working. dome lights wired and set to trip with doors...
rear speakers go in, and amps and crossovers are all wired up. speaker wiring is tested using "the D-cell check", and around 6p everything powers up for the first time... minor glitches are fixed, and sound!... crappy, but there.
interior panels go back in and cleanup starts... final wiring gets completed and things start to get covered again. friend retires around 7:30p to go put his kids to bed and spend some time w/ them before the weekend is gone...
8p sub goes into the box, box goes into the van, and things start to sound good as i make basic adjustments.
the wife and i finish the interior and put the seats all back in, and i get the last few things working...
the console comes apart and the HU/DVD goes in and out a few times to try and get all the wiring out of the way of the cupholder located directly below the HU hole. (who puts a cupholder directly below the wiring bundle?? all the RCA's, video wiring, HU wiring, factory harness, etc. all keep falling into the closed cupholder impeding it's slide out or in. eventually, i wire tie things into the right places, etc. and it's good to go.)
close up for the night and let the wife hear it for the first time playing some of her favorite CD's and watching a few minutes of Underworld...
"Oh my God, this ROCKS! Thank you! I'm going to be the coolest Mom... I just got my ride pimped!"
final test of everything -- right channel of the video headphones don't work, but HU's sound is fine -- figure it's a loose connection. it'll wait till tomorrow.
head to bed by 10:30p after a long weekend for some sleep
1/24/05
sore at work, and TONS of jokes made and good natured ribbing about my very bandaged hand. sigh -- at a chemical plant, the 'hands on guys' love to tease engineers when we try to do things and don't get it right...
come home from work -- pull the console and find a loose RCA on the video right channel (no surprise), re sort out the wiring behind the HU's for better clearance of the cupholder (again!). cleanup the amp board, set the amp gains properly, set crossovers properly, set sub levels, get trim panels right, etc.. set the DVD and screen up properly, check video image and sound levels, and let my daugher watch Monsters, Inc. for a while.
pop in Nemo for a bit and watch, take pictures, and send my daughter in for dinner.
i demo some of my favorite stuff, and now - i'm happy. things look good, and it's done...
well, almost. a few more touches are needed here and there, but... it's pretty close.
pictures to follow below.
1/24-26/05
various tuning done. still not 100% happy w/ the tuning, but the sound is great, and only just fine tweaks to need to be made now. mostly crossover adjustments.
amp rack hold downs finalized and tested. may tweak a little more.
aux input and split screen modes tested, Halo2 is readily playable. i find that channel B of the wireless headphones are not as strong as channel A for some reason. going to look into it.
-------------------------------
what went in?
HU: Alpine CDA 9827
DVD: Power Acoustik PADVD-350
Video Monitor: Clarion OHM102 and WH204H headphones
Front Speakers: Boston SL 60
Rear Speakers: Boston NX 67
Sub: JL 12W3v2
Mains Amp: Boston GT-40
Sub Amp: Alphasonik PMA 300HCA
Enclosure: custom build/design 3/4" MDF enclosure
Wiring: KnuKonceptz Karma Cable, Kolossus Kable (4g & 8g), Kompression Blocks, Klear Kable and Karma speaker wire. Alpine KCA-121B AI-Net adapter, Clarion included 8 pin DIN video wiring
Power Inverter: Tripp Lite PV375
Carpet: Select Products 'Graphite'
thanks to everyone who helped!
it is here!! skip down a post or two if you just want to see pics and don't want to read my rambling log...
--------------------------------------------
coming soon!
and be forewarned, i'm pretty busy in coming weeks, so this will be a slow growth thread...
i'm gonna try and use this top thread as a kind of worklog/update, so it'll change often.
if you're indifferent about the adventures of my Odyssey, then move on...
for all you EJ's who remember the jokes, i hope this proves entertaining, and i'm open to comments! regretfully, i don't have the $30,000 budget my dream system requires... pre-05
initial components ordered, bought, etc. leather pre-ordered.
12/31/04
leather starts to go in... this was a mistake... should have waited till after the holiday.
1/2/05
so far, i'm still assembling components, and mostly waiting on wiring from Knukonceptz. that, and the rear Boston NX67's which are back ordered locally...
they should be in by the end of the week.
leather went in this weekend... THAT was a fiasco
. poor Jim had to hear me bitch about it 20 ways to tomorrow when he just called to see how New Years was... thanks Jim! . in the end, the owner is making his best efforts to smooth things out, but i gave him a very harsh commentary on why his installers should NOT use air tools/impacts to put simple seat bolts in... after spending most of my new years eve night and a good part of new years day at his shop helping the owner (and making sure it was done right) fix the problems and getting the install finished - i will admit, imo - it looks great. the wife likes it a whole lot, and that's really the big thing.sigh. i hope the electronics install goes faster. just waiting on wiring shipment and a few free weekends.
1/3/05
Knukonceptz online order tracking system is in the pot, so i can't see where my wire is.
front windows tinted this afternoon... (part of the make up for the screwup on the leather)
1/6&7/05
KnuKonceptz order came in... looks like it was botched a bit. they are sending the right stuff out asap... still cables look good, etc.
1/9/05
test fit amps and other minor items for size constraints. looks to be no problems (not surprised)
took detailed measurements of the rear well (versus previous rough measurements - dang why can't Honda make a simple rectangular well?) concerned on mounting depth issues w/ sub, height of enclosure, and being able to mount the sub to face downward.
1/10/05
KnuKonceptz makeup order arrived today via priority USPS. considering i called them Thursday/Friday and got it Monday, i'm impressed.
also - scrapped current sub box plans due to size/depth constraints in the Ody well. need to develop a new plan or abandon to an ugly basic enclosure.
1/11/05
hooked up and tested Alphasonik amp. i'm going to hate those connecctors, but everything worked fine. no sound quality testing done, just looking for proper function.
And so it begins...
--
be forewarned, i'm not the fastest of installers... my anal attention to detail can bite me at times in these situations...
also - there may be numerous typo's below for reasons that will be more obvious later, and my telling may be a bit haphazard as i try to recall events, and try to be brief (for the same reasons above)
--
1/21/05
ran to Home Depot, bought what i thought were the last few supplies and a sheet of MDF.
began pulling seats, interior panels, old speakers, old HU, dash panels, and generally gutting the Ody. pulled out all the gear and laid it out for the big day on Saturday. i pulled the old HU out and installed the brackets on the CD and DVD players, then set them into the dash to test fit.
i figured i had plenty time so, after starting aroud 8p, i wrapped up for the night around 11p to get a good nights rest.
1/22/05
a couple friends came over (thanks Dave and Ash!) and we kicked into gear at 8 am on finishing the last gut pulls and building a box. one of my friends is an accomplished wood worker, so i gave him my drawings and set him loose. me and my other friend began to pull up carpet, and lay cable. the rain hit us (lightly) and forced a stop for juggling things into the garage, and others out...
ran RCA audio and speaker runs, then ran 2 more speaker runs for tweeters (chose to mount crossovers in back) on the left side of the van.
dremelled out the stock mounts to fit Boston's tweeter flush mounts and installed and wired the tweeters
power goes in, and i choose the worst grommet on the vehicle to use, and ended up losing 3 hours to pulling 4 gage power through a 2 inch thick grommet. (sigh) ran power up the right hand side (fuse box side)
we positioned the screen and prepped the install area.
time was against me... and it was starting to get late.
the amp board was built and gear laid out. my bud finished the box late (the rain slowed him down, as did the rather thicker than expected carpet. we didn't get speaker 1 installed, the HU or DVD wired, nor a single amp or crossover connection made. eventually, around 8p my friends had to leave, and i plugged on a bit longer before dropping of exhaustion for the night at 10p
1/23/05
oh crap, panic starts to roll in... 8:30 am and i've still got a ton of hookups to do, HU harnesses to install, a screen to install/wire, and all 4 speakers (sans tweeters). amps need to be mounted and wired, and sub installed into the enclosure. i lose time to a Home Depot run for stuff i forgot Friday night...
did i mention, the Ody is the only thing that can fit our family?? and i've got seatbelts pulled out and everything... (only way to remove some panels that had to come out.) this thing HAS to be together by Sun night. HU and DVD harnesses are soldered and wired up, all connections to factory harness are made and tested. CD and DVD power up.
headliner cut and all video wire pulled.
12:30p was building the MDF mount boards for the screen and had a mishap w/ the jigsaw (IDIOT!)... NEVER NEVER play w/ power tools or their blades when they are plugged in!
actually it is pretty bad, but not horrible... several large gashes on my index and middle fingers of my right hand. thank God in heaven, i retain my finger still... real men don't get stitches... this is a perfect example when you let panic and haste cloud thinking... this was a stupid mistake, and i cannot believe i made it.
the wife helps me clean and bandage it up, and back to the Ody i go.
sigh.
never going to finish now, as simple tasks are overly tough w/ limited right hand mobility.
mount the screen bracket using MDF spacers/mounts and industrical velcro. VERY surprised at how strong this connection is, but it was slow going and took forever.
2p another friend (thanks Shawn!) came to the rescue.
front midbass speakers go in, and power connections are made. the screen is hooked up and powered up... video and sound on first try.
4:30 doh! the screws that came w/ the screen are too short for my way thick headliner -- another run to HD to find fine threaded metric screws 4mm x 20 mm.
screen mounts up and looks great. tested in place and all working. dome lights wired and set to trip with doors...
rear speakers go in, and amps and crossovers are all wired up. speaker wiring is tested using "the D-cell check", and around 6p everything powers up for the first time... minor glitches are fixed, and sound!... crappy, but there.
interior panels go back in and cleanup starts... final wiring gets completed and things start to get covered again. friend retires around 7:30p to go put his kids to bed and spend some time w/ them before the weekend is gone...
8p sub goes into the box, box goes into the van, and things start to sound good as i make basic adjustments.
the wife and i finish the interior and put the seats all back in, and i get the last few things working...
the console comes apart and the HU/DVD goes in and out a few times to try and get all the wiring out of the way of the cupholder located directly below the HU hole.
(who puts a cupholder directly below the wiring bundle?? all the RCA's, video wiring, HU wiring, factory harness, etc. all keep falling into the closed cupholder impeding it's slide out or in. eventually, i wire tie things into the right places, etc. and it's good to go.)close up for the night and let the wife hear it for the first time playing some of her favorite CD's and watching a few minutes of Underworld...
"Oh my God, this ROCKS! Thank you! I'm going to be the coolest Mom...
I just got my ride pimped!" final test of everything -- right channel of the video headphones don't work, but HU's sound is fine -- figure it's a loose connection. it'll wait till tomorrow.
head to bed by 10:30p after a long weekend for some sleep
1/24/05
sore at work, and TONS of jokes made and good natured ribbing about my very bandaged hand. sigh -- at a chemical plant, the 'hands on guys' love to tease engineers when we try to do things and don't get it right...
come home from work -- pull the console and find a loose RCA on the video right channel (no surprise), re sort out the wiring behind the HU's for better clearance of the cupholder (again!). cleanup the amp board, set the amp gains properly, set crossovers properly, set sub levels, get trim panels right, etc.. set the DVD and screen up properly, check video image and sound levels, and let my daugher watch Monsters, Inc. for a while.
pop in Nemo for a bit and watch, take pictures, and send my daughter in for dinner.
i demo some of my favorite stuff, and now - i'm happy. things look good, and it's done...
well, almost.
a few more touches are needed here and there, but... it's pretty close. pictures to follow below.
1/24-26/05
various tuning done. still not 100% happy w/ the tuning, but the sound is great, and only just fine tweaks to need to be made now. mostly crossover adjustments.
amp rack hold downs finalized and tested. may tweak a little more.
aux input and split screen modes tested, Halo2 is readily playable. i find that channel B of the wireless headphones are not as strong as channel A for some reason. going to look into it.
-------------------------------
what went in?
HU: Alpine CDA 9827
DVD: Power Acoustik PADVD-350
Video Monitor: Clarion OHM102 and WH204H headphones
Front Speakers: Boston SL 60
Rear Speakers: Boston NX 67
Sub: JL 12W3v2
Mains Amp: Boston GT-40
Sub Amp: Alphasonik PMA 300HCA
Enclosure: custom build/design 3/4" MDF enclosure
Wiring: KnuKonceptz Karma Cable, Kolossus Kable (4g & 8g), Kompression Blocks, Klear Kable and Karma speaker wire. Alpine KCA-121B AI-Net adapter, Clarion included 8 pin DIN video wiring
Power Inverter: Tripp Lite PV375
Carpet: Select Products 'Graphite'
thanks to everyone who helped!
01-02-2005, 01:59 PM
#2
Registered User
Thread Starter
before shots:
this is the 2002 Odyssey EX w/ Granite Green Metallic / Fern Interior my wife and i bought to fit our growing family.
new custom made leather interior (Classic Soft Trim):
stuff to go in:
(Santa came early, but his stuff is going to have to wait... )
(the Alphasonik has arrived...)
this is the 2002 Odyssey EX w/ Granite Green Metallic / Fern Interior my wife and i bought to fit our growing family.
new custom made leather interior (Classic Soft Trim):
stuff to go in:
(Santa came early, but his stuff is going to have to wait...
)(the Alphasonik has arrived...)
01-02-2005, 02:00 PM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
pictures after everything is mostly cleaned up and finished.
(first thing the wife did after getting her ride back? in goes the stroller... )
(first thing the wife did after getting her ride back? in goes the stroller...
)
01-02-2005, 02:04 PM
#5
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Tiffin, Ohio
Posts: 1,892
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by PJK3,Jan 2 2005, 06:06 PM
12/31/05
leather starts to go in... this was a mistake... should have waited till after the holiday.
leather starts to go in... this was a mistake... should have waited till after the holiday.
You can go into the future?!
Looks good, can't wait to see it done.
Trending Topics
01-02-2005, 04:22 PM
#9
Former Moderator
Phil....looks kickass. I love the leather, and cant wait for everything to go in. Im glad you decided to give alphasonik a shot. I've been really pleased with everything from them. Too bad you threw away the idea about a 34" sub instead of the backseat for the kids. I think they would enjoy it.
Jim....I am talking to Alphasonik to deal directly to s2ki for wholesale prices and full warranties.....hopefully, I can get it together for us! I would love it if they sponsored the Electronics section at least. I think we get the least of the budget.
Anyway, back on topic....Phil....you got a 10" overhead correct, and 2 or 3 pair of Bostons??? Also, I was about to come a beat you with a stick, repeatedly because I thought you bought a W7, but to my relief, its a W3.
Also...you used to be the king-0-antibling.....but with the leather and the 10"....I think we need to dethrone you.
Jim....I am talking to Alphasonik to deal directly to s2ki for wholesale prices and full warranties.....hopefully, I can get it together for us! I would love it if they sponsored the Electronics section at least. I think we get the least of the budget.
Anyway, back on topic....Phil....you got a 10" overhead correct, and 2 or 3 pair of Bostons??? Also, I was about to come a beat you with a stick, repeatedly because I thought you bought a W7, but to my relief, its a W3.
Also...you used to be the king-0-antibling.....but with the leather and the 10"....I think we need to dethrone you.
