Tag Archives: Elgrand

Electronicals, Modifications

Pivot 3-Drive Alpha Throttle & Auto-Cruise – 8 months on

2 Comments

Has it been eight months since installing this already? Wow, time is flying by. So, how has the Pivot been in daily use? Well, to be honest it’s been perfect and I’ve found I use it more than I expected to. Maybe this is because of my frequent trips up and down the M1 where the 50MPH limit is in place due to the upgrade to ‘smart’ motorways, or because it’s proven to be just so damned useful.

It’s position on the front display screen just above the gear knob has been spot on and I wouldn’t move it. The only improvement could be to add steering wheel controls (which aren’t available for the Pivot, only a simple on/off toggle button).

I started off using ECO mode for the first few weeks but didn’t really notice any improvement in MPG. I probably still drove the same way but just pressed the pedal further than normal. It did feel a lot more sluggish though so started using Sport mode instead.

Sport mode feels really nice and sharp (I think I’m using SP5, the fifth fastest of the seven sport modes) so it’s what I use constantly now.

I used the vehicle’s SNOW mode in the snow and ice and it did feel like it was overriding the Pivot’s setting.

So, in conclusion, it’s been incredibly useful (especially the cruise control) and I wouldn’t want to be without it now. Well worth the money.

 

Day-to-day, Electronicals, ICE, Interior, Multimedia

Pumpkin Android player, 8 months on

2 Comments

Well it’s been 8 months already using this unit so maybe it’s time to say a bit on what it’s been like to live with.

Overall it’s been a good investment. It’s done everything it’s promised so far with few complaints.

So what have been the positives?

The sound quality is good and it has enough volume for all situations.

It runs Android apps great although there’s really only a couple I use on the move.

The interface is fine and fluid with no lag.

It looks cool with its blue back-lit buttons.

It starts up pretty quickly and I like having the Nissan logo displayed while it’s booting.

Integration with the buses steering wheel controls is a great feature.

Here are the negatives then…

Often poor radio reception.

The buttons sometimes seem to take a couple of presses to register.

Can’t enable Mock locations in Android so I can’t use my external GPS receiver.

Technical support is pretty poor with them just quoting the manual, or saying x is not supported in this version.

It’s lost paired Bluetooth devices a couple of times.

Only DVD can output to external devices and not movies played from SD etc.

Final thoughts: I would buy one again as this one is fine for what I need and they will only improve with newer versions of Android. It’s a shame the external outputs are only for DVD (actually they also output what is coming into the input but the sound is only sent to the rear speakers for the latter). Not being able to use an external GPS receiver is my biggest gripe.

DigiHUD Speedometer Pro
DigiHUD Speedometer Pro

 

 

History

So I put the navigation DVD in the drive and…

Leave a comment

When I bought the bus the Navigation DVD was in the drive and it was just a bit annoying the way Navigation automatically started when the key was turned. Not only is the disc from 2003 but it only covers Japan. Everything is in Japanese and only of any use if you’re driving in Japan, which I’m not. The disc has been in the glove box for the last six months.

I just fancied popping the disc in today and have a bit of a play.

A red triangle appeared just off the coast of somewhere in Japan but I haven’t got a clue which part of the country it was thanks to the Japanese labels. It did rotate as I drove though. So that’s not very interesting.

Wait…I just saw a route finish marker across the map, and further in the distance another marker that could be Home or Start. Could these be set for the last trip the bus made before leaving Japan? Maybe it’s when it travelled to Nagoya to the auction?

When I got home I loaded up Google Maps on my phone and worked out how to move the map around on the Navigation screen. Rotating the map to North I realised that both Start and Finish were in Toyama Prefecture. I knew from the bus’s Japanese registration plates that it was registered in Toyama. I wondered then if this was the owner’s last trip in it, maybe to go and pick up a nice new motor the Elgrand would be taken in part exchange for? So many questions!

Zooming in on the Finish marker showed that the destination was a car dealership called ‘Gulliver’, just off the Etchu-Higashi Highway.

destination2

gulliver

You can have a look around the place here.

gulliver1

What about the other markers? I guess that ‘S’ is the start of the route and not far away is the ‘Home’ marker. home

The map from 2003 doesn’t show a row of houses adjacent to the markers.

home2

Google Maps shows that the end house is closest to the marker that looks like a building. I’d think this is most likely to be the previous owner’s house.home3

home4

Google map’s imagery for this area is from 2014 at the time of writing this and it’s a shame the Elgrand can’t been seen in the surrounding area.

Electronicals, ICE, Interior, Modifications, Multimedia

Sumvision Cyclone Micro 4

Leave a comment

I recently bought a Sumvision Cyclone Micro 4 multimedia player so that we can watch movies from SD/USB/HDD if out on a long trip.

[IMG]

This thing is pretty small and neat so here are my pro’s and con’s (so far):

Pro’s

  • Small
  • power, AV out, optical out and HDMI connectors are all at the back
  • Powered by USB, comes with a mains plug and cable
  • Simple interface and controls
  • Remote control (ir)
  • Plays a lot of file formats
  • NTSC or PAL
  • Miracast and many more features

Con’s

  • SD card slot and USB port are on the side, limiting where it can be mounted. The front only has the ir sensor so I’m sure there would be room
  • Auto-on when powered up, stopping the Pumpkin playing music etc through the rear audio channels. A con for me but may not be for you
  • Curved bottom could make mounting to flat surfaces trickier
  • Generates noise through the AV IN line, making annoying buzzing sounds when navigating the menus
  • Can’t power up a 2.5″ laptop HDD, would need externally powered drives

I managed to fit it today and whilst doing so found a problem with my bus’s AV.

Previously I had just run a single RCA (yellow) to the middle row socket so that the Pumpkin could output video to the bus’s screens and drive the speakers itself. Worked fine, but with the Cyclone I thought I’d try to connect it directly to the sockets independently of the Pumpkin. Found that no matter what I pressed up front or on the AV remote I could get no sound from the speakers. The Cyclone was playing sound fine as I’d just connected it to the Pumpkin’s AV IN.

So my plan to just put the Cyclone in the back somewhere and plug it in when required went out of the window.

Now I have it connected to the Pumpkin’s AV IN plugs, and it works on all three screens. I’ve moved my camera feed to ‘CAM IN’ but it needs 12v to the reverse wire to switch to that input so connecting that to my video mixer’s trigger switch is a job for another day.

I removed the multiple power feed unit from the middle drawer in the console and put the Cyclone in there.

[IMG]

[IMG]

The wires come through the back of the drawer, along with the Pumpkin’s USB/iPod connectors. The power wire and my dashcam power wire both come through under the centre console.

I’ll sort out the position of the power unit soon, or come up with some solution that has several USB ports flushed with a panel.

My first job today was actually replacing the single AV cable with a three way cable which has now been a waste of time (unless I can work out what the heck is causing no sound to be played from that port).

Strangely whilst doing all this the only controls on the bus’s AV remote that work now are volume and power. I’ve lost the rear screen tilt adjustment and who knows what else that was working when I last used that remote.

Electronicals

New fob programming

3 Comments

The bus only came with one key so without any fobs I’m missing out on the keyless ignition benefits. Recently I managed to pick up a blank key blade with a chip as well as a used fob for not a huge amount of money (certainly a lot less than a main dealer would charge).

My Silca programmer came today so I plugged it in to the OBD2 port and paired the fob to the immobiliser. Took all of three minutes to do it.

I’ve found that by locking the bus with the fob or the button on the outside of the door it automatically folds in the mirrors too. They unfold when the ignition is turned to ACC. Sweet!

So now I don’t have to use the key anymore and it’s safely tucked up in the fob.

Fob