Well if you are like me you have decided not to participate in the recession, depression, hopey-change, or whatever we are calling this funk we seem to be in. so let’s talk about Christmas toys for your street rod, but before it do I need to do a disclaimer for the year, the tech tips and comments in this article are the sole responsibility of Rush Power Systems and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, owners, or management of the publication you are reading. Now having said that I need to point out that Rush Power Systems is NOT a green company, and IS a capitalist company, if anything should offend you please feel free to direct the comments to Darren@rushps.com or 801-557-7684, please note I will only laugh at you. But hey if you need technical advice use the same contact info, and then I will not laugh at you.
Let’s start off with satellite radio, what a nose dive that has become. So you have billions in start up costs, your main offering is no commercials, then you start doing commercials and what happens people cancel services. Today adding satellite radio hardware has become quite cheap, however you are still looking at around $10 per month for service. I think it will come back if big brother goes after talk radio and if you are into talk radio this may be a good product for you. A more likely scenario is HD radio will replace satellite radio if continues to run commercials.
Next we have HD radio, it looks like it is starting to catch on, although it is at a snail’s pace. I purchased my first HD for my Jeep CJ that I am rebuilding and I must admit it’s got great sound quality, however I still use my iPod more than the radio. Technology is starting to catch up to the hype. Let me put it this way, if you looked into satellite radio and liked what you found, but just did not want to pay the monthly fee, get HD you will love it. On a bit of a side note let me say this, I have heard a lot of resistance to car audio in street rods. There is good reason for this, a good 60% of the time they are wired wrong. Here is the problem, car audio guys at the stereo shops know very little about wiring. If you take an average modern car in they will look the vehicle up on the computer, give the installer a wiring kit which will allow the stereo to plug directly into the factory plug. There is no information on older cars and they are not going to get a wiring diagram for your vehicle. They get under the dash and find the nearest 12 volt and key on 12 volt wire, which is usually the brake wire, which is why your stereo pops of cuts out when you hit the brake. If you want it done right take it to a shop that does wiring, or take a wiring diagram in with you and show the installer the wire you want them to use. By the way we beat anyone’s price 99% on car audio of the time.
Bluetooth add-ons, for sending data and information Bluetooth is great, for sending voice to your cell phone, I think we are not quite there yet, however it is getting better. Now if you don’t know what BT is, most modern cell phones have it built in. BT is a wireless way of sending data and voice; most modern car audio head units have this built in. You can link your phone to your stereo for the ultimate in hands free, but keep this in mind if you are reading this it’s probably not for your street rod, loud exhausts and wind noise do not work well with BT.
The iPod USB, in my opinion this is the best thing that has happened to car audio in a long time. Today car stereo head units have emulated PC computers, the iPod input works via USB, which stands for universal serial bus, and it’s a way to get information from one device to the computer or stereo in this case. For years we have been installing iPods loaded with a few hundred to over 10,000 songs as a mass music storage device for the stereo, attach a cable, and put the iPod in the glove box and you are done. The only problem is you need to buy a the car stereo then spend $100 or more for a iPod, with the USB connection you can buy a $10.00 thumb drive and load around 250 songs. But keep in mind, no matter which way you go sound quality is not the same as CD, although most people are very happy with the iPod quality. So you don’t have a computer but you want to take advantage of this option, just give us a call we can put your music on the drive for you.
Video, only thing to report here is price, it has dropped dramatically. Today you can get monitors with built in DVD players, loaded with several games, wireless remotes for the games, and wireless headphones. The video monitor can be the rear view mirrors, and ultra small cameras make grate modern curb feelers.
Navigation has because easier to use, and the price has come down, having said that I am still going to recommend going with the navigation option from your cell phone company. Anything you see in your daily driver or on the showroom floor can be done in your street rod, for the most part anyway. If you have seen the Ford product known as “sync” system, you can have it in your street rod, you can have video, navigation, and advanced security, in fact today we have a computer controlled fuse panel for your wiring. Like the factory sensor to tell you how close you are to the object behind you? You can install it in your street rod. Technology can be a fun, helpful, and eye-catching addition to your vehicle.
Everyone have a great holiday season.
Darren Flint
Rush Power Systems
801-557-7684