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- Thunderbird Year
- 2003
Moderator note 2023- List of Ford Thunderbird Bluetooth Devices here:
forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com
First time poster here, gang… and just wanted to share a really cost-effective way to listen to music via your smartphone through your factory Thunderbird stereo (it'll work with most other cars with a radio as well, but thought I'd share it here as it relates to my T-Bird experience).
[I didn’t see a thread on this before, so apologies in advance if it has been posted down the road before].
I purchased my 2003 Mountain Gray T-Bird back in June (48.3k miles / $15,200) and absolutely love it! By far and large my favorite vehicle I’ve owned since my first car in 1978 (that was a ’71 El Camino, which just may be my second fave). Driving this T-Bird on sunny days with the top down, the tunes blasting and my lovely wife by my side is just bliss.
I know that others in this forum have experienced some issues with the factory installed six-disc changer, but thankfully my unit works great. My only drawback is that it doesn’t have the modern convenience of an auxiliary input jack (for my iPod) or bluetooth capability (for Spotify and my Music library on my iPhone). I listen to a lot of music in the car.
Not long ago I stumbled upon this little car charger that also doubles as a bluetooth transmitter. It’s calledXiaomi ROIDMI 3S Bluetooth Charger. (no longer available) Try this one-
https://amzn.to/35grGIo
Sumind Wireless Radio Adapter Hands-Free Car Kit
The way it works is you tune to an unused station on your radio (you can choose any station frequency via their free Roidmi downloaded app) and then sync up your smartphone’s bluetooth with it.
I wasn’t sure how well it would work and sound, but it was only around 15 bucks, so I figured ‘what the heck.’ After receiving it last week, I can say I love this little baby. I plugged the bluetooth charger into my cigarette lighter and it literary took me a minute to sync the radio with my phone, and within seconds afterwards I’m listening to clear music without static through my T-Bird speakers and it sounds pretty fantastic. (Keep in mind, most of the music on my phone are on the mp3 format, so the sound isn’t as crystalline as a CD, but for the convenience of having my entire music library at my fingertips in my T-Bird without having to shuffle through a pile of CDs is a big plus for me).
You can charge two phones at the same time, so, with its low cost, and bluetooth capability it’s a win-win all-around (USB charging cords not included, but you can purchase these for a song).
The only downside for some is that it doesn't support hands-free phone operation. This isn't a big concern for me, but may be for some who would rather swap out the entire stereo unit for something with these modern conveniences, at a cost of course. The previous version of this included a small mic, but from what I've read online it was pretty useless, which is why I'm guessing they discontinued the mic for this newer version.
Please note: I haven't taken any longer road trips with this yet, so I'm not sure if the chosen frequency fades or not when far out of range, but even if so, you could always easily change to a different frequency if necessary.
And just for the record, I do not work for Xiaomi or Gearbest. I'm just a huge music fan that loves having my vast collection at my fingertips (and voice activation via Siri) and piped into my new baby's speakers with the top down : )
Hey Siri, Play a Beatles mix in Music. I love you... yeah, yeah, yeah!
Ford Thunderbird Bluetooth Hands Free Radio Upgrade Sirius XM CarPlay Android Auto 2002 2003 2004 2005
New for 2022- https://amzn.to/3eI95xN Bluetooth Adapter for Car, Wireless FM Radio Transmitter, LIHAN Handsfree Calling & Audio Receiver, MP3 Music Player, QC3.0 & Type-C PD USB Car Charger,7 Colors LED Backlit Least Expensive 24.99 +10% off coupon as of 4/30/2020- Sumind Wireless Radio...
forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com
First time poster here, gang… and just wanted to share a really cost-effective way to listen to music via your smartphone through your factory Thunderbird stereo (it'll work with most other cars with a radio as well, but thought I'd share it here as it relates to my T-Bird experience).
[I didn’t see a thread on this before, so apologies in advance if it has been posted down the road before].
I purchased my 2003 Mountain Gray T-Bird back in June (48.3k miles / $15,200) and absolutely love it! By far and large my favorite vehicle I’ve owned since my first car in 1978 (that was a ’71 El Camino, which just may be my second fave). Driving this T-Bird on sunny days with the top down, the tunes blasting and my lovely wife by my side is just bliss.
I know that others in this forum have experienced some issues with the factory installed six-disc changer, but thankfully my unit works great. My only drawback is that it doesn’t have the modern convenience of an auxiliary input jack (for my iPod) or bluetooth capability (for Spotify and my Music library on my iPhone). I listen to a lot of music in the car.
Not long ago I stumbled upon this little car charger that also doubles as a bluetooth transmitter. It’s called
https://amzn.to/35grGIo
Sumind Wireless Radio Adapter Hands-Free Car Kit
The way it works is you tune to an unused station on your radio (you can choose any station frequency via their free Roidmi downloaded app) and then sync up your smartphone’s bluetooth with it.
I wasn’t sure how well it would work and sound, but it was only around 15 bucks, so I figured ‘what the heck.’ After receiving it last week, I can say I love this little baby. I plugged the bluetooth charger into my cigarette lighter and it literary took me a minute to sync the radio with my phone, and within seconds afterwards I’m listening to clear music without static through my T-Bird speakers and it sounds pretty fantastic. (Keep in mind, most of the music on my phone are on the mp3 format, so the sound isn’t as crystalline as a CD, but for the convenience of having my entire music library at my fingertips in my T-Bird without having to shuffle through a pile of CDs is a big plus for me).
You can charge two phones at the same time, so, with its low cost, and bluetooth capability it’s a win-win all-around (USB charging cords not included, but you can purchase these for a song).
The only downside for some is that it doesn't support hands-free phone operation. This isn't a big concern for me, but may be for some who would rather swap out the entire stereo unit for something with these modern conveniences, at a cost of course. The previous version of this included a small mic, but from what I've read online it was pretty useless, which is why I'm guessing they discontinued the mic for this newer version.
Please note: I haven't taken any longer road trips with this yet, so I'm not sure if the chosen frequency fades or not when far out of range, but even if so, you could always easily change to a different frequency if necessary.
And just for the record, I do not work for Xiaomi or Gearbest. I'm just a huge music fan that loves having my vast collection at my fingertips (and voice activation via Siri) and piped into my new baby's speakers with the top down : )
Hey Siri, Play a Beatles mix in Music. I love you... yeah, yeah, yeah!
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