Having previously owned a IIs and having a standard usb cradle in my car run from a usb connectored "cigarette lighter adapter", I'm used to using my devices as a portable "car stereo". I even wired it up to replace my old crap car stereo, using a small "cheap boy-racer style" £30 stereo power amp under the dash. This has been great for the last year. I get in the car, dock the xda IIs into the cradle, plug in the headphone socket which is wired into the amp and hey presto, music - and tom tom prompts through the car speakers.
Recently I've been eyeing up the xda exec(JasJar/Universal) and after getting a second hand colleague to buy my IIis, decided to get the new device. Obviously the shorter battery life is a bit of a shock compared to my old one, but I was pleasantly suprised that
1) The audio output seems a better quality
2) The new device no longer needed a custom USB cradle plinth or gooseneck holder, ... I could place the "open clam" in the recess in my instrument panel, to the right of my speedo. Basically sitting just behind the steering wheel, which also solves the night-time reflection issues of a bright display.
Just one problem, I discovered that the USB sync cable supplied with the new device doesnt seem to enable charging to the exec when I plugged it into the 12Volt to USB adapter that worked with the XDA IIs that I wired into my dashboard.
So I decided to buy a new car power adapter for the new Exec, egged on by installing the great "mort player" which has an ideal "large button" interface on a black background which is ideal for use in the car.... and it doesnt forget the playlist like media player 10 seems to do each time you run it...
However, When the car power adapter arrived today, (from expansys)
http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=125511
To my dismay it is very noisy! the audio output to my amp sounds great with just the headphone output to my mini under dash amplifier, but only on battery power. But when the adapter is supplying power, the audio output becomes "crackly" Any electonics boffins have any suggestions to remove the "noise" with capacitors, if so what type and where should I put them, on the audio, or inline with the cigarette power adapter dc input somewhere, or should I just send it back and try and source a better quality adapter?
Expansys also do 2 other models -
http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=125969
http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=125970
Does anyone know if these are as noisy as the other one? Does anyone else have a similar setup?
Thanks in advance
Derek
you have a ground loop. in america, we use negative as the ground, so be carefull with what I'm telling you (posative is ground in some countries).
What you need to do is run the amp and cigarette lighter off the same ground(s) and possibly the same feeds (supply voltage). Make sure you fuse the lines appropriately, or you might fry something.
I would suggest installing a secondary cigarett lighter outlet somewhere convenient (so you don't cross any other circuts in your car, and burn stuff out), and run it off the same points that your amplifier gets it's power. Fuse the new outlet with the appropriate fuse (should be 5 or 10 amps), and give your new setup a whirl. It's a cheap alternative for you to try (should be about $10 or 8 euro?)
Good luck, and remember, NOT MY FAULT WHAT YOU DO> TRY THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!!
I agree with him ^
JAmes
Strangely - today the noise is gone... hmm... very strange...
perhaps it was a solar flare, or another explosion at hemel
or more likely - perhaps there was a loose connection somewhere!
Thanks for all the advice guys, I will certainly make sure I avoid any ground loops and ground the audio on the same physical connection as the car earth. I'll check this at the weekend when I have some daylight to work in!. I'll do this when wiring the new adapter in properly - I can't bear it hanging out of the lighter socket with the near the indicator stalk!
I can say the Exec is great device though... Its a far better solution for car audio - and no leaving an expensive hifi in the car to be stolen.
Hopefully someone else is inspired by this post to also use the device in this way. If you want plenty of storage for a full install of the tomtom uk map and loads of music, you'll be interested to hear that you can actually get a 2 gig card now from ebuyer for about £60!
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...vd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=103013
Cheers
Derek
This is very valuable info
interestingfellow said:
you have a ground loop. in america, we use negative as the ground, so be carefull with what I'm telling you (posative is ground in some countries).
What you need to do is run the amp and cigarette lighter off the same ground(s) and possibly the same feeds (supply voltage). Make sure you fuse the lines appropriately, or you might fry something.
I would suggest installing a secondary cigarett lighter outlet somewhere convenient (so you don't cross any other circuts in your car, and burn stuff out), and run it off the same points that your amplifier gets it's power. Fuse the new outlet with the appropriate fuse (should be 5 or 10 amps), and give your new setup a whirl. It's a cheap alternative for you to try (should be about $10 or 8 euro?)
Good luck, and remember, NOT MY FAULT WHAT YOU DO> TRY THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)
Related
I still have an old Nokia carkit in my car and I was thinking of replacing it with one of those brodit cradles. My main problem is that I don't want to use the cigar lighter for power.
Is it possible to just cut the usb connector of the cigar lighter loader cable, connect it to one of the cables from my old Nokia carkit and use this for loading?
Dont do that, its possible you could fry your device or at least do some damage.
I am biased, yes, as I retail the Brodit kits, i would advise spending a little more and getting the 971671 Molex Hard Wired kit that allows you to safley hard wire it to your cars power system, and also power any BT GPS reciver with an additional Molex adapter lead that fits your unit (Holux, Edo, Haicom etc)
Hope that helps, if you need any advice, drop me a line,
Thanks,
Bryson
I think I'll look into that option, it seems a lot safer and easier.
Is it hard to do the fixed installation yourself or is it better to go to the car dealer and have them install it?
Hi,
It depends on whether you have easy access to the console beind your stereo head unit, and how familiar you are with the wiring, not all cars are obvious as to which to attach the loose end cables too!,
- also, if it is a car you care for and need to keep warranty on, I would sincerley recommend going to a dealer, it should not be too expensive, its quite a quick job, depending on your car, and if you do go the Brodit route, you can fit the Proclip and Molex holder yourself, thats a 2 minute job,
Hope that helps,
Thanks again,
Bryson
DO NOT CONNECT YOUR MINIUSB CABLE TO THE CARS MAINS
Yes, you will probably destroy your Prophet. USB powered devices run at 5V, a normal computer USB port can provide a maximum of 500ma. The voltage in your car is 12 volts and a direct connection can provide whatever current that leg is fused for. Don't worry about the current DO worry about the voltage. The cigar lighter adapter most people use contains a voltage regulator to reduce the voltage to 5v and a very low current fuse. The one sitting on my desk is 2A (2000ma). If you want a do it yourself solution you can get a 7805 voltage regulator at any Radio Shack or any other electronics supply store. You wont even need a heat sink as the Prophet is desined to only draw a few hundred milliamps and the 7805 is rated at 1A. There are only 3 leads on the 7805 one for the 12V in, one for the 5v out and a common/ground. These are not the most efficent regulators but will be fine in your car.
-j
I have a a USB mini extension lead, so I'm trying to plug in a 3-to-1 adapter to it. So male USB mini, the a-symetrical type (flat one side) to a female USB mini, the symetrical type (wings on both sides). Obviously this doesn't fit!
So is there a USB Mini (female a-symetrical) to USB mini (male symetrical) adapter?
Or could someone at least tell me their proper names so I can google it?
What are you trying to achieve? If it is to increase the cable length between the 3in1 and the Kaiser, I think you would need an ExtUSB patch lead with all 11 pins wired to retain the functionality of the 3in1. I don't know if these leads even exist.
The Asymetrical female socket, like the one on the base of the Kaiser, is double sided on the internal plastic "island" and has 5 contacts on one side and 6 contacts on the other.
The power and data are on the top 5 connectors.
The audio in/out & talk/end are on the bottom 6 connectors.
This is known as ExtUSB and is peculiar to HTC devices.
The Symetrical plug/socket is standard mini USB and will only ever have power and data connections. The mini USB plug only connects to the top 5 connectors in an ExtUSB socket.
Ouch, my dreams of the perfect in-car system dashed! Thanks wizzard that's really explained it very well.
The objective is to have a nice looking car install with only one wire leading to the Kaiser, and the 3-in-one hidden. So ideally:
Power \/
Audio > 3-in-one >> USB extension >> Kaiser
Hands free /\
It was hard enough finding the mini USB extension, so as you say an ExtUSB extension lead may not even exist
I purchased this adaptor for less than £10 from ebay. It ticks all the boxes for me and is the most discrete adaptor I could find. The 3in1 adaptors like this one dont come with a mic so wont work as a hands free without additional adaptors.
My intention is to have the plug fixed to a Brodit mount. The cable is no thicker than headphone cable. This 90cm cable will route to behind the steering wheel on the cowling. The adaptor is flat and low profile with the answer/hang up button on the top. Easily pressed through the steering wheel spokes. The audio 3.5mm and mini USB leads plug in at right angles to each other but will easily route out of site, behind the dash to USB car charger and 3.5mm MP3 In socket on the head unit.
It all works as expected, and even at Motorway speeds callers can hear me clearly. Voice Command works fine, TomTom and Media Player sound great. My only problem is alternator whine when charging, which I think is just an earthing problem. When I get it all properly finished I will post some photos.
After work, wife, kids etc. have finished with me.
Thanks Wizzard. Not a bad solution, and the best so far without the existence of an ExtUSB extension lead.
My only problem with it is that (I assume) it forces the kaiser into handfree mode even when all I was to do is charge and listen to music from the 3.5mm connection.
Again, I am assuming here, but I thought the second adapter you cite would only initiate hands free when I plug in the hands free into its port. I could be wrong on that one though.
Perhaps my issue is a small price to pay for 8gbs of music in the car
foaf said:
I thought the second adapter you cite would only initiate hands free when I plug in the hands free into its port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont have the bulky 3in1 to test, sorry. For me when listening to music and TomTom the audio mutes when I take a call and then resumes seamlessly on hang up without needing to physically touch the Kaiser. I only need to touch the Kaiser to press the Voice Command key once to launch programs and initiate calls.
wizzzard said:
I purchased this adaptor for less than £10 from ebay. It ticks all the boxes for me and is the most discrete adaptor I could find. The 3in1 adaptors like this one dont come with a mic so wont work as a hands free without additional adaptors.
My intention is to have the plug fixed to a Brodit mount. The cable is no thicker than headphone cable. This 90cm cable will route to behind the steering wheel on the cowling. The adaptor is flat and low profile with the answer/hang up button on the top. Easily pressed through the steering wheel spokes. The audio 3.5mm and mini USB leads plug in at right angles to each other but will easily route out of site, behind the dash to USB car charger and 3.5mm MP3 In socket on the head unit.
It all works as expected, and even at Motorway speeds callers can hear me clearly. Voice Command works fine, TomTom and Media Player sound great. My only problem is alternator whine when charging, which I think is just an earthing problem. When I get it all properly finished I will post some photos.
After work, wife, kids etc. have finished with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi!
Unfortunately the link to the item you have is broken...
I'm trying exactly what you wanna do, I bought this extension.
Is this the same of you?
It works, but I have annoying noise on audio when it's connected to the USB power jacket.
How to fix this?
Thanks a lot.
I want to ditch my ipod.
Problem is, I drive for ~8 hours a day, and require music that doesn't suck (or sucks hard, depending on your taste). I have an itrip that plugs into the 12v cigar lighter plug in my work truck which allows it to charge my ipod and broadcast my music over any specified FM station I want.
Anybody know of a device that would do such a task for my tilt? Adapter maybe? Pinouts of both the usb plug and an ipod connector and a place to buy a male usb plug and female ipod connector? Thoughts? Hate?
You'd need to spend all nearly £20, but one way of doing it would be to get a 3 Way Mini USB - 3.5mm audio jack which allows you to charge the Kaiser while also having a 3.5mm headphone jack that you can connect to a new FM Transmitter (unless your current one can take 3.5mm and not just iPod) and it should all work like your current setup....
http://www.gpsforless.co.uk/product_details.php?id=9659
http://www.gpsforless.co.uk/product_details.php?id=10726
Or if you feel like spending a bit more money, you can get some decent bluetooth car stereos for around £150, and then play music in your car the same as playing it though bluetooth headphones, this is the route I went down after my car stereo needed replacing and the sound is alot better then the FM transmitter option. I went for the cheapest option - Sony MEX-BT3600U CD PlayerFree Store Fitting which hasn't caused me any problems and also doubles as a in-car handsfree kit.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...yrn_31371_crumb_31265-31371_topcategory_31371
Quite a few posts that you can tangent onto, such as http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=332164
Okay, I think I am going to have to pull something out of my ass for a solution. I knew about charging the phone while using a headset, which would be dandy if there was a way to power the fm modulator. But it was a nice kick to the mental process in the right direction. Thank you!
I have two units, one is a 1/8 inch modulator which runs on batteries. I hate it. The other is my ipod dingy, which does exactly for my ipod what I want to do with my phone.
I think what I am going to do is buy one of the headphone adaptors, and pull it apart to see if there is a way to isolate the power input and audio output, then either integrate a modulator using that power source, or find a way to splice it into my ipod's cable.
I am not going to buy a radio, I change vehicles every day and don't feel like paying for a fleet to all have fancy head units in them. Maybe my daily driver, but not every vehicle I would drive in a given month.
What I got was the following:
1. iPod FM transmitter that used 3.5mm plug & spans 88.1-107.9 freq's ~ $40US
2. mini USB 3-plug adapter - charging, 3.5mm audio out, mini USB for other accessories <-- IMPORTANT ~ $5US
3. 3.5mm speaker/mic cable ( to allow hands-free talking ) ~ $5US
4. 2 DC cigarette lighter splitter ~ $7US
5. MP3 player/Phone adapter that locks onto air vents ~ $9US
It sounds like a lot, but it works really nicely. lol. Plug the 2 DC splitter into your cigarette lighter to give you 2 DC "outlets".
Plug the phone's DC adapter into 1 outlet & the iPod fm transmitter into the other outlet.
Plug the phone's DC adapter usb connector into the first port ( left-most ) of the 3-in-1 adapter.
Plug the speaker/mic cable into the 3rd port ( right-most ) of the 3-in-1 adapter.
Plug the iPod fm transmitter's 3.5mm plug into the speaker/mic cable.
select a station w/ nothing but static... preferably static on BOTH sides... ie, if 88.3, 88.5 and 88.7 are all static-y, then 88.5 is your best bet for quality audio. set your iPod's fm transmitter to that station.
I got the fm transmitter and car mount from wal-mart & the others from eBay.
I use the Motorola T501, works flawlessly and I'd highly recommend it. I got mine for about $60 US
Brian:
For the high tech solution:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=250293443325
OR
http://www.semsons.com/2miusband3st.html
+
dual 12v accessory/lighter splitter
+
any lighter powered 3.5 mm FM Modulator of your choice
+
lighter charger
OT, are you in the Skyfire beta? If not, you should be. http://www.skyfire.com
Try "phelps8" beta code, to get in right away.
If you get into the beta, I might be able to get you into the alpha... (I was the fourth person to be accepted into the alpha) :-o
We should grab lunch sometime to swap apps. I'm sure there is an app or two I have on my "wimpy cdma little brother" of an HTC device that would benifit your signaless, ir-less, gsm'd htc. Maybe you even have a program or two I've never seen.
Protonus said:
OT, are you in the Skyfire beta? If not, you should be. http://www.skyfire.com
Try "phelps8" beta code, to get in right away.
If you get into the beta, I might be able to get you into the alpha... (I was the fourth person to be accepted into the alpha) :-o
We should grab lunch sometime to swap apps. I'm sure there is an app or two I have on my "wimpy cdma little brother" of an HTC device that would benifit your signaless, ir-less, gsm'd htc. Maybe you even have a program or two I've never seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been in the skyfire beta since before you had a touchscreen, holmes. I stopped using it because I like opera more.
I am planning on going to help out airbox tomorrow with some lock situation he has. Maybe you should check our other forum. Aaron, Aaron, Brian, James, Marnie, Sean, and myself are going to be meeting up sometime next week to annoy Noy at work. I'll load up my microsd with some more files than I usually carry, just for you. <3
Anyone have one of these Motorola T501 bluetooth FM-Transmitters?
How is the sound for listening to MP3's? Any complaints?
jsd2 said:
Anyone have one of these Motorola T501 bluetooth FM-Transmitters?
How is the sound for listening to MP3's? Any complaints?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do , and the FM modulator built into it is the best I've ever used. It auto searches for good stations, and no pops, crackles, hiccups, nothin. I can't even tell the reduction in quality when streaming internet radio to it, to my car vs any other FM channel. I'd say it's at least FM quality.
Hooking your phone directly to your stereo with a 3.5 mm audio adaptor, is going to sound better no doubt. But I can bring this thing in a rental or someone elses car with me, and get my favorite internet radio or MP3's wherever I want.
I ordered one of these last week, it does the job.
http://www.buygpsnow.com/OnCourse-Ed-3-Powered-Mount-with-Integrated-FM-Transmiter-for-ATandT-Tilt--HTC-P4550TyTN-II--Kaiser__958.aspx
I can't seem to locate the thread I saw a while back regarding someone wanting an extension cable for the T.V. out USB dongle for a Fuze.
I also wanted to port into my car's radio (touchscreen w/audio & video in/out jacks) and also supply power without having a tangle of wires. The t.v. dongle has a power-in jack on the side but that would result in a mess and I, apparently not alone, was looking for an 11 pin miniUSB extension cable. Seems nobody can find such an animal. However, during a trip to WalMart I found a car charger adaptor for Motorola phones with a 90 degree plug and a coiled cord. Not quite as neat as an extension would have been but with the jack arranged to point down the side of the dongle, the coiled portion can wrap around the dongle's cable. $15 and the search was over.
Heelo beav12
I was probably the one looking for the cable. I have my Fuze in a cradle in my car and I have the HTC A/V cable plugged into the bottom of the cradle so when I slide my fuze into it, I get connection to my Avic-D3 and I can see whatever the fuze sees on the Avic screen. However, in order to keep the phone charged, I have to plug in another cable into the jack on the little junction box and now I have 2 cables and an ugly box hanging below my phone.
I have searched high and low for an 11 pin mini USB extension cable to no avail and the 2 different styles of A/V cables for the phone either have the junction box 2-3 inches from the end where it plugs into the phone (which is what I have now) or if the junction is at the other end of the cable by the RCA plugs, it lacks the charging port! HOW F$#@$%ing dumb are these engineers??? All I want to do is hide the mess behind the dash and have just ONE SINGLE CABLE running up to the phone cradle.
If anyone has any ideas before I start cutting and soldering, please let me know!
Thanks for such a GREAT site here and hopefully someone will come up with a solution besides cut and burn!
Good day to all!
ITAdmin
After many hours of research and hands on work I have finished my in dash install in my MK4 Golf. Stock 5.0.2 with Timur's Kernel, Power Amp and Torque Pro.
First thing I'd like to say, I am HORRIBLE at plastic work. So my finished trim piece is not as clean as I'd like it to be but I had to stop and paint as I was just doing more harm than good. When I have some time I think I'm going to try and fix the trim, I'm going to see if there's someone local that can give me some pointers.
I used ABS cement to bond the trimmed metra kit to the modified trim piece, than I used plastic bumper filler to fill the gaps and finally sand prime and paint... Im a sound/electronic type guy with a small mechanical background.. NOT a body man. Lol
I wanted to make this a permanent install, contrary to the pre made trim pieces I could have bought that would have made the tablet removable. So I decided to mount it behind the trim piece rather than in the front. I also used PL Premium glue to hold the tablet in place.. This stuff is AMAZING.
http://www.lepageproducts.com/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=137
I relocated my Pioneer DEH-80PRS to the glovebox, made a secondary "kill switch" hidden in the ashtray and added 3 USB ports under the main trim piece just above the ashtray. Nice thing is I sourced the interior parts so I still have all the stock pieces in case I sell the car.
OK, so here's what I used:
Nexus 7 2013 (obviously)
OTG charging cable
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00SMCJ8U6
Metra Double Din kit
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B002U5UD8C
For power I used this step down module
http://m.ebay.ca/itm?itemId=331477762049
Belkin Bluetooth receiver modified to accept power via USB (already owned one)
http://m.belkin.com/us/p/P-F8Z492/
And I also ordered a Bluetooth OBDII
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B009NPAORC
My deck has Bluetooth as well as 2 USB ports and 2 line in 1 rca input and 1 1/4 headphone jack. Now, I wanted to keep the Bluetooth available for my phone (nexus 6) so I used the belkin adaptor to receive the audio via Bluetooth from the tablet, convert it to line out and used a 1/4 jack to rca to input into my deck. The belkin receiver is located behind the tablet.
I then used 1 USB port from my deck to power the belkin and the other with an extension to one of the previously mentioned added ports. The other two are connected to a non powered hub (behind the tablet) and plugged into the OTG cable. From there I can freely plug in my USB sticks with music or movies and can swap them at any time.
I took an unused 12v accessory line from the fuse box ran it to the switch I mounted in place of the lighter (beside the ashtray) and from there to a relay. The relay takes constant power from the existing lighter power supply wires, and feeds the 12v downstep module located under the center console, (plugged into OTG cable of course) now depending on the position of the switch the tablet will turn on with the key, or accessory position of the key like the stereo does. This way if I don't want the tablet to turn on, say, in -30 Celsius I have this option.
Here are a few pictures I took with my nexus 6.