[targatop]

Just wanted to let the forum know that last night I installed the Alpine Model #KCA-100BT bluetooth adapter to my Alpine CDA-9856 headunit in my car and it works very well with my 8700c.

Sound quality is decent for the included microphone, and it's nice to be hands free in the vehicle finally. I wish BB supported voice dial, but I guess this will do for now.

Pairing the devices was easy, and I can be a good 20 feet away from my vehicle and still have a bluetooth connection.

In order to dial you have to use the phone keypad, but that's a small price to pay to not have to mess with a headset in the car. Also, it doesn't show the incoming number on the head-unit, which is slightly annoying considering my '06 BMW with bluetooth can do that very easily.

Installation was relatively easy, but not something I would recommend for anybody who doesn't feel comfortable pulling their dashboard apart.

Also, I found out that I had to turn off "echo reduction" or I don't get any sound from the headunit at all, but can still talk. Has anybody seen that type of behaviour on other hands-free devices?

[targatop]

After resetting and re-pairing I am able to use all functions. However, every now and then an incoming call does not fully connect. Does anybody else have this issue?

[Trebz]

Do you have any additional thoughts on using the KCA-100BT now that you have had it for a few days longer? How do you sound to people on the other end of the line while driving?

Does it filter out the road noise? Where did you mount the mic?

I am thinking of getting one of these, but there are almost no reviews available.

Thanks for any feedback.

[targatop]

Originally Posted by Trebz

Do you have any additional thoughts on using the KCA-100BT now that you have had it for a few days longer? How do you sound to people on the other end of the line while driving?

Does it filter out the road noise? Where did you mount the mic?

I am thinking of getting one of these, but there are almost no reviews available.

Thanks for any feedback.

Seems to work pretty well. Pairs with the vehicle almost as soon as I crank my ignition key.

I had some sound quality issues initially, echoes and buzzing. However, I found that those were resolved by moving the position of the mic from on the dash to up by my sun visor. Depending on which vehicle you have, that's a pretty easy location to install in it. It comes with 3 clips for the microphone to be mounted to a variety of surfaces.

Noise canceling is okay. It's not as tight of a solution as with my BMW's built in bluetooth, but it works to retrofit my SUV.

One problem I have with it is the inability to voice dial anything. I would even sign up for Cingular's voice dial service if I could push the button and make it automatically dial the hands free number.

Also, with my head-unit it does not display the incoming call information, so you don't see what number is calling you. That does kinda suck.

However, this is the best solution I could find at the moment. I like the Alpine interface to my iPod, and the sound quality of the radio is good. Handsfree works well enough for me to endorse it.

[scottatah]

Hey guys, I don't even have a blackberry, but i do have this particular alpine device and am struggling to find other users that have it.


To the gentlemen above that noted he had some buzzing noise - could you hear that both thru your car speakers as well as on the receivers side???

My side sounds fine. But users on the other end of hte phone call are telling me there's a loud buzzing noise. My mic is installed at the top of the a-pillar, (left of the sun visor, but just up and to the right of the driver windows).

This buzzing happens whether i'm moving or stopped so it's not from moving air or something.

How does that relate to your problem? similar? I haven't tried moving the mic yet, but if your problem was only heard on the callers side as well, then maybe i'll look into it.

[targatop]

I got rid of my 8700c BB for a SLVR L7 because it integrated better with my 4 IMAP email accounts than the BB did, and offerred a great form factor in the process. Lost some other functionality (miss that EDGE), but am otherwise very happy with my decision.

Here's what I can tell you, once I've moved the microphone the buzzing is gone, so check to see that it isn't close to any other components that are putting out electromagnetic frequencies. Also, if on cingular keep your phone a good distance away from other electronic components, because it has a tendency to put out it's own EMF interference in a big way. Has to do with GSM/GPRS frequence spectrum I believe. Very annoying.

Also, once I've switched to the SLVR L7, my call audio quality on the other end seems DRAMATICALLY improved over that of the 8700c BB. THis indicates to me it might be related to your phone as well.

First I would suggest trying without any engine components turned on (just key in ignition) and see if you get the same thing. Secondly I would try it with a different handset and see if the same problem persists. Also, try and make sure it isn't too close to other wires that might be giving off EMF.

Hope this helps!

[targatop]

I realized I didn't answer your question completely...yes the buzzing was only on the other end...my side sounded fine.

[btaylor1]

just today i got a KCA-100BT (had to buy a new head unit too, got a CDA-9885) to make my new 8800 work in car speakerphone mode. so far, so good, except it looks like i have to re-establish the wifi connection to head unit every time i start car, which takes a little time. sound quality is good on my end, and (per wife) on my wife's end at the home. will confess i liked hard wire speaker phone better. old fashioned, i guess

[btaylor1]

well, a much smarter (than me) friend helped me solve bluetooth problem. he had me check settings more carefully. under Manage Connections / Bluetooth Options / Alpine KCA-100BT / Bluetooth Options, Device Name, BlackBerry 8800, i changed "Discoverable" from "No" to "Yes" instead. that did not resolve my issues. then under Manage Connections / Bluetooth Options / Paired Devices: Alpine KCA-100BT / Device Properties, i changed "Trusted" from "No" to "Yes" instead. either that second change, or perhaps first combined with second, solved my problem. now every time i get in the car, put my 8800 in cradle, and start the car, within about one second (automatically!) i get a popup message advising "Bluetooth connection established" and if i receive or initiate a phone call on my 8800, the alpine head unit displays INTERRUPT, the radio or disc automatically silences, and my phone call is nicely audible through the car's stereo speakers. hooray!

[btaylor1]

HELP. (although this may be an Alpine question and thus inappropriate...) a mechanic had to take my dash apart and put back together for some a/c system repairs. now every time i turn on car and radio, the 8800's bluetooth wireless connection auto-establishes as before, BUT when i dial a call the alpine radio no longer flashes INTERRUPT, the music does not go away, and i can't do a speakerphone call through the car speakers like before. various attempts to re-set bluetooth settings on the CDA-9885 have failed to restore speakerphone/INTERRUPT functionality. i hope i'm not going to face this every time the car battery has to be disconnected. any ideas or leads appreciated. thx

[btaylor1]

well, problem fixed (with some smarter tech help). i apparently had not completely removed head unit's cover; once done, i could effectively press its red re-set button. but that alone didn't fix. instead after much trial and error, solution seemed to require completely removing bluetooth adapter from 8800, disabling blue tooth, then readding (basically starting over). i've been told i have an older bluetooth adapter, and a newer version likely won't have such problems when car battery has to be disconnected for any service. if next time results in all this hassle, guess will spring for newer version bluetooth adapter.

[btaylor1]

just info, today i took plunge and swapped in a newer version alpine kce-300bt blue tooth adapter. i'll give the old one to a much more tech-literate friend who can use for his wife's car and pearl

[housej55]

Hello btaylor1,
Did you notice any differences when going with the 300bt? I just posted asking if anyone has played audio over bluetooth with the 8830's to see if I get any feedback. I have the Alpine 9883 unit and I'm looking forward to purchasing this bluetooth unit. It's kind of aggravating knowing that more and more of the headunits are coming out with bluetooth hardware in them. Maybe Alpine will follow that lead sometime and inlcude that functionality in their head unit.
Was there any improvement in your phone conversations when upgrading to the 300bt?

Thanks in advance,
housej55

Originally Posted by btaylor1

just info, today i took plunge and swapped in a newer version alpine kce-300bt blue tooth adapter. i'll give the old one to a much more tech-literate friend who can use for his wife's car and pearl

[btaylor1]

nope, i haven't perceived any improvement in phone conversations with the new unit. the new one does seem more stable (and re-settings, when occasionally required, seem a little more logical/intuitive), but i haven't perceived the new one gave me any improvement in phone conversations

[esmhw01]

Anyone been able to get the Bluebird PMD-B200 to work with an 8700? Thanks