[BLUEBYU]

Has anyone installed or looked into hands free cellphone kits for the IS300? I would like to find something that will fit into the center compartment that would have a quick release for a Nokia phone. I haven't done any searching yet just wondering what people are doing.

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Spectra Blue
Black Leather Ecsaine

 

[QuikVR6]

Blue my aunt has a hands free kit for her Nokia phone and it's installed on her center compartment..though it's not a real clean looking job. Try www.nokia.com

 

[lhn5]

The sound from hands-free units are awful, especially for the person you are talking to. I put some velcro on my phone and on the cupholder cover, and while driving, keep it there and wear a headset. Absolutely crystal clear with plenty of volume. And of course the phone pops right off the velcro when I need to take it with me. I guess I should package some Ecsaine coordinated velcro patches with some instructions and sell a kit.

 

[TEG]

A company called "Com" makes a Nokia hands free cradle that recharges, and swivels on the cigarette lighter. I found one for $39 on the net, and ordered one. Hopefully the sound quality will be acceptable.

 

[BLUEBYU]

Or you could use a big-ol rubber band and attach it to your head

. I figured since the IS is so quiet that hands free would be a perfect match.

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Spectra Blue
Black Leather Ecsaine

 

[BLUEBYU]

TEG - Does that unit fit in the center compartment? Do you have a link to the site you ordered from?

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Spectra Blue
Black Leather Ecsaine

[From TEG:

http://www.1800mobiles.com/1800mobiles/navfor51and6.html


[This message has been edited by TEG (edited November 05, 2000).]

 

[Almost There]

Don't have my IS yet, but I do have a Nokia Kit for my 6160.

I had the same mounting question when I bought mine. The installer had the best Idea. He had a thin metal bar that he shaped to fit behind the cover for radio/ac controls. (it's retangular plastic piece that snaps in around the radio and a/c to hide the screws). Anyway, when that piece is put back, just the cradle for the phone shows and it's angled toward me and sturdy.

About the kit:
I love it and would never own another car w/o one. The phone goes in/out of the kit very easily. It snaps in and a big button on top releases it. It mutes the radio on incomming/outgoing calls, sounds GREAT (no one ever knows they're on speaker), comes with a handset and always has full signal strength. The handset quality is the best i've ever heard from a cell phone. It honestly sounds like a land line.

ps> on the negative side, it will SEVERLY reduce the life of your battery because of the constant charging. Don't let anyone fool you by saying the Li batteries don't develop memories, they're just a little more resistant.

Hope this helps,
J

(i'm trying to get a pic for u. . . soon as I can figure out how to post one)
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Perception IS Reality

[This message has been edited by Almost There (edited November 05, 2000).]

 

[Iridium130]

heh heh friend sent me that picture of the best hands free kit on the market. :P

[This message has been edited by Iridium130 (edited November 05, 2000).]

 

[BLUEBYU]

HA perfect! Might be hard to dial though

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Spectra Blue
Black Leather Ecsaine

 

[Almost There]

First, JIGGAFETT: Sorry to use your pic, it was just readily available. . . if there's a problem, let me know and I'll remove it.

Bluebyu,

It's crude looking here, but the best i can do on short notice. The cover for the A/C controls could easily be removed. The installer then gets (they usually have this stuff, unless your doing it) a thin piece of metal, kinda like a ruler.

The ends are bent, so it's like a squared "C". One end gets drilled and screwed in somewhere behind that plastic panel (cover). The other should be parallel with the rest of the dash, or angled toward you (driver's seat). The cradle gets attached to that end. Feed the appropriate wires from the cradle into the dash, so they won't show.

Now put the plastic cover back. Now you have the cradle in a good spot, like the pic, you won't see any wires, and it's easy to dial. It's level with the natural position of your hands on the wheel. It also takes up no space!! The speaker could go in the space you talked about earlier. Best of all, you could have it removed with no trace or drilled holes in the car.

ps> I don't have a digital camera, so it'll be a while before I could get a pic of the setup in my car. It's really similar, but it's not an IS. It doesn't look tacky either. . . very professional looking and functional. It's really hard to explain how to install it like this (i don't have TEG's talent in explaining mods), so if it's too confusing, email me and I'll try better. . .

J

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Perception IS Reality

[This message has been edited by Almost There (edited November 05, 2000).]

 

[BLUEBYU]

That would work perfectly! How sturdy is the assembly? You mentioned a 'thin metal bar' would this be sturdy enough to handle pressing the release button? And would this put any stress on the radio A/C panel? Design sounds pretty well thought out. I will see if someone here in SD can do this right.

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Spectra Blue
Black Leather Ecsaine

 

[Almost There]

It's very sturdy. The bar is about the thickness of a 2 CD's. The release button is on the top of the cradle. It's very ergonomic and feels natural.

As far as stress goes, it's not a problem in my car. It depends on what's back there to mount it on. Remember though, the cradle usually just screws directly into the center consol, so it doesn't require a lot of sturdiness to begin with. I think that mine ties directly in with the mounting screws for my radio.

If you get your kit from a wireless store, see if they can recommend someone for installation. The guy that did mine did a great job and seemed to have done this setup many times before. I'm sure that's the case with most professional installers. Kinda easy to do it yourself too.

J

 

[Stephen]

I have the COM cradle for my StarTAC that TEG mentioned. It works very well. It hooks into the cigarette lighter, and is perfectly postioned in the LS. The only problem I've found is that there seems to be a electrical whine that comes though the car speakers when the phone is docked. I'm going to take it back and see if its just this particular unit. It works well, sounds nice and clear but it is a little quiet for the person on the other end. What I do is use the earpeice and the cradle. The cradle holds and charges the phone, and the earpeice provides good sound. Whatever you do don't buy a JABRA earpeice, awful. I can post a picture of the unit with the phone docked if anyone would like to see it.

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Stephen Withrow
[email protected]

98 Lexus LS400
97 Ford Explorer Limited

 

[TEG]

I think those Nokia phones are "noisy" with RF. Everytime I use my phone near a PC, I hear buzzing coming from the PCs speaker system.

Acutally it is like an "early warning"... My PC will start buzzing moments before the phone starts ringing on an incoming call.

 

[Sweetzzzz]

I have the Nokia hands free kit in my IS. It fits perfect. Its loud enough to hear and you don't have to be yelling crazy. I think it cost like 50 bucks. You can adjust it to whateva height you want.

 

[tony]

Originally posted by TEG:
I think those Nokia phones are "noisy" with RF. Everytime I use my phone near a PC, I hear buzzing coming from the PCs speaker system.

Acutally it is like an "early warning"... My PC will start buzzing moments before the phone starts ringing on an incoming call.

That's something that all Digital (CDMA,PCS,GSM) phones will do. Doesn't happen with analog phones. However, the Nokias are one of the noisiest and most radiation-emitting phones around.


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Tony
'01 Spectra Blue
'94 Turbo Miata

 

[TEG]

My old Sprint phone (all Digital Sony Z-phone), didn't make PCs emit weird noises like the Nokia does.

But my Sprint Z-phone would drop out in elevators, tunnels, etc, whereas the Nokia seems to hold the signal much better.

 

[jayrey300]

Almost There, check this out! This is the new 'Hands Free' kit for all portable cellular phones.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=1319093&a=9799619&p=32502794

Just want to let you know that this is not me. this is a picture that i have found in the internet.

[This message has been edited by jayrey300 (edited November 06, 2000).]