hi all just thought i would share my new stereo with you, its an Alpine iDA X001 here are the pics

and i ran the USB cable under all the dash and behind the fusebox to windscreen mount for my iPhone

i am thinking of putting the stereo at the top under the buttons but some opinions would be nice.

cheers

Nice. Was very tempted by one of those a while ago, but in the end got ones with the CD in it.

I'd definitely put it in the top slot.

When I did my stereo I tried it with the stereo in the lower slot.......got fed up and put in back in the top slot not long after! .......worth the try tho!

Alpine and Pioneer as always seem to be the top makes as ever!

looks good just fitted mine wish i would of gone for single din now tho

I much prefer the appearance of double din. My only concern would be readability in direct sunlight with the big TFT touch screen ones.

I was considering installing my stereo in the bottom recently after finding the RCA plugs in the rear of the stereo (for a subwoofer) would not let the stereo go in. Instead I cut the obstructing piece of plastic in the dash at the rear of the stereo with a pair of side cutting pliers. Now seems far easier to fit the stereo, even though there's more stuff plugged in.

my main worry is someone trying to steal it as it is always on show

Yup that's why I went for a single din.

Yup that's why I went for a single din.

Slightly off topic but how do you know yours was the 87?? fabia built....I take it's in the codes (how can I tell)??? cause mine has production date stamps for Sept/Oct 2000

If you take the drivers door panel off it has the order numbers on a sticker and I was told by skoda that it tells me what number mine is. This might not be true but ah well

my main worry is someone trying to steal it as it is always on show

You could try something like this...

http://causeforalarm.thecarthing.com/false_faceplate/index.html

I have a proximity alarm which would beep if someone looked to see what stereo was in and would hope that would keep them away - but I suppose those who know what they're doing smash and grab then run before you realise the alarm's going off.

I was a bit worried about this after having my Pioneer BT3300 fitted which is double din with no security features. If someone is going to nick it then they have to break the fascia off as they don't seem to come off without snapping clips then they have 8 Phillips screws to undo before they can try pulling it out.

Hoping nobody tries it anyways. If they do then there will be a lot of front doors getting put through until I find it.

I was a bit worried about this after having my Pioneer BT3300 fitted which is double din with no security features. If someone is going to nick it then they have to break the fascia off as they don't seem to come off without snapping clips then they have 8 Phillips screws to undo before they can try pulling it out.

Hoping nobody tries it anyways. If they do then there will be a lot of front doors getting put through until I find it.

i have seen on the net, that there are dummy face plates for double din stereos but i think that it would stick out of the dash to much LINK

That's also what puts me off a double din unit. As said, it's quite possibly a lot of work to get the unit out, but the bloke nicking it won't know that till he it thru the window ripping your dash apart. :(

Matt

i have seen on the net, that there are dummy face plates for double din stereos but i think that it would stick out of the dash to much LINK

Gonna order one for times when I have to park the car in a not so nice places! See if it fits or not I guess.

G

TWEEKED MORE:

ok i agree it looks better with the stereo at the top

and i also re located the USB cable, i ripped out and relocated the on thingy in the cubby hole. drilled the hole 3mm bigger (witch was a bugger to do) put a new hole for the air tube. and fitted the USB cable into the hole (yes the plastic needs smoothing out) witch will be done soon.

so what do we think??

Cd player looks much better there and I like the wires in the cubby hole!! Does the cubby hole still close with a usb stick in it?

Should close. I believe the whole black bit is contained within the cubby when closed. The clip at the back is just to prevent it coming all the way down when opened.

I ran my USB into the glovebox but that's only because my USB hard drive does not spin up if a long extension cable is used, and that side is closest to the USB connector on the stereo.

I am sure I once saw someone managed to get a USB socket inside one of the switch blanks above the stereo, and it looked impressively tidy too. Suppose if you fail to get it as you want they're cheap enough to replace too.

Cd player looks much better there and I like the wires in the cubby hole!! Does the cubby hole still close with a usb stick in it?

yup the cubbyhole closes and that extra black cable on in the background is a iPod cable. (if anyone was wondering)

Should close. I believe the whole black bit is contained within the cubby when closed. The clip at the back is just to prevent it coming all the way down when opened.

I ran my USB into the glovebox but that's only because my USB hard drive does not spin up if a long extension cable is used, and that side is closest to the USB connector on the stereo.

I am sure I once saw someone managed to get a USB socket inside one of the switch blanks above the stereo, and it looked impressively tidy too. Suppose if you fail to get it as you want they're cheap enough to replace too.

thats what i wanted, but because i have the tom-tom app on my iPhone which is my satnav and that i also listen to music on my phone i needed something where i could have my iPhone plugged in one minute and a USB drive the next. so i thought this was the easiest way

I am sure I once saw someone managed to get a USB socket inside one of the switch blanks above the stereo, and it looked impressively tidy too. Suppose if you fail to get it as you want they're cheap enough to replace too.

That was me, never fitted it though.

Just bought a sat nav with a better battery

It was a proper s0d cutting a small rectangular hole

in a switch blank. I did it with a stanley knife.

Got the guts out of a cigar lighter usb charger.

Here's the thread