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PriusXM - Going Open Source.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Jon, Dec 20, 2004.

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  1. Jon

    Jon New Member

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    I got a call from Eddie Bell a few weeks ago and he told me who he was and asked me if I was using the Solara Kit for the PriusXM product. I was cautious, as I always am, because there's no point in giving away the farm if you don't have to. I didn't really answer him, but he continued to tell me that the price on the Solara kit had dropped and that although I was still being charged $420 for the kits, the dealer was getting them for considerably less. He told me that he supplies Coastal with their Solara tuners and he told me what his cost was. I was very appreciative of this information, because it meant I could once again compete in this market.

    Being the first to sell XM for the Prius nearly a year ago has had its ups and downs. Nearly a week after I started selling my PriusXM kit, Coastal decided to sell the same thing for $10 less than my cost. When Eddie put me back in the game, I was able to compete with Coastal on price for the first time since my first week of business.

    Eddie asked me as a favor to send him a copy of my DVD. He said he might work a deal out with me to sell my DVD to his customers. I gladly sent him the DVD because of the enormous favor I thought he had done for me.

    To my shock and amazement, Eddie had taken my DVD and nearly exactly step-by-step converted it to a pictorial instruction manual and posted it for free. I know he copied my procedure because of 2 things he has in the manual. The first is the fact that he mentions "duo-lock". Dual-Lock is a 3M product I include with all my kits to help you mount the tuner to the wall of the car. I say "Dual-Lock" in the DVD, but with my Jersey accent, it probably sounded like Duo-Lock. And, since Eddie doesn't include 3M Dual-Lock in his kit, why would he even mention Duo-Lock??? He was obviously confused. Maybe he thought the tuner came with Duo-Lock. Who knows? The second thing he does is to pull out the carpet from the hatch. My DVD shows me pulling out the carpet and I say in the DVD, just like Eddie does in his manual, that although it makes creases in the carpet, it will be perfect when you return the carpet to its normal state. The funny thing is that when I do my installs, I don't bother to pull out the carpet anymore. It's not necessary. It's just as easy and maybe easier to slide the tuner up behind the carpet without risking damage to the carpet.

    He's got the cable tie near register 4 in the exact same spot. He even ties off the tuner cable to the right of the radio in the exact same spot. He does change up the order a little bit and he pulls up the back seat for good measure, but this reminds me a lot of when in college my friend would copy my programming project and just rename the variables.

    There are a million ways to install the XM in the Prius. Just look at Coastal's install. It's on the other side of the car. Eddie just plain copied my DVD and this is unethical.

    Since Toyota has announced they will offer the kit for many Toyota vehicles, here's what I plan to do about the liberation of my DVD procedure.

    I'm announcing here exactly what is included in my kit, what it costs, and how to get it. I am also lowering the price on my DVD to $19.95 plus $4 for shipping. $23.95 gets you the DVD if you use the coupon code, FREEINFO

    Here's what's in the PriusXM kit:

    A Solara XM Tuner Kit - Part Number PT546-06040
    These cost the dealerships $239. You can talk them down to $250.

    (4) 4 inch strips of 3M Dual-Lock to hold the tuner to the body of the car.
    You can find this at Radio Shack or in large quantities elsewhere. These can be expensive, so the PriusXM kit is actually a pretty good deal in this respect.

    (2) Alcohol swabs for cleaning the roof under the antenna
    You can get a package of 100 of these for $1 at a drug store.

    (2) Cable fixtures for affixing the tuner cable to the walls of the dash
    You can get a pack of these at Home Depot for $9

    The Highly Acclaimed DVD
    This cost us considerable time and effort to make the installation easy to follow without damage.

    Our instruction manual
    This cost us some time to convert OUR procedure to written form.

    Our customer feedback tip sheet
    This required some communication with our growing customer base.

    A Radio ID card to take inside to activate your radio.
    This costs me time to make up a card that matches the tuner I send you.

    I will still sell the kit with all this for $295, but you're welcome to piece together the PriusXM kit with the info I've provided here. I encourage anyone interested in XM for their Prius, who doesn't buy the PriusXM kit, to try getting the kit from their local dealer for $250 rather than buying the bare bones kit online.

    I hope people find this open information model to be refreshing and will support us by buying the kit or the DVD from us.

    Regards,
    -Jon

    ---
    PriusXM
    www.priusxm.com
     
    #1 Jon, Dec 20, 2004
  2. pkjohna

    pkjohna Member

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    Good for you Jon! I do hope you're rewarded for your efforts!
     
    #2 pkjohna, Dec 21, 2004
  3. randalla

    randalla Member

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    Five
    Jon, I'm very happy with my radio that I bought from you last spring. The DVD that came along with it was extremly useful and helpful in boosting my confidence that was needed to take apart the dash of my brand new dream car. You do a for the Prius community, Jon! Keep it up!...Randy ..................... Hey Eddie...... :pukeright:
     
    #3 randalla, Dec 21, 2004
  4. petteri

    petteri New Member

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    2004 Prius
    Sorry to hear you were taken advantage of. I've got no real interest in XM radio, but if you start selling the Toyota branded Sirius tuner (providing that it works with the Prius) I may indeed be a customer.

    On another note, Jon do you happen to know if it is the Prius or the XM tuner that only lets the MFD display 10 charaters. That's a real deal killer for any integrated system for me. I've gotten spoiled by the full "36" from my PNP unit.

    Keep up the great work!
     
    #4 petteri, Dec 21, 2004
  5. DaveG

    DaveG Member

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    Unfortunately XM isn't licensed for Canada yet (although that may be changing in the future), so unless I'm willing to go through a hassle to activate it through a friend's account, just not worth it for me.

    Sorry to hear about the DVD - did he actually use your video and screengrab it, or did he follow your instructions and re-do the installation instructions with his own images?

    I think the DVD is a great way to handle installations like this - it's a simple and effective idea that certainly would make customers more comfortable opening up their new toy :)

    Dave
     
    #5 DaveG, Dec 21, 2004
  6. toyotapartsnow

    toyotapartsnow New Member

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    Let me first say that I was not going to reply to this thread. I am replying because I do not feel that the folks that have replied to this thread, and very unfavorably I might add, know my side of this.

    I did indeed get a dvd from Jon. I told him I would not copy or distribute it. When I received his dvd, there was no plan in place to copy the install and call it my own. My intentions, and his dvd had nothing to do with them were to be able to offer an alternative guide to anyone that wanted it. Without them having to pay for it. I wanted to level the playing field with myself, Jon and of course Coastal.

    The guide that I put together was a mix of Toyota’s .pdf files, my own knowledge from seeing and doing XM installs on the Camry and Solara and also Jon’s dvd. Jon’s dvd is not the only source I used for this guide. For those that have seen the Camry and Solara XM radio install instructions, the cable is routed down the right side of the vehicle not the left. I chose the right side for obvious reasons.

    I did like the idea of the “dual lock†and the carpet removal instructions that Jon mentions in his dvd so I did use that info. I thought it would be helpful. I guess the question that needs to be asked is “how much is too much information to use?†Jon routes the cable down the right side of the Prius. Does that mean he acted out some of the Solara instructions in his dvd? No of course not.

    Jon offers a valuable resource. Jon has been on this forum a lot longer than I have, but I do not think that gives him or anyone else the right to slam me because he thinks I offended him. That guide no matter what anyone here thinks took some work. I have since taken it down from our site so as to pacify those that are offended.

    I’d like to think that I give more than I take from this forum. I have done sponsorships, giveaways, and I did not barge my way in here peddling my wares. I looked, i listened, i offered help.

    I will not reply again to this thread. All I wanted was for the facts to be put on the table.

    And Randy... back at ya :pukeleft:

    petteri- it is the xm unit that limits the characters. There' a thread that talks about it.
     
    #6 toyotapartsnow, Dec 21, 2004
  7. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Guys,
    I'm gonna lock this thread lest it get ugly....to this point everyone's said their piece and has been fairly professional about it.

    But before I do, my opinion.

    Jon, you had to know what (or at least have some inkling) what Eddie was going to do with your DVD. If it was a major fear that he was going to plagarize it you shouldn't have sent it.

    Eddie, you really should have done a better job of writing up your instructions. Jon nailed you on the duo-lock thing and carpet removal deal.

    Finally, these are installation instructions, not governmental secrets. Granted it's a little bit of an edge to have those instructions exclusively available, but someone who really wanted them for free could and would find them.

    Jon, I think your 'open source' policy will ultimately be a good choice. You have a good product and if I were completely inexperienced in 'messing with' my Prius I'd get your DVD in a heart beat. You've been a good sponsor here, but have contributed little or nothing else to the Prius community other than your innovations with the XM radio and DVD.

    Eddie's a wheeler/dealer, but contributes a lot to the site.

    I'm glad you're both here doing your part, but don't let's split hairs of this thing. It's not gonna make or break either of you.
     
    #7 efusco, Dec 21, 2004
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