Alpine ILX 702D 7" stereo upgrade

Ant&family · May 20, 2021

I wonder if someone has experience of this multimedia fancy stereo: Alpine ilx 202D

This is a bit long winded so bear with me.

I upgraded my 2013 origional cali stereo for a swanky multimedia touch screen so that i could get a reversing camera as i was also upgrading to have a tow bar and bike rack.

I wanted the visuals as the audio reversing sensors need to be turned off when laden with bikes so i would be effectively blind and i have the spatial awareness of a gnat.

The origional system was otherwise great as i had a basic representation of what was going on front and back(see picture)

Ive picked up my upgrade today,but the front sensors only provide the audio feedback and not the basic 2d visual feedback.

Back camera is installed so i get a video feed which is great, alongside audio beeps, but not the 2d imagery that i thought would also be represented on the screen.

I attach a photo of what i mean , its not the best photo as im sat alone in the dark typing away!

Is this the same experience others have?

Thanks for your time if youve managed to get to the end of this rather long piece!

sidepod · May 21, 2021

Does the Alpine head unit have a separate input for the rear parking sensors?

Rwin · May 21, 2021

I have the same Alpine installed (T5 2012), you then need - Alpine APF-X300VW | CAN to UART-II interface (VW Golf 6/MIB-PQ) (voor parkeersenss and/or mfsw). Then you will see the sensors and the camera at once in your screen.

sidepod · May 21, 2021

Out of interest how do you find the Alpine?

I have similar and, finally admitting to myself, I’m pretty underwhelmed. I’ll leave aside the cheap nasty wobbly buttons as they’re so bad it’s not even worth mentioning (how could Blaupunkt produce something SO good 20 years ago and the Japs can only manage something that belongs in a Christmas cracker).

The unit is so slow to boot up and respond it’s embarrassing. The Satnav is pure comedy. The graphics are not too bad but still too GameBoy for my taste. Bluetooth connectivity is “roll of a dice” reliable.
I have the Alpine rear camera. Compared to average OEM kit its pants. Resolution it rubbish and it’s too wide angle for its own good. It’s impossible to gauge distance as it’s so distorted, all you can do is just see that there is nothing in the way to hit.
One plus point, it’s good to be able to active the camera whilst driving and, given it’s almost 180 deg angle, cars appear alongside whilst still in view on screen so blind spots are a thing of the past.

With hindsight, I’d have saved the £1200 ..

I hope your experience is better.

Rwin · May 22, 2021

That's not quite my experience. Yes, the buttons are not very 'fingerfriendly', graphics are from the 00's but the sound is definitely better than OEM. And I'm planning to upgrade my speakers and add sound dampening in the doors. That should do a lot for sound quality, I think (hope). But I use only Apple Carplay, and sometimes the normal FM radio. Don't need nothing more.
Don't know what the prices are in your country, but I paid around € 600,-...

sidepod · May 22, 2021

Rwin said:
That's not quite my experience. Yes, the buttons are not very 'fingerfriendly', graphics are from the 00's but the sound is definitely better than OEM. And I'm planning to upgrade my speakers and add sound dampening in the doors. That should do a lot for sound quality, I think (hope). But I use only Apple Carplay, and sometimes the normal FM radio. Don't need nothing more.
Don't know what the prices are in your country, but I paid around € 600,-...

Wow that’s cheap.

Ant&family · May 23, 2021

Rwin said:
I have the same Alpine installed (T5 2012), you then need - Alpine APF-X300VW | CAN to UART-II interface (VW Golf 6/MIB-PQ) (voor parkeersenss and/or mfsw). Then you will see the sensors and the camera at once in your screen.

Thanks for that

Rwin said:
I have the same Alpine installed (T5 2012), you then need - Alpine APF-X300VW | CAN to UART-II interface (VW Golf 6/MIB-PQ) (voor parkeersenss and/or mfsw). Then you will see the sensors and the camera at once in your screen.

Thanks for that, really helpful helped me find the link below

I have spoken to the installer who has agreed to review the issue tomorrow..

Ill update soon

Alpine - APF-X300VW CAN to UART interface for VW platforms (MIB-PQ - Seat, Skoda and VW)

www.alpine.co.uk

Ant&family · May 23, 2021

sidepod said:
Out of interest how do you find the Alpine?

I have similar and, finally admitting to myself, I’m pretty underwhelmed. I’ll leave aside the cheap nasty wobbly buttons as they’re so bad it’s not even worth mentioning (how could Blaupunkt produce something SO good 20 years ago and the Japs can only manage something that belongs in a Christmas cracker).

The unit is so slow to boot up and respond it’s embarrassing. The Satnav is pure comedy. The graphics are not too bad but still too GameBoy for my taste. Bluetooth connectivity is “roll of a dice” reliable.
I have the Alpine rear camera. Compared to average OEM kit its pants. Resolution it rubbish and it’s too wide angle for its own good. It’s impossible to gauge distance as it’s so distorted, all you can do is just see that there is nothing in the way to hit.
One plus point, it’s good to be able to active the camera whilst driving and, given it’s almost 180 deg angle, cars appear alongside whilst still in view on screen so blind spots are a thing of the past.

With hindsight, I’d have saved the £1200 ..

I hope your experience is better.

I cant give a full review as i'm waiting full functionality.

Cost wise the install and kit came in at 650£. Ilx 207d runs sat nav via carplay so waze , google maps etc....

The boot up isnt instantaneous by any stretch (6 seconds) i'm a newbie so i have otherthings to do whilst its booting up.. making sure kids & wife are packed and dog in the vehicle!

Im quite happy with the reverse camera which you can calibrate to distance as required.

When i get the 2d distance imagery along side the rear visual and the front auditory sensors ill be happy.

Theres loads of other connectivity options which i dont need so maybe excessive for my current needs

Ant&family · May 25, 2021

Ant&family said:
I cant give a full review as i'm waiting full functionality.

Cost wise the install and kit came in at 650£. Ilx 207d runs sat nav via carplay so waze , google maps etc....

The boot up isnt instantaneous by any stretch (6 seconds) i'm a newbie so i have otherthings to do whilst its booting up.. making sure kids & wife are packed and dog in the vehicle!

Im quite happy with the reverse camera which you can calibrate to distance as required.

When i get the 2d distance imagery along side the rear visual and the front auditory sensors ill be happy.

Theres loads of other connectivity options which i dont need so maybe excessive for my current needs

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