So ~ the new car has arrived! Finally, after leaving the garage in Ashford, I arrived home at 11am this morning.
I am very pleased with the car. It is the new Fabia Estate variant ~ the 105bhp 1.6 Turbo diesel 'straight-4' engine ~ made in the Polish factory two weeks ago!
They have improved the on-board computer & the display (it was already excellent) and also the radio / CD / iPod player display. I like the fact that I can fully control the iPod from the radio itself ~ music-wise, that is.
The engine is quite quiet, very economical and, best of all, is incredibly efficient! Driving around Ashford this morning registered 58.8 mpg! It should be around 65 mpg at least on a longer journey ~ great!
My friend John (M1FEL for those Radio Hams amongst you) kindly took all these photos for me! We then 'hatched a plan'. How long could we wait before putting in the Ham Radio 'rig' and attach the aerial? We planned for after lunch!
Then the rain came down in buckets ................
It didn't put us off!
The remote 'head' for the radio, which is fitted in the boot & uses the 20 Amp 12v socket at the back. All fully fused, etc., drawing only 12 amps on full power. This is fitted on a small metal bracket, thanks once again to John (M1FEL). The clip to the bottom left-hand side of the 'head' is the recharging clip for the Bluetooth headset.
As it was still tipping down with rain, you can see that I am wearing my 100% waterproof jacket ~ but the important bit (really!!) is that I am wearing the Bluetooth headphone/microphone. This is totally 'hands free' and very safe!
You can see that we fitted the aerial (a Diamond dual-band aerial for 2m & 70cms bands) ~ a mere 1.4m tall ~ works well! Thanks to John (M1FEL) who lent me his aerial as it performed better than my (shorter) one. Who says size doesn't matter?
Everything is working well! Great!
My grateful thanks to John, of course, without which I would not have the radio 'up and running' within 4 hours of getting the new car back home!
Until next time ............
5 comments:
HAM in the reg plate John?
Yes Phil ~ it is a new cherished plate ...... which I 'bought' last month. I blanked the rest of it as the Blog is open to all comers!
How have you mounted the head unit on the dash John?
Thanks
Steve
Hi Steve
A strip of mild steel, about 1" wide, drilled in 3 places.
The back of the head has a screw-fix point + screw provided. As the front 3/4" is bent upwards, this holds the head in the correct position v.s.v the main radio/CD/iPod display (see picture).
The rest of the bracket is under the facia, held by two self-tappers. Works very well :-)
Oh ~ and there is only 1 wire from the back of the car to the front: there is a good speaker integral to the head and, in any case, I am also using the Bluetooth headset ..... so I have audio there :-)
Great to hear from you Steve.
73
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