The 99s ship with a nifty phone interface. Direct dialing on dash, hands free, detachable, etc. The problem is your only option is a motorola analog phone. Most markets are now much chaper if you can go digital and motorola makes a digital phone that would fit in the car kit. Please tell me somone is working on this and that there is a chance the digital phone will work or even better there might be a way to use another car kit.

Because of the way the systems in your car are configured, you cannot use any other phone with the OE system in my experience. I have seen some radio installation shops do an acceptible job on the install. ASK TO SEE PICS OF PREVIOUS WORK ON HIGH LINE AUTO'S.

THE 1999 MODEL CARS ARE SET-UP TO USE FIBER-OPTIC "BUS CABLES" FROM PHONE & CD SYSTEMS, SO ONLY "FACTORY" PHONES ARE SET-UP FOR PREWIRED OPERATION.

Would this mean that if MB engineered a digital phone that used the fiber cables that we might be able to go digital with the 99 interface. I have gotten e-mails from no less than 20 other owners who are all trying to find the same solution.

It depends on if they set up the software to handle digital phones. My guess is they did.
I think we will see them soon.

The answer to your question is no. You can not boost the signal of a digital phone. The factory MB is a 3watt car phone, or portable with a 3watt booster. The only thing you could do for a digital phone is to have a handsfree kit, you CAN NOT boost a digital phones signal, it will remain a 6/10 of a watt(or less). I am sure in the future MB will go to digital handsfree kits. But right now digital has a VERY small footprint in the US as opposed to analog.

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Adrian Eckenrod Technician at GTE Wireless
MBCA, PCA, BMWCCA & SCCA* member
86 190 2.3-16
87 190 2.3-16
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[This message has been edited by RAE190 (edited 03-18-99).]