Today's Message Index:
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1. 04:40 PM - Re: Current Model Sony Decks That Support DSP Control... (Roland M)
2. 04:48 PM - Re: Unilink Protocol Specification... (Roland M)
3. 06:05 PM - Re: Current Model Sony Decks That Support DSP Control... (Randy Visentine)
Message 1
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| Subject: | Re: Current Model Sony Decks That Support DSP Control... |
--> XDP4000X-List message posted by: "Roland M" <mdx400@hotmail.com>
>From: Matt Dralle <dralle@matronics.com>
>Reply-To: xdp4000x-list@matronics.com
>To: xdp4000x-list@matronics.com
>Subject: Re: XDP4000X-List: Current Model Sony Decks That Support DSP
>Control...
>Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 19:51:44 -0700
>
>--> XDP4000X-List message posted by: Matt Dralle <dralle@matronics.com>
>
>
>Oh no... I picked up a 8850 on ebay; its suppose to arrive
>tomorrow. Hopefully it will have some undocumented support... I know that
>I had an 8050 ( I think it was ) and it wasn't suppose to be able to
>control the DSP but it did - mostly. The volume control was a little
>erratic sometimes.
>
Uh, oh. Hopefully you will get it to work then. The C8050X had HX DSP, so
it is suprising that it worked with the external DSP as well--so maybe
you'll have luck with the C8850...
The C8850 was quite a nice unit though. I know most people don't like the
HX DSP but it served the purpose of providing signal processing without
having to buy another unit--for people who just wanted a single HU and
"that's it" type of thing. Additionally it has the cool SA (spectrum
analyser), though it eliminated 2 characters of text/numeral from the
display. The C8850 also had "Advanced ESP" (as oppsed to ESP) which was the
shock protection used on the changers with ESP from the CDX-828 and up. It
is supposed to consume less energy and have less motor wear. I think it was
the only HU ever to have that feature (I think the C90 had regular ESP).
The dumb thing about HX DSP though, was that there was no way to input
changer signals digitally (on North American models that is)--which meant
that all changer signals had to go through the A/D and then the DSP and then
through the D/A in the HU. There were a few Japanese models that allowed
optical input on HX DSP units but it was a feature never seen on NA units.
I wonder, if when you get it, you could comment on the display and display
inverter noise? I'm asking because the C7850 I have installed now has much
more display inverter noise than usual. The XR-C9100 and XR-C900 that I had
installed in the past had much less inverter noise and it was inaudible
unless the HU was off and it was silent in the car. The CDX-C7850 however
has a good lot of inverter noise. I can hear the display inverter noise (a
humming noise caused by the way power is delivered to the display) when the
HU is off, even with road noise and sometimes I can hear it humming even
when the HU is turned on and the volume low :(
I know it is the inverter because as soon as I hit the faceplate down/open
the noise stops. The other thing I noticed is that the display from the
CDX-C7850 is different from the previous year's models like the XR-C9100,
CDX-C680/C780/C880 which all shared a very similar display and FP. Though
the FP on the C7850 looks the same the display is different. It has some
unused icons (which are a waste) and the characters seem to be italicised
(which is nicer to look at than the straight characters). But the other
thing that annoys me is that the display is dimmer than my C9100s was even
when adjusting the contrast. It is hard to see in the daytime--much harder
than the C9100 was :(
I wonder if the C8850 is the same since I would imagine the displays of the
two units would be similar despite the C8850 having the SA... Or perhaps
there is something the matter with my unit? Does anyone else have a
CDX-C7850 that might comment on this (I think nearly everyone here has a
C910 or C90 though...) ?
Roland M.
Message 2
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| Subject: | Re: Unilink Protocol Specification... |
--> XDP4000X-List message posted by: "Roland M" <mdx400@hotmail.com>
>From: Matt Dralle <dralle@matronics.com>
>Reply-To: xdp4000x-list@matronics.com
>To: xdp4000x-list@matronics.com
>Subject: XDP4000X-List: Unilink Protocol Specification...
>Date: Fri, 30 May 2003 20:23:08 -0700
>
>--> XDP4000X-List message posted by: Matt Dralle <dralle@matronics.com>
>
>
>There's a nice web site ( http://www.cus.org.uk/~cleggy/ ) by a fellow
>'over the pond' in UK that is sort of the unauthorized resource for all
>things Unilink. Lots on interesting information and projects as well as a
>reverse engineer documentation on the Sony Unilink protocol. The Unilink
>protocol is what is used between the Sony Head unit and other devices such
>as a CD Changer, XM radio tuner, and the xdp-4000x.
>
>The problem I'm having is that there seems to be quite a few holes in the
>documentation as one would expect from reverse engineering.
>
>Does anyone on the List happen to have access to some official
>documentation on the Unilink protocol and interfacing? A real
>specification would really be helpful about now...
>
>Thanks for the help,
>
>Matt Dralle
>
This information would be quite nice to have, however unfortunately (as
you've probably learned from the guys on Cleggy's page) this information is
EXTREMELY hard to come across. It seems that all the information regarding
the UniLink bus specifics is located in Japan and probably in japanese
language. While I'm sure there is some limited information about the bus in
english in some service manuals, etc. This stuff is seemingly kept under
"lock-and-key" by Sony and not made available at all.
It appears that Sony USA themselves don't know much about the bus--they
can't even say for certain what units can and cannot work with the XM Tuner
for goodness sakes! They know the latest ones can but they don't know about
the older units that may work with the tuner...
I once saw some out-of-date UniLink/HU service equipment on eBay but it was
far too expensive to really be considered anyway. The HU mount was too old
to put a newer HU faceplate on it anyhow.
I wonder how the makers of the PhatBox thingy went about figuring it out?
(Even their implementation isn't that great though.) I guess they went
through reverse engineering as well or did they have help from Sony?
Roland M.
Message 3
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| Subject: | Re: Current Model Sony Decks That Support DSP Control... |
--> XDP4000X-List message posted by: Randy Visentine <jvisentine@yahoo.com>
Roland,
Are you sure the noise you are getting from the
display is not due to placement of the external
transformer? If you have it right behind your radio
or if you have any RCA's running close to it, it will
definately induce noise.
Since it must be pulled out anytine the radio is
removed, and since it is not usually "mounted", it
will sometimes move around and cause intermittent
noise.
Let us know...
Randy V
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