Phone question D2 S8

[IT]

Ok, so you must have one of the very last PF cars with the Nokia handset, as most S8's have a crud Motorola handset....

Doesnt help much with the retrofit though.

The later cars with the cullman kit all used the cars music speakers for the phone sound, the PF and early facelift cars have a dedicated speaker in the drivers lower B pillar. This alters quite a lot of the cabling run.

You cant change the audio loom completely, as apart from being a pain of a job, your S8 will have the old text nav on the loom, where no facelift car will, so you'll break more than you fix changing it.

So, its a hack the audio loom job, starting with the control box that sits under the center console near the armrests which actually interfaces the phone to audio loom.

Personally, I think its a heck of a lot of hassle for little gain.....

[HPsauce]

OK, thanks, I'm certainly not interested in hacking anything.

I've never really looked at or thought about the phone speaker as I don't use it much; I'd assumed it came via the RNS/Audio system somehow (I have the Plus system) but it is from the drivers side somewhere.

Or is it all controlled from the phone (like a normal add-on kit) and just mutes the audio system?

And yes, the drivers manual looks like it's probably written for Motorola...

[daviesbike]

i lost my 3110 when i moved house sim and all, i have an early facelift if any one wants to sell one i would buy one back, i know they are old school but was handy to have

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by HPsauce

How practical is it to upgrade that to a later design that supports a dual-band phone, integrated in the the audio system of course?

Well, pursuing that thought I found out something interesting....
The Nokia 3110 phone I have has the same interface (it's from the same family) as the "famous" Matrix banana phone - Nokia 8110. I actually had one once - long gone sadly.
And while that is also 900GSM only there is an 1800 (only) variant - the 8146.

So in the interests of research I acquired an 8146 and did some testing. It does indeed connect up (after a bit of "adjustment") but doesn't get a signal when in the cradle.

I presume somewhere along the route from the aerial is an amplifier or filter that is rather specific to the 900MHz band and I really can't be bothered to go delving to find what and where it is as I suspect it can't be upgraded.

[adjuster]

After some research, I gave up on trying to make the old analog phones work, and just bought a new head unit, dual DIN, and love it.

Bluetooth works with my smart phone, and it's iPod hook up works fine with my iPod.

I went with Kenwood, and modified a A6 faceplate adapter to fit the S8's dash trim. (Work with a belt sander, and it's easy as can be, just mark, sand, check the fit, and sand till you get it just right, then you are done.)

Looks great, works great, and using the adapter, it's nearly plug and play.

Uses the Bose Speakers, stock antenna, and while I don't have GPS or XM radio, I could have those options for more money easy.

The important part is my PHONE.

I get in, and it's paired.

Calls come in, the music is stopped automatically, and it shows who's calling. I can tap the green phone, and talk all I want. (It uses the speakers, so you can hear great, and it comes with a mic, you place where you want, I put mine right in the middle of the dash, just above the steering wheel, it's out of sight, and it's right in front of where I talk, so it works fine.)

It was easy to run the wires that way too, just pull the gauges loose, run wires, stick on mic, and put gauges back into place. Done.

I ended up using a ground loop isolator, to get rid of engine noise, and turn on/off thump noise. Cheap 20.00 4 way unit from eBay works great, and was cheap/easy to add.

Mine is friction fit tight, so it's in place, does not move, rattle or look bad at all. (Looks factory too, or better than factory I've been told.)

The GUI is better than stock, but I've noticed that some new dual DIN units have improved GUI's and resolution, so it can only get better I suppose. (The music cover art shown while using the iPod could be better, but it clearly is easy to see the artwork, and the text is clear as can be.)

The DVD player works great, I've watched movies while on longer trips, and it's actually nice to listen to the dialog, and music while "not" watching the actual show. (I have mine setup to show fine while moving, but legally, you might not be able to do that in your area.)

Best part?

Under 600.00 for the whole deal.

Try that with a RNS-e.

[The_Laird]

Photos please!