DIY

Notes on Installing Sony XAV-AX100 in a 2010 Prius

Parts

Sony XAV-AX100 — $240

Metra 95-8226B Dash Kit for Toyota Prius 2010 Double DIN (Black)— $15

Metra TYTO-01 JBL Amplifier Interface Harness — $40

Axxess AX-TOYCAM2-6V Toyota Back-Up Camera Retain/Add-On with 6 Volt Turn on — $11

Metra 70-8114 Steering Wheel Control Wire Harness with RCA for 2003-Up Select Toyota/Scion/Lexus Vehicles — $7

Note: You do not need the ASWC-1 module, we’re just going to cannibalize this harness for it’s connectors

DC/DC Converter 12 to 5V — $7

3.5mm Tip/Sleve (Mono) adapter/pigtail — $8

Cllena High Speed Dual Port USB Car Charger with Audio Socket for Toyota Series — $15

Note: The 2010 Prius did not include a USB adapter/plug — even for the Trim V and/or Nav package

Note: For the 2010 Prius you’ll need the one that is 22mm x 33mm (0.87in x 1.3in). This is also the same size as the 2015 RAV4.

Steering Wheel Control

I originally thought I needed the ASWC-1, but as it turns out there’s two ways Steering Wheel Control (SWC) signals could be sent: either as voltage-based1 analog or as digital signals over the CANBUS.

Fortunately for me, both my Prius and the Sony XAV-AX100 use the voltage-based analog SWC signaling. I lopped off the black connector of the Metra 70-8114 (which normally would plug into the ASWC-1) and soldered to the red/white wires of the 3.5mm connector:

  • Green/Orange to thin White (SW1)
  • Green/Black to thin Red (SW2)
TerminalConditionSpecification*
L41-7 (SW1)Seek+ switch pushed< 0.8 V
L41-7 (SW1)Seek- switch pushed0.9 to 1.3 V
L41-7 (SW1)Volume+ switch pushed1.65 to 1.9 V
L41-7 (SW1)Volume- switch pushed2.45 to 2.6 V
L41-7 (SW1)Steering pad switch not operated3.28 to 3.5 V
L41-8 (SW2)MODE switch pushed< 0.8 V
L41-8 (SW2)On hook switch pushed0.9 to 1.3 V
L41-8 (SW2)Off hook switch pushed1.65 to 1.9 V
L41-8 (SW2)Voice switch pushed2.45 to 2.6 V
L41-8 (SW2)Steering pad switch not operated3.28 to 3.5 V

* With respect to L40-20 (GND)

On the XAV-AX100, there’s an option to program the SWC buttons, so I did that and everything works as expected.

Microphone

The Prius has a microphone (at least mine does) and I wanted to keep that microphone instead of adding a new one.

The microphone in the Prius requires 5V for it’s built in amp, which looks like is always powered when the car is on.

  • DC/DC Converter 5V to Prius L37-17 (MACC, Telephone microphone assembly power supply, 5V)
  • Sony XAV-AX100 Black to Prius L37-18 (SGND, Shield ground)
  • Sony XAV-AX100 Mic Tip to Prius L37-19 (MIN+, Microphone voice signal)
  • Sony XAV-AX100 Mic Sleeve to Prius L37-20 (MIN-, Microphone voice signal)

Note: I think this works…though I’m having some call quality issues. Not sure if it’s related to this, CarPlay, or something else.

I added an external microphone: 2010 Prius Microphone

Rear Camera Hookup Options

Assumes factory backup camera, remember to plug the Yellow RCA cable into the Radio as well.

You can buy the L42 connector with a pigtail from https://autoharnesshouse.com/49914.html, or just do what I did and stick a wire in the female connector and tape it .

Normal (only on when in reverse)

  • AX-CAM6 Blue/White(Reverse trigger) to Sony XAV-AX100 Purple/white (Reverse In) and to Prius L42-5 (Reverse Signal)
  • AX-CAM6 Black(Ground) to Sony XAV-AX100 Black (Ground)
  • AX-CAM6 Blue/Red (Camera power, 6V) to Prius L37-24(CA+, Television camera power supply, 5.5 to 7V)

Always available

  • AX-CAM6 Blue/White (Reverse trigger) to Sony XAV-AX100 Red (Accessory Power, 12V)
  • AX-CAM6 Black (Ground) to Sony XAV-AX100 Black (Ground)
  • AX-CAM6 Blue/Red (Camera power, 6V) to Prius L37-24 (CA+, Television camera power supply, 5.5 to 7V)
  • Prius L42-5 (Reverse Signal) to Sony XAV-AX100 Purple/white (Reverse In)

Other Notes:

  • The color and texture of the dash kit definitely does not match, but I’m not sure there is one that does.
  • It’s been a while since I’ve replaced a factory radio, and this one took me some time to figure out the SWC, microphone, and backup camera. I was used to the Old Daysâ„¢ where the radio comes with a pigtail connector, you buy a pigtail connector for your vehicle, solder the two together and that’s it.
  • I installed the Dual port USB adapter, but only the USB connector for the audio is currently hooked up. I still need to hook up the second USB for charging. My current plan is to run the wire to the 12V cigarette adapter in the center console.
  • There’s an adjustment for the volume on the Metra TYTO-01, I think I set mine too low because A) I have the radio cranked up pretty high when driving (the Prius is notorious for road noise), and B) when I’m playing Spotify through CarPlay it sounds like the audio is clipping. So I’ll need to take the dash apart again and adjust that.
  • While I did remember to remove all the music CD’s from the factory radio before I uninstalled it, I forgot to clear the Oil Maintenance reminder message (which is set and controlled through the factory radio)…so I’ll probably need to hook it back up to clear it *facepalm*

Resources

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  1. I think there also may be a resistive-based analog format as well…so three ways ↩

Pikler Ladder

Pikler Ladder Assy v3 Drawings (FREE!)Download

View model on Fusion360

Preamble

Pikler Ladders are expensive. Building one seemed like a good idea. There’s many different designs out there, but none that I was terribly thrilled with. So I designed my own. Then I roped my friend Charlie into helping me build one (spoiler alert: other friends wanted one too…so we made four).

Design requirements:

  1. Safe to use
  2. As low-cost as practical
  3. Easy to store when not in use
  4. Varied angles of use
  5. Easy to make

Version 1

The original concept was this folding design that had two climbing positions, but could also be folded up. I originally was going to use ¾” diameter dowels, but wood is a rather vexing material in terms of strength — it’s what called an anisotropic material which means that it has different material properties in different directions. This is in addition to the varied strength tree-to-tree. I wasn’t confident that ¾” diameter dowels would be sufficient (“safe to use” requirement) and so I upped it to 1″ during Version 3 of the design. However, this designed was ultimately scrapped because the board along the bottom side was unnecessarily, a bit unwieldy, and wouldn’t fulfill the “as low-cost as practical” requirement.

Version 2

This used a removable bar that could be moved up or down a rung to vary the angle. I think this is actually version 2.5, which introduced the “scalloped” edges on the one side to allow the ladder to fold together all the way.

This design was ultimately scrapped because using 1″ diameter dowels didn’t leave sufficient edge margin (“safe to use” requirement) without going to a 1″x6″ board (which would have increased the cost — “as low-cost as practical” requirement). I experimented with offsetting the rungs, but decided that would make it harder to manufacture (“easy to make” requirement). Also cutting all the “scallops” would have been time consuming (also “easy to make” requirement).

Version 3

This is the design we ended up making (see the build notes for deviations and such) and the one I made the drawings for that you can download. I originally discounted this option because there’s no good way to get a 10″x20″x¾” piece of wood without buying an unnecessarily large sheet (“as low-cost as practical” requirement), but by building several ladders at once it helped make this more cost effective. This design also uses 1″ dowels

Material List

This was designed such that you should be able to buy everything at your local major hardware store (and probably most local stores as well). Poplar is recommended as a good compromise of quality, strength, and cost.

This was not sponsored by Lowe’s, but I did end up buying everything from there because they had Poplar dowels and Home Depot did not.

Total Cost: ~$74 (+tax)

Hillman ¼” Wood Insert Lock Nut, Brass
Hillman ¼”-20 x 1½” Machine Screw
Power Pro #8 x 2½” Wood Screw

Build Notes

  • Charlie and I built a total of four of these at first go and it took roughly 15 hours over five (I think) build sessions. So factor in setup and tear-down time as well.
  • You probably don’t need to secure the rungs with screws (though you will still need them to secure the Plate to the the Long and Short Leg Assemblies). We ended up only using screws for the first of the four we built (the rest just used wood glue). If you decide to use screws, it might be a good idea to use a shorter length for those that don’t go through the Plates — it’s a bit harrowing making sure the screws are sufficiently aligned so they don’t split out the dowels.
  • With the cabinet screws we used you don’t have to drill a pilot-hold for the dowels.
  • We broke the sharp edges on the boards using 120 grit sandpaper.
  • We sanded the dowels with 220 grit sandpaper to help give a good finish for little hands.
  • We put a small chamfer on the dowels to help them seat properly during assembly.
  • We used an edge-glued spruce board for the Plate, in retrospect we should have used a plywood with a veneer.
  • The Plate Assembly is a somewhat complex design to manually make. Because I needed to make eight of them I did some math and made a jig of sorts. However I also designed a paper template1that you can just adhere to your plywood.
  • The Storage Position hole is waaaay to close to the edge and will blow out. I’ve left it in the design because I like the idea of being able to keep the bolt with the ladder when it’s folded. If you want to include it then do what I did premptively blow out the hole and sand it so it looks nice-ish — otherwise don’t drill it.
  • If you’re building lots of these, maybe call ahead to make sure they have enough dowels. I ended buying every single 1″x48″ dowel that Lowe’s had on the shelf.
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  1. a trick I learned from https://www.youtube.com/user/Matthiaswandel  ↩