Upgrade for Bluetooth?

[Stinnett21]

My boat has a 2008 standard DIN stereo head unit mounted the glove box. It’s not Bluetooth. I’m exploring options of upgrading to include BT. My wife is a sales rep with a new fleet vehicle every 2 years or so. It seems every time she gets a new vehicle or another family member wants to connect to the new vehicles system they (the new vehicle’s system) wants to go through a complex setup process of recognizing a new device, downloading contacts, etc. before any connection can be made. Here’s my question: Are marine head units designed the same way? If I have quests on the boat I want them to be able to connect as effortlessly as possible. If they are designed the same I might as well carry a stand-alone BT speaker and not bother upgrading. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Scott Danforth]

unllike car audio/nav/call/etc, blue tooth audio for a boat is like setting up a set of blue tooth speakers. nothing do do with contacts, etc. as you do not use boat head units

if you have an Aux input. for about $5, you can get a BT adapter to play music from your BT device until your head unit actually needs to be replaced

 

[dingbat]

if you have an Aux input. for about $5, you can get a BT adapter to play music from your BT device until your head unit actually needs to be replaced

Looked and looked a while back. Most outdoor rated units where in the $35-$50 range. Still cheaper than replacing a functional head unit.

One word of advice... see if your head unit has a 12V power antenna connection. Otherwise, you need to install a switch to turn the adapter on and off or live with it powered up all the time.

Paired the adapter with your cell once and forget about it. Connects automatically when in range.

A BT adapter is a simple input device. It does not store user configurations, data or give priority to one BT connection over another. Multiple guests trying to connect to the same time will get messy.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Im using what was a $5 amazon cheap BT adapter. plugs into an aux adapter, requires a USB-C charge cable. I see they are about $22 now. its range is only about 25 feet, however in the boat, the maximum distance you can be from it is 13 feet.

 

[Stinnett21]

I pondered the adapter idea some time ago and backed off of it. Not remembering exactly why at the moment. I think it had to do with leaving it powered up, etc. My 12 volt accessory plug, also located in glovebox, stays live with key off.