sc-vdoc1 vs. scc1 vs. toy-sc1 in 2006

[Ghostrider]

I have searched this forum for 20 pages and 2 hours and must not be doing this right. I am trying to figure out what to purchase for a 2006 Prius and an existing Sirius Starmate 5 (dock and play). Most of the forum items love the TOY-SC1 and SCC1 combo but I cannot find out if this will work with a Starmate. From Crutchfields site it seems that I need the SC-VDOC1 for the Starmate. I cannot figure out what else to buy. Would the VDOC1 plug into the TOY-SC1 and give me MFD displays from the Starmate? The wildcard is that
Crutchfield says the TOY-SC1 is no longer sold...

[PriusLewis]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider

I have searched this forum for 20 pages and 2 hours and must not be doing this right. I am trying to figure out what to purchase for a 2006 Prius and an existing Sirius Starmate 5 (dock and play). Most of the forum items love the TOY-SC1 and SCC1 combo but I cannot find out if this will work with a Starmate. From Crutchfields site it seems that I need the SC-VDOC1 for the Starmate. I cannot figure out what else to buy. Would the VDOC1 plug into the TOY-SC1 and give me MFD displays from the Starmate? The wildcard is that
Crutchfield says the TOY-SC1 is no longer sold...

The TOY-SC1 is compatible with any "SiriusConnect tuner or dock."

Here's a link to the install manual for a TOY-SC1:

http://www.sirius.com/pdf/manuals/TOYSC1_userguide.pdf

The manual for the SC-VDOC1 says "The SCVDOC1 is compatible with the SIRIUS® Stiletto™, Sportster™, Starmate™, Stratus™ radios that have the Sirius Universal Docking Connector." Here's a link to the manual for the SC-VDOC1:

http://www.sirius.com/pdf/manuals/SC...de-110207a.pdf

Since the Starmate 5 uses a dock, and the above reference says the Starmate is compatible, I would assume that you could buy the TOY-SC1 and the SC-VDOC1 and use your Starmate 5 head unit and it would all work. You do need the SC-VDOC1 - the dock that comes with the Starmate 5 only has an audio out, and you need a more sophisticated IO cable between the TOY-SC1 and the Starmate 5 to allow the TOY-SC1 to control the stations on the Starmate 5. You can't do that with the dock that comes with the Starmate 5 - that is what the SC-VDOC1 is for. Here's the manual for the Starmate 5:

http://www.tss-radio.com/images/ST5_Manual.PDF

As for it being out of production, that is probably true. A quick Google search on "buy TOY-SC1" found the following ($99 new or $69 refurbished - the refurbished might actually be a better buy, because these TOY-SC1's had a known issue and quite a few have been reported here on the board as faulty - mine was - so a factory refurb might be better for having this fixed, just my opinion FWIW):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=all

Crutchfield has the dock for $69.

[Ghostrider]

Originally Posted by PriusLewis

The TOY-SC1 is compatible with any "SiriusConnect tuner or dock."

Here's a link to the install manual for a TOY-SC1:

http://www.sirius.com/pdf/manuals/TOYSC1_userguide.pdf

The manual for the SC-VDOC1 says "The SCVDOC1 is compatible with the SIRIUS® Stiletto™, Sportster™, Starmate™, Stratus™ radios that have the Sirius Universal Docking Connector." Here's a link to the manual for the SC-VDOC1:

http://www.sirius.com/pdf/manuals/SC...de-110207a.pdf

Since the Starmate 5 uses a dock, and the above reference says the Starmate is compatible, I would assume that you could buy the TOY-SC1 and the SC-VDOC1 and use your Starmate 5 head unit and it would all work. You do need the SC-VDOC1 - the dock that comes with the Starmate 5 only has an audio out, and you need a more sophisticated IO cable between the TOY-SC1 and the Starmate 5 to allow the TOY-SC1 to control the stations on the Starmate 5. You can't do that with the dock that comes with the Starmate 5 - that is what the SC-VDOC1 is for. Here's the manual for the Starmate 5:

http://www.tss-radio.com/images/ST5_Manual.PDF

Thanks- I found the installation manual for the TOY-SC1 and it shows the configuration with the dock. It also says "compatible headunit types" in one paragrapgh and in a table it says all 2005+ Prius.

Compatible Headunit Types:
• CD only Headunits*
• CD + Cassette Headunits*
• 6-CD changer Headunits*
• Touch Screen Monitor Headunits
• Non-Touch Screen Monitor Headunits
*

Note that the units must have a “SAT” button to access
SIRIUS audio modes.

My 2006 with package 2 does not have a SAT button. I have AM, FM, AUX. Does anyone know if AUX will find a Sirius receiver? The table is VERY misleading since it uses the word "all"

[PriusLewis]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider

My 2006 with package 2 does not have a SAT button. I have AM, FM, AUX. Does anyone know if AUX will find a Sirius receiver? The table is VERY misleading since it uses the word "all"

Correct - there is no SAT "button" anywhere on any Prius. On the touchscreen, when you go through the "MODE" function, on yours you will see FM1, FM2, CD, and AM. Nothing else. Once you install the TOY-SC1, you will see FM1, FM2, CD, AM, SAT1, SAT2, and SAT3. It will magically appear as part of the selections available in "MODE." Each of the SAT screens will offer 6 presets, for a total of 18 available satellite presets.

I have a 2006 package 2, and I've had a TOY-SC1 with their SIRIUS tuner, which has been replaced by a VAISTech SL2xmt with XM. They both did what I describe above. You can see my comparison review of the two units at: Directed TOY-SC!/Sirius vs Vaistech SL2xmt/XM comparison review

[pdhenry]

Originally Posted by PriusLewis

Correct - there is no SAT "button" anywhere on any Prius.

I'm pretty sure my 2008 has a button labeled AM/SAT. It's raining or I'd have gone out to the parking lot to have a look. On subsequent presses of the button the MFD cycles through 3 screens of satellite presets and one AM screen - that much I'm sure of.

PS: the TOY-SC1 is available either new($100) or refurbished ($70) from an Amazon seller.

[Ghostrider]

Thank you very much for the quick and accurate replies. According the picture in my owners manual some models had the AM/SAt button, Probably in a different option package.
I read your review and have one or two more questionsn. If the buttons on the steering wheel do not advance with the presets than it is a safe assumtion that using the presets on the devicce itself still work? Or when you have the 18 presets on the MFD willl touching them also work. This means I have to mount the Starmate someplace where I can reach it and not in the glove box.. Which really means that there isn't much of a benefit to using the TOY-SC1 with a Starmate except seeing the song title on the MFD...

[PriusLewis]

Originally Posted by Ghostrider

Thank you very much for the quick and accurate replies. According the picture in my owners manual some models had the AM/SAt button, Probably in a different option package.
I read your review and have one or two more questionsn. If the buttons on the steering wheel do not advance with the presets than it is a safe assumtion that using the presets on the devicce itself still work? Or when you have the 18 presets on the MFD willl touching them also work. This means I have to mount the Starmate someplace where I can reach it and not in the glove box.. Which really means that there isn't much of a benefit to using the TOY-SC1 with a Starmate except seeing the song title on the MFD...

Yes, it is true that the TOY-SC1 will not allow you to go through the presets. This is one reason I took mine out and replaced it with the VAISTech. Of course, the VAISTech unit won't interface with your SIRIUS radio. I went with the XM that VAISTech offers. So you can go with the TOY-SC1 and live with this limitation and have your SIRIUS radio, or you can change to the VAISTech and XM. Or, you can plug your SIRIUS radio into the AUX port in the bottom front of the console storage bin, and use AUX on the radio. Of course, you will need to use your SIRIUS radio to change channels. This is the cheapest approach.

To me, the XM has superior sound to the SIRIUS. However, with the amp and speakers I have, they do bring out any deficiencies in the signal or original recording. Bot SIRIUS and XM use digital compression to get all the data up to the sellite and back down again. This is called "not enough bandwidth." To accomplish this they compress out some quality on some of the channels (generally the talk channels, but also some of the music channels). This is noticeable to me.

[pdhenry]

Originally Posted by PriusLewis

Yes, it is true that the TOY-SC1 will not allow you to go through the presets.

Perhaps this depends on whether your Prius radio has the Sat button (I have confirmed that my AM button is an AM/Sat button) but the 18 presets on the MFD work just fine, thank you. It is true that the up/down button on the steering wheel steps by individual stations and not by preset - this is a very minor issue. I use it to my advantage by using the steering wheel button to switch between adjacent channels (e.g. 70s-80s or NPRNow-NPR Talk).

I had my plug-and-play Sirius radio connected through the Aux input and decided that going into the console to change channels was a bit of a hassle. The SCVDOC1 and TOY-SC1 combo (on my Sirius-ready radio) provide full integration of Sirius functions into the MFD and steering wheel and are much lower hassle.

[PriusLewis]

Originally Posted by pdhenry

Perhaps this depends on whether your Prius radio has the Sat button (I have confirmed that my AM button is an AM/Sat button) but the 18 presets on the MFD work just fine, thank you. It is true that the up/down button on the steering wheel steps by individual stations and not by preset - this is a very minor issue.

Mine worked exactly like that, and I didn't have the AM/Sat label (although I suspect this is just a difference in labeling, not in functionality). Actually, what you consider a very minor issue was a Big Deal to me. And, yes, I still had the 18 presets that worked just fine. My only issue was the way the steering wheel control worked on SAT.

When the TOY-SC1 died, I decided to go with the VAISTech unit because of that feature (and because I wanted to switch from SIRIUS to XM).