OTACORB

The TOYSC1 is a translator that basically allows communication between the head unit (OEM) and the SSC1 (Universal Sirius Connect Vehicle Tuner).

The TOYSC1 comes with the translator, installation bracket, screws and the cable specific to Toyota, Lexus or Scion models. I will be hooking mine up to a 2006.5 Scion xB 2008 OEM Head Unit.

The SSC1 comes with the universal vehicle tuners, installation bracket, screws, a low profile antenna and a cable that will connect the SSC1 to the TOYSC1.

My Sicion xB already had a dealer installed factory XM setup. So my installation didn’t even require that I remove my head unit, though I will get into that a little later in this review. Basically all I had to do was unplug the factory wiring harness from the XM tuner and plug it into the TOYSC1 cable. The SSC1 is fully powered via the wiring harness so there is no need to run additional power wires. The antenna, I had two options. Option 1: was to run a new antenna or Option 2: remove the fakra clip and plug in the existing XM antenna. I opted for Option 2 just to keep it simple. The XM antenna is an older 2 wire antenna which has a green and pink fakra connector that snaps on to the XM tuner. Taking off the fakra clip is very simple you just need a small blade to stick under the white portion of the connector. The wire will then slip right out and you can save the fakra to use again if you should need too. On a side note the green fakra connect is for satellite and the pink is for terrestrial. Since I live in an area that does not have terrestrial reception the option 2 was an easy choice. If you live in an area where you have terrestrial reception it would probably be worth your while to go ahead and do the full installation of the Sirius antenna.

Now I have my XM antenna plugged into the SIRIUS tuner, I have the SIRIUS tuner plugged into the TOYSC1, I have the TOYSCI plugged into the dealer installed wiring harness from the XM installation. To be honest I was not sure this would work because this left a connector on the wiring harness totally unplugged. But I powered on the Scion 2008 Head Unit, switched to Sat Radio and immediately I could hear the preview channel. Success! Wow that was so freaking simple! In case you are wondering my XM installation was under the passenger seat so getting access was very simple. Using Velcro I could simply Velcro the TOYSC1 and SSC1 to my existing XM tuner since it was bolted down.



Now let’s take this thing for a spin.

Display:
First of all I noticed that I was only seeing 16 characters of text on the display, but it was not scrolling. I had read that it would scroll. I picked up the TOYSC1 and on the side there are some dip switches. 11 characters or 16 characters. Scroll YES or NO. So, I switched it to scroll and left the default 16 character dip switch alone. I had to unplug the TOYSS1 for this change to happen. Just powering off the head unit did nothing. So, now I turn the head unit back on and bam there is this flashing text. Wait? I thought it would scroll? No, it actually flashes and refreshes the whole display each time the text moves to the next character. Initially I didn’t think much about it, but after driving around for a while that flashing was beginning to get on my last nerve. It seemed like every time I looked at the display it was flashing. I eventually opted to just turn the scrolling off as I find the flashing totally unacceptable. (Different strokes for different folks) Since I was use to only seeing 16 characters on the XM tuner this was no big deal. Most songs you can tell what they are and in my opinion this is a much better option than dealing with the flashing display. In reality I don’t think this 2008 Pioneer OEM head unit supports scrolling, because my iPod doesn’t scroll either. So the TOYSC1 forces it since it can’t scroll it just flashes.

Sound:
My initial impression was OMG this sucks! The volume output was very low compared to FM, XM, CD’s and even my iPod. There was hardly any bass and it just sounded totally flat. I was thinking if this is all SIRIUS has to offer they are in T-R-O-U-B-L-E. I tried adjusting my amp the bass and treble on the head unit. Nothing was going to fix this, it just sounds like crap. So, I decided this isn’t for me. I contacted Taylor at TSS-Radio and he told me about a technical bulletin that was released on the TOYSC1 and HONSC1. So he emailed me the technical bulletin. Basically what it says is that the TOYSC1 is sent from the factor y with volume output set to low, but then tells you how to make it go to high. Basically the procedure is turn on your head unit, go into sat mode and put in "162534" rapidly on the presets. Sure enough, this increased the sound and I am not sure why, but suddenly now the unit has decent bass and actually sounds good. This is a personal opinion, but I still do not think it sounds as good as the XM tuner, but it sounds good enough that I am satisfied with it now that I found this fix.

If you have never had sat radio in your vehicle, you will need to be able to get to the back of your head unit. You will need to be able to unplug and plug in the cables that come with the TOYSC1 in order for it to work. Most Toyota, Lexus and Scion head units are fairly simple to remove because you just take off the surrounding plate and then there are 4 screws holding the head unit to the dash. Remove these and following the instructions in the TOYSS1 manual plug the wiring hardness in. Then you’ll have to decide if you are going to put the SSC1 Sirius Tuner in your dash as well. I know on the xB there is a lot of room to put stuff so finding a place would be fairly simple. I don’t really know about other models. The hardest part will be running the antenna outside the vehicle. I DO NOT recommend trying to keep the antenna inside the vehicle especially if you live in areas where you don’t have a terrestrial repeater. You will get a lot of drop-outs and you just won’t be happy. Take the time to do it right the first time and you’ll enjoy this setup much better. There are some very clear cut directions on how to install the antenna in the SSC1 manual which I found very simple to understand and follow. I think most anyone could do it without any problem. The basic issue is fear most people are afraid to try it.

Summary:
The installation is simple, the scrolling display (wait what scrolling display I mean flashing) is a disappointment, but setting it to 16 characters works fine (also it maybe that if you have a different head unit besides the one I have the scrolling may work fine). The sound quality is acceptable provided you run the fix mentioned because without it SIRIUS sounds totally flat. For someone with an OEM head unit this is honestly a no brainer. I highly recommend it. I also recommend if you are looking to make a purchase, that you consider buying from TSS-Radio at tss-radio.com. Taylor is a huge SIRIUS fan and he will make sure you are totally happy with your purchase. Check them out!