[MLB]

Finally replaced the old head unit that had a broken display, with a new "mech-less" Blaupunkt (Brisbane 230). Sure, probably not the best in a lot of ways, but I care about the simplicity of the appearance and I like retaining the Blaupunkt brand. Also, it has bluetooth, USB, SD card slot, detachable face, very lightweight. This is a huge step forward for me  :0)

 

   

 

So I also bought a Zapco 4 channel amp for a little smoother power, which will probably go in the right rear wheel well of my cab, now that I've removed the 41# 'boat anchor'.

 

Is the pictured spot in the back (red arrow) a good place where I can reliably ground the amp?

Thanks

 

   

 
 

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[wildcat]

Should be fine. You didn't ask about "hot", going to splice it in?

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[MLB]

Thanks for your reply wildcat

Im not so savvy about electrical lingo, so im not sure what you mean, would you rephrase that?

I will be running a fused power lead from the battery, but the amp's manual cautioned against grounding to a body panel in favor of the 'frame'. but for our unibody cars i just wanted to be sure that was a ground first of all, and a good one for my new 4 x 60W amp

Thanks

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[wildcat]

The "hot" would be the positive lead...  There's a bundled cable running from the Blaupunkt to the Zapco which in this case includes the hot lead, otherwise you would have to tap into a "hot" source somewhere near the ground for the amp.  My car came with a second amp and some kind of location receiver, both located behind the left rear wheel well.   They had been spliced into a hot source in the trunk off the bundle that supplies the wiring for taillights etc. made for that purpose.  But its on the left side, which is why I asked. 

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[968Syncro]

Thanks for writing MLB, I am shopping for a new unit myself.  (old one CD "mech" broken) leaving essentially only FM.  And I very strongly favor the minimalist appearance.

 

Question:  did this one slide in / plug in or did you have to cut and splice in the new harnesses?

 

I buy almost all audio at Crutchfield, the reviews are good:  http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LCYxEk6UbCS...y-CDs.html

 

One concern from the reviews is radio reception, a couple mentioned stations that worked before are now weak or static.  (receiver sensitivity probably).   Oddly that spec isn't published on Crutchfield.   That is already a big problem with my current setup :  968 coupe with long antenna run, AM essentially doesn't work at all.   Any comment on that?

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[MLB]

Hi Roland, I bought from Crutchfield also, and yeah I was a little concerned based on some of the reviews for this particular unit too. But even though Ive only had it operational for a couple days, in the garage, I think radio reception seems fine, and it tunes to stations properly, no need to set to "European" mode or whatever. But I listen to CDs way more than radio so maybe I haven't yet noticed whats missing. Bluetooth-ing toons from my iPhone is great! I don't think I hear any background noise that others have reported, jury is still out on that point. but the convenience is amazing, leaving me wondering why I didn't make even this inexpensive upgrade a year or two ago.

 

I'm already loving the iPhone connectivity, hands-free calls (there apparently is a built in mic somewhere despite a mini phono jack wired into the back of the head unit) because I got a call from dear old dad while I was sitting in the car fiddling with the new settings, and he could hear me just fine, blue toothed.

 

I just did a "seek" sweep through the AM band, don't know if this is good or not (I never listen to AM radio):

Good reception on 970, 1310, 1480, 1670, and that was it

poor reception on 940, 1070, and those 6 stations were the only ones automatically recognized. Manual scanning on other frequencies was just static.

 

My car (93 Cab) has apparently only had Blaupunkts since new, so the car wiring harness was intact and I just had to unplug the old unit and plug in the new one. What a relief! Well I did remove the center console because I wanted to know how that goes together, and that made it easier to put in the new "cage" that came with the Brisbane, which the lightweight head unit clicks into, since it gave me a fresh unmutilated install. Soon I'll be going back in to wire the amplifier, and then the slippery slope of getting into the doors to replace the speakers I will inevitably blow when they are driven with some real power…

 

Right now I'm trying to figure out the rules for using SD Cards. But these things are a fun part of this new adventure. Only thing I wish was that the finish was satin black instead of shiny.

 

--Michael

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