I went to Amazon, the website not the place in Africa, and purchase a radio, blue tooth, gps navigation system with back up camera for my car. This unit also had the capability to play videos, stream you tube, read sd cards and a few other things. It came the other day and I was excited to install this marvel of electronic engineering. After unpacking it from the box I tried a test fitting into the double din dash opening in my car. It really didn't fit very well. The face of the product was larger than the opening and so blocked some functions and controls on my dash. Yes the back portion would fit inside the opening but no way to mount it in there without extensive modifications. So, back to the amazon it goes. I have to say I'm impressed with their return policies. All I had to do was take it to the UPS store where they would wrap it up and ship it back at zero cost to me. Hard to beat that.
I had put the radio back that I'm currently using. An am/fm unit with bluetooth connectivity. My phone hooks to that and I can answer and talk on the phone while driving, not that I do that, I still find that distracting but I could if I wanted to. Anyway, I was listening to the radio and I have it on an oldies station, because well, I'm old. The song Red Rubber Ball comes on and I'm instantly back in the sixties, riding in my mothers car. Funny how songs can do that sometimes. I began remembering riding in the back seat and there was a speaker right in the middle of the back seat. I could put my ear right up to that! Mom would yell to stop that before you go deaf! Ah, the sage advice of a mother.
I was thinking about car radios and how I've seen the changes over the years. Yes, I remember when the radio was a fairly large box, at first just am, in the center of the dash and the speaker behind it face up in the dash board. One speaker. Then we got am/fm with a seek bar and you could preset the stations. Pretty fancy stuff, two speakers in stereo! Soon cars had four speakers, front and rear. At some point in the late sixties I purchased, at a cost of almost one hundred dollars, a Pioneer eight track stereo player with speakers. I installed that player under the dash, put in those new high tech speakers and man I was rockin'. Sound systems in cars have sure come a long way since those days. No longer do cars have, as an option a radio, today it is an entertainment and communication suite! I've seen some that look like a big screen tv in the dash. Amplified with premium grade equipment these systems can do it all.
I'll be ordering another unit, hopefully one better suited to my application. I do like the bluetooth thing and a back up camera is surely going to be a plus. Safety first! The truth is a great number of those units come with all those features and the cost is quite reasonable. I figure I just might as well get the whole deal. I'm certain just the rudimentary features and performance will satisfy me. I don't need an amplifier, equalizer or premium speakers. The four speaker system that is in the car will be just fine. I have used the gps on my phone while driving, well the wife operates that, and found it very useful. Not that I need directions, men don't need that stuff, but it makes the wife feel more comfortable. I can't help but think about how far all that has come since I bought that eight track player for my ride back in the day. I'm still playing the same music, just with a new radio. I have never personally seen one but did you know you get a car, from the factory, with a record player in it? Now that would be cool! They were in certain Chrysler cars and where a complete failure. Still would be cool though. That's why I'm updating my ride with the latest electronics, got to keep up with the times you know.
I had put the radio back that I'm currently using. An am/fm unit with bluetooth connectivity. My phone hooks to that and I can answer and talk on the phone while driving, not that I do that, I still find that distracting but I could if I wanted to. Anyway, I was listening to the radio and I have it on an oldies station, because well, I'm old. The song Red Rubber Ball comes on and I'm instantly back in the sixties, riding in my mothers car. Funny how songs can do that sometimes. I began remembering riding in the back seat and there was a speaker right in the middle of the back seat. I could put my ear right up to that! Mom would yell to stop that before you go deaf! Ah, the sage advice of a mother.
I was thinking about car radios and how I've seen the changes over the years. Yes, I remember when the radio was a fairly large box, at first just am, in the center of the dash and the speaker behind it face up in the dash board. One speaker. Then we got am/fm with a seek bar and you could preset the stations. Pretty fancy stuff, two speakers in stereo! Soon cars had four speakers, front and rear. At some point in the late sixties I purchased, at a cost of almost one hundred dollars, a Pioneer eight track stereo player with speakers. I installed that player under the dash, put in those new high tech speakers and man I was rockin'. Sound systems in cars have sure come a long way since those days. No longer do cars have, as an option a radio, today it is an entertainment and communication suite! I've seen some that look like a big screen tv in the dash. Amplified with premium grade equipment these systems can do it all.
I'll be ordering another unit, hopefully one better suited to my application. I do like the bluetooth thing and a back up camera is surely going to be a plus. Safety first! The truth is a great number of those units come with all those features and the cost is quite reasonable. I figure I just might as well get the whole deal. I'm certain just the rudimentary features and performance will satisfy me. I don't need an amplifier, equalizer or premium speakers. The four speaker system that is in the car will be just fine. I have used the gps on my phone while driving, well the wife operates that, and found it very useful. Not that I need directions, men don't need that stuff, but it makes the wife feel more comfortable. I can't help but think about how far all that has come since I bought that eight track player for my ride back in the day. I'm still playing the same music, just with a new radio. I have never personally seen one but did you know you get a car, from the factory, with a record player in it? Now that would be cool! They were in certain Chrysler cars and where a complete failure. Still would be cool though. That's why I'm updating my ride with the latest electronics, got to keep up with the times you know.
No comments:
Post a Comment