Does anyone know how to work this thing? I want to try to turn it on.

 

you meaan like this?

 

IIRC the phones are analog. You can't get them to work anymore.

 

The phone kit in sc300jz's photo is a Nokia CARK-91H kit with a privacy handset similar to optional handset in current Porsches. We have the same phone kit in our cars and use Nokia 6340i GSM phones in them -- works great, has voice and speed dial, and automatically mutes the radio when a call comes in. A variety of adapter cradles for the CARK-91H are available for newer Nokia phones from providers in the U.K.

There is no hope though for the dealer installed Lexus analog phone systems. I think all the analog in the US is gone but that Rogers in Canada may still support analog.

 

I want to hack a bluetooth headset into it and have it work with the cellphone when your in the car...i dont think it would be that hard...people put bluetooth headsets in all sorts of things...putting it in a phone should be pretty easy

 

Um. Why? ALot of work for no return

 

i just think it would be awesome to have my car phone ring and answer it....yes its easier to just use my phone, or the bluetooth headset, but i love hacking gadgets together...plus if the carphone doesnt work in the first place its almost no chance for loss...bluetooth headsets are cheap now and theres writeups all over the internet....id basically gut it, still leave the chord attached so i didnt loose it, and then put the bt headset speaker where the phones speaker is, and wire the mic to the phones mic....
id also ad an on/off switch so if i just wanna talk on my normal phone i can.

I dont think id actually have functional buttons, but there is a possibility since i can write software for my phone, but it would be very difficult

 

I mean like this

 

ya, thats more of what i was expecting. something like that phone with this mod:
http://cre.ations.net/creation/bluet...-phone-handset
it wouldnt be fully functional,but the cars handset would work like a bluetooth

 

Why not just install a aftermarket hands-free Bluetooth kit. If you "love hacking gadgets together" it's pretty easy to connect a Bluetooth kit so it automatically turns your radio down when a call is in progress and gives you control of your phone with a dash or steering wheel mounted control module. Not that it is the best kit, but the Motorola IHF1000 Bluetooth kit is sold as an official dealer installed accessory by Lexus dealers in Europe and the U.K.

Your 97 SC300 was prewired for a dealer installed Lexus phone so it probably has an audio system mute pin under the arm rest like the 95-00 LS400 does.

I guess I don't like the idea of wearing a headset while driving. A nice aspect of a hands-free phone kit is that it allows all the car's occupants to participate in a call -- my wife and I sometimes talk for hours on the handsfree to people while we drive down boring interstates on weekend trips.

 

Fair enough. And thats why these forums are awesome, because i could take a rediculous roundabout way or i could learn all the options from someone whose done it. That sounds like a pretty good deal though, ill have to look into that

 

Hey I just got a 97 SC400 (very clean). It has a device attached to the steering wheel that has a phone icon, speaker, and 3 buttons (i assume for volume, up down and mute).

Ive pressed the buttons but they dont work, i dont think the device is connected. is this attachment related to the advice you gave "kwheels"? if so, how do I connect the device or make it function with my blackberry?

Thanks in advance,
-Beam

 

The phone command module on the steering wheel is not going to work with your Blackberry and was made to work only with one of the two dealer installed Lexus phone systems that were available in the 1997 model year.

Assuming your Blackberry has Bluetooth, see my earlier post in this thread about installing a Bluetooth phone kit and connecting it to automatically mute your audio system when a call is in progress.