Adding devices to the car for more features and functionality is the trend in car audio these days. In-dash navigation units may be superior in many ways to portables, but the latter is very convenient and they're what you see on the road. You have a nav device that sits on a mounting apparatus that is stuck to the windshield. Great look, if you'll excuse the sarcasm. Or if you want satellite radio and don't want a new head unit or a new car with a six-month free subscription you might buy an add-on receiver that you stick onto your car's dash. Also highly aesthetic. The car is getting to be like a house - soon you'll need an automotive equivalent of a power strip in your vehicle to plug in all your devices.
The HD Zoom is one of those convenient add-on products that could be yet another electronics device that clutters your dash. Aside from convenience, the other criterion you want to look at is how well it performs as an HD Radio receiver. It's a simple and straightforward unit that does exactly what you need without a lot of fuss. It has a light, easy to read display that can be mounted practically anywhere. The tuner box itself is compact enough to be hidden away without a problem and connecting the HD Zoom to your audio system is a snap.
The Zoom displays artist, song title and radio station id info and has four banks of five stations each that you can store. If you're in a large radio market such as Los Angeles, you may find that insufficient if you want to memorize all the HD and non-HD stations. Moreover, with multi-casting you may want to store more than one signal from a single station. We got our 20 but could have added quite a few more channels. (For the list of HD Radio stations in your area check out www.hdradio.com.)
The buttons on the Zoom are spread apart far enough that even with our chubby fingers we could access them without frustration, but we preferred the ease of the remote control. Changing stations or surfing through the banks of stored stations is easy to do even without looking. Aside from functionality of the Zoom, the biggest upside with HD Radio in general is the subscription-free, burgeoning content. And there's a lot of it in L.A. The only negative to that is multi-cast signals are not received instantaneously. Usually there is a wait of a few seconds before the signal is stable. It's a small cost for the added wealth of entertainment. And if you can add a receiver like the Zoom here in a way that makes it a bit more integrated into your car, then all the better for your overall enjoyment. We wanted to find the simplest solution of adding the Zoom. This is definitely something anyone with basic DIY skills could handle. As for wiring, just follow the easy to decipher diagram provided by Visteon in the owners manual.
 |  As with any installation,...  As with any installation, the area we are working with has to be assessed to see what location will fit our specific needs. In this case we are looking for an area that will provide us with a clear view of the screen and will not be a permanent fixture in the vehicle leaving any holes or scars once we decide to remove everything and trade our commuter in. |  Next on the agenda is the...  Next on the agenda is the disassembly of the dash area to gain access to the wires and to expose potential locations for the hide-away module. |
 After choosing the location...  After choosing the location for our screen we use upholstery chipboard to create a template for a mounting panel. This will save a lot of time and frustration by allowing us to find the curves we need without wasting loads of material. |  Next a sheet of A.B.S. is...  Next a sheet of A.B.S. is scored from the back with a utility knife. The A.B.S. is over cut to allow us to grind the panel down for a tight fit. |  After tracing the template...  After tracing the template on the face of our A.B.S. with a pencil we grind the edges just outside the lines with 36 grit paper. |