Well, went ahead and got a new head unit.. (pics)
 

Went ahead and ordered it from Crutchfield.. Spent $200, but it was worth it IMHO..

Anyway, got a JVC KD-HDR1. I like it because it does both mp3 and WMA, and it also does HD radio. It's satellite ready and can support a dock and such for iPods, which I'll never use.

Anyway, here's a couple of quick pics:

Without the face.
http://www.blackmonktech.com/radio-noface.jpg

With the face, but no power.
http://www.blackmonktech.com/radio-nopower.jpg

Powered up and tuned to a local radio station.
http://www.blackmonktech.com/radio-power.jpg

I've already burned a CD of MP3's too, so I know it works. Very happy about that.

I'll have to figure out all the controls and what not later.. But, I'm definitely excited..

Very nice man, sound any better than the factory deck?

IMHO, yes. Especially with the HD radio. But, even regular non-HD sounds pretty good too. MP3's sound pretty good too. Of course, my speakers suck, but I could still tell a difference..

nice buy, I got my HU from Crutchfield too

That's a nice HU. I think JVC is under rated. I have had three HU over the years from JVC including the KD-LH300 I have in my Roady right now. I think they have a superb sound quality and a lot of nice features too. I really like the color changin background. It always bothers me when the display on the radio is a complete different color from the rest of the truck. I used the basic green to match my 04 Ranger, and a User setting that matches my Roady's Blue/green perfectly.

Hope you enjoy it!

~HJ

http://www.jvc.com/Resources/00/00/47/57.JPG

very nice... i had a JVC in my blazer and it was great... looked similar to yours maybe it was a older model :shrug:

looks good! i have a cheapo JVC in my daily driver that plays MP3 and WMA files i paid $110 for at best buy.......it looks cheap but plays good!

That's the same unit i've got. Actually, I'm not sure if it's exactly the same, don't know if mine does the HD thing, but the rest is the same. Works great. What speakers do you have?

Nice. Did those spacers/compartment come with it too? Was it plug and play or did you have to change wiring or adapters?

whats the deal with this HD radio?

Spacers didn't come with it. Well, not as far as JVC goes. I bought it from Crutchfield, and they included the spacers, an adapter, and radio removal tools, as well as instructions.

HD radio is basically digital radio. Generally speaking, it's better quality than regular radio. I can definitely vouch for it, as I've noticed the difference in a couple of radio stations I listen to. In addition, the's what's called multicasting. So I may be tuned into 106.7, but I may have a couple of "sub channels" to tune into as well. Really quite cool actually..

As far as the speakers go, they're the stock speakers that came with the truck. Oddly enough, they sound better with a different head unit in there like that. They still suck though, but definitely sound a lot better than they did before.

It's a great radio. I know I paid more for the HD, but I think it was worth it. If I ever change the speakers, maybe throw a sub in there, it'll be great..

Oh, and it's basically plug and play, so to speak. Crutchfield sends you a Ranger harness, and then you wire it to the radio, or in my case, the harness that plugs into the back of the radio. Very easy to do, although admittedly, I'm going to go back in and redo my wiring job. I want to solder the joints and shrink it up nicely.

i love MP3 cd's, they make life so much easier haha. and it reads me the name of the songs, looks cool lol

Nice. I think these are the first pics. of your truck I have ever seen. Post a pic of the outside if you get a chance.

I'll actually do some current ones in a bit. It looks like ****, but I have had no time nor energy to do much with it. Especially with a big dent in it. :)

I'll get some new ones though and post 'em..

I do posi Locks, they are strong and don't come loose. But I have a tendency of switching vehicles quite often, it has been in three cars so it is easier than cuttin the wires every time to switch harness adapters.

~HJ

i think the bad rap of JVC is justified. when you get massive returns and warranties on JVC, Sony, and entry level kenwoods it gets ridiculous. the higher end pioneers also have their ground trace issues.

Nice. MP3 (or WMA if you prefer) is definitely the way to go. I have most of my ~400 CD collection nicely boiled down to a little over 100 CDRs. I just leave'em in the truck. If one wears out, who cares, they're <0.50/ea now, I'll just re-burn it. If someone steals the whole lot.. then I'm only out $50 or so for new blanks.. not the $1000's I'd be out if they were the original red-book discs. Very handy..

Although I would hesitate to call the Crutcfield process 'plug and play'. You still have to wire up the harness adapter. But it is well worth the slight premium you pay considering you get all the adapter crap w/ it. I bought my Kenwood from them years ago.. specifically because they include the adapters and such.

I cheated and brought my harness into work and had one of our re-work techs help me w/ it. I now have nice, clean solder joints for my harness w/ some nice, clean shrink-wrap insulation over the joints. I also tie-wrapped the excess up to make the harness a little more compact w/o cutting it. This way I can un-tie-wrap it someday and use it in another application.. or resell it.

But those adapter harnesses really are where it is at!

Give us some more details about the HD radio though.. I read on another forum that the HD broadcasts are ad free! Some are arguing that HD radio will very quickly take the legs out from underneath the satellite radio brands.. But I don't think that will happen. I gather the ad-free-ness is a limited time thing just to get people on the hook. Wikipedia says this:

I didn't notice a premium, Best Buy, or any other place couldn't beat Crutchfied's prices on my HU. Plus Cruchfield threw in the adapters, etc. whereas Best Buy charges more for that.

I could find cheaper prices online..

Perhaps online, but not in-store. Best buy will beat anyone's prices if you show them ad's or whatever, but they won't compete with online cause they can't.

The premium if any you might pay for Crutchfield is worth it IMO since it includes 24 hour tech support, warranties, referral codes, "free" shipping, etc...

Hard to find that on ebay or craigslist.

No argument really. Like I said, the premium was worth it.. But it is still a premium!