GolfGTIforum.co.uk
General => Car audio => Topic started by: leegt5 on 24 November 2007, 17:29
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Thinking about doing this...
Say I was to buy this External Hard disk that is powered off the USB from your computer:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=217918&TabID=1&source=1&doy=24m11
And buy this head unit with a USB input..
http://www.incarexpress.co.uk/view_product.php?partno=KDCW7537U
Would the head unit supply sufficient power from its USB input to power the hard disk, and would the headunit be able to read such a large volume as you'd normally only put maybe a USB stick into it !!
LEE
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thats a well good idea! ive got one of those hdds laying around so could be worth getting a usb hu to try it :undecided:
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thats a well good idea! ive got one of those hdds laying around so could be worth getting a usb hu to try it :undecided:
I know I cant believe I never thought of it before, I was reading a review on ebuyer on a Hard Disk and some said they was using one in their car, don't know if thats what they meant though !!
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Well, from my usb memory stick the head unit does get confuesed sometimes with only 200 songs. A harddrive needs more power than a memory stick, as its not flash memory its a disc being written onto, Normally a external HDD has a powersupply to power in the wall as far as the ones i have. So to be honest, im not sure if it would work, and if it did, you would want to have the top dollar head unit or i think it would just get confused and lagg. Plus im not sure it could power it, unless it only runs of the usb, and not another poer supply. But then when u are transfering songs, power will be less, and well
I just dont know but i wouldnt advise it. lol
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Also you need to get a shock proof laptop hard drive, otherwise speed bums will break the disc. lol
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And it needs to be in a cooled area, eg not a sealed glove box.
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Well, from my usb memory stick the head unit does get confuesed sometimes with only 200 songs. A harddrive needs more power than a memory stick, as its not flash memory its a disc being written onto, Normally a external HDD has a powersupply to power in the wall as far as the ones i have. So to be honest, im not sure if it would work, and if it did, you would want to have the top dollar head unit or i think it would just get confused and lagg. Plus im not sure it could power it, unless it only runs of the usb, and not another poer supply. But then when u are transfering songs, power will be less, and well
I just dont know but i wouldnt advise it. lol
your thinking of desktop hdds but a 2.5" portable does not need cooling or external power
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Found out all desk top pc's usb ports have a voltage of 5v so if that Hard disk can run off a pcs 5v supply then if the head unit usb output will supply 5v, and will allow the hard disk to pull the current it needs,in theory it should work and the head unit can read an 80g hard disk !
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Found out all desk top pc's usb ports have a voltage of 5v so if that Hard disk can run off a pcs 5v supply then if the head unit usb output will supply 5v, and will allow the hard disk to pull the current it needs,in theory it should work and the head unit can read an 80g hard disk !
that would be absolutely amazing. Might have to wait and save for a decent head unit rather than waiting til next week to get a £60 cheapo one!
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im not 100% on this its just my $0.02
first of all i like the idea, iv got some rather extravagant ideas on a similar line.
Even if you did need powering from it, you could run say an external HD from an inverter? upto 500GB? more if ur really desperate for space! that would solve the need for power.
however a friend of mine had trouble with those USB stick HU as some USB sticks didnt work and it just couldnt read it, something todo with software clashes from the HU and the external device
also the flash unit wont require too much power to run it whereas a HD would?
another consideration would be to buy a large memory stick. 8GB? thats a fair amount of tunage?
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?CSR-MS8GB
16GB will also be available soon ish
so yeh thats my thoughts
:smiley:
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Ive got a 4gb sony walkman would that be able to play throught the usb? I think that would be better quality than a front input 3.5mm jack wouldnt it?
One of these:
(http://www.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/digitalmusic/sony_nw-a808.jpg)
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unfortunately it prob wouldn't work, due to the software on it, a freind tried it with his creative ZEN
3.55mm jack quality will be perfect, as if u were though ur headphones, and if u buy a decent 3.55mm cable even better, if u can find a balanced one, even better :cool:
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The idea of using hard drives via USB headunits has been around quite a while now. Success is totally dependant upon the make of the headunit - some fall over if there are more than xx number of tracks presented to it, others are fine.
I think that even 2.5" laptop drives use 12v for the drive mechanicals, and 5v for the electronics - not 100% though.
A decent headunit reading files via USB will always sound better that using the 3.5 aux in, as the DAC (digital to analog converter) in the headunit will nearly always be better than that in the MP3 player.
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Oh okies might 'borrow' my sisters ipod and get a hu with ipod connection then :wink: cheers
currently ive got ye olde tape adapter :sick: sound quality sucks :sad:
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You are all getting this wrong. LOL.
ZEN, no, it wouldnt, ebcuae it has software as you say.
External hard drive as first suggested,COULD work, providing could power it. They usually plug into the wall aswell as teh usb for data transfer, OR have 2 usbs, one for power and one for data transfer. Athough they are not good harddrives.
NO your phoen wont work, it has software
Your head unit only uses USB to connect directly to storage, sotorage being blank storage with foldered files, not the operation system of a ZEN or pphone. the only exception is the ones credted for ipods.
So you need to power the hard drive, and im not wrong, speed bumps would ruin the disc. as external hard drives, are just normal dektop hard drives, in a caddy case.
thanks
Mike
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You are all getting this wrong. LOL.
ZEN, no, it wouldnt, ebcuae it has software as you say.
External hard drive as first suggested,COULD work, providing could power it. They usually plug into the wall aswell as teh usb for data transfer, OR have 2 usbs, one for power and one for data transfer. Athough they are not good harddrives.
NO your phoen wont work, it has software
Your head unit only uses USB to connect directly to storage, sotorage being blank storage with foldered files, not the operation system of a ZEN or pphone. the only exception is the ones credted for ipods.
So you need to power the hard drive, and im not wrong, speed bumps would ruin the disc. as external hard drives, are just normal dektop hard drives, in a caddy case.
thanks
Mike
2.5" hard drives rarely plug into the wall and hardly any (except cheap makes) need 2 usb's
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My JVC headunit can only take up to 4 or 8 gig (can't remember which one) according to the instruction manual.
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The said Hard Drive pulls power from USB so being as a Desk Top PC will only output 5v it would only need 5v from a Head Units USB !!
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I really dont think it will work, im sorry, but i dont, lol.
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Oh okies might 'borrow' my sisters ipod and get a hu with ipod connection then :wink: cheers
currently ive got ye olde tape adapter :sick: sound quality sucks :sad:
Think yourself lucky you have tape lol, in my old renault 5 (my first car) it had the orignial, twisty dial, 3 band radio that came with it as standard in 1989!
LOL!
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I really dont think it will work, im sorry, but i dont, lol.
Well I need the Hard Disk anyway so what i might do is get it. Put a load of music on it and go down the car audio place and ask to plug it into the headunit USB and see if it works !!
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The problem that you may encounter is that the headunit cannot supply enough power via the USB port to satisfy the harddrive.
According to Kenwood, smaller 1.8" drives only pull 500mA, and therefore work no problem. A larger drive could be powered externally.
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The problem that you may encounter is that the headunit cannot supply enough power via the USB port to satisfy the harddrive.
According to Kenwood, smaller 1.8" drives only pull 500mA, and therefore work no problem. A larger drive could be powered externally.
From my research it seems you are exactly right !!
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Exactly as has been said, the only harddrives that will run off the 500mA power supplied by a single usb are 1.8" notebook ones, even 2.5" drives require twice that. After that you're depending on the fact that the headunit has firmware that's able to cope with that many gigabytes, and you have to use their interface to access your library of songs. Sounds to me like 2 substantial hurdles, my advice is for something cheap and effective is to get a hu with an aux. input and work an mp3 player through that.
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It seems that the new kenwodd headunits that have a usb input work with any 1.8 drive (2.5 will work but needs external power) as long as it is formatted in FAT32.. The speed at which the hardrive responds to headunit being powered up to be ready to play depends on you file structure.
For Best Results the file strycture needs to be for example:
G:/Michael Jackson/beatit.mp3
Im looking at the following Head unit: Cheap considering when it came out it was £300
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KENWOOD-KDC-W7534U-CAR-CD-MP3-USB-3-RCA-NEW_W0QQitemZ330191134328QQihZ014QQcategoryZ3293QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
And im also bidding on a 1.8 80gb Hard disk !!
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my old philips 2gb hdd mp3 player worked with the usb connection from it to a cable on my mates headunit
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Just get 2 USB sticks. Play were doing 4gb for £15ish. That's a few songs.....
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Or get yourself a phatbox. Bit pricey from the stealerships but they often come up on ebay. I have one in the Golf and another in the Audi and swap the dms from one car to the other. No need to look at the screen etc as they have an audio track/album announcement system.
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Or a Sony Mex-1HD hard drive head unit :wink: