(all)roadkill

got the Phatnoise and installed last night. Loaded cartridge with ~19gB music tonight. Easy install in an '01 or '02, since the CD changer cable is there. Just cut away some of the back panel of CD changer mount to make room for plug and bolt in place (can even use existing mount holes). Set-up instructions are easy enough and all I have to do now is learn all the basic functions and what buttons to hit, and to modify the cover for the changer location to make room for the protruding cartridge. Ready to Rock!

Nappy

at ECS, correct?

(all)roadkill

that's right...best price

skidmark

It will pop off from tension of cartridge pushing against it.

oso

I decided early on that, if at all possible, I wanted to mount the phatbox completely invisibly in exactly the same spot as the CD changer. I was able to do this and still get the door cover closed without showing evidence of wanting to pop off. It required me to completely remove the rear of the CD changer slot in the combo bracket (toolkit, changer, Nav), carefully position the phatbox as far aft as possible (applying just enough pressure to gently bend the interface cable without crimping it) then measuring where the holes needed to be in the bracket to allow the DMS to fit (barely) inside the cover with it closed. I drilled the two holes, one fore, the other aft, and used the existing tapped holes in the phatbox by employing some salvaged metric screws from a 5000 door panel. Two screws are enough to locate it ( with no wobble) since they one is fore and the other aft. I showed it to the local Audi service manager and he was blown away. It looks as if it was made to fit into that slot all the time.

The sound and the functionality are great. I loaded maybe 50 albums on it yesterday and listened to my heart's content. All for $170 including shipping from Connecticut (I live in Utah). It's the best audio bargain there is!

(all)roadkill

I'm considering exactly that...pulling the unit out again and removing the entire rear of the bracket and sliding the player in further. I only cut away a slot for the cable connection. I can get the cover in place now but it bulges out. With 19gB of tunes loaded I can listen for quite awhile without repeating. Random play function can throw some interesting combos.

oso

For me, the hardest part was removing the back panel of the bracket. I used a drill press to perforate the panel along the plane where I wanted to bend it, then used vise grips to bend it so I could get at it with the cutoff wheel to cut it off flush with the body of the bracket, thus leaving no back at all to the bracket. After removing some burrs with a file, it was pretty clean looking. I had to measure several times to decide exactly where to drill the holes--you definately can not use the holes in the bracket that work for the CD changer--for the mounting screws. With all that measuring I got them right the first time, screwed in the locating screws, tied down the cables and reinstalled the bracket. It worked the first time.