MFD and XM mods - avail sources?

[dschuetz]

(I asked this on a Yahoo! group, thought I'd try here, too..)


* With the Coastal / Toyota XM interface, does it require all "sat" inputs (Sat 1 - Sat 3), or is it the same functionality on all three inputs?

* If XM does use Sat 1 - Sat 3 for the three banks of presets, does
that prevent me from using other add-ons, like Coastal's A/V input (that also uses Sat 1-3), or would that now appear as Sat 4, 5, and 6?

* Overall, is there a limited number of pre-named sources that the system supports, or does each device added to the AVC bus register its own source name (giving essentially limitless sources)? If the latter, what's the hard upper limit (based on power levels, device ID space, etc.)?

Finally, for bonus points:
* Has anyone published a complete (or near enough) spec for the AVC-LAN protocol (not just pinout)? Is that available through the Toyota online tech center? Is it similar enough to IP-Bus that monitoring hacks for that might be adaptable?

(and, ultimately):
* Has anyone attempted to build a serial <-> AVC interface, so I can essentially turn a Mac Mini into an A/V source, converting onscreen presses into data the Mac can somehow work with?


(My ultimate hope is to be able to have fully-integrated XM, iPod, and, eventually, car PC (prob. a Mac Mini) doing GPS/Geocaching and other geeky stuff.)

Thanks!

david.

[DanMan32]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dschuetz\";p=\"95016)</div>

* With the Coastal / Toyota XM interface, does it require all \"sat\"  inputs (Sat 1 - Sat 3), or is it the same functionality on all three  inputs?[/b]

From Coastal's original description and movie, it seems to take over SAT 2 & 3. There was a thread on that, with a comment of disappointment, as the commenter felt even 18 presets (3 banks of 6) wasn't enough.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dschuetz\";p=\"95016)</div>

* If XM does use Sat 1 - Sat 3 for the three banks of presets, does  
that prevent me from using other add-ons, like Coastal's A/V input (that also uses Sat 1-3), or would that now appear as Sat 4, 5, and 6?[/b]

Supposedly, no. Coastal's specs state that the A/V kit is compatable with XM. Probably Dave set the timing so that the A/V kit would respond to SAT2 SAT3 commands before XM could, but that's a guess.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dschuetz\";p=\"95016)</div>

* Overall, is there a limited number of pre-named sources that the system supports, or does each device added to the AVC bus register its own source name (giving essentially limitless sources)?  If the latter, what's the hard upper limit (based on power levels, device ID space, etc.)?[/b]

There is a limited number of devices that MFD could control and is listed in the repair manual. Also, in browsing through the Loading.KWI nav DVD file, it confirmed that there were devices understood that we in NA don't have, such as video DVD, Mini-disc, etc. Although having a device on the bus with an ID that was never thought of won't cause problems if it doesn't conflict, MFD won't know what to do with it either. It is kind of like getting a Prius without an owner's manual and no acces to peer/dealer support. You could work the basics, but the extra stuff you would be able to take advantage of and thus ignore.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dschuetz\";p=\"95016)</div>

Finally, for bonus points:
* Has anyone published a complete (or near enough) spec for the AVC-LAN protocol (not just pinout)?  Is that available through the Toyota  online tech center? Is it similar enough to IP-Bus that monitoring hacks for that might be adaptable?[/b]

There is a thread, I believe it is Removing All Beeps, where someone did scope out AVC, and someone else designed a circuit that might be useable to read the AVC traffic through a serial port. However, it is raw output, that does not conform to RS232, and is unbuffered. Software or buffering hardware would be needed to take the raw data and format it for use with a PC. No thought has been made for a PC to send data to the AVC. It does seem to be IP-Bus, but that is only a transmission protocol, much like Ethernet. Now what you do with IP-Bus/Ethernet is application specific.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dschuetz\";p=\"95016)</div>

(and, ultimately):
* Has anyone attempted to build a serial <-> AVC interface, so I can  essentially turn a Mac Mini into an A/V source, converting onscreen presses into data the Mac can somehow work with?[/b]

See above. Looks like Dave has gotten the closest with doing so, as it appears the NAV "I Agree" killer recognizes when the NAV is initiallized, and sends the code sequence to emulate a touchscreen press with the X/Y coordinates where "I Agree" button is located. The thread I mentioned touched on this too. I too would like to work a PC using the touchscreen display. It has been said though that the touchscreen info is sent on AVC only when in map mode, as most of the touchscreen functions are handled internally in the MFD itself, and the appropriate requested command sent to the device.
In other words, if you press Audio-Sound and adjust the treble, it isn't the x/y keypresses themselves that get sent to the header/amp, but rather the command to raise or lower the treble.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dschuetz\";p=\"95016)</div>

(My ultimate hope is to be able to have fully-integrated XM, iPod, and, eventually, car PC (prob. a Mac Mini) doing GPS/Geocaching and other geeky stuff.)[/b]

I'd love that too. There would be limitations with the MFD though. The closest we may be able to come to going Car PC would be to take over the MAP interface, where the RGBS input and X/Y touchscreen output could be used, as it seems only in the MAP mode does the input/output appear universal.