Parrot CK3300

[Wardy]

Anyone have one of these? Thoughts on it, ease of installation etc?

SWMBO's on about getting a BT carkit, especially as she has work and personal phones so something like this could support both. I also like the idea of this one having a GPS receiver too. Quite a good all-in-one solution I thought....

Cheers,
Steve

[WW_VRS]

I've got the 3100 and still regret not going for the 3300.

There may be better ones out there, and you will definitely need to check compatibility, to get the best benefit out of it.

Got the dealer to fit it, charged about 2 hours labour IIRC but that was a while ago now. Been fitted since I've had the car pretty much

[Wardy]

Cheers, both phones (and mine) are Nokias and on Parrot's list, so no worries there.

Just wondering about fitting now, how easy it is to get power to the control box etc.

Steve

[Decron]

My company had a CK3200 fitted to my car about 4 weeks ago and it's been a pain.

I have use of several handsets (Nokia, SE, Samsung, Motorola, BenQ and a few others) and all of them have compatability issues. Sometimes they will disconnect, sometimes they will misroute the audio, sometimes the phone book will not syncronise.

I have been working at the technical end of Mobile phones and carkits for nearly 6 years and I would NOT recommend parrot kits. I may have a duff one but as a lot of the area managers in my company are complaining about the same issues I doubt it. Being that the CK3300 is essentially a CK3100 with gps I dont hold much hope for it

I do however recommend the Nokia 616 or the SE hcb 700 as car kits and if you are keen on sat nav then the Tom Tom 700 , which as it is about to be replaced by a newer model it is currently a bargin (This will also work as a Bt handsfree) as prices have been cut in most retailers.

Fitting a CK is a doddle, take your glove box and stereo out, run the relevent leads from the CK to the radio loom (Most car kits dont need an audio loom these days and can be connected straight up to the raido. Check it the Symphony has a phone mode. I have a JVC in mine so I am not sure), and replace the glove box and stereo with the kit in the small flat recess the the back. Run the mic up the passenger side to just above the mirror. The console for the car kit if you do get one of the afore mentioned kits can be run up over the stereo and if you remove the central vent housing it will go to the side. PM me if you need help or photos of mine.

BTW fitting will cost you between £70 and £150 if you get it from a certain large mobile phone retailer

[WW_VRS]

Cabling is supplied with the kit and has instructions.

Must admit the TT700 sounds very interesting, I can't afford one at the moment but it may be a very good alternative esp at the right price

[peterc10]

I have a Parrot CK3300 fitted in my Superb and I use it with an Ipaq 6340 combined phone and PDA and Tom Tom 5 sat nav. I am very please with the system. Both phone calls and sat nav warnings/instructions come through the car audio after muting it, which means I can use the steering wheel controls for volume.

I have the phone mounted on a Brodit power mount (charges the Ipaq), which is in turn mounted on a universal Dashmount mount that sticks out of the side of the radio. So Ipaq is at the same height as and to the left of the radio and angled towards me. Nice and convenient and not really noticable as a sat nav mount so it wont attract the scumbag thieves.

You need to make sure that you get the latest software update for the Parrot - but my supplier made sure he did that. The fitting is not quite as simple as it sounds. To get the microphone at the top of the windscreen you need to run the wire up the front piller and make sure you don't interfere with the airbag there. Also you can't use the standard leads that come with the Parrot - you need the special VAG one because VAG cars (including Skodas) have the permanent and switched live feeds reversed from the "standard" ISO (if there is such a thing).

I had difficulty with the position of the Parrot control console - I do not like to see vent clips because they look add on - so I did not want to go for the easy option. Ended up putting it low down to the right of the gear lever - but not very helpful. In hindisght I should have found another place.

I got my kit fitted by a great little company in Slough called justcarkits (www.justcarkits.co.uk), who fit lots of them and know all about them. Cost about £240 for kit, VAG wiring adaptor and fitting. The mounts were extra.

[WW_VRS]

In my Fab vRS the dealer fitted the controls on a blanking plate in the row of switches above the radio. Mike is at the top near the interior light.

Totally agree though, make sure you get the latest firmware as some of the older ones are terrible. Much has improved since though & since an update carried out almost a year ago things have been fine

[Ant.]

Funny that, I almost bought the CK3300 yesterday! (from here) I thought I'd wait a bit though and see how easy it will be to fit first. A Job for next weekend! The Parrot seems like one of the better options out there if you need to use different phones.

In theory the installation seems simple, but how much space there is to play with behind the dash. Is there a guide somewhere on here for taking the dash apart? ie glove box, vents etc?

Does anyone have the dimensions for the CK3100/3300 display/buttons? Would it fit into a single DIN space nicely perhaps? Apologies for the slight thread hi-jack here.

Cheers
Ant

[GAFF]

Originally Posted by peterc10

You need to make sure that you get the latest software update for the Parrot - but my supplier made sure he did that.

The CK3100 I have seems excellent, updating software may be a good idea, it can be downloaded from www.parrot.biz

Originally Posted by peterc10

You need to make sure that you get the latest software update for the Parrot - but my supplier made sure he did that. The fitting is not quite as simple as it sounds. To get the microphone at the top of the windscreen you need to run the wire up the front piller and make sure you don't interfere with the airbag there. Also you can't use the standard leads that come with the Parrot - you need the special VAG one because VAG cars (including Skodas) have the permanent and switched live feeds reversed from the "standard" ISO (if there is such a thing).

I put mine in the New Octy RS and theres feck all room behind radio, I ended up removing Climate displate, routing factory cable in there then Adaptor Kit (which connects to ISO connectors) up to behind radio.
Btw the Adaptor kit I got was for the Skoda/Audi etc etc but the Switch & Battery still needed to be switched due to no switch live on back of Sterio. I took a feed from the fuse box & put an extra in-line fuse beside fusebox incase of cable snagging between fusebox & Parrot in-line Fuse behind radio.

Originally Posted by Ant.

Does anyone have the dimensions for the CK3100/3300 display/buttons? Would it fit into a single DIN space nicely perhaps? Apologies for the slight thread hi-jack here.

Cheers
Ant

Without going out to the car , I measured the packaging the CK3100 came in and the holder for the display in the box is 7.5CMX4.5CM (the cable underneath will stick out a bit)

[Ant.]

Okay, that doesn't sound as simple as I first thought! I assume if I was to get a new aftermarket stereo anyway, having just the Skoda/Audi ISO adapter kit will be fine? No other switiching wires neccessary?

Thanks for the dimensions though, I would ideally like to stick it under the stereo out of the way.

[Decron]

Originally Posted by WW_VRS

In my Fab vRS the dealer fitted the controls on a blanking plate in the row of switches above the radio. Mike is at the top near the interior light.

Totally agree though, make sure you get the latest firmware as some of the older ones are terrible. Much has improved since though & since an update carried out almost a year ago things have been fine

Admittedly I need to find the motivation to upgrade the firmware.

One more dropped call...

If anyone has a greater yen than myself - http://www.parrot.biz/download/index.php

[WW_VRS]

I still need to update mine to the latest, mine's got the first Nokia Sync bug fixed (and it needed that).

My phone is starting to die on me though (work one) so I may find out if my new one is supported LOL

[peterc10]

Yes it is bloody tight in the Superb with all of the extra wiring. After installation the passenger heated seat came on all the time. Justcarkits were very good and found the problem - one of the wires to the switch had got crushed so much it was shorting - I am not sure it was their fault - could well have been done when the previous owner put in his own stereo - but they repaired it without argument - hence why I was so impressed with them

[Wardy]

Thanks for all the info guys - sounds like this could be ideal, WITH the firmware upgrade

Cheers,
Steve