The Lance J. Technoweb

I ended up buying a 2013 Honda CRV and decided to replace the stock radio/CD player with an upgraded unit.  This was far easier and cheaper than I imagined, but the hardest part was selecting a unit to buy  This article covers how I made my choice.   The basic form factor for my CRV head unit Selecting a Unit The Car I have a 2013 CR/V, which is the same series of all of the CR/Vs from model year 2012 through 2016. Therefore it was important to find a radio unit that fits this model. The CRV has steering wheel radio controls, and I wanted to use them.  This uses a technology called CAN-Bus, which is kind of like USB for cars.  Therefore, a CAN-Bus capability would be able to leverage all these steering wheel features.  In addition, the CRV has a backup camera that would be nice to tie into. And of course I wanted to leverage the existing speakers and USB port. Form Factor I wanted a unit that had a big display, and I wanted a unit that was easy to purchas...

I wanted to install a CarPlay compatible head unit into my good old Lexus ES330, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. So forget it, right? No way! I bought the Jensen VX5228 on discount for under $180 , and I couldn't be more pleased. The Jensen is a standard "Double DIN" sized head unit, which means that it can be adapted to fit into a whole lot of modern cars. I have an older Lexus ES330, and so fitting it required a few extra Lexus-ish parts, but in the end it looks great and works like a champ. Here's what I needed for my 2002-2006 Lexus ES300 or ES330: The Jensen VX5228 or other 2-DIN CarPlay unit A ES300/330 Faceplate for a double-DIN radio The TYTO-01 Amplifier adapter for the Lexus/JBL Amplifier System A panel mount USB connector Common tools The process was pretty simple, and it can work with basically any modern double-DIN radio. Workbench Prep On the workbench, I performed the following steps Connect the TYTO-01 wire harness to the...

Today it was reported that Apple's Self-Driving Car project is going through some significant challenges - with some layoffs, reorganization, and perhaps a change in focus. But let's be realistic here: Self-driving cars are very hard, on the order of magnitude of the Manhattan project... or maybe harder.  An incredible amount of new science, AI, and associated engineering needs to be solved.  It isn't a "simple" hardware/software engineering exercise like creating the first iPhone, or implementing the Android OS from scratch, or implementing Twitter. It took about 40 years for the helicopter to go from concept to production, as a lot of science and engineering had to happen before a helicopter could be a reasonably safe way to travel. The idea that a self-driving car project wouldn't go through significant struggles and major changes in direction is fantasy, as that even happens with simple projects, such as the creation of another new fighter air...

We now live in the age where part of your life is spending time and money maintaining and repairing things like your car keys . My Porsche's remote key was getting weaker and weaker, until one day it stopped operating altogether. Keyless remote without the remoteness. Not so good. I was a bit fearful spending a sizable chunk of my time and money at the dealership to have such a small problem addressed, and so I decided that I would try to replace the battery myself. Items required A clear work surface A small flat blade screw driver. A quality lithium CR-2032 Battery, available here. Procedure The following video shows how I successfully opened up the key without breaking it, and replaced the alarm remote battery. In short, from the vantage point of the key's steel part facing away and the buttons facing up: I take a small screwdriver and press on the little plastic tab on the left side.  At the same time I use my fingers to start to pull the two halves apart.  From th...