cyerger57 Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Folks, I have never been able to make a more informed decision about a purchase and I'd like to thank everyone that posted info about these F Series units for that. I purchased the Kenwood DNX8120 and I'm real happy with it. It does however lack one HUGE thing and that is a Forum Site like this. It doesn't seem there is anywhere on the WEB that has a community of users for it like this. Wish there was. I've been using the Kenwood Unit for about a week and it "Just Works". I have a whole bunch of questions about it though and nowhere really to ask them. Audio/Video is Great, NAV is Great, Bluetooth works as well as my Palm Treo will allow. The hack was easy and the XM features are fantastic. Have not tried an Ipod yet, don't have one - yet. I would especially like to thank JasonH for having the knowledge and desire to start and keep a site like this going. I will say that if Pioneer gets their act together and makes a unit that works well, I would switch to them in a heartbeat just to be able to use THIS site for info about it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VBLUE42 Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Do you know if the 8120 has an XM memo feature. The pioneers have this and it is very useful. If you memo a song to it, it will tell you when the next time that song is playing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CatchMeIfYouCan631 Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 Do you know if the 8120 has an XM memo feature. The pioneers have this and it is very useful. If you memo a song to it, it will tell you when the next time that song is playing. thats pretty awesome thought id just download it and upload it, thats a cool feature Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cyerger57 Posted June 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 This is exactly my point................. There are only 3 pages in the "very lame" manual that are associated with XM control and it doesn't list that feature. If it does have it there's no way to find out until I stumble across it. The process for finding out any info from Kenwood is "clumsy" at best, non-existant at worst. If I manage to find it, I'll post the answer. Sounds like a cool feature. If anyone out there has found a better way to find out any info, I sure would like to know about it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wratran Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 how much did the 8120 cost you? I am thinking about the same thing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cyerger57 Posted June 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 $1174 including shipping for EBay/megacarstereo.com Quick Shipping Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeinnj Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 If you get the Nav traffic GXM30 XM Radio tuner, the XM is done in a Garmin-like interface. You can do a memo like function with it. You can even compile your own list of favorite artists. When you go into your favorites list, then "Add favorites", and can scroll through the list of every song and artist currently on and just check them all off at once, or do just one at a time. When one of your favorites comes on one of your preset channels, a little heart icon appears next to the number. If you hit the "Scan" button it will continue to play your current station until one of your list of favorites starts playing on another channel, it will then automatically switch to that channel. Here's some pics: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bitman Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 you can get some kenwood info here http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=291 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeinnj Posted June 27, 2008 Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 I've been pondering setting up my own forum for Kenwoods. Just gotta find the time. DNXDomain anyone? I've been kicking the idea around. Just gotta figure out when and the best way to do it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cyerger57 Posted June 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2008 I've been pondering setting up my own forum for Kenwoods. Just gotta find the time. DNXDomain anyone? I've been kicking the idea around. Just gotta figure out when and the best way to do it. mikeinnj If you're having trouble figuring out the best way to do it, just ask JasonH. He and his buddy with the Apple 411 site have a good thing going here. Maybe it could be DNX411 or Kenwood411 and be tied to this one somehow. The biggest challenge is to get the word out so that it gets used and if it were tied to this one, this group would get the word out. I heard about AVIC411 at an eastern PA Tweeter store. If I hadn't heard about it I would have ended up with something I wasn't happy with. BTW, thanks for the info about the GXM30. Another great piece of info from this site........ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cyerger57 Posted June 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 mikeinnj I do have a question about the GXM30. That appears to be just an antenna. What I purchaced to receive XM is a KCA-XM100V and an Audiovox XM Mini Tuner. Does the GMX30 just plug into the KCA as a different antenna or does it require a different tuner? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mikeinnj Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Thats the cool part about the GXM30 is that even though it appears to be just the antenna, the XM tuner is actually built right in to the thing. The GXM 30 is actually built by Garmin and plugs into the Mini USB port on the back of the Kenwood 7120/8120. Mind you, if you get the DNX5120, you can't use the GXM30 with it and you have to buy all sorts of adapters to get XM. Even then, the XM will go through the Kenwood interface, there will be no navtraffic, etc. Don't get thrown off by the MSRP of the GXM30. I got mine from an ebay seller for about $155 shipped. Not too bad considering it does XM, traffic, and weather. It is very easy to add this to the setup too since there is no separate box that has to be hidden with power and ground leads that have to be wired. With this, just plug in the "antenna" to the back of the Kenwood and you're off to the races. Be warned though, its a bit large at about 3inches in diameter. It is best kept mounted inside of the vehicle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bitman Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 interesting info, but the dnx5220 also has a mini usb connector on the back. i had my laptop connected to it and i could see the internal memory with the maps etc of the unit or run the WebUpdater when choosing Garmin... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cyerger57 Posted June 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 interesting info, but the dnx5220 also has a mini usb connector on the back. i had my laptop connected to it and i could see the internal memory with the maps etc of the unit or run the WebUpdater when choosing Garmin... bitman I sure would like to hear a lot more about that. What did it update? I did notice that the Garmin maps already have an update available but there is a sizable charge for doing it, I believe $139. From Garmin that is...... I'll have to hook my laptop to it and see what I can see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bitman Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 not to hijack this treat (we need a dnx411.com!) i updated the tmc firmware and some voices when i connected my laptop (with g3 wrieless internet) to the dnx5220. i used the garmin webupdater. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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