TECH TIPS

Clarion has provided Installer Central with a guide for retailers and their installers about key things to consider when upgrading a customer’s sound system. For more information about Clarion and its products, visit www.clarion.com.
Designing a System: Key Considerations
One of the most important considerations in upgrading a sound system is a system design and product selection. [...]

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The modules that allow owners of Porsche, Mercedes and other luxury models to add an aftermarket hands-free phone kit would usually work properly during the day, even after a cold-start failure, according to the Boca Raton, Fla., company.

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Mobile Electronics just received an e-mail from AAMP of America, parent company of PAC and iSimple, concerning a compatibility issue with iPods and iPhones running Apple’s new OS 3.0 operating system and PAC’s/iSimple’s uPAC and GateWay interfaces. Following is the entire letter from the company.

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Clarion has provided us with a couple of tech tips and related diagrams. The first is for making a video switcher using two SPDT relays. The second is for how to make a video switcher using a DPDT relay.

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Maxxsonics’ recently released a series of MX OEM Integration Accessories, which led to the development of four highly-informative installation videos.

The MX Series of Converters and Controllers was originally developed so that an existing OEM car audio system can provide more power and better sound quality even when it is improbable, impractical and sometimes just impossible to change an aftermarket head unit.

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Does a “Stiffening Capacitor” behave like you think it does? It’s been a popular approach to supplement an audio system consuming a lot of power by adding a power storage capacitor (often called “stiffening capacitors”). The question is, do they really behave like you think?

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DICE Electronics has released a 2009 integration guide for 12-volt retailers and installation professionals.
The 89-page guide offers 11 vehicle-specific sections for integrating iPod. Within each section, DICE offers a compatibility chart, content identifier, DIP switch settings, connection diagram, installation tips, operation overview and techical notes.
The guide also provides information about auxiliary integration, FM-RDS integration and [...]

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By Todd Ramsey
Photo courtesy of Chris Yato
People often mistake the battery as the main power source in the vehicle. Although this is true when the car is not running, the alternator is really the heart of the electrical system. The main function of the alternator is to recharge the battery and act as the primary [...]

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By Todd Ramsey
Electrical current is quite simply the movement of electrons through a conductor. Electrons have a “charge” and are attracted or repelled depending on the polarity of the voltage source. Basically they move from one direction to the other in an electrical circuit, positive to negative (Conventional Current Flow Theory) or negative to positive [...]

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Voltage drops are one of the least obvious problems to “look” for with the eye, but one of the easiest to troubleshoot when you have a Digital Multimeter (DMM). It’s one of the electrical problems that can develop over time, even if no other changes have been done to the installation.

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