Author Topic: Phatbox question (Read 4309 times)

dart · « **on:** November 30, 2004, 02:19:48 pm »

Just curious if anyone ever had this installed and how well it works in the colder climate. My understanding is that the cartridge is basically a hard drive containing music files, is it a concern in -15 to -30 degrees Celsius?

Shnak · « **Reply #1 on:** November 30, 2004, 02:35:14 pm »

I have one in my car. I've only been using it for 2 months (when I purchased my car) so it hasn't been in very cold weather yet. Before purchasing it, I talked about it to the owner of the VW dealership and asked him about the cold weather question. He told me that he's been using one for more than a year and that it has never been a problem in the winter.

I just found this:
http://www.phatnoise.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=487&highlight=temperat ure

From a phatnoise employee:
The PhatBox and Kenwood Music Keg can operate at a temperature range between -20 and 70 degrees C. If the climate where you're at gets even colder than this, the PhatBox may take longer to start up in the morning, but eventually it will.

I'll see for myself this winter, and I'll be in New Brunswick around chrismas for a few days, so hopefully, it'll be -35ºC and give a good test to my phatnoise.

dart · « **Reply #2 on:** November 30, 2004, 04:18:59 pm »

Thanks Shnak,
How do you like your system? Any drawbacks about it?

From what I understand, the Phatbox will not fit perfectly in my 2004 Passat wagon and the cartridge will stick out a bit. Something I'm willing to live with.

tpl · « **Reply #3 on:** December 01, 2004, 07:24:26 am »

I am not familiar with the Phatbox but.... if it is a standard 2.5 or 3.5" computer hard drive then internal condensation might be a problem. Some drives are sealed and some have a pressure equalizing "leak". These latter varieties can get internal condensation after many heat cold cycles.
Notices on laptops left in cars overnight in the winter and then brought inside.

Shnak · « **Reply #4 on:** December 01, 2004, 08:39:54 am »

I believe the harddrives used in the cartridges are not your standard 2.5"... they're made to be in the cold and heat. The cartridges are very sturdy. I transported a freezer in my golf the other day and on a turn, it slided and hit the phatbox cartridge. Not a dent, nothing. Anwyays, I'll see this winter if it fails to start or whatever.

Dart, I love my PhatBox system. I use it 95% of the time, the other 5% is when I'm listening to a sports station on the AM band. It works very well! It's surprisingly quick, no delay whatsoever.

You organize your songs in different playlists. Personally, I filled up the cartridge and put ALL the songs (about 19.5GB

) in the same playlist. That allows me to shuffle throughout all the songs on it. The system reads the ID3 tags and lets you select to play all songs by one artist in particular, or one album, or even a genre. It's really well thought out, and integrates perfectly with the radio unit.

The only drawback is that there is no text displayed on the radio unit. It'll just say TRK and then a number from 1 to 99. Of course, I have 3500+ songs on it, but it will still show 1 to 99. So the track number isn't really useful other than when you're in an album in particular.

The coolest is that everything is voice-enabled. Since you can't see anything on the radio unit screen, there's a voice that'll tell you the current playlist name, artist name, album name or genre. It allows for easy browsing!

Oh, another drawback is that the voice won't tell you the title of the track. When you press a button on the radio, it'll tell you the current playlist, current artist, current album and current genre, but not the current song title. Not that bad a deal.

If you thinking of getting a CD Changer, DON'T! My friend told me that it has problems with burned CDs, some don't play at all, and they get stuck in the mecanism once in a while. He'll be switching to a PhatBox in a few months.

Btw, it sticks out in my car too. They had to cut out part of the side wall so that they could still install it in the CD Changer slot. They did a good job and with the cargo cover in my Golf, it really doesn't bother me as it's hidden from the outside, and when I have groceries or anything else in the cargo area, the PhatBox isn't in the way at all.

See image:
phatbox

Snowman · « **Reply #5 on:** December 01, 2004, 09:21:52 am »

I grow tired of moving, changing, storing, and sorting CD’s in my car. I think PhatNoise deserves some serious consideration. I need to make the jump to MP3’s.

Question for a newbie to MP3’s….what do I do with all my existing CD’s(100's)?... can I convert them to MP3’s and how?

Where do I get MP3 files (legally) and how are they purchased?...by the song, artist, or album?
I want to convert over but do not want to spend $1,000’s

Shnak · « **Reply #6 on:** December 01, 2004, 09:32:48 am »

I use CDEx, set the bitrate to 192kbps, High Quality and that's it. You click on the button to grab the album info on the internet, and then on Extract CD Tracks to Compressed Audio Files.

As for purchasing online, I don't know, never used one of those systems. I know Apple iTunes, but those aren't really mp3s, so I'm not sure if they'd work on the phatnoise. There www.emusic.com too, but never tried it.

What I do personally is buy what I like, and encode them in MP3s. What I don't feel is worth purchasing, I get it off the internet. No big deal as I simply wouldn't purchase them even if I couldn't get them online. I still purchase a few albums a month so I don't feel bad at all.

Seems like it would be compatible with your Highlander. Check out phatnoise toyota.

Anyone that does long trips once in a while, the PhatNoise definitely is worth it. Load it up, press play, and forget it! I have something like 14 days worth of music on it.

quadzilla · « **Reply #7 on:** December 01, 2004, 10:14:33 am »

If I could install one of these in my car I would. I think its the best way to listen to your music as you would (or should) always have enough songs to keep you happy, maybe too many.
If the Phatbox doesn't work in your car/truck there are other hard drive bases systems out there, some even wireless so you can just update your music without bringing it in.
If I wasn't cheap I'd change over my car stereo now. But once it breaks it will happen.

safristi · « **Reply #8 on:** December 01, 2004, 11:22:57 am »

Is Satellite Radio..Now available in Canada..a viable alternative?...mucho variety..no signal dropping.....

?

sirAQUAMAN64 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 01, 2004, 01:29:10 pm »

Satellite is just coming to market soon. Not yet.

Snowman · « **Reply #10 on:** December 01, 2004, 02:09:55 pm »

Are you Sirius?

safristi · « **Reply #11 on:** December 02, 2004, 01:41:28 pm »

XMplaray my dear Snowy..now don't burn yerself on your steam Radio..Toot!! Toot!! one more an yer OOT!!....That was "Sling Yer 'Ook" by N'Est Peche dans le Mud....and Now fer something completely vive la different....!!

barrie1 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 02, 2004, 05:10:51 pm »

Some of the GM models have the Satelite Radio's already as they have 125 stations to choose from so far. There will be many more soon to listen to.

Shnak · « **Reply #13 on:** December 02, 2004, 05:27:44 pm »

In Canada Barrie? I was under the impression that the only satelite radio provider for Canada was Sirius, and that they would only start offering their service in Canada sometime in 2005.

barrie1 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 02, 2004, 07:06:07 pm »

Even Hertz or one of the rental companies are advertising this option in their rental cars.

Keith_moon · « **Reply #15 on:** December 04, 2004, 03:48:23 am »

Thre are currently no satelite radio providers in Canada..Schnak Attack is correct. You can however, use an American address and get XM or Sirius...they will come to Canada soon enough.

barrie1 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 04, 2004, 03:59:06 pm »

You can order this radio now in the new Buick Allures and the Pontiac G6 as well. They will be broadcasting on this channel Very Shortly in Canada according to the Sales People. It is classed as the top-line radio in the series.

Shnak · « **Reply #17 on:** December 06, 2004, 09:43:21 am »

well... the phatbox wouldn't start at all this morning... I tried every minute on my 10 minute drive to work, and it gave me the NO MAGAZINE error message every time.

That's weird because I think it only went down to about -15ºC last night...

And yes, my cartridge is in the phatbox system...

Sounds like I'll be sending an email to phatbox to know what's going on... this doesn't make sense. What good is this phatbox system if I can't use it all winter long??

dart · « **Reply #18 on:** December 06, 2004, 03:51:00 pm »

Normally I recommend people that have left their laptops in below freezing temperatures to not power up their systems until at least 20-30 minutes of normal room temperatures.

Maybe you need to take the longer route to work Shnak?

I haven't plunked down my money yet for a system, let me know how things work out.

Mdxtasy · « **Reply #19 on:** December 06, 2004, 03:58:10 pm »

That's always been my concern with these electronic storage devices. It can't beat winter weather. For my money, I'd get an iPod with an iTrip and away you go. Run it through the FM frequency and it's gravy. Take the iPod into work or into the house and it's safe from the weather.

Too bad about the Phatbox Shnak....but I do recall us discussing the potential for this to occur a few months back. Hope you either get your money back or something.

Author Topic: Phatbox question (Read 4309 times)

Keith_moon

Mdxtasy