SappyEF9

I was wondering if anyone knows how I can activate the car phone I have in my Lexus, LS400. What with the new "both hands" on the steering wheel law and everything, I thought I might take this opportunity to try so. Any details would be appreciated.

Thanks

Kenny

ChasFenwick

What I did when I faced your problem was to determine which of the local cell phone companies was closely affiliated with Motorola, then drove to their installation and repair facility. They set me up with an account and made the necessary data inputs to my Lexus phone in just a couple of minutes. That's all there was to it.

That was for a 1990 LS400. I hope that in the intervening years they have improved the phone, because it was a dog.

Frequently when I drove around the state I would have my pocket phone with me in addition to the built-in phone. I would occasionally make performance comparisons. The results were startling. The pocket phone had considerably better range! Also, as I approached the free MSA from a costly RSA, the Lexus phone would hold on to the rural carrier much longer than the pocket phone would. This is of course ridiculous.

Also, the Lexus phone was mounted directly under the back deck, and on hot sunny days the heat would cause it to go so far off frequency that it was useless.

Also, the hands-free mic performance was so poor that people I was talking with would declare that they couldn't understand me, requesting that I pick up the handset!! Even then, I made a couple of comparisons and was told that I sounded a lot better on the pocket phone.

But, as art, the phone did look good, and the buttons on the steering column were neat.

SappyEF9

Thanks!

My question comes in at how much does it cost? I already have an existing account and a Nokia phone. Are there going to be extra charges on my account? How long ago did you do this?

Thanks!

Kenny Hy

ChasFenwick

This was done somewhere around the first of 1994.

I don't think there was any upfront activation charge. If there was, it was minimal. The monthly charge was the same as it would have been for any cellular phone. At the time, it was strictly x dollars per month for each phone.

Nowadays I guess there are a variety of "packages" where you wouldn't have to pay double for two phones vs. one phone on the same "account," and where your included x minutes per month can be used across multiple phones. Back then at least, there weren't any special deals like that.

Seems to me that I was paying $19.95 per month, with 20 minutes included. Something like that. Obviously, I didn't intend to use it very much, and as it turned out that was a very good plan indeed.

roguenode

My 90 ls has the old clunky motorola as well. But, it's great for it's hand's free and stereo muting features. Pulls a good signal, much stronger than hand-held analog.

Anyway, more directly to your question. I simply walked into a local cell shop that provides regional and roaming analog service and told them I wanted it setup. They made one quick phone call, then went with me to the car, we setup the unit in a matter of minutes. I got basic coverage (very low minutes for emergency use) for 10 bucks a month. I was NOT charged for activation.

I recently setup my digital service (spriint) so I can easily forward my sprint calls to the car number. Then when I'm going to be driving for a while or expect a call I just open my sprint phone and say "car forward" and it's forwarded. Love that voice service. :-) "Stop forward" sets it back when I leave the car.

Good luck

SappyEF9

I called the Cingular Wireless store here and they told me that they don't do that, because their network doesn't support it. Sad huh? But I"m going to keep trying anyways, because their service sucks. I always get a system busy and weak signals. Should I end my contract and go with AT&T? or Sprint?

Thanks!

roguenode

sprint wouldn't do mine cause it's analog (90ls). You might have better luck if your phone supports Sprint's pcs digital, but I doubt it does. Every digital capable car phone I've ever seen has been standard digital spectrum, not Sprint's.