Soarer TV conversion with two audio/video inputs
Copyright 2003 Unique Design Concepts
Modifications instructions for using Soarer TV in Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland
author: Vladimir Apostolov
email: udc.aus@gmail.com
Melbourne, Australia 2003
Version 1.0
Disclaimer
The installation of this kit is complex and carries a potential risk of damaging your car as well as the components comprising the kit. Unique Design Concepts does not assume any responsibility if the kit does not function as anticipated in your car. Prior to being advertised for selling, the kit was successfully implemented in TV tuners for Soarer models 1991 and 1995.
It is the responsibility of the person installing the kit to ensure that all the steps of the installation process are carried with utmost care and all necessary precautions are taken to ensure that the car, the TV tuner, the PAL-NTSC decoder and the kit components are not damaged during installation. Unique Design Concepts does not assume any responsibilities for damages to the TV tuner, decoder and kit caused as a result of improper installation. Unique Design Concepts does not assume any responsibilities and liabilities for damages and side effects to the car or personal injuries in the process of installing and using the TV conversion kit.
This document contains complete instruction on how to make the Soarer TV tuner working in Australia, NZ, UK and Ireland. Unique Design Concepts reserves the rights to change the kit and the instructions document at any time without prior notification. The document describing the installation instructions is prepared with every intent to be correct, but it is not guaranteed to be free of errors.
The quality of the TV reception could vary from perfect to poor or no picture at all depending on the strength and the quality of the TV signal. This is not a limitation of the conversion but a limitation of the tuner capabilities. A good rule of thumb is to compare the Soarer TV reception with a home TV set using indoor antenna. If the reception is good for the home TV, there is a good chance the Soarer TV reception would be good too, within close distance. Note that the indoor TV antenna will have a much better reception if it is on a higher altitude (higher floor of a building for example). Another important factor affecting the quality is the reception of the secondary (reflected) TV signals. The effect of these signals tends to change when moving objects (relative to the car) are present, which makes the TV picture unstable. The Soarer TV has a four-way diversity antenna, and tries to choose the strongest signal. Again in the case of moving objects, the switch between the antennas causes the picture to tremble. The Soarer TV does NOT operate when the car moves and the kit does NOT change this. The negative influences caused by the quality of the TV signal, affect the TV sound quality too. In general, the sound quality of the Soarer TV is worse than the sound quality of the Soarer FM radio receiver.
Sales inquiries and technical support
For sales inquiries and technical support please email to udc.aus@gmail.com
Getting started
Please read this document throughout before starting any work. Some parts of it will make more sense after reading the document for a second time.
Figure 1 shows the three bags comprising the kit.
The one on the left contains cables, heat shrink to cover the cable end connections and a female connector to be assembled with the 16-way rainbow ribbon cable.
The bag on the top right contains the four components for the sound conversion of the tuner. There are two ceramic filters and two surface mount capacitors that need to be replaced in the tuner.
The bag on the bottom right contains a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) and components used to perform the channel mapping from the original Japanese to Australian/NZ/UK/Ireland frequencies.
Figure 1
Cable preparation work
Open the bag with the cables and heat shrink.
Cut the red heat shrink in sixteen pieces, one for each end of the 16-way ribbon cable.
Cut the video cable in two parts – the shortest about 18 centimetres cable length.
Cut yellow heat shrink in two, one for each part of the video cable.
Leave the white heat shrink as it is. It is used to cover the ground wire shown on Figure 31.
The result is shown on Figure 2.
Figure 2
Assembling the ribbon cable connector
The 16-way rainbow ribbon cable and the 16-pin IDC - Insulation Displacement Connector are shown on Figure 3. They are used for connecting the channel mapping PCB to the bottom PCB of the tuner as explained later on.
Figure 3
Assemble the connector to one and of the cable ends as shown on Figure 4. Please note the orientation of the cable – the blue wire marked with the red circle should be on the left. Note also the orientation on the black connector. The polarization slot marked with the yellow ellipse should point up. Insert and adjust the ribbon cable in the two connector slots and apply even pressure on both sides of the connector until a click is heard. If the pressure is applied only on a part of the connector it can easily break.
Figure 4
Assembling the TV channel mapping PCB
Figure 5 shows the parts needed for assembling the channel mapping PCB. The red-circled PCB on the right is an example of how the channel mapping PCB looks after all components are assembled and is not included in the kit. The use of the two white nylon spacers shown on the left most side of Figure 5 is explained further on.
Figure 5
Figure 6 gives a closer view of the component side of the PCB. Note that the polarisation keys of the integrated circuits are circled in yellow.
Figure 6
Figure 7 shows the back of the PCB. The red-circled 16-pin header should be soldered last on the back of the PCB. The five holes circled in yellow are numbered from 1 to 5on the PCB, going from left to right. To configure the channel mapping for New Zealand solder a jumper between hole 1 and 2. To configure the channel mapping for UK and Ireland solder a jumper between hole 2 and 3. For Australia channel mapping leave all holes unconnected as shown on Figure 7.
Hint: use resistors’ lead leftovers as a jumper wire
Figure 7
Figure 8 shows a closer view of some components for which the assembly orientation is vital. The two diodes circled in red should have their black marks on the left. The two transistors circled in yellow should have their flat side pointing downwards. The physically bigger transistor should be on the right. Note the colour markings of the four resistors circled in blue and green.
Figure 8
After the channel mapping PCB is fully assembled it should be cleaned from the solder flux with suitable PCB cleaner.
Hint: Suitable PCB cleaner is Electrolube ULS available form Dick Smith Electronics.
Dismounting the tuner
Lift out the back seat of the car as shown on Figure 9.
Figure 9
Undo the two buttons circled in red to release the carpet as shown on Figure 10.
Figure 10
Undo the six screws to remove the black bracket containing the TV tuner as shown on Figure 11.
Figure 11
Disconnect the connectors (circled in yellow) and undo the three screws (circled in red) to detach the tuner from the panel as shown on Figure 12. The two video/audio cables going out of the tuner are product of the tuner conversion and don’t exist before the modification is fully completed.
Figure 12
TV Sound modifications
Undo the eight screws holding the cover and the base of the tuner - Figure 13.
Figure 13
Undo the three screws holding the top PCB - Figure 14.
Figure 14
Unplug the five connectors from the top PCB. Figure 15 shows the tuner without the top PCB.
Figure 15
Undo the five screws from the bottom PCB - Figure 16
Figure 16
Dismount the two black ceramic filters from the bottom PCB - Figure 17.
Hint: braking the black ceramic filters between their legs with cutters would make it easer to de-solder from the PCB.
The labels “5.5MB” and “X5.58” are the part numbers of the replacement ceramic filters provided with the kit (for UK and Ireland substitute 5.5 with 6.0 in the labels). Solder the replacement filters in such a way that their markings (i.e. 5.5MB and X5.58) face the location of the labels as on Figure 17.
Figure 17
Replace the two surface mount capacitors (bottom PCB) shown on Figure 18 (closer view - Figure 19) with the ones provided with the kit.
Hint: using two soldering irons at the same time on both sides of a surface mount component would make it easer to de-solder it from the PCB.
Figure 18
Figure 19
TV channel mapping modifications
Remove the metal shielding box cover located over the top-right side of the bottom PCB shown on Figure 15. Figure 20 shows the bottom PCB after the metal cover is removed.
Figure 20
Figure 21 has a circle around the two pins that need to be the first connected to the ribbon cable provided with the kit.
Figure 21
Figure 22 shows the right most wire (brown) of the ribbon cable soldered to the right pin (number 4 counting from the left side) of the chip. The next wire of the ribbon cable (red) soldered to the left pin (number 3 counting from the left side) of the chip.
Figure 22
Figure 23 shows a closer view of these two wires connections to the chip. Don’t forget to use the 16 red heat shrink pieces for each of the 16-way ribbon cable conductors as shown in the photos.
Figure 23
The next two wires - orange and yellow are connected to the two pins of the white connector as shown on Figure 24. Trim the excessive length of these two wires and keep the leftovers – they will be used for the ground connection, shown on Figure 31.
Figure 24
The remaining 12 ribbon cable wires will be connected at a later stage.
Channel mapping PCB installation
Widen the tuner box holes circled on Figure 25 to diameter 3 mm.
Figure 25
Cut a slot in the metal (3mm deep and 20mm wide) as shown with the yellow ellipse on Figure 26.
Hint: A Dremel tool (available from Bunnings) could be used for this operation.
This is where the two RCA cables will exit the tuner (see Figure 37). Insert the nylon spacers provided with the kit as shown on Figure 26. This is where the channel conversion PCB will be mount.
Figure 26
Insert the channel mapping PCB as shown on Figure 27.
Figure 27
Plug the ribbon cable connector, circled in yellow, into the channel mapping PCB as shown on Figure 28. Caution: please note the location of the polarization tab of the black ribbon cable connector – it should face up when connected to the channel mapping PCB.
Note that this operation should be done before re-attaching the bottom PCB of the tuner, due to space limitations.
Figure 28
Tuning the sound
The next step is tunning of the TV sound. Assemble the tuner back but leave the top PCB hang on the connector cables as shown on Figure 29. Note that the two yellow cables are added later, so at this step just ignore them. Tune the tuner to a channel with a strong reception (see chapter “Tunning TV channels”). At this point a black & white picture with no vertical synchronisation and no sound will be received. Use a ceramic non-conductive screwdriver to rotate the top inductor slug as shown on Figure 29.
Hint: Ceramic non-conductive screwdriver could be purchased from Dick Smith Electronics – part number T5206.
Trim the inductor until maximum sound level is achieved. Be extremely gentle with the slug because it brakes very easily and could irreversibly damage the inductor. Apply the same procedure to trim the bottom inductor on Figure 29 and try to achieve best signal to noise ratio.
Figure 29
Tuner Auxiliary RCA inputs installation
The next step involves modification to the pins of the white 2-row right angle connector located on the bottom tuner PCB and shown on Figure 30. Cut the second, third and forth connector pins of the top row, counted from the left (marked as 10, 9 and 8 on the PCB) in the angled corner and bend them outwards to clear space on the bottom tuner PCB as shown on Figure 30.
Figure 30
Solder the two ground wires (the ribbon cable leftovers - Figure 24) shorted together to the two pins as shown on Figure 31. Insert the white heat shrink provided with the kit around them.
Figure 31
The next six wires of the ribbon cable are soldered to the ends of the RCA cables as shown on Figure 32 and Figure 33. Note that the colours of the wires must match the same way as on the two pictures. Don’t forget to insert the yellow hit shrink around the RCA cables before soldering the wires as shown on Figure 36.
Figure 32
Figure 33
Figure 34 is the same as Figure 30 but shows the colour coding of the ribbon cable wires, which are to be connected to these tips. The wires of the ribbon cable have to be soldered in the following order:
from left to right on the top row of tips (PCB side) – blue, green and yellow ribbon cable wires;
from left to right on the bottom row of tips (connector side) – orange, red and brown ribbon cable wires.
Figure 34
Figure 35 shows the connected blue, green and yellow wires.
Figure 35
Figure 36 shows the red, orange and brown ribbon cable wires soldered. Figure 36 also shows the ground wire (from Figure 31) soldered to the shielding of the two RCA cables. Don’t forget to insert the white heat shrink provided with the kit around the ground wire before it is soldered.
Figure 36
Figure 37 shows how the two RCA cables look after the top tuner PCB is assembled.
Figure 37
Last assemble the tuner back and install it in its place under the back car seat. Verify that the TV can receive black & white picture with no vertical synchronization. Check the TV sound works too. At this point the two video/audio RCA inputs should be operational. Connect a DVD player to any of them and tune the tuner to channel 19 or 20. If the DVD player output is set to NTSC, the picture on the EMV and the DVD sound should work perfectly.
Installing PAL to NTSC converter
The PAL->NTSC converter should be purchased separately from here:
http://www.converters.tv/products/converters/digital_video_system_converters/57.html
It is recommended to purchase the converter after the TV tuner conversion has been successfully implemented and tested.
The converter creates electro magnetic interference, which reduces the sensitivity of the TV tuner. It has to be installed as far as possible from the TV antennas, which are imbedded in the car backside windows. A suitable space is available in the cavity on the left side of the EMV unit. The PAL->NTSC converter needs connections to 12V power supply, video input and video output signals. Three cables are required – one power and two video. The video cables have to be terminated at one end with RCA plugs. The cables should be around 80 centimeters long.
Hint: The video cable should be as thin and flexible as possible. One 1.5m video cable could be cut in two for this application.
The installation procedure is as follows:
Apply the car handbrake, select neutral gear (keep the red button pressed), and push down the brown plastic cover under the gear handle. Undo the two screws shown on Figure 38.
Figure 38
Remove the gear handle and the cup holder as shown on Figure 39.
Figure 39
Take out the black plastic cover as shown on Figure 40
Figure 40
Disconnect the three connectors shown on Figure 41.
Figure 41
Undo the six screws shown on Figure 42.
Figure 42
Remove the brown plastic cover around the EMV screen as shown on Figure 43.
Figure 43
Disconnect the three connectors show on Figure 44.
Figure 44
Undo the six screws shown on Figure 45.
Figure 45
Take out the top row buttons from the EMV by undoing the screws shown on Figure 46 (this picture view is taken through the windscreen of the car).
Figure 46
Unplug the seven connectors from the EMV as shown on Figure 47. The seventh (blue in colour) connector is not visible on Figure 47. It is on the same level as the two white connectors behind the bunch of cables.
Figure 47
Here is another view that shows the seventh connector location - Figure 48.
Figure 48
Figure 49 shows the seven connectors after the EMV is removed. The one marked with red will be used to patch the video cables for the PAL->NTSC converter.
Figure 49
Figure 50 shows the two connectors that will be used to patch wires to the PAL->NTSC converter. The blue one is the car cigarette lighter connector. It will be used to power the PAL->NTSC converter. The white one provides the video signal from the TV tuner to the EMV. The video signal will be passed through the PAL->NTSC converter. As a result of that, the EMV will always get NTSC video signal required for normal operation.
Figure 50
Figure 51 shows the two video cables patched to the white connector. The common cable shields are soldered to pin 4 (brown/white) - this is the video ground. The blue video signal wire (pin 3) has been cut. The left side is soldered to the white video cable, which is going to the PAL->NTSC converter video input. The right side (connector side) of the blue wire is soldered to the yellow video cable, which is going to the PAL->NTSC converter video output.
Figure 51
Figure 52 shows the patch wires providing power to the PAL->NTSC converter from the car cigarette lighter connector. The black/white connector wire is the ground, the blue/red one is +12V.
Figure 52
Figure 53 shows the power plug connection. The ground wire is marked with red at both ends.
Hint: The power plug could be purchased from Jaycar Electronics – part number PP0511.
Figure 53
Figure 54 shows the final cable patch.
Figure 54
Next mount back the EMV unit and plug the cables to the PAL->NTSC converter as shown on Figure 55. The converter LED display is not required and has been unplugged. Move the gear to park position, switch the ignition on and tune to a TV channel. No sound should be heard because the volume control knob is not connected. The RCA plug marked with blue is the converter video input. The RCA plug marked with red is the converter video output. The two black switches should be set as on Figure 55.
Figure 55
The PAL-NTSC converter needs to be electrically isolated before it is plugged next to the EMV. Cut a rectangular polycarbonate sheet with size 20/22 centimetres. This is a non-flammable high temperature resistant material.
Hint: Polycarbonate sheet as the one shown on Figure 56 could be purchased from Bunnings.
Fold it over the longer (22 centimetres) side and insert the converter in. Stick it with adhesive tape in a few places to form an envelope (caution: care should be taken not to block the path for heat dissipation). The isolated converter is shown on Figure 56.
Figure 56
Insert the PAL-NTSC converter board as shown on Figure 57. Note the visible RCA plug is the converter video output.
Figure 57
Assemble back all the rest.
Tunning TV channels
Turn the ignition on, press the TV button circled in yellow then press the button circled in red as shown on Figure 58. The TV channel control screen is displayed.
Figure 58
Press TUNE/CH/TRACK button until the desired channel is displayed on the top of the screen (circled in yellow) as shown on Figure 59. Touch and hold one of the twelve blue squares until a long beep is heard. The square changes its colour to green and displays the ID number of the memorised channel. Apply the same procedure for the rest of the channels.
Figure 59
Figure 60 shows an example channel tunning. Channels 7, 9, 10, 28 and 31 are received in Melbourne and Geelong. Channels 30, 33, 36, 39 and 42 are received in Ballarat. Channels 19 and 20 select the auxiliary video/audio RCA inputs added during the tuner conversion. Once the channels are memorised, touch the SKIP button and notice its colour changed to green as shown on Figure 60. After this selection the TUNE/CH/TRACK button will select only the memorised channels. The touch button on the left of SKIP will delete a selected (green) memorised channel. The touch button on the right of SKIP is used for auto tuning. This function will not work correctly on the modified tuner.
Figure 60
Figure 61 shows selection of a TV channel through TUNE/CH/TRACK button.
Figure 61
Figure 62 shows a picture from a DVD player connected to one of the auxiliary tuner inputs. Hint: When connecting DVD use NTSC output video format if available. If the DVD has a non-flicker settings option – activate it. With the above two settings the quality of the DVD picture on the EMV via the PAL-NTSC converter is practically the same as the quality when connecting the DVD directly to the EMV.
Figure 62
Figure 63 shows how to invoke the TV picture adjustment menu. The bars starting from the top control the contrast, colour saturation, colour hue and brightness.
Figure 63
The following table shows the tuner channel mappings for Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland.
Table 1
* outside of the tuner frequency range – may not work.