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
Related
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)
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.
Anyone find a source for USB extension cables for the Touch Pro? I want to run a cable in my car from my touch pro mount to the center counsle where I will have the audio dongle. which will branch off to a charger and line out to my Aux in. Otherwise I have to have the exposed audio adapter and then two cables running out of that instead of the one single extension cable I want to run to the center console. Really hoping I don't have to build my own.
I suspect this will be hard to find, considering it's not just a standard mini USB cable.
I like the idea behind it though. I was thinking about the same type of thing in my car and I'm waiting on getting a couple different docks so I can see if they will fit my needs once I rip them apart.
You need an extUSB extension cable. It should be around $10-$30. Depends on where you get it from. I'm thinking try eBay/expansys-usa/htc store
Kraize said:
You need an extUSB extension cable. It should be around $10-$30. Depends on where you get it from. I'm thinking try eBay/expansys-usa/htc store
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been looking at all the normal sources, the problem is I need it to end in the same female plug that is in the Touch Pro (so I can plug the audio dongle into it). Having zero luck finding it.
I have to disappoint you: if you connect both the audio and the charger from your car, you'll get a loud noise because of lack of grounding in car
darfri said:
I have to disappoint you: if you connect both the audio and the charger from your car, you'll get a loud noise because of lack of grounding in car
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easily fixable:Ground loop Isolator http://www.crutchfield.com/p_127SNI135/PAC-SNI-1-3-5-Noise-Filter.html?search=ground+loop&tp=2653
fishzine said:
Easily fixable:Ground loop Isolator http://www.crutchfield.com/p_127SNI135/PAC-SNI-1-3-5-Noise-Filter.html?search=ground+loop&tp=2653
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it work?
3in1 11 PIN ExtUSB Earphone Handsfree Adapter for HTC
Finally appeared on eBay what I was looking for a long time!!
I think that is the same that you are looking for!
http://cgi.ebay.com/3in1-11-PIN-Ext...AU_MobilePhoneAccessories&hash=item3cabfd9d0b
Now I will not have a lot of wires apparent in the dashboard of my car!
not yet tested, I just bought!
I just received an HTC Charger that I ordered from "Android Central" and the part that connects to the PHONE is not the same as the original that came with my HTC Hero... I am just wondering if it makes a difference or not...
The HTC Charger from Android Central works perfectly fine, I am just wondering why its different from my original that came in the HTC Hero box.
It may just be a standard mini USB. They work just fine, but they don't have the "HTC rounded end"
and in order for it to charge as fast as the stock charger it needs to be 1000MaH..or (1amp)
The mini-USB will work fine but may feel a little looser than the HTC version.
I have always wondered what HTC was thinking when they designed this? They sell a plug that won't go into anything else but an HTC phone and yet any mini-USB will fit into the phone's input.
I'm not complaining but it seems like if they wanted to go out of their way to have a proprietary interface (like Sony-Ericsson) they would have made it, well... more "proprietary".
watzone69 said:
The mini-USB will work fine but may feel a little looser than the HTC version.
I have always wondered what HTC was thinking when they designed this? They sell a plug that won't go into anything else but an HTC phone and yet any mini-USB will fit into the phone's input.
I'm not complaining but it seems like if they wanted to go out of their way to have a proprietary interface (like Sony-Ericsson) they would have made it, well... more "proprietary".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I really don't understand why they put the slanty-bit at the right instead of just making it stansard mini USB. They have been switching to micro USB for their new phones (i.e. Nexus One, Desire, HD2)
HeroMeng said:
Yeah, I really don't understand why they put the slanty-bit at the right instead of just making it stansard mini USB. They have been switching to micro USB for their new phones (i.e. Nexus One, Desire, HD2)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's one big, distinct advantage of their special connector: extra pins.
These extra pins are used for audio (and sometimes video) output. This is critical for people like me, as I only have to plug in one connector in my car to both charge the phone and get audio into the stereo. You can't do that with mini-USB.
Mini-USB connectors should not be any looser than the HTC one.
jonnythan said:
There's one big, distinct advantage of their special connector: extra pins.
These extra pins are used for audio (and sometimes video) output. This is critical for people like me, as I only have to plug in one connector in my car to both charge the phone and get audio into the stereo. You can't do that with mini-USB.
Mini-USB connectors should not be any looser than the HTC one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. My car has a radio w/ an auxiliary input, so I use a mini USB charger and plug the aux into the audio jack to navigate.
HeroMeng said:
True. My car has a radio w/ an auxiliary input, so I use a mini USB charger and plug the aux into the audio jack to navigate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats what i would do..until i got my car (and stereo) jacked lol.....
I greatly apologize if this should be in accessories (I think it splits the issue), but my Droid 2 (and my Incredible) plays only on the driver's side speaker using the audio cable I have. Oddly, my iPod Nano plays in proper stereo. Does anyone have a clue why there would be such a difference? Please note: It is not an iPod cable (i know there may be some difference if it was). Thanks!
have you tried a different 3.5mm cable?
Would rather have an answer to the posted question (as then there might be some light shred on what cable to buy ... Again, the ipod plays just fine so there is something else going on). As always any actual answers are appreciated!
Well I have a droid 2 plugged into my 3.5mm cable and it plays stereo from default settings. There are many things that can be causing the issue, however a 3.5mm cable for $3.00 USD is most likely going to be the cheapest route for diagnosing. The lack of information provided is not going to help anyone assist you nor is answering facetiously. You have not stated if you have tried this cable in other cars/equipment or tried you phone in other equipment. That is another step that I would take in order to resolve the issue.
...
<sigh> Of course, it will not do this board any good to continue to debate the quality of a non-answer. Randomly buying new cables is not the answer to a technical inquiry.
I continue to hope SOMEONE WHO KNOWS will respond. Perhaps, for example, there are different types of stereo 3.5mm cables, and someone will say "Oh, the D2 requires a 3.5mm cable which has XXX; watch out they also have 3.5mm cables which have YYY, which is what you may have."
Anyway, if anyone knows, please respond, so that others who have this problem will find the answer on a search (even if it is on post # 6). Thanks.
Have you tried the phone with this cable in any other equipment or with any other system? A 3.5mm is a 3.5mm cable.
If you have a set of head phones, plug those into your D2, does it play audio on both sides? Or just one?
If the answer is just one side, then quite possibly its your phone that is the issue.
...
Despite what looked like a bad debate with theecho, we had a few back and forths via PM.
I tried a standard green cable from my computer system and it worked great. I note that cable I had been using was a "Sony" cable (dunno from what) - no idea why it didn't put out stereo on the Droid 2 (but did on the nano).
Hope to buy a non-Sony cable and see how it goes. Thanks all.
Hmm I think it might be the cable lol
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
For the record- there are at least two kinds of common 3.5mm plug. One has two bands and the other has one band.
The plug with two bands carries two distinct signals (left and right) that share a common 'ground' wire. This is called stereo since it carries both left and right channels.
The single band plug carries only one channel and is referred to as mono.
So if it's a mono plug, the iPod may detect that and switch to mono output.
You could test that by changing the pan in your car. If you hear different things from each side, you've got stereo. If they're the same, you might have mono.
I've seen plugs of each type used for non-audio purposes. TI has used those plugs on their data cables, for example. All that to say, it's very possible that you had an oddball cable lying around, and your iPod just handled it better.
Hopefully that gives you some of the underlying info you wanted.
Sent from my Full Android on Vogue using XDA App
mrkite38 said:
For the record- there are at least two kinds of common 3.5mm plug. One has two bands and the other has one band.
The plug with two bands carries two distinct signals (left and right) that share a common 'ground' wire. This is called stereo since it carries both left and right channels.
The single band plug carries only one channel and is referred to as mono.
So if it's a mono plug, the iPod may detect that and switch to mono output.
You could test that by changing the pan in your car. If you hear different things from each side, you've got stereo. If they're the same, you might have mono.
I've seen plugs of each type used for non-audio purposes. TI has used those plugs on their data cables, for example. All that to say, it's very possible that you had an oddball cable lying around, and your iPod just handled it better.
Hopefully that gives you some of the underlying info you wanted.
Sent from my Full Android on Vogue using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info. I will add this to my arsenal.
I had this same problem. Turns out the plug wasn't in all the way. Try giving it a little bit of force. Droid2's headphone jack is a bit tight.
We'll know soon ...
Theecho - thanks for your public and private guidance!
mrkite38 - That is the information I was looking for and it makes sense. I mean, there HAS to be a difference (although I still don't know why Sony would make a mono cable).
I have a belkin cable coming from Amazon today (I was ordering something else for my Incredible, so I figured I would tack it on). We'll see how it goes.
I am having the same issue with a "cheap" cable and am eager to see your results.
Can either of you say whether the plug on the cable you're using has one or two bands on it?
That was it!
mrkite38 had the answer. The new cable, which is in stereo, has 2 bands; the old cable has 1.
Picture attached. That you Mr. Kite.
Sweet! Glad we got it sorted.
Sent from my Full Android on Vogue using XDA App
jdmba said:
mrkite38 had the answer. The new cable, which is in stereo, has 2 bands; the old cable has 1.
Picture attached. That you Mr. Kite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also concur