Insight on F700BT installs

[SeanP]

I picked up two F700BT from my friends who was at a local closing CC store. A few remaining questions:

 

Is it ok to mount the xm antenna with the gps on the same grounding plate under the dash, or should the xm antenna be externally mounted?

 

The parking brake switch, does it have to be mounted to the ebrake / or ground it to chasis?

 

Is reverse gear signal input a must?

 

P920XM wiring harness, does the yellow power cable need a direct connection to the battery or can I tap a constant power supply?

 

 

 

Any other wiring tips/tricks would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks.

[offroaderf150]

I picked up two F700BT from my friends who was at a local closing CC store. A few remaining questions:

 

Is it ok to mount the xm antenna with the gps on the same grounding plate under the dash, or should the xm antenna be externally mounted?

 

 

The parking brake switch, does it have to be mounted to the ebrake / or ground it to chasis?

 

Is reverse gear signal input a must?

 

P920XM wiring harness, does the yellow power cable need a direct connection to the battery or can I tap a constant power supply?

 

 

 

Any other wiring tips/tricks would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks.

 

 

the xm antenna needs to be on the outside with a view to the sky to get the best reception possible. many have mounted it on the dash with no problems, but it depends on how many repeaters are in your area and how well the signal can reach the dashboard.

 

 

for the parking brake....look under the hacks and mods section and there are sticky threads on how the bypass the f series units.

 

reverse signal is only needed if you have a back up camera

 

on the 920xm module, you can hook the yellow up to the constant that the 700 is connected to. it only pulls like 1 amp of power. [/b]

[Ken Wolkens]

My antenna's are both on the Dash up front. Nav works perfectly but keep in mind there are like 7 GPS satellites up there and the unit only uses 3. The Sat Radio is a different story. Not as many Satellites up there so my reception gets dicey when the weather turns to crap. Otherwise it seems to be good. When the weather warms up, I'll relocate the Sat Radio antenna outside up high.

 

Ken

[BorisM]

There are something like 24 GPS satellites, and unit needs _at least_ 3 satellites to get basic positioning info (4 for 3D positioning), and they need to be reasonably far from each other for accuracy. Depending on the car GPS antenna will work on the dash or under the dash, but it is far from optimal.

[SeanP]

alright got delayed today but got 1 out of 2 installed! Couple of quick questions I still have:

 

When i attempt to connect my wifes blackberry it holds a connection for a minute before says "connection terminated". What could be causing the issue?

 

Could not having the bluetooth update cause the dropping issue? It recognizes under phone settings it shows the blackberry 8330 (shows the service provider/battery life for a min) before disconnecting.

 

I downloaded the 2.0/BT update but I thought i could use one of my sd cards but its the wrong size lol...

[offroaderf150]

i believe that the bluetooth update had a fix for the blackberry but not 100 percent sure. my lg voyager didnt need it so i didnt mess with it. i think that there were 2 different bluetooth updates and it depended on what type of phone you had.

[terron]

s it ok to mount the xm antenna with the gps on the same grounding plate under the dash, or should the xm antenna be externally mounted?

 

The parking brake switch, does it have to be mounted to the ebrake / or ground it to chasis?

 

Is reverse gear signal input a must?

 

P920XM wiring harness, does the yellow power cable need a direct connection to the battery or can I tap a constant power supply?[/i]

 

1) XM doesn't do well with being under the dash or even inside the car since it needs LOS to the equator. Sirius is more forgiving since it needs LOS to the northern sky above Minnesota or however you spell that damn state. Feel free to experiment with this.

 

2) Screw the parking brake, go read up on the hardware bypass.

 

3) Reverse is only necessary if you want a backup camera.

 

4) No direct battery post necessary; just tap into the vehicles +12v constant designated for the radio. Do yourself a favor tho; don't use the old radio ground wire; instead tap directly into the chassis somewhere.

 

When i attempt to connect my wifes blackberry it holds a connection for a minute before says "connection terminated". What could be causing the issue?

 

Could not having the bluetooth update cause the dropping issue? It recognizes under phone settings it shows the blackberry 8330 (shows the service provider/battery life for a min) before disconnecting.

 

I downloaded the 2.0/BT update but I thought i could use one of my sd cards but its the wrong size lol...

 

You need a 1GB card for the update and yes, the BB dropout was supposed to have been fixed post-2.0 (Bluetooth 3.3)

[SeanP]

Thanks again for the info guys! Hardwire bypass done and I mounted both antennas externally.

 

what type of sd card do I need to ask for? I only have duo memory sticks...not gonna work lol

[pablopsd]

I just picked up a 2 gb sd card at BB Friday for 7 dollars. I heard someone here mention staples had a 2 pack for 12. I hope what I bought works, as I am waiting for my unit to come in!