CalTom Posted March 23, 2009 Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 Today i ask Pioneer support about this problem. They told me the US radio would NOT work in Europe!!!There is nothing to do about it. I have a US F700BT in Germany. The unit is working for sure, but with the frequency limitation. I do not need radio function that much, so not a big deal for me. Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jwq Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 In addition to the problems with the frequency grid, the US version also does not have RDS, and more importantly, because it has no RDS it also has no TMC / Traffic redirect, which in my opinion is an important feature missing ! ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CalTom Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 You're right, I forgot to mention this, to not have RDS and TMC is really a PITA. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paQ Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 TMC in The Netherlands proved to be totally useless. I drove around with TMC on my navigation systems for over 7 years now, and maybe 4 times (in all those years) has helped me to find a REASONABLE detour, instead of getting stuck in other traffic. Simply because normally it is faster to just stand in line on the highway (normally) instead of getting stuck in all detouring traffic. (TMC doesn't take busy traffic on roads other than highways) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jwq Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 TMC in The Netherlands proved to be totally useless.I drove around with TMC on my navigation systems for over 7 years now, and maybe 4 times (in all those years) has helped me to find a REASONABLE detour, instead of getting stuck in other traffic. Simply because normally it is faster to just stand in line on the highway (normally) instead of getting stuck in all detouring traffic. (TMC doesn't take busy traffic on roads other than highways) Personally, I actually find it very usefull, even if only for checking where the traffic jams are.... In the near future it's going to be even more usefull in the Netherlands, as some providers are now preparing to use the movement info from mobile phone operators to update the TMC data, like TOMTOM is already doing.... However, it's not just about The Netherlands... On another note, I would also not like to miss RDS anymore, together with all the features it comes with... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paQ Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 In that case it is very simple: Spend double the money for an EW model (on which you need a TMC module as well?) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jwq Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 In that case it is very simple:Spend double the money for an EW model (on which you need a TMC module as well?) No, that's the whole point, European models have this all built in (RDS/TMC).... However, I have a HD3BT-II (=European version of Z3) myself, so not a problem... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paQ Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 But it is still twice the price Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dianebrat Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 But it is still twice the price And the US version won't have the TMC function no matter what, since the US doesn't use it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chorca Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 Replacing any boards would most likely require you to replace the entire A/V board, which from the looks of it, would not be cheap at all. Theoretically since they're all synthesized tuners, they can tune to anywhere in their band split that the software tells them to. Most likely there's an initial programming at the factory that sets up whether it's US or EU, and depending upon that, settings like RDS, FM/AM frequencies, MSN Direct freqs, etc are set up. The service remote is interesting, my JVC TV has one like it. There's a special remote control that technicians and service personnel can get that allows you to get into certain functions that are normally not available on the unit. It's possible there's some sort of menu in there that requires a remote, and that may have some initial setup options such as region, so I suppose it's a possibility. I just don't think that they'd manufacture two different AV/processor boards for two different regions when the differences can be taken care of in software. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paQ Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 my thoughts exactly Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catastrat Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 So: I have the service manual with electronic parts, etc - but I cannot really tell if there's any difference. Is someone more knowledgeable to take a look? P.S. I have an F900BT unit from US. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chorca Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 So: I have the service manual with electronic parts, etc - but I cannot really tell if there's any difference.Is someone more knowledgeable to take a look? P.S. I have an F900BT unit from US. As I just posted in another thread (viewtopic.php?f=34&t=20996&p=155709#p155709) I've been looking through the service manual, and there doesn't seem to be any difference in the tuners. The service manual uses RDS/TMC/MSN Direct fairly interchangeably, so it seems it might be the same bits inside. The manual doesn't contain any schematics or block diagram of the Navigation board, which is where the TMC/RDS/MSND receiver lives, so without looking under the little cans on the board, it's hard to tell what they're using. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jwq Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 The only thing I could image is that they just leave out the specific components on the US version/board, also explaining in part the price difference.... You'd have to open up a US version to check.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jwq Posted March 25, 2009 Report Share Posted March 25, 2009 I just checked the service manual for the Z3 / HD3 , and there they actually specify 2 different circuits for the Z3 and HD3. Busses are the same, but number of connections used are different between the 2 versions. I could image that they use differently programmed microcontrolers for the 2 versions.... Probably the same applies for the F-series.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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