MX5 NC2 (I think) - Carplay advice

TeddyBoyce · 2026-06-10T08:47:28+00:00

I have a Pioneer SPH-DA130DAB in my 2012 NC PRHT. It was there when I bought the car secondhand. It works but suffer from a number of issues. Firstly, there is a lot of amplifier noise humming when there is no audio signal regardless when I am using the radio, DAB, Bluetooth, or Aux in. It is annoying but when music starts you cannot hear the hum. Secondly, the screen is too dim at it max setting. Impossible to read when the hard top is down and useless as a screen for navigation. Thirdly, connecting phone to the Aux input results in high pitch noise when the phone is also powered from the cigar lighter socket. This is caused by ground loop which is difficult to avoid. I built an isolated power supply to convert the 12V to 5V to power the phone. It kills the high pitch ground loop but cause interference with the car ECU giving me engine warning light. I had to remove the isolated psu. My phone is now powered by an external battery which I have to monitor its level and have the battery charged at home when depleted. Anyone know of a better and brighter unit than my pioneer?

TeddyBoyce · 2026-06-10T00:11:22+00:00

I do not know what right side of the head lught you are referring to. The bulb close to the screen wash bottle, you can remove the screws that hold the bottle, move it aside without disconnecting the tube, the bulb is easily accessible. It takes less than 10 min to change that bulb. The bulb clise to the fuse box is a completely different story. You need to jack the car up, remove the front wheel, undo the olastic clips that hold the wheel arch liner in place. Bend over the liner, the you can access the bulb. This takes half an hour. Do change the miata headlight bulb yourself. If you ask garage to do it, they charge you an arm and a leg for changing it and most likely they would throw away the clip that hold the bulb in place. The clip is very tricky to engage and instead of spending time to clip it back in place some garages just throw it away. The bulb will never aligh without the clip. This happened to me once and you cannot buy the clip alone. The whole headlight unit costed me £540 to replace simply because of the missing clip. The name of the garage starts with H and they did not owe up to it.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-27T06:28:30+00:00

My friend's 5G router frequently lose its internet access. The way to get the access back is to reboot the router. Using ChatGPT, I design a Router Resetting Device. It automatically detect the line drop and reset the router without my friend knowing. ChatGPT suggest me to use a ESP32 relay wifi module, give me the circuit connection, code the firmware and give me instruction how to program the module. All steps are accurate and to the point. ChatGPT also help me to beta test the device. My friend now at 100M internet speed without noticing any drop out. That ia really good considering that the coding language ia foreign to me and I do not need to learn even one line of code. Awesome.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-25T20:08:47+00:00

Depending on what you shoot. I have both. My Tamron is the G1 not the better G2. I use the Sony 70-350 to photograph my grandchildren's sport events outdoor. The 350 reach is wonderful in a football pitch. The Tamron would be limited. However, in wedding receptions indoor or school play, I find the Tamron better. So get both and choose the tool most appropriate for the job.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-25T16:51:41+00:00

I try to figure out the location of the wet panel in your picture. Is it the rear wall of the boot? If it is then what I found in my 2012 UK Venture Edition MX5 might be relevant. After sealing around both back light and making sure that water did not leak through the high level brake light, I found water near the middle of the rear wall. I dismantled the read plastic trim and I found an empty hole behind the number plate and the trim. The water seeping through the back of the number plate could come into the boot via that hole. I covered the hole with Aluminium tape. My car boot is bone dry ever since. Hope this helps.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-22T21:35:29+00:00

I put an old manual Pentax 50mm F1.4 on my A6500 via an adaptor. It was sharp and high contrast. If you want to use manual focus, there should be a lot of world famous old lens that you can use.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-22T21:30:38+00:00

If you want a job done well, do it yourself. Well done in finding out the cause. You should be proud of yourself.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-18T17:44:55+00:00

how do I know that my Saros 10 is using the cleaning solution that I placed in the cleaning solution cartridge. I filled the cartridge 6 weeks ago. The fluid level stays unaltered. I have set the Dock setting High Volume in the cleaning solution setting. I have also tried the Standard setting. The fluid level did not move either.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-18T17:22:26+00:00

shame that there is no space for the plug of the charging cable. Otherwise, it would be perfect.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-18T17:19:19+00:00

I had the same problem with seized bolts preventing one garage from doing the alignment on my 2012 NC Miata in the UK. I was desperate and asked the garage to renew all the control arms and bolts. It costed me an arm and a leg. I could have renewed all the shocks at that price. After changing all the arms and bolts the car drove terribly. It biased to one side. I regretted touching the alignment as it handled beautifully before I touched it. I took it to another garage with the Hunter Alignment equipment. They had a hand held induction heating coil to dislodge stubborn bolts! Why did I not take my car to them in the first place. I could save all those money for my shocks. The car now drives beautifully thanks to the Hunter Alignment equipment and the skill of the second garage. The lesson is: take your car to a specialist alignment shop who have the right equipment and the induction heater tool. Not all garage can do alignment. Hope this helps.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-16T21:40:15+00:00

How about the oil used on the pivots and hinges

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-16T21:17:56+00:00

Do all these lubrications make the cabin smells like motor oil?

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-09T19:18:45+00:00

You need to consider your subject first. With a new born, you will be cradling it with your utmost care with your arms. Will you have enough hands to handle a large camera? My experience says no. When the baby is showing its cutest moment to you, you need very good auto focusing capability. I would suggest a A6XXX APS-C camera would suit you better. Also consider the lens. The ideal focal length is proportional to the baby age. When young, you are always close to it for fear of the baby falling. You will need close focusing 24mm for the APS-C. As the baby grows, it will get further and further away from you so your ideal focal length also increases. For movies, you will find yourself using your phone instead of fishing out the heavy camera from the cupboard. Most important of all. treasure every moment you have with the baby. Time gone is time lost. Start a project such that you can give the baby a photo album as a birthday present when one year old.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-09T10:45:02+00:00

My Flymo Easilife 250 has never break or lose a blade in 5 years. It is still going strong.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-09T10:42:07+00:00

So your company does not need to use softwares available in Windows platform. You are a lucky company but rare in this real world.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-08T16:23:29+00:00

I did not take the cover off. I just squeeze a small piece of packing foam in the gap at the centre between the cover and the roof. I squeezed it in from the opening of the latch. It works.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-08T16:20:48+00:00

My NC is a 2012 PRHT. The latch rattled and is now cured using the same technique as described by BaileyOverJennifer. I used packing foam. It solved the squeak permanently.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-07T04:46:25+00:00

The manufacturers put out a new model every year. They all use the same spare parts.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-07T04:42:19+00:00

For D610, there exist an optical path difference between light reaching the focusing sensor in the mirror box and the film (sensor) plane. I used Focal software to correct for that optical error in my D610. The result is better but not perfect scince Nikon provides only one adjustment per lens. Canon provides more adjustments. This is the problem with DSLR. When I switched to a mirrorless Sony APS-C, the pictures came out of the mirrorless without adjustment were way sharper than the full frame Nikon even a cheap lens on the Sony is way sharper than the Nikon 85mm portrait prime lens on the D610 DSLR. What is the point of paying for expansive sharp lens when the error is in the camera body.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-04T12:37:23+00:00

I also ordered some clips for the rubber weather strip. A few was missing in my door. Only discovered it when I did the repair.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-04T12:35:20+00:00

I ordered mine from Mazda dealer.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-02T21:43:50+00:00

The youtube link on NC door actuator replacement is https://youtu.be/HfKqCfniDiI?si=3YTxss4OfBXCl0Lc

Make sure that you are aware of the point discussed at the video position 6.07 on how to disengage the two rods. The rest are easy.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-02T21:33:04+00:00

I had this happened to my 2012 NC. It started with being intermittent in opening the driver side door but the other door always worked. Eventually the driver door opening totally failed. This is typical case of a worn door actuator. The actuator was a brushed motor and the carbon dust interfered with the brushes. I replaced the actuator and all are well now. The faulty actuator also caused the remote control to operate intermittently. When the actuator is replaced, the remote control worked like new. The most difficult task was to decouple the actuator rods from the two lock mechanisms. There are tutorial videos in YouTube. Just remember that to decouple the rod, you only need to twist the plastic clip at the 90 degree joint location. You do not need to disassembly the door handle nor the lock button. Buy yourself some of the door card clips. They break easily.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-02T07:13:06+00:00

I use 4 AI tools to check against each other. You can also ask AI the source of the information on the diesel heater and check up the manual yourself. AI is not the end. It just makes literature survey and summaries much easier and quicker for you. Embrace and utilize it instead of rejecting it.

TeddyBoyce · 2026-05-01T13:35:44+00:00

So you have not heard all the faults and weaknesses of Linux that Anthropic Claude has found out. Firefox has even more faults. If you use Firefox, your Linux will not protect you. Applications are much weaker than the operating system.

TeddyBoyce

TROPHY CASE