www.iFourWinns.com

I just installed a nice new Fusion iPod head unit unit in the Sundowner.

What a huge upgrade from the Clarion XMD3, which was not as waterproof as I was lead to believe (from the rear, it looks like a car unit with loads of ventilation). The Fusion is completely sealed, and the iPod has complete connectivity and lives inside the unit for security. The remote needed a 76mm hole in the dash, which was a lot bigger then the clarions, but i managed not to kill the dashboard. FYI, holesaws will not cause heat damage to the outer vinyl layer of the dash is used slowly, but use a piece of wood with a hole cut into it for a template if enlarging a hole, as the pilot drill on the hole saw is useless in these situations.


Anyhow, if anyone needs anEA1251, send me an email. they should both work fine, though the cover on the plug for the EA1251 is a bit broken.

The ipod CeNet interface (EA1251) is pretty crappy, and may not work with current ipod versions - i had to reset mine to an earlier version for it to work, and you can only access 5 pre-set playlists, or the songs in alpha order (it treats your ipode like a 5CD stacker) - its better then nothing, but only just

free to good home, first in best dressed, just postage costs. I'm in Australia by the way, not that it should matter...

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I also have one of those ipod units and they're indeed a P.O.S. I had it connected for about an hour before yanking it. I've no idea if it'll work with the newest iPods. But given apple's despicable behavior when it comes to accessories I would not expect it to work.

I'd upgrade to something else but I do like remote control pads on the console and helm. And I dislike the idea of stringing or splicing new cables to those locations for another brand. That and I usually just flip between 3 or 4 sirius satellite radio channels. Fiddling with the iPod and setting up playlists is more trouble that it's worth (to me anyway).

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

thats why i went for the fusion. their remote is powered from the head, so it needs no power from the dash like the clarion, and to add a second one, you just plug it into the first remote (in series), which saves having all that cable doubling up.

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The clarion isn't on the dash in the 348, it's down below in the cabin. The dash has a remote, as does the transom. Each are wired back to the radio. Their wiring paths are separate and wouldn't work in series (it would actually be worse). Trading out to different remotes would still require pulling or splicing cables. And possibly changing the holes already drilled. The dash remote is a hassle to wire. The transom remote is a pain to access (done by popping out the power panel in the gunwale). So without a seriously compelling reason it's not worth the hassle to switch to another brand. The upside is replacement parts can be had relatively cheaply off eBay.

But enough with the thread hijack. I hope you'll summarize how the Fusion works out for you!

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista