This page describes how I procured a MiniDisc changerfrom Japan, and my experiences installing it.
This page describes how I procured a MiniDisc changer
Introduction
The Japanese Prius has many more options for the audio system. (Click the image for a high-res version). Since I'm a minidisc nut, I knew I had to get some kind of minidisc technology for my new Prius. I've always preferred single-disc in-dash players to changers, but this is mostly because of CD's not having song information electronically stored on them. If you have six CD's in a changer, you have to remember which is which or else page through them.
I religiously label all my minidiscs (I have MD Labeler from Paul Ellams for the Palm) and I wanted more than anything to have this info show up on the Prius MFD screen. This would definitely compensate for having to load multiple discs in a changer. Plus, if the changer were accessible, I could change discs when I needed.
Decisions, Decisions
At first, I wanted to try to get an in-dash (single-disc) player. I thought it was too bad I didn't have a Japanese Prius because they have in-dash CD/MD combo units! (See the picture above.) I asked my old friend Suke in Japan to see what MD options he could get there. When he first told me that the only add-on MD option I could get was the Changer, I was disappointed. Later, when I saw the armrest-storage mounting strategy and saw that it was accessible for changing discs, I began to change my mind. In retrospect, the MD Changer is the best of both worlds.
Once I committed to the changer idea, we entered a two-month process of verifying the interoperability of the Japanese MD Changer on the USA Prius. It eventually came down to sending lots of pictures of IEBus/AV-LAN connectors (the infamous "R4") and getting back sample connectors to check.
So, we finally put this to rest, and I said go ahead and order it, and then disaster: Toyota was discontinuing the MD Changer (at least for a Prius). Apparently it was no longer stocked through normal ordering channels. But my loyal friend Suke would not give up. Enlisting the aid of his friend who works in Toyota, they finally tracked one down. Suke came to California on vacation just this morning, and dropped off the new MD Changer.
Installation
I forgot to get my camera out when I started fiddling with the mounts. He brought a bag of little metal mounts, all of them in some kind of "U" shape. Two of them seemed to fit to boltoles on the side of the Changer, and their flanges could be screwed to the bottom of the armrest storage area, but they had threaded holes on the bottom, as if wanting to receive bolts coming up from below. The problem was, I didn't have any instructions for these brackets (not even Japanese instructions). The only installation sheet seemed to be for a different car model and used fundamentally different brackets.
I
was determined to figure it out. Here I was with five funny brackets,
most of which looked like they wouldn't fit anything. Not only
did I have to mount the Changer to the bottom of the armrest storage,
I had to mount the top cover plate to something. It had pairs
of holes at either end, but nothing in the armrest cavity even
remotely looked like it could receive bolts or screws from the
cover plate.
So I kept fiddling with them. I had removed the whole armrest unit and had it near me in the living room where I had everything spread out. I accidentally knocked it over, and saw two pairs of screw-bosses at either end of the bottom of the armrest cavity. This was the clincher. I matched those up to two of the more enigmatic brackets, arranged them on the living-room floor in relative position, and started laying the other brackets down to match up.
It turned out that the cover plate rode a little lower than I had originally thought, but there was a combination of brackets that met both the bottom mounts and the top cover plate! And it turned out that with all the lockwasher bolts, pan-head bolts, and screws that came with the set, everything fell into place. When I saw this, I knew I had it.
So I assembled the two bottom brackets on the inside of the armrest cavity, and mounted the others in their places on the sides of the MD changer. (Maybe one day I'll pull it out and take pictures. If anyone else gets one and needs support, just Email me.)
There was also a convenient rectangular punch-out area on the bottom of the cavity (visible from below) that would just accommodate the R4 connector for the AV-LAN. (There was one other wire in the kit, a ground strap which conveniently matched the armrest's big mounting bolts.)
The rest of the installation was a snap. I had a little difficulty running the cable without removing one of the seats to relieve tension on the carpet, but I got it. The result is in the pictures above. Pretty snazzy. There's even room at the end for a couple of MD's or cases, spare change, or other little flotsam.
Operation - Discs
The MiniDiscs insert and remove easily. There is a built-in shuttle which lifts internally when discs are ejected. You press the single eject button, and the unit is ready to accept discs.
You push them down gently until they stop. When they are all loaded, you push harder and the motorized shuttle lowers them the rest of the way into the unit.
Operation - Screen
Once the discs were in there, then came the moment of truth. Would it even turn on? Would the menus be in Kana font? Would the titles be in Kana? I had visions of the unit being unresponsive, demanding a nonexistent "MD" button that was not on the USA dashboard. (I've been talking to Jeff about getting his TV ECU to work, which it turned out requires exclusively Japanese dashboard buttons to even turn on!)
With the existing audio off, I did the most obvious thing and pressed the "Disc" button. Normally for the CD, I hoped it would work the MD as well, a lot like FM1-FM2-FM Formatted cycles on the same button. BOOM! It worked! (See the pictures above.) "MD Changer" banner came up on the screen, it loaded a disc, and started playing. Wow. Then came the best surprise of all: The album and song lables came up! AND IN ENGLISH!
So I pushed the audio button to get the full-screen MD control panel, and it was very nice. All in English, lots of play options (scan, repeat and random song, plus scan, repeat and random disc). But where were those song titles? I now knew they were in there somewhere, but there was no room on the screen for them. Would this screen end up just being like a CD Changer and forcing you to navigate blindly?
Whoops, there's a "Title" button right near the middle. I pushed it, and the Disc and Song titles then appeared. I guess because of limited screen real estate they have to double up the disc selection with the title display. No big deal, now that I knew how to do it.
The up and down arrow buttons at the lower right corner are not disk-advance buttons. They are fast-forward/rewind buttons (within a song). The song-to-song stepping is done with the Tune/Advance arrow buttons on the dashboard to the left of the radio. There aren't any disc forward/disc back buttons on either the touchscreen or the dashboard.
This is just great. The gamble paid off. It has all the features I wanted. I've really warmed up to the Changer idea now. It's so nice not to have to scrounge around for a disc you want when the current one ends. You just load them before you take off and you're set. If you change your mind, you can easily switch them sitting at a light. The rest of the operation is with the easy screen controls.
