TIMEPORT
I've had a StarTac Sprint PCS phone for several years, and initially had no plans to upgrade until I saw a deal on some parts from a guy who had the factory Timeport install and upgraded to Motorola V60. I did some checking and thought that what was being sold was all I needed and could be done for about $700-800 bucks - installed. Well, everybody screws up sometime. In this case, what happened was that the parts I bought were about 1/3 of the parts needed in the vehicle to do the job which I found out after making the purchase.

The saga reads as follows:
I found a 'good deal' for the parts to install the Timeport from a guy who was upgrading his system from a Timeport to the V60, believing (based on my specific questions to him about this) that these parts were all that was necessary. The parts I purchased were as follows: (all part # are MBUSA numbers)

PSE Unit Q6820648
Cradle Q6820649
Coilcord Q6820464

These bits ran me $250

I also purchased a Motorola factory refurbished MB Timeport model P8367 (Sprint PCS) for $270 from Clairparts. The factory new ones were about $450.

My dealer estimated 3.5 hours of shoptime (@ $80/hr for $280)

The total estimate was $800 complete with dealer installation. Now the bad news.

I get to the dealer, and the big revelation is that when I purchased the in-vehicle parts, the cabling and other critical parts to complete the installation are not factory pre-installed, but are part of the 'Standard Telephone Kit', MBUSA part number Q6820563 and were probably still in the vehicle of the guy who sold me the parts (and who is a frequent poster on the forum). So my dealer's parts manager wants to sell me a complete kit, telling me that the $800 price for the kit is less than the $1200 it would cost me to buy the remaining parts I need individually.

Not liking that price, I contacted Kevin at Clairparts and he provided me with a listing of exactly what remaining parts I needed and a price for those remaining parts, which was actually $525, not the $1200 quoted by my dealer.

Then, I contacted my dealer's parts manager again who provided story #2 - that he could not order the 2001 individual parts, only kits. At that point, I advised him that there was another supplier who was willing to do so. We then commenced with story #3 which was that he could get all the parts except for 3 cables which he did not have individual part numbers for. I then read him with the part numbers of the cables which he was then miraculously able to find in his system, but could only get for over $600. I told him I had a quote of $525 which he then finally to meet.

The additional parts to complete the kit are:

Compensator (dual band) Q6820657 (big bucks)
Install hardware general Q6820462
Cable, PSE/ Optical D2B Q6820672
Cable, Coax Ant to Ecall Q6820673
Cable, Coax Ant to GPS Q6820674
Bracket, Compensator Q6820473
Antenna Switch, Dual Band Q6820652 (lesser bucks)
Template, Installation Q6820481

As I said, total for these was $525.

We're now at $1325 installed. Note that the factory price for a Timeport is $1395 - and I bought a refurb phone, not a new one.


Lessons learned:

1. If you're buying something secondhand, all the assurances in the world that you're getting everything you need to do what you want to do are of little value. You really won't know until you lay the parts out on the table with the technician and do a parts & pieces count.

2. Do business with guys you can trust. I highly recommend Kevin at Clairparts.

3. Dealers prices on parts and kits seem to be a moving target. Refer to lesson #2 above.

4. $1325 was WAY above what I wanted to spend to integrate a phone into the vehicle considering that I had a working StarTac, non-integrated, sitting in a holder on the dash. Although the $800 was a lot for a phone, the prospective reduction from dealer list was large enough that the added functionality of MCS integration was worth it. Unfortunately, by having to do it in chunks, for the money I'm ultimately spending, I should have just bought the damn V60 and been done with it and gotten the additional capabilities that come with the V60.

As of 4/12/02, the installation was completed. The install cost a total of $825 - - $525 for parts and a flat $300 for the labor and tax to do the install. So, bottom line, we fininshed it for about $1345. I love it. The sound quality is fantastic and I love the integration with the MCS - cd, radio & tape.

So, why switch from the StarTac to Timeport (basically the same phone)? I kept the same wireless carrier and plan (SprintPCS).

1. The Startac rode in the combo CLIE / phone holder on the dash I mentioned earlier. It was another power cord hanging down into the aux 12VDC receptacle that ran everything else over by the passenger's side. When I was driving alone, who cares? Once the wife got in, she was constantly banging her legs / purse against the power cords.

2. I used a boom headset to plug into the cell phone for hands free operation. See earlier cockpit management comments. I don't like people who drive around with one hand holding a cell phone, believing that they'd probably drive better holding the phone between their cheeks (pick a set). Also, the headphone does tend to block more outside sounds which are useful cues when driving (No your Honor, I didn't hear that train coming).

3. The phone was one more piece of crap hanging off the dashboard, and I'm mildly organizationally compulsive after being in the Navy for so many years. No fuzzy dice, no St. Christopher, no crystal danglie from my mirror either.

4. When the phone rings, you've got to quickly transition the CD player down, answer the phone, plug in the headset all while staying in your lane. Many phones, including the StarTac, will not ring externally if you keep the headset plugged in, so you can miss calls.

5. I love the integration of the radio / tape player / CD with the phone. When traveling out of town, I listen to a lot of books on tape and the incoming call feature which mutes other audio is great.

6. The voice quality of the ML installed mike is truly outstanding. It has excellent noise cancellation and is less subject to wind noise when driving with a window or the sunroof open. Audio through the speakers is good also, without losing a feel for sounds coming from outside the vehicle. Oftentimes callers have no idea I'm on a handsfree speakerphone.

7. I use the same memory / internal phone book in the vehicle that is in the Timeport. One negative is that you only get to use the first of four numbers that can be stored in each of the phone's memory locations (up to 99 locations). The workaround, is if I need to call someone at one of their other numbers in slot 2 through 4 of a location, I simply open the phone up and manually select that location just like I was away from the vehicle. When I select the number and press talk on the phone, the MCS system takes the call over using the vehicles internal mike & speakers.

8. One other gripe. I have caller ID and the MCS simply says "CALL" when I get an incoming call. Once I answer, THEN I get the caller ID info. I think MB programmed that one bass-ackwards, because I'd rather know who's calling before I answer. That engineer should be sent to the Russian front in a punishment battalion.

9. The phone cradle mounts in the center armrest console, and actually does not take up the whole console. One more thing out of view ( from a theft deterrence standpoint), off the dashboard, is a good thing. See earlier comment about wife and cockpit crap management.

Bottom line, it was expensive and I wish it was cheaper, but I'd do it again.


Continued on next post . . . .