New Stagea Owner From Nz - Tv Tuner And Reverse Cam

[asbks]

Hi all. I have an 2001 M35 Stagea (2.5 RX) that I picked up a few weeks ago, and am in Auckland, New Zealand. I wanted to make use of the oem pop-up screen and was impressed with the use of the TV tuners used over there in Australia, along with the use of reverse cameras etc.

Below I will layout the process I followed, what I bought, how much it was, and where it was from., to aid anyone else reading this that might want to do the same.

Unfortunately the CD player in my Stagea is broken. As the stereo is ‘moulded in’ to the console I initially got quotes on replacing the stereo console panel to fit an aftermarket stereo. The cheapest quote of a half a dozen installers in Auckland was Rapid Radio, that was $639nzd plus the price of the new stereo (So the $639 was made of the new console panel and labour). Other quotes were significantly higher than that, and then of course a bunch of places didn’t even reply. Rapid Radio gave me prompt informative replies to emails (in addition to being cheapest) so if you needed to get anything done professionally I would go there. However replacing the console panel meant losing the oem screen (as the factory stereo/air con is not as deep as an aftermarket stereo). I then considered other options.

I planned my set up to have:

TV tuner (With USB for playing of movies and music due to no functioning CD player)

Reverse Camera

It took a little digging but the digital tv we have in New Zealand (“freeview”) is MPEG4 H.264 with 8mhz channel spacing. I purchased a TV tuner off ebay that was compatible with that, had USB, had dual antenna inputs, it also has Aux RCA input. The tuner was $169.99aud including shipping from ebay seller “kissmegoodbuys”. I’ve found this tuner to work well with the Stagea oem antennas and picks up Freeview well. The auction listing specified that the tuner had a “parking switch” pin. I was hoping that meant a reverse switch (as in wanting a reverse camera when you’re parking) but unfortunately it is meant for a park brake (all it does is give me a warning message on watching tv while driving if 12v is fed into it).

For the Reverse Camera I wanted to go with a camera that was mounted on the rear illumination plate light lens. I was disappointed to find that there were no standard Stagea cameras on ebay so measured it up and found the closest/most similar lens was for a Renault Koleos. That lens turns out to be a direct replacement fit with the Stagea lens. The camera was $18.13usd including shipping from ebay seller “sunwayonline2009“. I also purchased a “2.4Ghz Wireless RCA Video Transmitter&Receiver for CAR REAR VIEW Camera Monitor” from the same seller for $18.38usd including shipping, so I wouldn’t have to run any new cables to the tailgate from the boot. However I found the wireless unit to be absolutely useless – it powered up but did not transmit a video signal (the transmitter and receiver were tested in line of sight, about 2cm away from each other and still got no signal). It could just be my unit, but I would recommend against buying them and just running an RCA lead to the tailgate. A more expensive wireless unit may be better, but then if the price gets too high just running an RCA lead gets more and more attractive.

I had also purchased a Clarion MSS430 AV switch unit for a future install, but as the tv tuner I bought doesn’t utilise a reverse camera automatic switch, I needed to use it now. The clarion has 4 inputs, with 3 outputs, each output has an individual wired controller to select which input that output will utilise, independent of each other (so while the screen up the front displays a reverse camera, a backseat screen can display tv tuner, while another screen can display dvd etc). The Clarion unit was $25usd + $60usd shipping, for a new unit from a US-based seller (they only had 1 unit to sell so no point naming them).

To make the RCA plug for the oem tuner I purchased a jumper wire from www.nicegear.co.nz (search PRT-10374). I cut off one end of an old 3-rca to 3-rca lead and soldered the jumper wire leads to their appropriate RCA centre/shield. The purpose of the pins on the oem tuner aux-input is already detailed elsewhere so I won’t go through it. The jumper wire is $3nzd with 4 pins each end (so one jumper wire is all you need when cut in half). Shipping is $5nzd flat rate (to NZ) but you might find some other stuff to throw in with your order. Of course you could always get the connectors out of an old computer.

Below is a plan of the wiring I did. Audio/Video leads are on the left, with power and signal leads on the right. The Audio out of the tv tuner is split to also feed into the Clarion along with the reverse camera video – this is due to the fact I use the tv tuner for playing mp3s via USB, and when the vehicle goes into reverse and the screen automatically jumps over to the reverse camera, I still get the music playing from the tv tuner.

Where wires cross over/touch each other they are not connected, unless they are the same colour.

There are 2 switches. One earths the C1/Cont1 pin on the oem turner to bypass the motion block. The other switch stops power feeding to everything (so if I am parked and listening to the radio, the battery is not draining supplying power to everything unnecessarily.

There are 3 relays. In the diagram, the coil (pins 85 and 86) are vertical on the left, with pins 30 and 87 vertical on the right.

Relay 1: When acc power is fed through Relay 1 (and the switch is on) then 12V+ from the battery lead is fed to the Acc 12V+ inputs on the devices.

Relay 2 and 3: When the reverse gear is engaged Relay 3 feeds 12v to the Clarion reverse switch and also to Relay 2, which in turn grounds C1/Cont1 pin. This all forces the Clarion to output the reverse camera and the oem screen to display it, when the reverse gear is engaged.

I’m keen to hear any feedback or suggestions, or any queries. Also thanks very much to Commsman for plenty of advice on what I was doing. Will try and take photos during the week.

Edited June 12, 2012 by asbks

[bigkevracer]

Brilliant writeup! Thanks!

So the Koleos camera is an identical size to the oem light, and looks stock when installed?

This is probably what you're looking for to fix your stereo: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Metra-99-7604-2003-2004-Infiniti-G35-Radio-AC-Dash-Kit-/120914724559?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c271446cf

[asbks]

Yep the Koleos lens is same fit - very marginally larger but I think that was down to the cheap chinese manufacture. I used the same screw holes and the lightbulb fitting clipped in properly to the Koleos lens.

Thanks for the link - I have the brown/tan interior so would need to get a brown one. Just reread the emails I received when I made enquiries about the headunit change - I was told I would lose the oem screen which I presumed was down to the depth of an aftermarket stereo but that doesn't look right, maybe there was another reason for it. Has anyone replaced the integrated stereo with an aftermarket stereo (with new fascia/console), and retained the pop up screen? Although going the tv tuner with usb route is still a considerably cheaper option.

Edited June 12, 2012 by asbks

[bigkevracer]

Cheers for that. Think I'll sell my camera and get the Koleos one for a better fit!

I'm sure if you contact the seller you'll find one that has the right colour.

I have the TV/pop up screen and an aftermarket deck. All works well. If you look at that link I posted, you can see the hole above the air con controls for the TV screen or pocket. I can't see why it'd make a difference, as it connects to the stock TV tuner in the boot.

[Commsman]

Hey Daniel, you went to a lot of trouble with that diagram - well done.

Thanks for the write up. I'm sure you will get plenty of WAF soon

[Tommy Kaira RL]

you wont loose the screen and also the there are better dash kits than the one posted above from ebay. That is a cheap metra kit. You will be sorry if you got that. Have a look at the G35 dash kits on ebay USA.You pay more but they are better quality.

Nice diagram also

[asbks]

Hmm it's tempting, looks like it would be about $300 (for Metra) or $420 for more expensive dash kits (nzd), plus the cost of a new head unit. Given I can play mp3's already through the tv tuner it's probably not worth it for the sake of playing a cd (which I would just create anyway so USB is more practical).

One of the other aspects I like about my setup (and the stagea pop-up screen in general) is the completely stock look while having some pretty fancy stuff installed, and I would lose that stock look with an aftermarket stereo.

Edited June 12, 2012 by asbks

[0t1]

Hi all. I have an 2001 M35 Stagea (2.5 RX) that I picked up a few weeks ago, and am in Auckland, New Zealand. I wanted to make use of the oem pop-up screen and was impressed with the use of the TV tuners used over there in Australia, along with the use of reverse cameras etc.

Below I will layout the process I followed, what I bought, how much it was, and where it was from., to aid anyone else reading this that might want to do the same.

Unfortunately the CD player in my Stagea is broken. As the stereo is ‘moulded in’ to the console I initially got quotes on replacing the stereo console panel to fit an aftermarket stereo. The cheapest quote of a half a dozen installers in Auckland was Rapid Radio, that was $639nzd plus the price of the new stereo (So the $639 was made of the new console panel and labour). Other quotes were significantly higher than that, and then of course a bunch of places didn’t even reply. Rapid Radio gave me prompt informative replies to emails (in addition to being cheapest) so if you needed to get anything done professionally I would go there. However replacing the console panel meant losing the oem screen (as the factory stereo/air con is not as deep as an aftermarket stereo). I then considered other options.

I planned my set up to have:

TV tuner (With USB for playing of movies and music due to no functioning CD player)

Reverse Camera

It took a little digging but the digital tv we have in New Zealand (“freeview”) is MPEG4 H.264 with 8mhz channel spacing. I purchased a TV tuner off ebay that was compatible with that, had USB, had dual antenna inputs, it also has Aux RCA input. The tuner was $169.99aud including shipping from ebay seller “kissmegoodbuys”. I’ve found this tuner to work well with the Stagea oem antennas and picks up Freeview well. The auction listing specified that the tuner had a “parking switch” pin. I was hoping that meant a reverse switch (as in wanting a reverse camera when you’re parking) but unfortunately it is meant for a park brake (all it does is give me a warning message on watching tv while driving if 12v is fed into it).

For the Reverse Camera I wanted to go with a camera that was mounted on the rear illumination plate light lens. I was disappointed to find that there were no standard Stagea cameras on ebay so measured it up and found the closest/most similar lens was for a Renault Koleos. That lens turns out to be a direct replacement fit with the Stagea lens. The camera was $18.13usd including shipping from ebay seller “sunwayonline2009“. I also purchased a “2.4Ghz Wireless RCA Video Transmitter&Receiver for CAR REAR VIEW Camera Monitor” from the same seller for $18.38usd including shipping, so I wouldn’t have to run any new cables to the tailgate from the boot. However I found the wireless unit to be absolutely useless – it powered up but did not transmit a video signal (the transmitter and receiver were tested in line of sight, about 2cm away from each other and still got no signal). It could just be my unit, but I would recommend against buying them and just running an RCA lead to the tailgate. A more expensive wireless unit may be better, but then if the price gets too high just running an RCA lead gets more and more attractive.

I had also purchased a Clarion MSS430 AV switch unit for a future install, but as the tv tuner I bought doesn’t utilise a reverse camera automatic switch, I needed to use it now. The clarion has 4 inputs, with 3 outputs, each output has an individual wired controller to select which input that output will utilise, independent of each other (so while the screen up the front displays a reverse camera, a backseat screen can display tv tuner, while another screen can display dvd etc). The Clarion unit was $25usd + $60usd shipping, for a new unit from a US-based seller (they only had 1 unit to sell so no point naming them).

To make the RCA plug for the oem tuner I purchased a jumper wire from www.nicegear.co.nz (search PRT-10374). I cut off one end of an old 3-rca to 3-rca lead and soldered the jumper wire leads to their appropriate RCA centre/shield. The purpose of the pins on the oem tuner aux-input is already detailed elsewhere so I won’t go through it. The jumper wire is $3nzd with 4 pins each end (so one jumper wire is all you need when cut in half). Shipping is $5nzd flat rate (to NZ) but you might find some other stuff to throw in with your order. Of course you could always get the connectors out of an old computer.

Below is a plan of the wiring I did. Audio/Video leads are on the left, with power and signal leads on the right. The Audio out of the tv tuner is split to also feed into the Clarion along with the reverse camera video – this is due to the fact I use the tv tuner for playing mp3s via USB, and when the vehicle goes into reverse and the screen automatically jumps over to the reverse camera, I still get the music playing from the tv tuner.

Where wires cross over/touch each other they are not connected, unless they are the same colour.

There are 2 switches. One earths the C1/Cont1 pin on the oem turner to bypass the motion block. The other switch stops power feeding to everything (so if I am parked and listening to the radio, the battery is not draining supplying power to everything unnecessarily.

There are 3 relays. In the diagram, the coil (pins 85 and 86) are vertical on the left, with pins 30 and 87 vertical on the right.

Relay 1: When acc power is fed through Relay 1 (and the switch is on) then 12V+ from the battery lead is fed to the Acc 12V+ inputs on the devices.

Relay 2 and 3: When the reverse gear is engaged Relay 3 feeds 12v to the Clarion reverse switch and also to Relay 2, which in turn grounds C1/Cont1 pin. This all forces the Clarion to output the reverse camera and the oem screen to display it, when the reverse gear is engaged.

I’m keen to hear any feedback or suggestions, or any queries. Also thanks very much to Commsman for plenty of advice on what I was doing. Will try and take photos during the week.

Great thread, thanks for the info, I too am looking to get my TV working and rear view camera, I have had a single din stereo facia installed already before i purchased the car PM35.

I have used vinyl wrap over the centre facias and door grabs to make it look a bit more sedate, and plus the single din facia was a grey plastic rather than the alloy covered type. Now I'm bummin' out cause the buttons are different colours.

Does anyone have english buttons for the TV/Carwings controller?

[iamhe77]

Try looking for the buttons in the US.

Late model G35.

The wrap of the console looks good... surprisingly.

[asbks]

It seems the Metra kit won't fit properly with the pop-up screen (but will fit with modification) however a better quality dash kit will fit. So the installer that told me I would lose the screen must only have had experience with metra kits, and that was basis for their statement. I note on the ebay link above for the metra kit the seller states "We have installed this kit into vehicles that have factory navigation- it was not easy to install but it is possible" so they've obviously had people come back to them complaining about it.

http://g35driver.com/forums/audio-video-electronics/333847-wrathernauts-double-din-shopping-resource-list.html

[0t1]

Try looking for the buttons in the US.

Late model G35.

The wrap of the console looks good... surprisingly.

It's for external use, 3M product

[YEE-HAA]

Brilliant writeup! Thanks!

So the Koleos camera is an identical size to the oem light, and looks stock when installed?

Yep the Koleos lens is same fit - very marginally larger but I think that was down to the cheap chinese manufacture. I used the same screw holes and the lightbulb fitting clipped in properly to the Koleos lens.

I just installed the exact camera setup in my pm35 with the wireless setup. The Koleos lens is the same but when I got mine I had to unscrew the camera and spin it 180 degrees and elongate the hole for the loom otherwise all I would of seen was the tailgate/number plate.

Asbks if your wireless setup didnt work you prob got a faulty unit. I got one and it worked straight away; the sender is in the tailgate next to the lh reverse light, and the receiver is tucked in underneath the tv tuner,(which as a matter of interest I also got from kissmegoodbuys) which is in the lh compartment behind the little door,. (speaking of the tuner, do you have sound which wont play on just a few hd channels? I queried the seller bout this and they tell me the manufacturer claims there is a patent on receiving hd sound in australia which they dont have!!!??? WTF!!!

[asbks]

That's weird about the camera facing the wrong way on yours - maybe it was just a mistake during manufacture. Good to know your wireless set up works - I ran an rca lead at the time while doing it all so no point in getting another wireless unit. Out of interest did you buy the Koleos camera as a result of my post or had you gone for it of your own accord?

I haven't had any problems with sound on any digital channels in NZ, although I think the NZ standards are different to Australia.

[YEE-HAA]

That's weird about the camera facing the wrong way on yours - maybe it was just a mistake during manufacture. Good to know your wireless set up works - I ran an rca lead at the time while doing it all so no point in getting another wireless unit. Out of interest did you buy the Koleos camera as a result of my post or had you gone for it of your own accord?

Yes it was weird bout the camera being the wrong way, but maybe on the Koleos they are spun around or maybe your right it was just a fault when made.

I went for the Koleos camera after much research on ebay and comparing pics, types, dimensions and eventually decided on that one many months ago; I just waited until I got the tuner sorted before I ordered it as I didnt know what tuner I was going to get, hence I didnt know how the camera would connect to it. Some tuners on here used 3.5mm jack, some were rca, so I didnt want to waste money on something that wouldnt connect to the tuner.

BTW I know were closer to china than you, but even if I saw you post on the 12th and bought one off ebay that day, it wouldnt of been in oz and fitted to my car within 6 days!! lol. As it was it took nearly 2 weeks to get here, which in comparison to my tuner from kissmegoodbuys bearly took 5 or 6 days! Now that was impressive. Speaking of the tuner, have you managed to get any software/firmware for it as I think maybe if i update it, it might play the hd channels.

[asbks]

I got my stuff delivered in 3 working days (posted on Monday and delivered in NZ on Thursday - I was very impressed)- so it's possible but would depend on how keen you were to get it into your car

Haven't updated the firmware as everything is working correctly - I wouldn't know where to look either sorry.

[YEE-HAA]

3 days huh? now i feel bummed. Maybe oz shifted further south when I wasnt standing up! But mine was posted on a friday so maybe that would explain the extra 2 days.