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Sony Ericsson Hca-200


mercenary
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Got my car kit installed a few weeks back and have been using it every since, Though I would share my experiences and thoughts on the kit.

Ive got a Sony Ericsson P900 and a lovely IS200 :driving: so i needed a kit. Luckily my work paid for the phone, kit and car :D

Sooo, how does it perform, what issues were there, hows it been going since?

Below are some pics of the install. A quick rundown of whats where....

The cradle itself is fitted between the stereo and the outer dash, this leaves no visible fittings. The mic is just above the rear view mirror with all cables going into the trim. Speaker (yup, had to use the speaker, more on that later) is in the passenger footwell quite well hidden and the system box that does all the magic... no idea, the guy who put it in hid it well.

Installation

The install was done by a professional fitting company and took about 2 hours, would have been quicker but they had some issues with the amp. The entire setup is quite neat and tidy with all cables either hidden in the trim or tied up nicely. The cradle is fitted such that you cant see the fixings either. The only issue they had was the amp, we had purchased the advanced mute cable that was supposed to let the phone connect to the stereo so that the sound came through the speakers, unfortunatly they did this and the amp made all calls too loud, even with the volume right down. Despite trying for a good hour the installation guy had to call it quits and ended up installing the supplied speaker box. He hid it nicely thought

Power for the cradle/phone is pulled directly from the Battery so there is no adapter to plug into the lighter socket. good stuff! They did connect up the mute option though so when a call is in progress the stereo is still muted.

So, install done, its redy to use

Using

Unlike the HCB-30 Bluetooth kit (which I also have experience of) there is no control panel needed as the phone has to be in the cradle to use it all the buttons are right there.

Sat in the cradle the phone is ready to use, being powered and charged by the car no worries about Battery life.

As I mentioned all calls are controlled from the phone itself, no remote controls but thats not a problem as from my pics you can see the phone is nicely in reach. Im not to sure to be honest where I would put the Bluetooth control in this car. Some put it down by the headlamp washers but that would be a bit awkward i think to control your calls. For me I setup voice control and magic word. This means when I want to make a call I dont have to touch a thing! All I have to say is "magic phone" followed by the person I want to dial. The phone does the rest, I also setup words for answering and rejecting calls so when a call comes in again I dont have to do anything.

Aerial

For me I have the tax disc holder aerial. It sticks to the windshield with the cable running to the cradle to give better reception, also holds my tax disc :D

Quality

Call quality is quite good. I can hear the other ppl with the windows up and doing 70mph which is really good for the little speaker. The other end can hear you fine although you have to speak up a bit.

HCA-200 vs HCB-30

Ive used the Bluetooth kit fitted into an Audi A4, same phone, same cradle so here are my views.

The HCA is an exception bit of kit, a pro install will leave it looking good and not affecting the cars image, no power cables, no mess. The HCB is just as good except you have a cable and adapter going into your lighter socket to power the cradles charging (assuming you have this as this is not needed on the Bluetooth kit).

With the Bluetooth kit I would rarely just leave the phone in my pocket, I would always have it docked in the cradle so it could charge but so I could also see whats going on and make calls. The Bluetooth needs an extra control panel to control it but with the HCA its not needed, you just use the phone.

My choice would be the wired kit. Its more reliable and a neater install. I didnt really gain any benefit from the Bluetooth kit while using it.

The pics

Cradle fitted to the console, cables running below into the back of the console.

cradle7yq.jpg

Microphone, fixed with velcro, cable running behind and into the trim

mic8mm.jpg

Speaker, up and inside the passenger footwell, this pic shows what you can see if you bend down to seat level, sitting in the car you cant see a thing.

speaker3ur.jpg

Overview, tax disc holder aerial, cable running into the dash/console, mic at the top, cradle and thats it, you cant see anything else :D

overview4sc.jpg

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Thanks for the reply, How much was it to fit including all parts except the phone and holder (i have already)?

Got my car kit installed a few weeks back and have been using it every since, Though I would share my experiences and thoughts on the kit.

Ive got a Sony Ericsson P900 and a lovely IS200  :driving:  so i needed a kit. Luckily my work paid for the phone, kit and car  :D

Sooo, how does it perform, what issues were there, hows it been going since?

Below are some pics of the install. A quick rundown of whats where....

The cradle itself is fitted between the stereo and the outer dash, this leaves no visible fittings. The mic is just above the rear view mirror with all cables going into the trim. Speaker (yup, had to use the speaker, more on that later) is in the passenger footwell quite well hidden and the system box that does all the magic... no idea, the guy who put it in hid it well.

Installation

The install was done by a professional fitting company and took about 2 hours, would have been quicker but they had some issues with the amp. The entire setup is quite neat and tidy with all cables either hidden in the trim or tied up nicely. The cradle is fitted such that you cant see the fixings either. The only issue they had was the amp, we had purchased the advanced mute cable that was supposed to let the phone connect to the stereo so that the sound came through the speakers, unfortunatly they did this and the amp made all calls too loud, even with the volume right down. Despite trying for a good hour the installation guy had to call it quits and ended up installing the supplied speaker box. He hid it nicely thought

Power for the cradle/phone is pulled directly from the battery so there is no adapter to plug into the lighter socket. good stuff!  They did connect up the mute option though so when a call is in progress the stereo is still muted.

So, install done, its redy to use

Using

Unlike the HCB-30 bluetooth kit (which I also have experience of) there is no control panel needed as the phone has to be in the cradle to use it all the buttons are right there.

Sat in the cradle the phone is ready to use, being powered and charged by the car no worries about battery life.

As I mentioned all calls are controlled from the phone itself, no remote controls but thats not a problem as from my pics you can see the phone is nicely in reach. Im not to sure to be honest where I would put the bluetooth control in this car. Some put it down by the headlamp washers but that would be a bit awkward i think to control your calls. For me I setup voice control and magic word. This means when I want to make a call I dont have to touch a thing! All I have to say is "magic phone" followed by the person I want to dial. The phone does the rest, I also setup words for answering and rejecting calls so when a call comes in again I dont have to do anything.

Aerial

For me I have the tax disc holder aerial. It sticks to the windshield with the cable running to the cradle to give better reception, also holds my tax disc :D

Quality

Call quality is quite good. I can hear the other ppl with the windows up and doing 70mph which is really good for the little speaker. The other end can hear you fine although you have to speak up a bit.

HCA-200 vs HCB-30

Ive used the bluetooth kit fitted into an Audi A4, same phone, same cradle so here are my views.

The HCA is an exception bit of kit, a pro install will leave it looking good and not affecting the cars image, no power cables, no mess. The HCB is just as good except you have a cable and adapter going into your lighter socket to power the cradles charging (assuming you have this as this is not needed on the bluetooth kit).

With the bluetooth kit I would rarely just leave the phone in my pocket,  I would always have it docked in the cradle so it could charge but so I could also see whats going on and make calls. The bluetooth needs an extra control panel to control it but with the HCA its not needed, you just use the phone.

My choice would be the wired kit. Its more reliable and a neater install. I didnt really gain any benefit from the bluetooth kit while using it.

The pics

Cradle fitted to the console, cables running below into the back of the console.

cradle7yq.jpg

Microphone, fixed with velcro, cable running behind and into the trim

mic8mm.jpg

Speaker, up and inside the passenger footwell, this pic shows what you can see if you bend down to seat level, sitting in the car you cant see a thing.

speaker3ur.jpg

Overview, tax disc holder aerial, cable running into the dash/console,  mic at the top, cradle and thats it, you cant see anything else :D

overview4sc.jpg

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not sure.

The kit is about £80. No idea on the fitting. It was some mobile guy who comes to you. did me, my boss's smart roadster and collegue's Mini Cooper S on the same day. He had some fun with the smart (tiny)

We also had the advanced mute cable which was supposed to make it go through the speakers but didnt so all it does is mute the stereo. Didnt wire it into the ignition though. The car kit is supposed to have an option so that it only charges the phone when the ignition is on but he didnt wire that. so drop the phone in the cradle and its charging with then engine off :S

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