Bluetooth And Parrott

[Normandg]

Installed the Parrott MK6100 in my IS250 (non Nav) last night. I must say I am pretty impressed. Let me give you all some of the good and bad that we (my son and I) ran in to. My son does this kind of thing for a living. Still, when ever you install a piece of equipment for the first time there is a learning curve.

Equipment: Parrott MK6100 (found on the web for 179.00). Harness for my IS250 was approx 70 bucks, with shipping, from www.quickharness.com. The harness was the QCJBL-1.

Time: This took about 2.5 to 3 hours.

There are a couple of options for the setup. You can hook the wires to the factory speakers or run a separate speaker. My son said if we decided to use the factory speakers we would need to run the wires back to the trunk and connect them to the wires going to the Amp. The other option was to hook up a speaker under the grill on the dash that wasn’t being used. We popped out the cover near the windshield and there was nothing in there. We were challenged to find a speaker small enough to fit (diameter wise). We had an old pair of Harman Karman computer speakers lying around and pulled a speaker out. It fit perfectly. The hole will accommodate a 2.5 to 3.0 speaker. I am not 100% sure of the size.

Connected the wire harness to the stereo system, and connected the speaker to the Parrott. Pretty straight forward. Of course, we had to connect power. The biggest challenge came with where to put the display. The Parrott web site shows the display attached to the dash. There is no good place on the IS250 to do that. I recommended the steering column. If you look at your steering column you will notice it dips down just before it gets to the instrument cluster. The display, on its little stand, just barely blocks some of the odometer.

One negative point. The tape to hold down the display is not very good. Even after cleaning the area with rubbing alcohol it does not sit well. I will need to redo this. I might take some 1000 grit sand paper and rough up a very tiny spot and redo the tape.

You have the choice of two microphone setups. One is built in to the display. The unit also comes with a secondary microphone attachment. We tried both. The built in mic’s were awful. You sound like you are in a tin can. The secondary mic’s worked much better.

The unit paired up to both my son’s phone and my phone. The Parrott also pulled the information from his and my phone books in our phones. I have a Pioneer Avic N4 in my truck with the Bluetooth adapter. The Parrott works better than the Pioneer!

The remote on the steering wheel was a minor challenge. Placement was a concern. However, we mounted it down by the cruise control with no problem.

Overall I am very pleased. The unit is small enough that it does not stand out. It works much better than I thought it would. If you want a good Bluetooth device for your IS250 (or any car) without sticking a device in your ear this is a good buy.

Norman

p.s. I might be able to post a picture here if anyone is interested.

[Knightshade]

Did you absolutely not want navigation?

because for $179 you could've had a Garmin GPS that also did bluetooth...

[Normandg]

Did you absolutely not want navigation?

because for $179 you could've had a Garmin GPS that also did bluetooth...

I bought my car used and it did not come with the nav package. I agree, I could have bought a GPS with built in bluetooth. I already have a GPS that is non-bluetooth. However, The GPS stands out and is a little more of a magnet for theft. The Parrot (I spelled it with an extra "T" in the previous post) is very small and will cut out the stereo when a call is being made or received. I really like that feature. Yes, it takes little to no effort to just turn down the stereo. Call me a gadget nut.

Norman

[Knightshade]

Oh, I meant aftermarket GPS when I asked if you didn't want navigation... the factory nav is a -horrible- value for what it offers

I guess I'd have just bought a newer GPS (with newer maps) and bluetooth built in to have it all in a single device... I store my GPS in the center console when not in use to avoid the visible theft magnet theft issue.

I do think they should have a mute button on the steering wheel stereo controls though, but I guess it's nearly as easy to just hold down mode to turn the thing off.

[lambobaby1218]

Oh, I meant aftermarket GPS when I asked if you didn't want navigation... the factory nav is a -horrible- value for what it offers

I guess I'd have just bought a newer GPS (with newer maps) and bluetooth built in to have it all in a single device... I store my GPS in the center console when not in use to avoid the visible theft magnet theft issue.

I do think they should have a mute button on the steering wheel stereo controls though, but I guess it's nearly as easy to just hold down mode to turn the thing off.

How does the Garmin provide hands-free for your cell phone through the BlueTooth? Where's the speaker and all of that?

And if you press the "mode" button long enough, it turns off the whole stereo? Cool, I love these tricks!

[Normandg]

There are several GPS models that offer bluetooth with the GPS. I bought one for my son-in-law for Christmas. I bought him the Magellan. I don't recall which model. I believe it was the 3140 that I bought him. He likes it.

Norman

[Knightshade]

Yeah...quite a few GPSes now have built in mic and speaker for handsfree bluetooth.... many also include an FM transmitter or some other way to use it wireless via the car stereo, though I think that's mainly used for things like listening to audiobooks or mp3s you have loaded on the GPS

and yes, hold down mode for a few seconds and it'll turn the stereo system on or off :)

[mr_raider]

Thanks for the write-up. Post some pics when you can, as I am thinking of going with a similar unit. Looks like the smallest units are the best choice here. Did you consider getting one of the compact kits, ie. visor or cup holder type?