Hi.... just dropping in really by chance more than anything else as I happened to spot a google entry for a post in the ICE section related to some software that I wrote.

I'm not a Skoda owner, nor plan to be - although my old man did once own one of the 'skips' way back

I'm here from an ICE perspective, particularly the Kenwood Keg / PhatBox something I have a good deal of 'experience' with - and so if you are after some media management software for MP3 players, external disks/USB sticks then check out my website for my new application I've been working on.

Anyways, car-wise I drive a clapped out '92 Clio RL that's kept going despite everything I chuck at it (even someone doing their best to test my driving skills on the M5 at 6.30am on the way to work in Bristol) and I live in Gloucester.

Anyway if you 'hear' a dark blue Renault Clio around Gloucester, then it's probably me!

hi there.

so tell me what is this phatbox thing?

i cant modify my work skoda but i have 2 vauxhalls and one of them has been getting the ICE treatment recently. dvd, screen, and upgraded speakers and amps a plenty.

ive been looking into in car pc, but if theres a easier way to have a store of music without one i might have a go at that!!

The PhatBox is a unit that essentially acts a giant CD changer, using a special cartridge called a DMS.

A DMS is basically a glorified laptop disk, and at last check the PhatBox is able to support up to 250GB drives - which is a lot of high quality audio!

(Although this requires the box to be hacked which is now a simple process with some tools I wrote)

It has Artist/Album/Genre browsing modes (dependent on type of PhatBox - extensible using my new program, and there are plans to extend this a bit further) which uses voice prompt technology (Text to Speech rather like Sat. Nav units) so during searching or playback you get told what's currently playing based on the current mode.

The units themselves are discontinued as a product - not sure why, iPods don't really touch them and Kenwood's aCD/mCD technology (licensed from the PhatBox makers) simply used a fraction of the technology.

Possibly the car PC could be a good reason for it's demise.

Anyway, there are different versions for certain head-units/car brands. If you want some more information, take a look around my other site Welcome to the new home of the PhatBox!, particularly the informational stuff and it'l give you some more detail.

The PhatBox is a unit that essentially acts a giant CD changer, using a special cartridge called a DMS.

A DMS is basically a glorified laptop disk, and at last check the PhatBox is able to support up to 250GB drives - which is a lot of high quality audio!

(Although this requires the box to be hacked which is now a simple process with some tools I wrote)

It has Artist/Album/Genre browsing modes (dependent on type of PhatBox - extensible using my new program, and there are plans to extend this a bit further) which uses voice prompt technology (Text to Speech rather like Sat. Nav units) so during searching or playback you get told what's currently playing based on the current mode.

The units themselves are discontinued as a product - not sure why, iPods don't really touch them and Kenwood's aCD/mCD technology (licensed from the PhatBox makers) simply used a fraction of the technology.

Possibly the car PC could be a good reason for it's demise.

Anyway, there a different versions for certain head-units/car brands. If you want some more information, take a look around my other site Welcome to the new home of the PhatBox!, particularly the informational stuff and it'l give you some more detail.

sadly i cant get that site from here, but i'll check it out later at home

ive got sony gear at the mo, so i imagine it might use the cd changer interface at the rear of the unit.

Oh, one thing I should mention - we think we may have finally cracked how to deal with firmware (PhatHack) and so essentially there's a possibiity we think about creating new PhatBox firmware for different head units.

So if there are some real ICE guru's who know the CD-changer protocols for different manufacturers - PhatHack would love to hear from you!

sadly i cant get that site from here, but i'll check it out later at home

ive got sony gear at the mo, so i imagine it might use the cd changer interface at the rear of the unit.

Sony did have their own version of the PhatBox - you just need to find one!

Or do a bit of clever wiring....

Sony did have their own version of the PhatBox - you just need to find one!

Or do a bit of clever wiring....

didnt know that and i used to work for them a few years back

never been that good with a soldering iron so i'll juts keep and eye out

:wave: Welcome!