Freddy B

Olds Fans,

I want to up grade my 71 Cutlass Supreme radio to a double din with built in navigation for cruising from state to state after I retire in the near future. I saw a custom mode made by a member here. Does anyone know if he is still making them or has used one? I think his name was Randy but I am not sure.

Lady72nRob71

I think Randy sold the underdash 8-track housings to where you can add an aftermarket radio. Not sure if it will hold a double-din unit though...

Freddy B

I saw a few he did that were custom. Do you have his contact info? Do you know if he is still selling them?

Lady72nRob71

Pretty sure it's this guy -
W70442
Tell him Rob sencha!

MDchanic

Might be easier to use one of the single-DIN units with a fold-out screen.

- Eric

Freddy B

Thanks Rob I will. To Eric I have though about that as well but I have not had much luck finding a new unit. Everyone I have seen are double din units

MDchanic

Gotcha. I'm not up on this stuff, myself. If I need to look at a map, I just pull out my phone, or pull over and unfold a paper one .

- Eric

Lady72nRob71

To be honest, putting a gps unit underdash is not a good idea, safety-wise, unless you DO plan to pull off the road to use it. In the 8-track case it will be way too low to see clearly and to operate.

Freddy B

I know it would be hard to operate while driving. But The plan is to set a destination before beginning to drive and listen to the turn-by-turn voice guidance.

MDchanic

I hate to say this, since I love cool gadgets as much as the next red-blooded American guy, but you might do better with a freestanding Garmin or Tom Tom unit with a permanently mounted concealed speaker and some sort of a dashboard or glove compartment mount.

It could serve it's purpose when you need it, without interfering with the car stereo, and "disappear" when you don't need it.

- Eric

jaunty75

But these free-standing units have speakers built into them. Why would you want another speaker mounted somewhere?


Here's a nice-looking, single-DIN navigation receiver. You don't see many with the single-DIN styling because, I imagine, you lose so much in screen real estate. But if you want to make it work, it can happen.





http://www.autoaccents.com/audio/jvc5000.htm

It's a mere $1100, but it's got every bell and whistle imaginable.



If one is going to permanently chop up the dash to make a modern, in-dash receiver fit into an old-style, radio-with-***** opening, and I can certainly understand wanting to do so as it can be done very neatly while giving you modern electronics, then I'm in favor of keeping it single DIN in size in order to minimize the intrusion.

MDchanic

Because the tiny built-in speakers are crap, and if he's planning to rely on the audio for directions, he'd probably be happier being able to hear it comfortably.

- Eric

jaunty75

Yeah, right. If he can't hear it comfortably, it's called the volume control. I've heard the sound output on many GPS devices over the years, and I've yet to hear one that isn't perfectly understandable for the terse "turn left ahead" type comments it makes.

After all, we're not exactly listening to Beethoven's Fifth here. Besides, I've yet to see a free-standing GPS unit with a separate audio output, anyway. To what, pray tell, are we going to connect these woofers and tweeters TO?

MDchanic

Well, that puts you ahead of me, as I've never used one.

I did see one years ago that had a separate audio output, but I guess maybe they don't have them anymore.

Like I said at the beginning, a map works fine for me.

- Eric

jaunty75

This is the standard comment made by anyone who doesn't have a GPS and is clinging mightily to their old maps. It also shows that they have no clue as to what a GPS can actually do for them.

We've had GPS units of one kind or another for almost five years now, having bought our first free-standing unit in the summer of '08, and we've loved them. We hardly ever use it for actual directions to an address, which is what people who don't have a GPS mistakenly assume is the only reason to have one. It is, of course, very handy for finding an address. But we find that we use it more and more for suggestions for restaurants and other attractions while traveling. We've had more fun discovering new restaurants this way than we've ever had with an AAA Tourbook or something similar. It's also great for finding gas stations along your route, drug stores, grocery stores, the nearest Wal-Mart, the list is endless.

Getting back to restaurants, we'll usually find something that sounds interesting based on our geographic location, and then we'll get out our smart phones and look them up on Google or Yelp or Trip Advisor or something like that. Just the other day, we found a great restaurant using opentable.com and combining it with our GPS.

MDchanic

I like maps. If I am going somewhere totally unfamiliar, I will print out a Google map of the local area to bring with me, and use that to plot my course.

As for restaurants, etc., I'm sorry, but I have already come up with my own nearly-infinite list of ways to spend my money (my wife has been exceptionally helpful in this area). I don't need a machine to provide me with even more ways.
Whatever happened to packing a sandwich anyway?

- Eric

jaunty75

If this question actually requires an answer, then there is no hope.

MDchanic

It was rhetorical, but that fact does not necessarily prove that there IS hope.

Lady72nRob71

I agree with Eric in many ways.
I am very curious to how well an indash gps will sound with it's tiny built-in speaker, over road noise. They only get so loud until its garbled. Miss one turn and your in trouble.
CB radios often had built in speakers, but add-on extensions were very popular for some reason......

GPS units might be handy for those in the city who stick to interstates and update their units often so the newest POPULAR stores, hotels & restaurants are added.
They are pretty useless for those like me who prefer the scenic routes on farm roads or county roads. They have many errors on these routes, like showing a national park service road as a public road - been there before. Also, most of the best mom & pop restaurants are not even on GPS maps, as well as B&Bs and other nice quaint places.
I might get a gps one day, but only after they are improved in the above areas. Until then, i stick to paper.

On a side note, I still pack sandwiches to work...

jaunty75

All of this is pure speculation with no basis in fact. I've found all kinds of small restaurants, interesting hotels, and so forth with my GPS. I always get a kick out of people who DON'T use GPS devices on a regular basis being experts on all their faults.

I've used my GPS many times to find all kinds of interesting and unusual restaurants. Yes, GPS units aren't perfect and occasionally do misrepresent a road. But paper maps can be wrong and become rapidly outdated, too. I use both, but I find that the GPS greatly complements the overall experience.


As far as packing sandwiches for work, so what? We're not talking about commuting. No one needs a GPS, or a map, for their daily commute. It's for the traveling in new places that they come in handy. It's these places where you're looking to try a new restaurant, sample the local cuisine, and that sort of thing that a GPS can be invaluable. You guys can pack your peanut butter sandwiches all day long. Me, I'm going to try that interesting looking little place on the corner.

MDchanic

How did you know they were peanut butter?

jaunty75

Call it a lucky guess.

fourtwenty

I have a magellan I stick it to the window when I need it and in the glove box when I don't and I like peanut butter and cheese whiz with some apples slices yummy