VXOC Astra-J/GTC

Well there you have it! I will eat my words haha



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(1:st-Jun-2016, 11:49:24)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]Well there you have it! I will eat my words haha



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I take what Rob says with a pinch of salt. We need actual proof..

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they have started selling the dab receiver, if you get it the same time as s160 its 45 quid

Sweet! Be useful for some folks for sure! Got a link to the standalone item?

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Only link had was for another company at 135

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The only problems with addons is that they are usually stored onto one channel of your FM band and you use your steering wheel remote or seperate remote to flick through the channel. Factory or internal DAB from an after-market head unit has it's own DAB channel that you store your favourites on or search through the same as you would on FM1 or FM2 etc. Maybe I'm wrong though and the unit will give you the option of a separate DAB channel once the add on is plugged in?

If the addon from icebox is similar then that would be a good deal at £45, I assume you just download an app for the DAB addon. Obviously you would then need to fit an FM/ DAB aerial, starting from around £39+

the powered halfords glass dab aerial is good at 20 quid

(30:th-May-2016, 11:49:01)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]Update on the bluetooth pairing. I had to pair my phone to the HU again on Wednesday last week. I've probably made 10 or so trips in the car since then and it is still paired. This includes spells where I have used Wifi, gps etc.

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I had this issue and what I did was to change the default pairing code (1234) and changed it to (0000) that solved it.Also you can use an NFC tag to automatically set your phone to share wifi with the HU once you walk away from the car the phone automatically stops wifi sharing after 10 minutes.

(1:st-Jun-2016, 16:28:50)andytl Wrote: [ -> ]

(30:th-May-2016, 11:49:01)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]Update on the bluetooth pairing. I had to pair my phone to the HU again on Wednesday last week. I've probably made 10 or so trips in the car since then and it is still paired. This includes spells where I have used Wifi, gps etc.

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I had this issue and what I did was to change the default pairing code (1234) and changed it to (0000) that solved it.Also you can use an NFC tag to automatically set your phone to share wifi with the HU once you walk away from the car the phone automatically stops wifi sharing after 10 minutes.

Default code is already 0000 on my HU and I still get this BT pairing issue every now and the. No biggie though as only a few clicks to connect [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

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Interesting bit there about the nfc. Will look into that. Cheers

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Thanks guys got mine installed and all, Anyone know how to change it so if i open drivers door it know's it's the right hand side ?

Meanwhile i'm going to see if i can get a Vauxhall logo instead of an Opel one for when it boots up lol.

(1:st-Jun-2016, 20:22:28)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks guys got mine installed and all, Anyone know how to change it so if i open drivers door it know's it's the right hand side ?

Meanwhile i'm going to see if i can get a Vauxhall logo instead of an Opel one for when it boots up lol.

Go to the phone app and type this ##0323 then hit dial. You'll find options for right hand or left hand drive

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And in one of the options menu you can choose any car startup logo you want including vauxhall [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

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(1:st-Jun-2016, 20:56:12)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]

(1:st-Jun-2016, 20:22:28)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks guys got mine installed and all, Anyone know how to change it so if i open drivers door it know's it's the right hand side ?

Meanwhile i'm going to see if i can get a Vauxhall logo instead of an Opel one for when it boots up lol.

Go to the phone app and type this ##0323 then hit dial. You'll find options for right hand or left hand drive

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you my friend are a genius! 

Thanks also i was blind as there seems to be a vauxhall logo in the boot logo section lol, Is there any other setting i need to change amongst that hiding menu lol, I have a sub in the car and it is kicking out some serious bass but it was wired to the factory unit so think i need to wire it properly to this one lol

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Also sheppy1 do you have any pics of this reversing camera you bought and how easy was it to install, never thought i wanted one until just this second lol.

(1:st-Jun-2016, 21:03:13)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]

(1:st-Jun-2016, 20:56:12)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]

(1:st-Jun-2016, 20:22:28)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks guys got mine installed and all, Anyone know how to change it so if i open drivers door it know's it's the right hand side ?

Meanwhile i'm going to see if i can get a Vauxhall logo instead of an Opel one for when it boots up lol.

Go to the phone app and type this ##0323 then hit dial. You'll find options for right hand or left hand drive

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you my friend are a genius! 

Thanks also i was blind as there seems to be a vauxhall logo in the boot logo section lol, Is there any other setting i need to change amongst that hiding menu lol, I have a sub in the car and it is kicking out some serious bass but it was wired to the factory unit so think i need to wire it properly to this one lol

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Also sheppy1 do you have any pics of this reversing camera you bought and how easy was it to install, never thought i wanted one until just this second lol.

Hehe no problem [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES] and if you go to the black background interface (press the home button one) you will get three buttons at the bottom... One of those enables you to get to equaliser options... Something there may help you but I've not messed with any of those settings

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Also sheppy1 do you have any pics of this reversing camera you bought and how easy was it to install, never thought i wanted one until just this second lol.

(1:st-Jun-2016, 21:33:41)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]Also sheppy1 do you have any pics of this reversing camera you bought and how easy was it to install, never thought i wanted one until just this second lol.

Ermmm I'll grab some for you [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES] be tomorrow though

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(1:st-Jun-2016, 11:53:44)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]

(1:st-Jun-2016, 11:49:24)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]Well there you have it! I will eat my words haha



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I take what Rob says with a pinch of salt. We need actual proof..

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I can confirm it does have an internal mic located in the screen (Might also be why there are 2 small holes below the GPS slot). 
I did a quick bluetooth test call at the weekend and all seemed fine, however I havent tried the mic quality say on a motorway
or noisy roads yet...

Cool that's good to know, maybe you can update us when you get a better idea of how it performs?

Thanks Ronnie

I find this news depressing as it means that I will have to pull the HU out to remove the ugly external mic cable.

On top of that it would be silly not to try and find a better location for my gps antenna. Maybe in front of the centre speaker....etc.

There I was hoping for a quiet weekend.



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Apologies haha. I was in the same boat last week! Ill let you know when I get the chance to try it in more nosier environments.

Haha. Thanks for the info. I just didn't have the appetite to pull it apart without some notion that it would work. Might remove my external speaker as well whilst I'm at it.

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I only fitted my unit on Monday but i do remember seeing you guys saying you didn't think you needed the Mic as there is one built in so i just didn't fit it, Still haven't tried it. I did however tuck the GPS in a small hole behind the glove box and it works 100%.

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Also marcus was looking through your thread on your car and it's like looking at my own especially the picture with the HEKO's lol

(2:nd-Jun-2016, 21:28:11)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]I only fitted my unit on Monday but i do remember seeing you guys saying you didn't think you needed the Mic as there is one built in so i just didn't fit it, Still haven't tried it. I did however tuck the GPS in a small hole behind the glove box and it works 100%.

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Also marcus was looking through your thread on your car and it's like looking at my own especially the picture with the HEKO's lol

Haha. Them hekos are cool. Vx line in white does look good when it's clean. Bugger to keep clean though....

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(2:nd-Jun-2016, 22:00:00)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]

(2:nd-Jun-2016, 21:28:11)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]I only fitted my unit on Monday but i do remember seeing you guys saying you didn't think you needed the Mic as there is one built in so i just didn't fit it, Still haven't tried it. I did however tuck the GPS in a small hole behind the glove box and it works 100%.

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Also marcus was looking through your thread on your car and it's like looking at my own especially the picture with the HEKO's lol

Haha. Them hekos are cool. Vx line in white does look good when it's clean. Bugger to keep clean though....  

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Yea if you had the rear windows tinted it would be the same car lol, My car is actually getting buffed on saturday so im looking forward to see the white in all it's glory lol.

(2:nd-Jun-2016, 22:12:31)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]

(2:nd-Jun-2016, 22:00:00)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]

(2:nd-Jun-2016, 21:28:11)o0kidd0o Wrote: [ -> ]I only fitted my unit on Monday but i do remember seeing you guys saying you didn't think you needed the Mic as there is one built in so i just didn't fit it, Still haven't tried it. I did however tuck the GPS in a small hole behind the glove box and it works 100%.

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Also marcus was looking through your thread on your car and it's like looking at my own especially the picture with the HEKO's lol

Haha. Them hekos are cool. Vx line in white does look good when it's clean. Bugger to keep clean though....  

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Yea if you had the rear windows tinted it would be the same car lol, My car is actually getting buffed on saturday so im looking forward to see the white in all it's glory lol.

Nice. I did think about tinting the back windows but didn't quite get around to it.

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So i've just installed the S160 M072 yesterday that i got from iceboxauto.

I had previously the CD400 (which i loved, but it hadn't a big color screen and GPS, two "must" features on my cars). The installation took me long time (about 4 hours) because it was the first time i've worked on an Astra J and i had no natural light. I did it in my garage which hasn't enough natural light as it is on the basement of my house...

Installation

I had to figure out how to remove certain things like the lighter trim (as i needed to reconnect things up) but generally speaking that wasn't the most difficult part. The most difficult part is to get all the wires behind the DVD reader unit... it is a headache which i could only figure after one hour, after trying several times! The most difficult part was where to hide the BIG CHINESE speaker of the unit and the large connector. Thank God i've manage to hide them. I've also drilled (and polished it to get a nice finish on the hole) the center speaker panel to pass the GPS antenna wire.

* * * * * * * * * * Feedback * * * * * * * * * * *

Overall

It's still to early to say, but the unit is good. I've had other chinese unit in my previous astra h, and this M072 is way way better in every aspect. Overall it seems to have nice quality, good software integration, very responsive. The unique odd thing i've noticed was that "sudden volume peak" when changing the volume on the panel volume wheel. But it may be some hidden setting as i feel the volume of sometimes changes in certain situations. Sound quality seems about the same as the CD400 - maybe it has slightly less definition, nothing noticeable really - but it's too early for me to say that. Overal functionalities are good and this is definitely a step up considering the CD400 unit.

Screen
The screen shines (figuratively - which is good, and literally... which isn't - it has too much glare!). So i guess i'll try to buy some kind of anti glare film. The screen has very good quality, on par with an average tablet - which is very good for a chinese unit. My previous chines unit had a resistive screen (which i hated) and besides that i couldn't see it under direct sunlight. This one, i can - thumbs up for these chinese guys. The screen reacts very well to the touch. The problem is... this Astra was not made to have a touch screen - it's too far from comfortable reach. Although you can reach it while driving, it gets unconfortable as you need to stretch a bit to reach it - and when you do it you loose pointing precision.

Functionalities

I think this is the best point. It has everything you will ever need. The fact of having built-in wifi is great: i used my Microsoft Lumia smartphone as a mobile hotspot and it worked great - get your emails and calendar there, watch youtube videos, etc. The interface seems good enough, and it has an "Android mode" which is like a typical Android 4 enviroment. If you are confortable with it - i am, as my previous mobile ran on Android 4 - you will love the M072.

The integration with the car functionalities is excellent. Everything works as it should, and any oddity can be solved with the "key mapper" app it has. The car diagnostics work well (they lack some calibration, i guess, as i pressed toe down the brake pedal and it only show me i was pressing it 44%) but the window, door, consumption, parking sensor information is good. The parking information is even more detailed that the one you see on the tachometer screen. The radio works fine - but not as good as the CD400 interface wise - a typicall chinese thing. It won't show you the music name going on the radio, and i am having a hard time to save stations on the presets...

The navigation works good, the GPS has enough sensitivity, but as it is a "connected" unit it can use A-GPS which decreases cold start time and improves precision. I've not tried any other GPS software besides the one that comes with the unit - seems good enough and it has traffic info for my city - Porto, so i see no reason to replace it in the near future. The maps seem quite up to date too.

Regarding the bluetooth, it seems working good. I've tried and it worked instantly. I've made a call, and (answering to the people that asked  about it) the internal mic works fine . The other person could hear me perfectly, as i suspected (my previous experience on the astra h chinese unit with the internal mic was good, so i was expecting it now to be too). As i said in a previous post, i didn't install the ugly external mic as i was confident the internal mic would suffice. Thankfully, it did! So, there's no need to install the external mic.



Final Remarks

I would like to thank you all for your posts and your help - they were fundamental for the installation of the unit. Thank you guys!


Here is one photo of my unit in the car:

[attachment=599]

Nice write up. Enjoy.

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Is anybody else struggling with poor FM reception? It's pretty bad on mine.

@xtech mind if I use your write up/review in the main post of this thread for others to see?

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You're welcome!

(3:rd-Jun-2016, 07:07:20)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]@xtech mind if I use your write up/review in the main post of this thread for others to see?

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No prob at all. You're welcome!

(3:rd-Jun-2016, 06:34:07)popeye2755 Wrote: [ -> ]Is anybody else struggling with poor FM reception? It's pretty bad on mine.

Sometimes when installing the unit, with all the cables mess behind it, the radio antenna plug may slip out of the socket. It happened to me in one of my attempts to get the dvd unit into place. Check if it is connected, and try the radio reception before screwing the dvd unit into place.

Haha. Yes very true. Had my HU out yesterday to remove the external mic cable (thanks pal) and reroute the GPS antenna. Got it all back together only to find the reverse camera isn't working.

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(4:th-Jun-2016, 16:19:57)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]Haha. Yes very true. Had my HU out yesterday to remove the external mic cable (thanks pal) and reroute the GPS antenna. Got it all back together only to find the reverse camera isn't working.

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Uh oh, any idea what's wrong?


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(4:th-Jun-2016, 16:21:04)Tonto Wrote: [ -> ]

(4:th-Jun-2016, 16:19:57)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]Haha. Yes very true. Had my HU out yesterday to remove the external mic cable (thanks pal) and reroute the GPS antenna. Got it all back together only to find the reverse camera isn't working.

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Uh oh, any idea what's wrong?


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Battled to get all the wiring back in so suspect the camera cable unclipped itself. Will check it out later..

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I always wrap some tape around plugs stops them coming apart


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Thanks. Yip that was the problem. Audio in cable isn't a tight fit into the female on the wiring harness. I put some tape around it. All working again.

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If possible could someone post me a screen shot of their equalizer settings please? Providing you havent made your own changes, im after the pre configured setup in car settings (the one where you can select like rock, dance, classical etc). I seem to of buggered mine up and isnt sounding as good as it did when I first installed.

Thanks

(8:th-Jun-2016, 07:53:39)Rymaan82 Wrote: [ -> ]If possible could someone post me a screen shot of their equalizer settings please? Providing you havent made your own changes, im after the pre configured setup in car settings (the one where you can select like rock, dance, classical etc). I seem to of buggered mine up and isnt sounding as good as it did when I first installed.

Thanks

I'm pretty sure mine was all flat, ie at the 0 mark. Could be wrong but I believe that is the default setting for most head units.

Factory reset?

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Thought I'd post an update which I hope may help others. 
I was checking out the icebox website and saw they now list a DAB add on unit (I know this has been discussed previously but forget which thread) and noticed they don't sell it separately.
After quick email to Rob he offered me an add on unit for £30 + postage.

For me that seems like an absolute bargain so will report on how it is to install, ease of use and what the quality is like (however this is subject to time allowing, I'm moving house within a matter of weeks)

@marcus
as a last resort maybe I guess, I did try the reset button in the equalizer its self but defo doesnt sound the same. Thought it would be easier to ask someone to check their settings instead.

@CraigSRi
I dont think they are all base 0 they are in the other sections of the equalizer im sure..

(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:16:16)CraigSRi Wrote: [ -> ]Thought I'd post an update which I hope may help others. 
I was checking out the icebox website and saw they now list a DAB add on unit (I know this has been discussed previously but forget which thread) and noticed they don't sell it separately.
After quick email to Rob he offered me an add on unit for £30 + postage.

For me that seems like an absolute bargain so will report on how it is to install, ease of use and what the quality is like (however this is subject to time allowing, I'm moving house within a matter of weeks)

Brill! You got a link to the add on unit on their site? I can't find it

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(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:33:06)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]

(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:16:16)CraigSRi Wrote: [ -> ]Thought I'd post an update which I hope may help others. 
I was checking out the icebox website and saw they now list a DAB add on unit (I know this has been discussed previously but forget which thread) and noticed they don't sell it separately.
After quick email to Rob he offered me an add on unit for £30 + postage.

For me that seems like an absolute bargain so will report on how it is to install, ease of use and what the quality is like (however this is subject to time allowing, I'm moving house within a matter of weeks)

Brill! You got a link to the add on unit on their site? I can't find it

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There are 2 add-on units on the site - both descriptions are the same. I don't know which I have ordered but this is the link to the cheaper of the 2 - http://www.iceboxauto.com/dab-add-on-for...oid-series

(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:38:45)CraigSRi Wrote: [ -> ]

(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:33:06)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]

(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:16:16)CraigSRi Wrote: [ -> ]Thought I'd post an update which I hope may help others. 
I was checking out the icebox website and saw they now list a DAB add on unit (I know this has been discussed previously but forget which thread) and noticed they don't sell it separately.
After quick email to Rob he offered me an add on unit for £30 + postage.

For me that seems like an absolute bargain so will report on how it is to install, ease of use and what the quality is like (however this is subject to time allowing, I'm moving house within a matter of weeks)

Brill! You got a link to the add on unit on their site? I can't find it

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There are 2 add-on units on the site - both descriptions are the same. I don't know which I have ordered but this is the link to the cheaper of the 2 - http://www.iceboxauto.com/dab-add-on-for...oid-series

Nice one! So how would they work signal wise? Would it need an Ariel or would it come with one?

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(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:47:53)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]

(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:38:45)CraigSRi Wrote: [ -> ]

(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:33:06)sheppy1 Wrote: [ -> ]

(8:th-Jun-2016, 10:16:16)CraigSRi Wrote: [ -> ]Thought I'd post an update which I hope may help others. 
I was checking out the icebox website and saw they now list a DAB add on unit (I know this has been discussed previously but forget which thread) and noticed they don't sell it separately.
After quick email to Rob he offered me an add on unit for £30 + postage.

For me that seems like an absolute bargain so will report on how it is to install, ease of use and what the quality is like (however this is subject to time allowing, I'm moving house within a matter of weeks)

Brill! You got a link to the add on unit on their site? I can't find it

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There are 2 add-on units on the site - both descriptions are the same. I don't know which I have ordered but this is the link to the cheaper of the 2 - http://www.iceboxauto.com/dab-add-on-for...oid-series

Nice one! So how would they work signal wise? Would it need an Ariel or would it come with one?

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I don't know either lol. I asked Rob this as my aerial is not working and have to use app radio, once I have his reply and hopefully confirmation of which model it is I'll report back

Rob said that he had some units in for testing and all he had to do was connect them to any usb port on the unit and upload an APK which comes with the unit and all worked fine!

He provided the below imagine of the interface though... He said and I agree that the UI isn't very good! Ha



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Also here's a pic of the unit itself... Would have thought there would be more to it... Unless there's a module too? But I can't imagine you have to plug in a module and then the antenna into yet another usb port..



Not sure where you'd mount the thing either!

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Also here's a link to the apk

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7p63j49s6qd0o6...8.apk?dl=0

And a link to the manufacturer site with info on the module

http://www.witson.com/en/displayproduct....=102676214

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So I ask myself quietly, do I really want to remove the HU again for this addition....

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(8:th-Jun-2016, 11:59:25)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]So I ask myself quietly, do I really want to remove the HU again for this addition....

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You love it [WINKING FACE] I ask myself where the hell will that antenna go! Ha

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Haha. Yes that aerial.... I might have to remove the HU again anyway to plug the HU speaker back in. It's a bit eerie not have any sound coming from your indicator stalks. don't miss the door open alarm though. (The one thing I deffo don't miss from my hondas)

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