Need FM Radio

[E90400K]

I use my phone for Phone calls, yeah my adult children think that is weird, texts, photos, email, and a few apps to pay bills since the retailers sites don;t work with windows 7, lol. I have music on USB sticks, and am looking into a CD player that will plug in to the Maverick.

Move those USB music flies to a Sony Walkman. My plan for an audio system for the Slate is a Bluetooth enabled amplifier to hardwired speakers in the dash and use my Walkman for source music. The Walkman will automatically connect to the amp via Bluetooth. The Alpine PXE-C80-88 fits the bill.

 

[zipn]

I think the best option is for Slate (or Crutchfield) to offer a replacement panel for the center dash piece that has a double-din sized opening. Add some metal brackets behind the dash to secure a standard double-din sized radio.

Also offer blank speaker covers (but not speakers, and not blue-tooth speakers) to allow standard speaker installation on the left and right side of the dash (6" round"?ovals?).

Top it off with pre-wired +12v hot, +12v when running, and a ground wire pigtail and you're ready to put in any basic radio you want. Just need to add an antenna somewhere. Since the body is plastic a wire antenna under the body may work just fine?

If I do wind up getting a Slate (I have a reservation in), I want to use Apple CarPlay and just keep my phone in my pocket. Easy enough to do with double-din radios that have a built-in screen. Add a couple of decent speakers and you're good to go. Won't be audiophile grade but should should good enough...

I like any radio with a real volume knob. Here's a cheap one...

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_110CAR723W/Jensen-CAR723W.html

 

[TheShark]

I'm not so sure about that. I'm betting the Slate is going to be as noisey or more noisey than lower trim Bronco.

Obviously you haven't driven in a Bronco not matter the trim at 70mph. 😁 The slate can't be any noisier. My Maverick feels like a Lincoln Continental in comparison. I still love my Bronco even if I have to turn up the radio.

 

[E90400K]

Obviously you haven't driven in a Bronco no matter the trim at 70mph. 😁 The slate can't be any noisier. My Maverick feels like a Lincoln Continental in comparison. I still love my Bronco even if I have to turn up the radio.

The upper trims have more sound deadening insulation than the Base, Big Bend, and Black Diamond (mine), which helps drop the ambient noise level from road noise (vs. wind noise). Mine does have the hard top sound isolation.

We'll see how well the engineers isolate the suspension from the spaceframe of the Slate truck. And we'll see how much sound deadening they put into the chassis to avoid weight gain. If you've ever been in an early Tesla Model 3, Tesla engineers did not do a good job isolating and tuning out road noise from the tires and suspension. My concern with the Slate is, to hit the price targets, some road noise isolation is going to be compromised either from engineering budgets and/or material content.

 

[MavStangVa]

I think the best option is for Slate (or Crutchfield) to offer a replacement panel for the center dash piece that has a double-din sized opening. Add some metal brackets behind the dash to secure a standard double-din sized radio.

Also offer blank speaker covers (but not speakers, and not blue-tooth speakers) to allow standard speaker installation on the left and right side of the dash (6" round"?ovals?).

Top it off with pre-wired +12v hot, +12v when running, and a ground wire pigtail and you're ready to put in any basic radio you want. Just need to add an antenna somewhere. Since the body is plastic a wire antenna under the body may work just fine?

If I do wind up getting a Slate (I have a reservation in), I want to use Apple CarPlay and just keep my phone in my pocket. Easy enough to do with double-din radios that have a built-in screen. Add a couple of decent speakers and you're good to go. Won't be audiophile grade but should should good enough...

I like any radio with a real volume knob. Here's a cheap one...

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_110CAR723W/Jensen-CAR723W.html

Slate could do that then ad 2k to the price for the material, engineering, shipping of parts, and assembly.

 

[cvollers]

Because I'm a Boomer and my cell phone is not part of my body like it probably is for you

I have to believe Slate did their research on this and found that the majority of their target market use their phone to stream music or listen from their phone's music library...and that the majority of their target market don't listen to radio and if they do, they stream radio using an app on their phone. Does this mean their target market are all young people? Hardly. I'm 62 and the only reason I turn the radio on is to listen to sports radio...which I can also get by streaming. I have not gone anywhere without my phone since 1999 and nowhere without my iPhone since 2012 (I worked for Microsoft before that).

 

[TheShark]

Streaming is fine if you live in urban areas with good cell coverage but for us folks that live or travel to areas with bad or no cell coverage it's a problem.

 

[JeffVA]

Streaming is fine if you live in urban areas with good cell coverage but for us folks that live or travel to areas with bad or no cell coverage it's a problem.

Someone will make an after market plug and play radio for the dash, it's a no brainier money maker.

I get the feeling some of these people would rather amputate their arm before they go anywhere without their cell phones

 

[cvollers]

Streaming is fine if you live in urban areas with good cell coverage but for us folks that live or travel to areas with bad or no cell coverage it's a problem.

I’m having a hard time imagining the Slate being used in a rural area with low to no cell service. I would 100% go ICE for that scenario.

 

[JRSNoVa]

Move those USB music flies to a Sony Walkman. My plan for an audio system for the Slate is a Bluetooth enabled amplifier to hardwired speakers in the dash and use my Walkman for source music. The Walkman will automatically connect to the amp via Bluetooth. The Alpine PXE-C80-88 fits the bill.

Or just save the mp3s to the phone and play them from there via bluetooth. No need for a data connection.

Even better, if the Slate has enough usb ports, copy the mp3s to a thumb drive and play them directly, which is what I've been doing for a while now.

 

[E90400K]

Or just save the mp3s to the phone and play them from there via bluetooth. No need for a data connection.

Even better, if the Slate has enough USB ports, copy the MP3s to a thumb drive and play them directly, which is what I've been doing for a while now.

USB ports connected to what though? It has no audio system at all from what I can tell. My comment about the Walkman was because MavStangVa seemed to not be an invested smartphone phone user. Being MavStangVa is a Boomer like me, I thought a Walkman might be more up his ally to use rather than his phone.

 

[E90400K]

I’m having a hard time imagining the Slate being used in a rural area with low to no cell service. I would 100% go ICE for that scenario.

I live rural with spotty cell service (I have no coverage at my house location). In the mountains, radio really doesn't work either. LOL

 

[cvollers]

Or just save the mp3s to the phone and play them from there via bluetooth. No need for a data connection.

Even better, if the Slate has enough usb ports, copy the mp3s to a thumb drive and play them directly, which is what I've been doing for a while now.

I think there will be a lot of ways to skin this cat…