Well, it's been a long time since I've posted here, basically it took the garage 7 weeks to sort the car due to their or their sub contractors ups, but that’s another story...
Anyway, the Sports back with the piano black and bright silver trim in the cabin. I personally really like the result and think this is what LR should have done in the first place, at least on HSE and above specs, rather than the plain plastic we we were given originally. But as you’ll see it’s not a finish for people with OCD...
Some areas were a bit trail and error will need to be redone, but we ran out of time. This is specifically around the gear shift and terrain response where I’ll get replacement parts and do it again but more accurately this time now that I know it can be done.
Basically the car has been restored to ‘stock’ when I got it back, here’s a picture:
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Back to this project I decided to ditch the Tablet install as it gave nothing to the car and have stuck only with the Sony Xperia Ultra, retaining the OEM SatNav for what it’s worth. The garage was meant to have installed the docking station for this but said it was too complicated... 1 hours work at home and the bare bones are done. I now need to find the time to do the necessary fiberglassing, sanding, body filler to get the shape right before painting. Photos below of the current status of this plus more general of the new colour scheme
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What has been done it the wiring for pretty much everything. The photo below shows what’s been installed:
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Basically the whole thing needs tidying up once I’ve completed the dash buiild myself, but what you’ve got is:
1. A preamp so that I can adjust the gain so that the output volume from Aux In matches the volume of the CD and FM Radio on the OEM stereo. This avoids the problem of switching between sources and rupturing your ear drums if you go from Aux In to Radio. There’s also a volume control next to the DPDT switch.
2. BT receiver for A2DP music over BT.
3. DPDT switch to allow selecting 2 external sources for the Aux In. One is for the BT receiver for the Xperia and other devices whic h have A2DP BT capability. The second could be used for older iPods etc that don’t have BT.
4. Patch panel for the 2 audio sources
5. Adapter for power supply. 2.1A for the Xperia Ultra and 1A for the BT receiver. If more USB power is required for other devices, then this can be from a further adapter in the cigar lighter or from the USB cable in the centre console above the fridge.
As you can see I’ve decided to go with the Option 2 design, albeit it slightly changed using a black background and slightly revised layout. I’ve been using this for a while and it works very well.
So that’s how far it’s got in 7 weeks.... Luckily the wife and toddler are of for a wedding next week for 10 day so should be able to get some of the work on the docking station done then. Also want to have a look at how to ‘hide’ the SatNav but still leave it easily accessible should the phone not be docked....
Regards
Guy2006 RRS S/C CONSTANTLY under modification...
1994 RRC 4.2l not LSE sadly gone but not forgotten
LR Defender 300Tdi - affectionately know as "The Black Beast"
Last edited by Guyzer73 on Wed Oct 08 2014 9:02pm. Edited 1 time in total
Sun Sep 21 2014 12:36pm
Guyzer73
Member Since: 04 Jul 2009
Location: Muscat
Posts: 852
PART II
Well I think I’m slightly schizophrenic, as I have changed my mind again… . I’m going to stick with the Sony Xperia Ultra install but in a different format in the same location.
I’m basically scrapping the KIDIGI docking station you can see in the first post in favour of a fully custom fibreglass job.
The reason behind this is that I thought I could make a better job without the docking station, which would be both more secure and hopefully aesthetically pleasing. Also the docking station was obstructing the SatNav shroud, should I need to remove it for some reason.
Here's my initial sketch:
I mocked the design very roughly in Play Do to see if I’m happy with the general idea, and used a bit of card to mimic the rear shroud over the existing SatNav. The results are below without the phone:
Now with the phone:
The height of the dock will be dictated by one factor. Basically, I need to be able to fix the adhesive strips to the back of the phone without them obstructing the operation of the docking stations I have at home and in the office. This basically means the maximum height of the docking station will be no more than 25mm from base to the highest point in the center.
The phone will be held in place using very strong neodymium magnets bonded into the dock and magnetic adhesive strips on the phone.
The magnets are approximately 30x10x5mm in size and each magnet has a pulling force of 4kg. So plenty to hold the phone even through some fibreglass and taking into account any physically possible cantilever effect due to the design. I’ve also checked and they do not affect the operation of the phone at all.
I’ve ordered both polymer clay and plaster of Paris so that I can make a decent female mould for the fibreglass, hopefully minimizing the amount of body filler required to finish the surface for painting. The dock will then be riveted to the OEM SatNav shroud. The completed raw form will then be filled and sanded smooth ready painting.
However before painting the last bit will be to ‘french’ in the magnetic charging dock into the OEM surround so that the phone charges while docked and also allows this to trigger various predetermined actions through the Actions Pro App.
Looking forward to your comments.
Cheers
Guy2006 RRS S/C CONSTANTLY under modification...
1994 RRC 4.2l not LSE sadly gone but not forgotten
LR Defender 300Tdi - affectionately know as "The Black Beast"
Sun Sep 21 2014 12:58pm
Guyzer73
Member Since: 04 Jul 2009
Location: Muscat
Posts: 852
And the story goes forth...
So I tried the option with the larger dock with the magnets a la the play doh mock up above and simply didn’t like it as it was too obtrusive and not reflecting my objectives... I did this using polymer clay.
Also, trying both the magnets embedded behind a substantial fibreglass form left the magnet strength somewhat poor. The alternative of having them mounted on the surface and having them painted left them far too strong making it impossible to dock the phone properly and also needing two hands to yank it out of the dock.
So I went back to the idea of using the Kidigi dock. This time however, I cut right it down so that it was not obstructing the removal of the SatNav surround, if this was necessary.
Before hacking a perfectly decent dock to bits I did test the magnets mounted behind the plastic and found that by sanding the plastic down some that I got a good magnet ‘pull’ but was still able to control the docking and undocking with one hand. I’d guess it’s now approximately 0.5mm thick in lieu of 1.0mm thick.
So after some measuring I cut a hole in my spare SatNav surround to accommodate the butchered dock. The result is the 2 images below of the said dock in original form, and butchered form. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the surround with the hole cut into it.
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After some filing, shaving, sanding etc I was able to use contact adhesive to secure the ‘dock’ into its new home, the pictures should the result in the car:
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What you can’t see is the large gap at the front between the dock and the surround but this becomes evident later.
Here are some photos of the dock with the phone in place, and power connected. In the 4th picture you can just see the gap I was referring to between the dock and the front of the surround:
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So, now I was in two minds, do I use ‘bondo’ or fibreglass to finish this of. Well I initially chose both with the plan to use bondo on the rear section to create a revised angle to the SatNav bezel and a combination of fibreglass and bondo to close the gap at the front.
I started with the rear and this is the result of 2 thinish layers of bondo and the first sanding with 80 grain, as I couldn’t get any 40 grain here… Again the gap I referred to can be clearly seen in pictures 2, 3 and 4.
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Then I started on the front with the fibreglass which was to be applied on the underside of the surround to form the support for the bondo on top . Unfortunately I it up and the fibreglass didn't cure and promptly fell off .
Basically, I assumed the hardener I used was a clear liquid. In fact it had separated in the sachet… The hardener was actually red… So I decided I’d try with bondo only to start and then apply the fibreglass afterwards to give added support.
The result of this again with 2 layers and some sanding was this:
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So this is as far as I've got right now. Hopefully, over the next couple of days I'll get the bondo finished and sanded down to the final shape and also get the fiberglass done to add a bit of additional support.
Then it'll be time to hand it over to the paint shop who'll prepare it correctly for painting and clear coat and hopefully return it back looking all piano-y black and OEM for the final fit.
I haven't touched on the fact that the phone isn't 100% wobble free when docked. This is why currently there's some black gaffer tape strategically placed on the dock. This will be resolved with automotive felt tape in lieu of the gaffer tape in the final install to give a finished look to the project.
Look forward to your comments
Guy2006 RRS S/C CONSTANTLY under modification...
1994 RRC 4.2l not LSE sadly gone but not forgotten
LR Defender 300Tdi - affectionately know as "The Black Beast"
Last edited by Guyzer73 on Thu Oct 09 2014 6:26am. Edited 1 time in total
Wed Oct 08 2014 9:01pm
designboy
Member Since: 03 Feb 2014
Location: whitehead co antrim
Posts: 338
MAN!! This is a fantastic install - Really would be great to do - some smart thinking mucked in too
I had thought of this and then decided to just mount my note 3 in the centre. I use only spotify in the car and use the AUX in, its okay - but I find its low compared to the systems potential.
This looks a great modern mod. When will you get it all cleared up in the end for a final shot? One with a bit of polish and sparkle?
Wed Oct 08 2014 9:26pm
Guyzer73
Member Since: 04 Jul 2009
Location: Muscat
Posts: 852
Thanks again for the comments DB
I really hope to get the docking station/surround finish ready for priming in the next couple of days and then get the body shop to paint it next week.
I post some more photos as I get closer to finishing it.
Cheers
Guy2006 RRS S/C CONSTANTLY under modification...
1994 RRC 4.2l not LSE sadly gone but not forgotten
LR Defender 300Tdi - affectionately know as "The Black Beast"
Thu Oct 09 2014 6:14am
Sag
Member Since: 08 Jul 2009
Location: Leicester
Posts: 564
Prefer his to all your previous attempts Guy, looks great! Keep up the good work
I did something very similar with a Sony PSP in my Citroen a few years ago LCFC. Receiver of threatening letters from Overfinch.
Thu Oct 09 2014 1:07pm
Guyzer73
Member Since: 04 Jul 2009
Location: Muscat
Posts: 852
Cheers Sag,
To be honest this is also the first I've really developed beyond an idea...
Really happy the way it's turning out, just a shame I might be selling the car due to a possible relocation...
Cheers
Guy2006 RRS S/C CONSTANTLY under modification...
1994 RRC 4.2l not LSE sadly gone but not forgotten
LR Defender 300Tdi - affectionately know as "The Black Beast"
Thu Oct 09 2014 5:47pm
Guyzer73
Member Since: 04 Jul 2009
Location: Muscat
Posts: 852
Okay, so progress has been very slow this week as my 13 month old daughter is sick.
However, I have progressed in the shaping of the dock/ surround with the bondo and here are the results.
I only really need to do the final sanding and then it'll be ready for priming and painting.
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However, I have come across one problem and this is that the phone doesn't dock securely . I've looked into this and it seems that the dock has in fact warped slightly over time and now the sides are marginally higher than the center meaning the pogo pins don't connect solidly.
I'm going to resolve this in 2 ways. the first is to sand down the surfaces where the charging connector is located to try and gain 0.5mm or so.
Secondly to get the phone to fit securely I'm going to fill the gaps around the phone with bondo so that the fit is snug. For this I will use masking tape on the phone to protect it and also provide a small space for painting.
Sooo I'm not quite there yet, hopefully the above will resolve the docking and charging situation and when it's painted the phone will just slide in as desired and job done.
Cheers
Guy2006 RRS S/C CONSTANTLY under modification...
1994 RRC 4.2l not LSE sadly gone but not forgotten
LR Defender 300Tdi - affectionately know as "The Black Beast"
Tue Oct 14 2014 6:25am
darrenmcneill
Member Since: 05 Oct 2014
Location: Whitworth
Posts: 442
Member Since: 04 Jul 2009
Location: Muscat
Posts: 852
Hi Darren,
It's finished but not painted. Basically to solve the problem.of the docking I've used bare screws in place of the pogo pins. This will.do for now until I find a more permanent solution.
I haven't progressed further as I was handed my notice a few days after my last post so uncertain whether I'd keep the Sport. Looks like I may get lucky and work directly with the client so can keep the Sport and finish the project before embarking on the next one...
I'll try post some finished shots, but they're not much different to what's posted already. Maybe I'll just spray can it black to give an idea before getting it professionally finished if we sleep the Sport...
Cheers
Guy2006 RRS S/C CONSTANTLY under modification...
1994 RRC 4.2l not LSE sadly gone but not forgotten
LR Defender 300Tdi - affectionately know as "The Black Beast"
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Sun Sep 21 2014 12:36pm
ups, but that’s another story...
. I’m going to stick with the Sony Xperia Ultra install but in a different format in the same location.
. I've looked into this and it seems that the dock has in fact warped slightly over time and now the sides are marginally higher than the center meaning the pogo pins don't connect solidly.
