Radio/Sat Nav

[IanA2]

Anyone any experience/views on the Blaupunk(!) DX R52....any good as satnav....any good as a radio/cd changer? I've inherited a Kenwood which has far too many silly and really tiny buttons taht does somersaults and spins every time you look at it. I would like a satnav radio and disc stack for reasonable money...the punk looks to be ok but I don't know, they always used to make good gear but I havn't bought one for a while. Thoughts appreciated.

 

[miro]

Anyone any experience/views on the Blaupunk(!) DX R52....any good as satnav....any good as a radio/cd changer? I've inherited a Kenwood which has far too many silly and really tiny buttons taht does somersaults and spins every time you look at it. I would like a satnav radio and disc stack for reasonable money...the punk looks to be ok but I don't know, they always used to make good gear but I havn't bought one for a while. Thoughts appreciated.

Which car is it going into ?

 

[IanA2]

Car is an

1992 Sl500

 

[miro]

1992 Sl500

I know it has been done with both aftermarket and COMAND modules. Dont recall by whom. I think the experience of the navigation is limited to the car it is going in. In some cars it just ruins the drivers access to controls. I dont know how much you value ergonomics over design. Im sure it will be fine.

 

[nickmann]

Anyone any experience/views on the Blaupunk(!) DX R52....any good as satnav....any good as a radio/cd changer? I've inherited a Kenwood which has far too many silly and really tiny buttons taht does somersaults and spins every time you look at it. I would like a satnav radio and disc stack for reasonable money...the punk looks to be ok but I don't know, they always used to make good gear but I havn't bought one for a while. Thoughts appreciated.

Hi,
I have just acquired a Blaupunkt TravelPilot E1. I fitted it on Monday night. The radio sound is fab, better than my old Pioneer 2500. The stereo separation is more obvious. CD's play fine, but it doesn't display the album name. Haven't tested CD-R or RW, and I'm not going to get a changer as it supports the Dension Ice-Link for my iPod.

I haven't tried the nav yet as I thought I would use the TeleAtlas Command DX discs, but it needs a newer TeleAtlas 'E' disc, which is now on its way.

It seems simple enough. Fitting took about 30 mins, including my phone kit. There are a few buttons, but the best thing is the 2 rotary knobs for menu selection, volume etc.

 

[IanA2]

Wheel kit??

Nick,

That's very helpful, and I think your right, an ipod would be a better buy than a stack. About time I got one. It sounds silly but I too like the two big rotary knobs, can't be bothered with all the fiddly little buttons. Did you need to use a wheel kit? I think I need to call MercTech to find out if I need one for a 92 SL500.

Thansk again

Ian

 

[nickmann]

No Wheel kit required - just plugged straight in as the speed sensor is in the loom on mine. About 1992 is exactly when you need to be checking I would say. It tracks 7 or 8 satelites with the antenna on the dash. It gets a position after about a minute on cold start. I haven't done the auto calibration yet as I am waiting for the Navi CD, and I can't be bothered with the manual calib.

I didn't bother with the reversing sensor as I have no plans to travel that far in reverse ;-)

They have all the bits at bluespot.co.uk I got mine (unit and disc) on eBay. The Dension Ice thingy is about £110 IIRC and will be fine if you are not so fussy about the sound, as the audio out from the iPod is not CD quality. Not on mine anyway.

I think I will get the remote control as well.

 

[IanA2]

Nick,

I've been looking at bluespot too, they seem to have the best prices, I spoke to another supplier who said that bluespot was not an authorised supplier and I could have warranty problems, but then he was try to charge £200 more!!!! I bought my Origin b2 from an "unauthorised" source, I told Origin and they were fine about it, so I say this to the other guy.....reduce your prices!!!!!
I wondered about the remote. As I envisage it, the remote sits on the inside of the wheel.....for me that would make me nervous the way I go round corners! Still maybe I'll adjust from my SLK driving style to a more sedate SL style....(but I doubt it!!!)


Thanks again

Ian

 

[MB320SL]

An alternative to Blaupunkt?

I've just bought a Becker Traffic Pro High Speed of Ebay for £240 for my SL320 and it's fantastic. Becker make the sat nav units for Ferrari, Maserati, Porsche and I believe Mercedes (Mercedes APS 30 is a Becker), so the unit is very good quality, with just a few buttons, very intuitive inputs, yellow display option and it looks like factory fit.

The Traffic Pro High Speed (high memory than other models = faster route calculations) also benefits from twin tuners, so one of the tuners is always scanning for better signals and you have an instant array of stations to choose from. The twin tuners also enable you to listen to a radio station whilst the other tuner locks on to a TMC station, which updates the sat nav and re-routes you around possible delays.

The sat nav side works very well with just a simple input of postcodes if you require and fitting cost me £50. You can now buy new units for under £400 as I think Becker have brought out some newer models, so the High Speed has been kept on as a budget model but it was one of the top models until recently and certainly performs lilke one.

Hope this helps.

 

[mapleleaf]

becker traffic pro is great in the SL . you can also hook up a phatnoise to it www.phatnoise.com

 

[MB320SL]

The Phatnoise range looks great, although I'm not really into my ICE and would be quite happy with a CD changer if I could be bothered to look for one.

Anyone know which is the latest nav disc for the Becker Traffic Pro High Speed?

 

[mapleleaf]

the BEcker TMC doesnt work yet in UK.
I have a BEcker traffic pro high speed & becker cd changer for sale if anones interested - have a look at the classifieds

 

[IanA2]

Gone Travel pilot, just missed a Becker on eBay (by £0.05p !), but got a good deal on a virtually new TP.