My first mobile video install experience

Anyway, I just finished installing a DVD, 2 monitors, A/V source selector, RF modulator, FM modulator, and power inverter for an Xbox. I even used 2 relays and attempted soldering for the first time (with so-so results).  Took me about 3 evenings after work, but the results were spectacular.

The hardest part of the project was the process of finding the equipment that does what I was looking to do (didn't find this site until after I ordered everything).  Most of the manufacturer sites not very helpfull for some of the smaller componentst that I was looking for.  I didn't go the expensive route for equipment so that might have been part of the problem.

In case anyone is interested or has any questions, here's the list of equipment that I installed in my 2003 Toyota 4Runner and some tidbits of info that I came across while doing the research.  This is not gospel,  just my take on it.  I'm only adding this to give a little back to a the site that helped me out

2 - 7" Pyle PLVHR70 Monitors- I found out that TFT is better than STN.  Haven't had a chance to compare the two types side by side but I spent the xtra $100 bucks and am pretty happy with them. Watch out for monitors being sold on Ebay that says they are TFT, check to see what the resolution is.  If it's a TFT the res should be around  1440x 250 dpi.  They also say that daytime and angled viewing is better on the TFT screens.  Made sense to me and worth the money.  They were around $180 a piece

Pyle PLTVD122 DVD Player with tuner-  Actually mine isn't Pyle, but it looks just like this one (can't remeber.  Has the same exact features.  Pretty nice, but haven't taken it on the road yet.)  Most importantly, very compact, so I could fit it in my glove box for easy access.  Has all the bells and whistles I was looking for-most importantly, buffer protection and last position memory.  Thought I wanted one with an TV tuner, but I will probably buy a stand alone tuner with diversity tuning for better reception (at least that's the word on this forum).  $120

Phoenix Digital PD-158 Digital FM modulator-  Actually works great.  The only feature that I was looking for was the ability to lock into the stations.  Haven't experienced other modulators but this one seems to lock-in.  Has 8 different channel options.  Probably the hardest thing to install because I had to get to the back of the factory radio to get to the antenna lead.  Would be cool if they made one of these with more than one audio input. $20

Boss BV-VS RF- Audio Video Switcher.  I was completely new to the whole mobile AV idea.  At the time I had only seen one car with a TV in it, and that was a factory TV in a Tahoe (not real imaginative).  I knew that i wanted to be able to watch and listen to different things on the two headrest TV's (nintendo, DVD, VHS, whatever) and  eventually I knew i'd like to add a visor TV to the front passenger side for a total of three TV's.  I was also looking for the functionality to easily switch the feed for each TV.  As it turned out, I was looking for a Audio Video switcher  I found the boss switcher.  It had a decent price, more inputs than most of the others, small and most importantly had a RF wireless remote.  This switch was the answer.  I actually ended up not using the audio switching capabilities because of the headphones that I ended up using. around $130

Unwired RF headphone transmitter-Model F3T-M05. 3 Channel headphone transmitter.  This was also a hard one to find.  because I wanted to have the ability to view something different on each TV, I also wanted to be able to hear it.  That meant I needed a headphone transmitter that can transmit 3 sources.  Well this does that (kind of).  This only has two inputs, If I want to add a third source I will need to buy a separate 1 channel transmitter.  However the F3T allows all of the broadcast to work together because it has band combination adjustments.  I went  with RF because I didn't want to have to figure out where to put the IR transmitter so that it would hit the front and back.  I am sure it's not a big deal, but the RF seemed to be comparably priced.  It works great.  I have actually bypassed the switcher for the audio in my configuration.  The headphones have input switches on them so that you can hear what's being broadcast on each of the three channels.  Seemed a little easier than using the switcher and keeping up with which headphones goes with which monitor. $50

Unwired Headphone- Model F3H 11270.  These match the transmitter. They have a switch on them that allows you to select between the three broadcasts.  They also have an auto off micro switch to save on batteries when not in use.  They sound great but the micro switch is hard to get used too.  Have to position them just right so that the switch is tripped allowing them to stay on.  Probably get used to it though. $80 for two

Power inverter-400watt.  Chopped off the cigarette lighter adapter and direct wired it.  This has two outlets on it and a fan.  didn't do much research on these.  Just wanted it to be small enough to fit under the seat.  Works good so far.

Lots and lots of wires and cables.  I ran a wire to the battery to ensure that I could get enough juice for everything.  From there I used one relay for the power inverter and one for the rest of the system.   I wanted to make sure I didn't overload the 1 30amp relay. I spliced into the ingition harness for the switched or accessory power (WHITE/ green in my car) and ran that to the relays.  I mistakenly ran the 12volt constant on my DVD player from the 12 volt feed after the relay.  The DVD player worked but of course the Last Position Memory didn't work.  Oh well it was my first time ever seeing a relay so I'll chalk it up to learning experience.  The rest of the wiring was pretty straight forward.  Most of the equipment already had fuses so that saved a little time.

Sorry for the long post. But hopefully this will help answer some of the question the other do it your selfers might have.

If you have any questions send them my way. I might even be able to answer them.

Ken