Sorry I wasn't clear, the two weren't related. I'm an engineer so I usually understand this stuff...in this case I'm confiused over why this is so hard. If the iPod remembers where it left off, is there no way to take advantage of that via the DICE?

As for reliability, that has nothing to do with understanding but everything to do with demonstrated performance. I shouldn't have to zap the battery and reboot my ipod weekly just to make the darn thing work. I really like the interface, just wish it would work better.

I had a chance to try it out again. Last night I did the reboot/battery zap process and then I listened to a brief snippet of a podcast. This AM it started up in the correct podcast directly but not where I left off. I hate to be a wet blanket, but this is not what was I was told to expect. Same for long playlists. I have one that is every song on the ipod (1500+). Almost everytime I want to listen it starts over and I have to FF to the song of choice or pull over and use the ipod to find it.

Please PM me with your phone number.

 

I just got one of these and am finding it hard to find installation instructions for it, I have looked here and on the EAS website and can't find where the harness plugs into. I looked on the back of the radio the harness doesn't go there, the only thing I have found so far is a 3 prong plug under the carpet on the floor in the center under dash, I can't find where the other plug goes. Any help would be appreciated. oh I have a 2003 MCS with NAV. Thanks.

 

I'm wondering if we have the same problem. Installing the DICE HD radio unit was my holiday project today. It didn't go as well as expected . After reading some of the old threads, I think the cable which was provided is the variant which connects to the CD changer contacts in the back of the car. Is your cable: extra long, as in 14'? And has two connectors; one rectangular and another which is rectangular but keyed?

To boot, I have a factory iPod adapter which I want to uninstall, but it came without instructions...I also need to figure out how to take the wires which are connected to the main harness.

Any hints on both issues is appreciated.

 

The needed connections are in the boot, on the passenger side. There will be a 3-pin and 6-pin connector which are used to integrate the HD DICE module.

 

Ah, now I found them. They were tightly bundled in the wiring harness, under my HK amp. Thanks Tom!

 

Who all has the stealth antenna? Does it really improve performance?

I like my HD DICE, I can't say I love it yet because I am having reception problems. I haven't been able to pick up more then 2 AM stations and th FM fades in and out badly. If I get by a semi, I lose reception, if I am driving North I will get reception, in the same spot going south I lose reception. It's weird. I don't blame the unit, but am wondering if the stealth antenna might improve my issues?


Michael

 

The Stealth Antenna module is a dramatic improvement over the HD DICE antenna. We are even able to receive HD2 stations inside our building.

 

Waylen installed the Stealth antenna in my car a while back. It makes a dramatic difference in HD reception. I've got a 45 mile one way commute each day, and it doubled my reception range for FM so I can now listen to my favorite stations all the way to work.

Scott
90SM

 

Ok, I just ordered it......... How long is the stealth antenna connection cable so I will know if I have to move my receiver or not?

 

I think somewhere Tom said 36".

 

I found it, thanks!

I do need to move my unit. Oh well .

 

For those following this thread, I've been having nothing but problems with my unit. At the suggestion of another, I contacted DICE directly and after agreeing that my symptoms described a sick unit, they generously offered to swap it out free of charge (except for shipping mine back).

I've had it in for a week now and it works like a champ. Does everything it's supposed to, most importantly it remembers where it left off. This is why I bought the unit.

Now I'm ready to invest in the stealth antenna...

 

Glad to hear this. I was on the fence about getting one of these.

I would like to get some feedback on everyones experience with HD radio.
Do you still have the range, with stealth antenna, of a "normal" FM station? ie. about 60 miles ±?

Also, as I do not have anyones that I can listen to, I have heard that the quality is "near CD". Is this true, or just "better than FM"?
How about commercials? Less than normal? Same? I've had XM for over a year and like the fact that I can have a commercial free drive to work.

One more ?, if I have the Blitzsafe XM adapter that has the pass-through plugs ( in rear HK panel area ), can I still use this one? As this "emulates" Sirius, I would think so.

Thanks for the help,
John

 

The sound quality of HD radio stations is noticeably better than standard FM radio. Is it close to CD quality? Well, if you're stationary and pulling in a strong station it would be comparable. I don't have the stealth antenna yet; I find that stations will revert to standard FM when I'm driving. It's just the nature of radio.

You will not escape commercials on HD radio stations. Most of them are the same broadcast as the standard stations. There are a few extra HD stations in my area (San Francisco region), such as 101.3 pop music and then 101.3HD only that is dance music which my regular radio doesn't pick up.

The DICE product is nice in that I get HD radio at all, and the iPod inclusion is good. I find the user interface to be kludgey though, requiring a fair amount of time to figure out the modus operandi. You first have to choose HD radio as a source, i.e. choose CD Changer mode, "disk 5", #5 source, then hit "disk 2" to change stations. I would be much happier with a stereo with builtin HD radio, but I'm sticking with the stock head unit for a cleaner look.

 

Depending on the XM station received, audio quality can be as low as 33kbps (talkradio). HDFM can peak at 192kbps.

The Stealth Antenna is highly recommended as signal strength is might better than the standard HD DICE version. XM Direct can be added into the mix to have the best ot all worlds.

 

Thanks for the replies.

silverblue: Yeah, i'm sure that there is no escape from the advertising world. XM is good, but even they have them. I think I can handle the "up and down" of FM quality - that's how it is. I agree on the stock HU, as I like the clean look too.

Tom: As far as operations go, is there a manual that I can peek at before I order? Good to know about the stealth antenna - it seems to be a better setup. Also, the XM quality IS all over the place. No consistency from channel to channel.

 

Go to diceelectronics.com...I downloaded the users manual there when I misplaced mine.

 

Sure, email me directly and I'll reply with a copy. DICE still has the older version on their website.

 

Hi folks. I'm trying to get my just-purchased DICE unit working, and could use any suggestions you all might have. This is actually the second one- I talked to Tom last week, and he arranged (thanks Tom!) for DICE to send me a replacement because it wasn't displaying text. I just got the replacement, and it's behaving the same way. Here's the state of things:
- July '05 MCS; head unit version ends in 50 (I forget the rest, but can go check if it's important)
- DIP switches are all 'off'
- Both battery leads were disconnected when I connected the DICE unit
- I tried using the Disc6 setting to change the text output type, and none of 1 - 9 made a difference. Should it always say TR01 when you press Disc6? seemed odd to me that it wouldn't reflect the last setting you made...
- Everything seems to work fine except there's no text display, neither for HD radio nor iPod
- and here's the strangest part- at one point with the first DICE unit when I was holding down a button, trying to get to the head unit diagnostic mode to check the version, the title of the currently playing track unmistakably flashed up... but I haven't been able to reproduce that since.
It's occurred to me that maybe the head unit firmware is not new enough (can this be updated by the dealer?) or that the connector for the lines used for text is loose on the back of the head unit.. sound plausible?
Any other ideas?
Thanks-
Sam

 

Sam,

The radio will always flash "CD1" or whatever mode you are on when a button is pressed, with text following afterwards. If different buttons are pressed numerous times, the text never gets a chance to display.

 

Tom,
Right, that's in the manual so I knew that.. I actually made a major breakthrough- it spontaneously started working.. when I happened to have the car running. So, when the car is off it will play music and the controls all work, but text will not display. Seems pretty random, and not in the manual.
Onward then... sometimes it displays the wrong title- does anyone have experience with this? Also, isn't it supposed to show the names of the playlists and albums when you're in the respective mode? It doesn't for me.
Thanks-
Sam

 

Sam,

Sounds like the iPod isn't correctly synced - does your iPod allow Clickwheel control while connected?

 

It did, yeah.. I reset the iPod and I think it's behaving better with the track info, but it doesn't display the album or playlist title when in the corresponding selection modes.. is it supposed to do this? Seems a major oversight if not.. selecting albums has to be done by ear (or more likely by digging out the iPod itself )
Is it firmware upgradeable, if they were to make a change to something like that?
-Sam

 

HD DICE kits do not have Album or Playlist directory listings, only the SILVERLINE kits (non HD) do.

 

Is this an advantage of Intravee II then, when used with Alpine iPod and HD/satelite modules, that all information from either iPod or HD/satelite module is displayed on the navigation screen, or does the Intravee have limitations similar to those of the DICE equipment?