Removing Radio/Speakers for New Owners

[LancePearson]

I am putting a new right front speaker/amp and a new face on my Bose Gold radio from Dr. Don's when they get here and stumbled on as a new owner this excellent site with three videos on it that clearly show you how to remove the actual radio below the glove box, the front speaker/amp and the rear speaker amp.

A picture is worth a thousand words to a new guy. These radios as I discovered are three parts functionally, the display unit in the center, the CDM or control data module under the glovebox which is where the reception and digital data signals are sent out to various pieces and then the speaker/amps which are unusual in that there is an amp at each speaker.

For anyone new to the model it shows simply how to do it.

http://www.carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalCorvettevideo.htm

[Schrade]

WOW.

I just got this same link form Bob himself, at 6:51 PM, after a chat on the phone.

He'll add an input to the Delco Bose Gold (1/8th" Mini-Plug input, for a C-Bill).

I need an SD / MMC card input, without changing the head unit...

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-z7A2OtdRIM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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vid embed fail???

[LancePearson]

[QUOTE=Schrade;163697]WOW.

I just got this same link form Bob himself, at 6:51 PM, after a chat on the phone.

He'll add an input to the Delco Bose Gold (1/8th" Mini-Plug input, for a C-Bill).

I need an SD / MMC card input, without changing the head unit...

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-z7A2OtdRIM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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The video link plays when you click it. Are you saying that he can put a tap in with a 1/8" plug input so you can run something like an Ipod? If I were going to do that I'd love to be able to input a usb port for a flash drive. If the speaker amps keep failing after this one I'll jerk the whole thing out and replace it with a modern radio with remote and usb port and all new wiring and speakers...lots of snaking wires around and possible have to put an amp in the back. I'm quite happy with the cd player and radio sounds as is but don't want to be dumping $200 every six months into it either.

I thought the videos were simple and direct and clearly cut my learning curve.

Lance

[Schrade]

If i understood him correctly there Lance, he said he'll wire in a device with a 1/8" Mini-Plug input, TO the DCM.

I was believing that this fed a signal TO the radio control head, FROM the added 1/8" Mini-Plug input, such as i-X device...

It comes to the radio control head as a pre-set frequency - 87.9 FM, i. e., and plays the input as an OTA station...




An adapter is made in the form of cassette tape, which has SD / MMC card input, USB, etc., but is battery powered. If it was wired in, I'd be on it...

[LancePearson]

Yes...there are several ways without wire. You can buy a cassette tape with wire that has the 1/8" plug for your ipod or other device then stick the cassette in to your radio to play. Not always the best. The other way is what I just ordered from Amazon which plugs into the lighter and you can plug an ipod type into it, a high capacity card or a flash usb drive (what I'll do) then it sends an fm signal to the radio and you tune to the one you select and with the remote, control the usb playing on your radio...local fm.

about $35. Ordered. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018P7WZ2/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

[LancePearson]

If i understood him correctly there Lance, he said he'll wire in a device with a 1/8" Mini-Plug input, TO the DCM.

I was believing that this fed a signal TO the radio control head, FROM the added 1/8" Mini-Plug input, such as i-X device...

It comes to the radio control head as a pre-set frequency - 87.9 FM, i. e., and plays the input as an OTA station...




An adapter is made in the form of cassette tape, which has SD / MMC card input, USB, etc., but is battery powered. If it was wired in, I'd be on it...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-New-Tape-Player-SD-TF-Card-Cassette-Adapter-For-Car-MP3-Li-Battery-/360507628356?pt=Other_MP3_Player_Accessories&hash=item53efeddb44

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/USB-2-0-New-Tape-Player-SD-TF-Card-Cassette-Adapter-For-Car-MP3-Li-Battery-/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/$(KGrHqV,!n0FBZy3hOwvBQm20TDWoQ~~60_12.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/USB-2-0-New-Tape-Player-SD-TF-Card-Cassette-Adapter-For-Car-MP3-Li-Battery-/00/s/NTAwWDUwMA==/$(KGrHqF,!rkFC(RDN0rrBQm2z+IlZg~~60_12.JPG
By the way, nice blade. What is it? Shrade?

Under the front seat of my TBSS I keep a like new ECK from Viet Nam era...double sided fairly long and fairly lethal blade. Just hope I don't cut myself on it.

Lance

[Schrade]

Just got off the phone again with Bob carstereohelp.com

Looks like he's had his hands on my Head Unit already.

He's gonna' try to forward a pinout ID for the brown harness connector, for L and R channels...


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K-Kyide0b0w/USgVNz_lxYI/AAAAAAAAA9I/BOSbBAsi8ck/s1280/IMG_5109c.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-A8vXHqWTPyc/USgUPmJ5taI/AAAAAAAAA88/3tZXxyBz5aY/s1280/IMG_5111c.JPG

[Schrade]

I would LOVE to mount the 3.5mm jack in the faceplate, but the only candidate spot - the lower right corner, is blocked by a clear plastic light carrier.

That, and removal of the faceplate, from the faceplate frame, is impeded by the control knobs on the left, attached to their own logic board...


https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TGI4PJvgmu0/USgf_9Od5HI/AAAAAAAAA9U/w129UV6RMDg/s1280/IMG_5113c.JPG

[LancePearson]

some more photos today from radio head removal, new radio face installed and then the stack of modules in the center console sans trim, just the radio sitting in place waiting one last thing. Works functionally but I may have screwed a small fuse for the lights up. The new face looks good. Everythig works perfectly save the lights which I have to talk to Dr. Don about on Monday. In my first attempt where I know I got the pins wrong I probably blew a few if there is one. Easy to remove the radio and take the outter metal case off the head in the back then all the pin connectors for the female side are easy enough to guide to the new head electronics panel's many long pins and push them together then slide the face and its detents into place. The clear plastic distributes the light across the inside of the face when functioning.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zr1lp/8501409674/in/photostream/

[LancePearson]

Bose automotive told me this morning something I did not know. The radio head unit was made by Delco, not Bose. The speaker amps were made by Bose. Don't know about the cdm. The labels do not reflect that.

"....Thank you for your inquiry. I am sorry to hear that you are having problems with the Bose Music System in your 1991 Chevrolet Corvette. The speakers/amplifiers are manufactured by Bose Corporation and the radio/cd portion of the system is manufactured by Delco Electronics....."

[LancePearson]

One last thing..there are small bulbs around that face c. board and if you bend them you can make them inoperable as lights for the backlighting of the display which is almost certainly what I've done in my first attempt. He, Dr. Don, and I discussed the radios a little and he told me he was the JVC national audio Engineer as a career and quit to do the radio repair business 13 years ago since national companies don't service what they sell very well. The head unit in our case was made by Delco and the CDM unit was made by Bose as were the speaker amp units and they jealously guard the circuitry diagrams. He said that the front speakers are designed to give good mid base and high sounds and the rear speakers to give good base and mid high sounds as a system. Bose simply got rid of the energy of producing sound we don't want to hear. The amps are 50 amps going into 1 ohm speakers which if you put it into the traditional sound producing design would be the equivilent of about 100 amps of power in each amp. He says that he has taken any number of our corvettes where the owner says the amps are fine, gone through the amp boards on them one by one and the sound improves dramatically like it's a whole new radio and the system is good. Dr. Bose is a genius he says but he hired people to buy capacitors and resisters who bought poorly made (not doped effectively is his term) and they started leeching acid the moment they were put in use and then heat and activity over time makes them all fail. He uses components that do not do that he says and when done you have an outstanding audio system. I keep reading here where they are ot good systems but I suspect that is the reaction to the many components and dealing with the capacitors which fail, etc. Once set up properly he says they are one of the best systems around. I will probably send my unit back to him and he'll go through it and clean it all up for a very minimal fee and redo the lights on the display as well and return it.

He advises never to use anything other than water and a very soft rag like a microfiber rag to wash the radio face as it is an lcd screen just like your laptop and you can use soaps and sprays and turn them cloudy in an instant. Treat it like your laptop and you'll do fine.

If you did not realize it there is a mute sound system built into it as well. it uses the speakers as microphones, identifies some background sounds which are not good for the human ear and sends out sounds that cancel them in the course of using the radio as well as the SCV, Speed Corrected Volume feature.

[Schrade]

By the way, nice blade. What is it? Shrade?

Under the front seat of my TBSS I keep a like new ECK from Viet Nam era...double sided fairly long and fairly lethal blade. Just hope I don't cut myself on it.

Lance

Sorry there Lance; I missed this while looking for another schematic.... didn't mean to ignore ya' there - thanks for your snappics!!!

Schrade SCHF6. QUIET Tool. I like 'Quiet' tools. No - it ain't deer blood.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-s-_lA58seLc/UTFQXnkEwEI/AAAAAAAABFA/0rwQAvnZsmY/s1280/IMG_5131c.JPG

Sort of an inherited trait from dad Quiet soldiers (http://zr1.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19335)

and an ECK with an edge - a true edge, is not a toy either... handle WITH CARE - and affirmation.

[LancePearson]

Nice knife...the ECK I have is a Mark !V with the long double blade and full tang. Stays very sharp and under the driver's seat of my suv.

All done with radio refurbish and re install...put back together with some sound deadening which did a good job with one white noise irritation when I had the windows up and the top on which is rare but when open, might as well. Stopped some resonance which was magnifying the natural sounds seeping up into the area behind the center console.

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