Well, the only Super High Roof available came from a Fleet buy, with options not available for simple folk, geared for customizing. So Ernie came with a Level 10 stereo, which was fairly basic: no CD, no HD radio, no Android Auto or Apple Carplay. I really wanted the Android Auto and HD radio. Our local PBS radio station broadcasts on all three HD channels, and HD 2 is my second favorite station. And worse, the sensitivity of the radio was horrid, delivering a blend of static and signal even in town.
While researching the best stereo system to get, our friend Tony suggested that he had an old stereo with Android Auto and an HD radio tuner that he would give us! He and Judy have several vehicles that always seem to have the latest units, on the Saturday before Christmas I drove down to Gainesville with a Crutchfield installation kit, and Tony showed me how to remove the old unit and wire and install his old Pioneer unit. With a 7" motorized display, our phones can connect to it by either Bluetooth for a phone or music connection, or via a USB cable for Android Auto. The unit also has a DVD/CD drive, so we can also watch movies in the evening. It also has an SD card reader, so we can put our audiobooks on it, or music albums, for easy retrieval.
The size difference between the two units is significant. The Level 10 fills the double DIN space with a hole that doesn't really hold much, while the Pioneer is more massive. It has many more connectors that I am using (HDMI, camera, rear speakers, and more).
Tony was an able teacher, and it all connected up pretty well. The steering wheel volume control doesn't work, but that's minor compared to being able to listen to WJCT and WUFT with crystal clarity. I took back roads returning to the Beaches and I was delighted how soon WJCT started coming in strong, well before Starke. And I noticed the HD icon when I was still outside St. Augustine, and was able to switch to HD 2 for some classical music.
The touch screen is more responsive than the screen on our Subaru's stereo, It seems like we (Sharon) will be able to adjust things easily on the fly. The Pioneer evidently comes originally with a remote, but that bit the dust sometime while in another car.
A nice feature of Android Auto is that it is Android, so I can ask it questions, tell it to make phone calls, send text, etc. And it can read incoming texts to me. Pioneer put together a nice promotional of its capabilities,
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