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@centerpunch I have a cab, so no defrost. What would you recommend I tap into to do this mod?
Looks like cabrios have a mirror heat switch instead of the rear window defrost switch, in the same location next to the fog light switch above the radio, right?
According to my reading of the Bentley manual, your cabrio mirror heat switch should have a solid purple wire, which is connected exactly like the solid purple wire on the coupe rear window defroster switch.
So you should be able to use the same wiring instructions for your car.
The Frankfurt introduces later Bluetooth version support (I am not sure which version, but it's 5.x) over the Bremen
The Frankfurt is able to to play FLAC natively, the Bremen cannot
The Bremen supports the older 30-pin Apple devices, the Frankfurt does not
They are pretty much the same apart from aesthetics!
Initial impressions:
Feature rich, and does everything you'd expect from a modern single-DIN unit
Bluetooth works great, my typical use-case is Google Maps + TuneIn playing on the iPhone, and these play, via BT, through the headunit and car speakers just fine
DAB doesn't interest me so much so didn't bother with the DAB aerial for now.
Whilst the unit is supplied with a dedicated mic, there is also a mic on the front of the headunit itself (see above/left of the volume ****) and is supposed to be good enough for conversations. I am yet to test this and will decide on plugging in the mic after seeing how it goes.
The biggest let down (so far) is build quality. FYI I have had a Becker Grand Prix for the last 9 years. The Frankfurt is definitely a 'Made in China' product, whereas the Becker felt like a 'Made in Germany' product. The Frankfurt's buttons feel really cheap, hollow, 'plastiky' and clicky. The press of a button on the Becker vs Blaupunkt is what I think closing a door on a Porsche 993 and a VW Up would compare like - - the Becker just oozes quality from a 'tactility' perspective.
As I say, early days, so eager to see how others get on with theirs. Do post back with your thoughts once installed .
My experience with VW doors is that they are very solid. At least the older bugs. My dad bought a new 1963 bug and you had to crack the window to shut the door properly it was put togther so well and air tight.
No, the illumination is very poor regardless of which colour you use. Great at night or in the garage but hopeless in daylight. I have wondered if the dash light dimming feature is permanently switched to low. Need to check if it responds to the instrument dimmer. If not maybe worth disconnecting at the plug.
I just installed this radio. Like some others have mentioned the screen just isn't visible in moderate to bright sunlight. It really is a design flaw of this radio.
I used the Mini ISO-RCA harness for Blaupunkt SQR 46 harness from Tore to make quick work of the installation in a hifi-equipped car. Hifi cars don't have the "B" plug, so you need something like Tore's harness to connect the RCA outs into the factory C1 connector along with the amplifier activation signal.
Also, the dimmer signal is just a switch activated with 12v. In the radio's settings, configure the dimmer for "auto" and it will switch between its day and night brightness settings automatically when 12v is applied to that wire. As Tore mentions in his instructions, the ash tray light is a convenient place to get that 12v signal.
Unlike the factory radio, the car's dimmer rheostat won't adjust the intensity of the radio backlight. The auto dimming is binary, either daytime mode or nighttime mode. If you turn down the brightness using the car's dimmer dial, you can actually get the voltage to the ashtray light too low to signal the radio's backlight switch. Just FYI if you want the auto-dimming and like to keep your dash lights' intensity turned way down.
I just installed this radio. Like some others have mentioned the screen just isn't visible in moderate to bright sunlight. It really is a design flaw of this radio.
I used the Mini ISO-RCA harness for Blaupunkt SQR 46 harness from Tore to make quick work of the installation in a hifi-equipped car. Hifi cars don't have the "B" plug, so you need something like Tore's harness to connect the RCA outs into the factory C1 connector along with the amplifier activation signal.
Also, the dimmer signal is just a switch activated with 12v. In the radio's settings, configure the dimmer for "auto" and it will switch between its day and night brightness settings automatically when 12v is applied to that wire. As Tore mentions in his instructions, the ash tray light is a convenient place to get that 12v signal.
Unlike the factory radio, the car's dimmer rheostat won't adjust the intensity of the radio backlight. The auto dimming is binary, either daytime mode or nighttime mode. If you turn down the brightness using the car's dimmer dial, you can actually get the voltage to the ashtray light too low to signal the radio's backlight switch. Just FYI if you want the auto-dimming and like to keep your dash lights' intensity turned way down.
Does it mean there is no way to increase the illumination ?
10-16-2023, 12:34 PM
