Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


BigMal

996 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

#138350 31-Dec-2013 10:17
Send private message

Does anyone know if car stereos purchased from Amazon US work ok in NZ?

I'm looking at this model http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-FH-X700BT-In-Dash-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B0091UW7F6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388438194&sr=8-1&keywords=FH-X700BT

Would all the plugs match ok? Would the FM tuner be compatible?

I intend to put it in a 2008 mazda atenza.

Thanks in advance for any advice.



Filter this topic showing only the reply marked as answer View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
ubergeeknz
3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Vocus

  #959493 31-Dec-2013 10:55
Send private message

You'll want a harness kit, but otherwise it should be OK.  I think the FM frequencies are the same, someone else may be able to confirm.



Wade
2225 posts

Uber Geek


  #959501 31-Dec-2013 11:19
Send private message

No the frequency step is different, some units might be able to switch steps or else it requires a band expander

ubergeeknz
3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Vocus

  #959502 31-Dec-2013 11:19
Send private message

One thing though - have you figured out how it will physically fit?  If the stereo is built into the dash you'll need a fitting kit as well...



BigMal

996 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #959505 31-Dec-2013 11:23
Send private message

Thanks for the advice. The car has built in nav but it's in japanese. The nav is double din so I assumed (maybe naively) that any double din stereo would fit?

Maybe I should just buy local......it's just so much more expensive....

gehenna
8495 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #959508 31-Dec-2013 11:27
Send private message

Looks like the harness kit is one of the "users frequently buy this as well as this" options on the page anyway, so I'd just go with what people have previously bought as a combo with this head unit.

Also noticed if you are looking at specific cables it comes up at the top with a bunch of drop downs so you can select your car year/make/model to see if the cable will fit. That's clever Amazon!

ubergeeknz
3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Vocus

  #959517 31-Dec-2013 11:45
Send private message

Wade: No the frequency step is different, some units might be able to switch steps or else it requires a band expander


Looks like this will be a problem for FM reception, so keep that in mind... in the US they only step by 200Khz where we have stations in between where it can tune to.  Doesn't seem to be any way to change it as it's a US/Canada only modem headunit.  The local equivalent looks to be around $300NZD



jpoc
1043 posts

Uber Geek


  #959551 31-Dec-2013 12:39
Send private message

Wade: No the frequency step is different, some units might be able to switch steps or else it requires a band expander


What he said.

US FM radio transmission frequencies all end in odd decimal digits. 88.1MHz, 88.3MHz etc.

Ours do not.

As wade said, some radios have selectable frequency steps and some also have manual tuning that ignores the steps but this is not the case for all radios so beware of that.

Also, the same applies to am bands.



 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
mclean
581 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

  #959567 31-Dec-2013 13:25
Send private message

The one on Amazon (FH-X700BT) is a US model and doesn't allow you to change the tuning steps from the 200 kHz US standard.  The local equivalent (FH-X755BT) lets you program both the FM and MW steps to suit the NZ frequencies.  I think a band expander simply down-shifts the frequency but doesn't change the steps, so it's no use in this case.

paulspain
417 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #959586 31-Dec-2013 14:26
Send private message

For review purposes I sourced a similar (but single DIN) JVC head unit from US and found there was a setting that allowed me to switch to FM settings that suited NZ. You'd want to check the manual as this might not be the case with Pioneer.




Paul Spain
Founder: Gorilla Technology, NZ Tech Podcast


ajobbins
5052 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #959653 31-Dec-2013 16:58
Send private message

If you can afford to spend a bit more, have a look at some of the double DIN Android based units available.





Twitter: ajobbins


Gilco2
1556 posts

Uber Geek


#959655 31-Dec-2013 17:08
Send private message

not sure about now but many moons ago I toured USA by Greyhound bus and while there bought a good quality car stereo to bring back. This was 1991.  Didnt work too well as the channel spacings were different than here.




HTPC Intel Pentium G3258 cpu, Gigabyte H97n-wifi motherboard, , 8GB DDR3 ram, onboard  graphics. Hauppuage HVR 5500 tuner,  Silverstone LC16M case, Windows 10 pro 64 bit using Nextpvr and Kodi


BigMal

996 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #959720 31-Dec-2013 21:08
Send private message

ajobbins: If you can afford to spend a bit more, have a look at some of the double DIN Android based units available.



Yeah to be honest I was researching replacing the head unit with a Nexus 7.  Looks like it would fit perfectly, I could load all my music onto it, O could tether and use pandora and google maps.  It would be cheap too!  However I don;t have the skills to wire it up.

Are the other android units any good?  Any recommendations?

tieke
674 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

  #959798 1-Jan-2014 09:45
Send private message

I replaced the japanese-language unit in my hiace with this one from dealextreme. Pretty impressed - it's a cheap win-ce based unit (the android ones were hundreds more) but does a good job - touchscreen, NZ radio frequencies supported, bluetooth phone integration, iPrimo GPS works well on it, plays videos etc.  Obviously that one came with a Toyota loom, but the cheap chinese headunits are definitely worth a look.

mclean
581 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

  #959851 1-Jan-2014 11:57
Send private message

The first real android-based IVI system from a mainstream manufacturer is the Clarion AX1, just released.  If this thing takes off and the price comes down it'll change everything for in-car PC's/navigation.

ilovemusic
1439 posts

Uber Geek


  #959852 1-Jan-2014 12:11
Send private message

dunno why you'd bother with a cheapo/no-name car stereo.

99.9% of them are crap.

poor build. poor compatibility, poor performance.

but they are cheep !



 1 | 2
Filter this topic showing only the reply marked as answer View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.