Swapping the stock radio for a Bluetooth Compatible radio

[85Supra]

I have a 1997 GMC Yukon and I want to swap out the stock radio for a Bluetooth compatible radio for a few reasons:

1. The stock radio is, well, a stock radio with many flaws (burnt out bulbs and a tape deck, haven't owned a tape in 15 years) it also has a non functioning slave CD player.

2. I spend an insane amount of time in my truck for work, and I spend an enormous amount of time on the phone (I know it is not recommended when driving, but it has to be done). I have a bluetooth earpiece, however, I can't stand it.

I have looked at a couple of models, but am wondering what opinions are on the subject, would really like to know what some people feel about the ones they own.

I have looked at the following:

Sony MEXBT5000

Sony Specs

Pioneer DEH-9800BT

Pioneer Specs

[Isaiah]

What's the point of a bluetooth compatible radio? You can't listen to it through a bluetooth headset unless it's a stereo bluetooth headset which is hard to come by and illegal to use in Canada.

[85Supra]

the bluetooth on my cell connects to the radio when driving and when the phone rings it connects automatically thru the car audio system.

This is an aftermarket deck for what comes stock in many new cars today.

[Isaiah]

Gotcha. Thanks for the info.

[GTS Jeff]

It seems like you'll be using the internal amplifier of the deck, in which case, the Pioneer beats the Sony hands down.

As for BT functionality, well I dunno.

[im2fst4u]

I bought a Garmin Nuvi 660 portable GPS that has a built in FM transmitter and Bluetooth. When my telephone rings, it displays the caller ID and patches the audio through my car audio system. You can even read and send text messages through the Garmin. Ever thought of just buying a GPS for your car?

Just an idea....

[85Supra]

I was thinking about getting a GPS, but I use my laptop with GPS software right now.

[rage2]

I have the 980BT, the premier version of the 9800BT. Same features, a little different exterior casing, longer warranty. I dunno how I lived without BT audio in the car, it works awesome.

Basically, you listen to whatever you want in your car. When the phone rings, it'll pause that audio source, flip to phone, and answer it from there. Everyone in the car can chat with whoever you're talking to. Convo ends, it'll flip back to last source, and automatically continue. The TELEPHONE mode also has it's own distinct volume setting as well as EQ setting, so no matter what source/volume level/EQ you're using, it'll sound exactly the same everytime.

My complaints? Well, they're both phone related. The Auto-Connect doesn't work for me. My Telus RAZR and KRZR doesn't stay in "discovery" mode constantly, so when I go in the car and start it, I have to turn on discovery (active only for 60 seconds) to auto connect to the unit. I setup a shortcut for it so it's not a big deal.

The other one is that to share phonebooks, you have to upload your phonebook to the deck. The deck supports 4 unique paired phones, so you can have everyone in the family save their settings on there. That's the good part. The shitty part? Well, my phones only upload entries one by one, so it's time consuming uploading the phonebook. It's not required, but I do like to see who's calling on the deck, since I keep the phone in my pocket while I drive.

One more, not sure if its a complaint or not... but if you have more than 1 phone in the family, you can't have 2 phones connected via BT at the same time.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by rage2

My complaints? Well, they're both phone related. The Auto-Connect doesn't work for me. My Telus RAZR and KRZR doesn't stay in "discovery" mode constantly, so when I go in the car and start it, I have to turn on discovery (active only for 60 seconds) to auto connect to the unit. I setup a shortcut for it so it's not a big deal.

no phone will stay in discovery mode constantly, otherwise it will be connecting to anyone's bluetooth device constantly, and your device list will fill up faster than a liquor store giving away it's inventory for free.

[rage2]

Originally posted by spikers
no phone will stay in discovery mode constantly, otherwise it will be connecting to anyone's bluetooth device constantly, and your device list will fill up faster than a liquor store giving away it's inventory for free.

No, but some phones do send out a broadcast signal like once every minute or so. Device list won't fill up since it doesn't bond to the devices, it's just to tell other devices that it's in range and good to go for connection.

Maybe it's not called discovery mode? I'm not sure... hehe.