[Q] Car not in stereo ... ideas? - Droid 2 General

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

Related

Audio recording.can the usb port be converted into a linein jack.

I was wondering if anyone knows if it would be possible to use the usb port on the hermes and turn it into a line-in jack using the 8th inch adapter that is meant for audio out via software. Reason being is that with a 400mhz processor and 2-4-6gb sd cards it would be nice if I could turn my device into a portable harddrive recording unit for my mixes. Only problem to that is a line-in. Any intelligent responses are appreciated.
totally possible, and i believe a hardware dongle exists already for that very purpose
but there is no reason why you couldn't modify your original headset (other than the fact it uses tiny wires, as a audiophile i like 4gauge, on everything. haha) to assist you.
easiest thing to do would be lop off the mic and wire a jack onto its pads, BUT you will need to watch your levels in ANY case to make sure you are not giving your device wayyy to much power.
Yeah I definately thought levels would be an issue if i decided to just solder somethin up. Other thing is it's mono. Would be nice to have stereo since Im pretty sure it can handle it. If you could post a link to that hardware dongle you were mentioning i'd appreciate it. If its less than a hundred bucks I just assume get that for the purpose of stereo and not to mention not having to bother with soldering crappy little wires.

FM Modulator?

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

USB Mini A B extension cable?

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!

HTC Charger?

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.....

[DIY] Sound from PC to android and PC headset to android

DIY adapter to use your PC headset in your android :cyclops:
You will need
- 2 female TRS
- 1 male TRRS
- Wires! I strongly recommend USB wires
Ok just weld everything... yes is simple. But how :silly:? Take a look in the pics.
"The original TRRS configuration was created by Nokia and has a pinout", from TIP to SLEEVE, "of Left Audio, Right Audio, Mic, Ground".
=====================
DIY adapter to pass audio from PC or other hardware to your android with male-to-male audio cable
You will need
- 2 female TRS
- 1 male TRRS
- Wires! I strongly recommend USB wires
- Male-to-male audio cable
- Soundabout
Ok just weld everything, everything except the MM and Soundabout ... yes is simple. But how :silly:? Just like the above but also look here first:
"Apple came along and in typical elitist fashion changed their pinout to", from TIP to SLEEVE, "Left Audio, Right Audio, Ground, Mic".
Then this adapter is exactly like the first above, but you will need change the Mic Right to Ground.
To force android to receive the input audio when you plug the male-to-male cable, you may use Soundabout.
Through this configuration you can send audio from any TRS output to your android, then the audio will be captured like a microphone.
=====================
The difference between both is only the MIC and GRND position in the TRRS male. They are switched. By mistake I switched and now I have 2 useful adapters.
BASED ON:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...ultion-why-most-headsets-wont-work-print.html
http://www.splitbrain.org/blog/2010-12/16-using_your_mobile_headset_on_a_pc
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FIRST OLD POST :
Hello knights.
My country are in such a chaos because of the manifest and I'm here mess around with technology... but I'm doing my part too xP.
Anyway, in the last days I was searching and testing a way to send the sound played in my computer, or other device, to my little android (codename Smultron).
With a 3.5mm cable (TRS or the one with 3 contacts) male to male, I plugged into the audio output of my Dell then plugged to my Mini, I started the app to record and... nothing.
Few days later, I used the app Soundabout and... nothing.
More few days later, I did the same thing BUT I don't put the cable until the end, I pulled out a bit, so the 3 contact of the cable stay full visible and... works! I was able do record the audio input of my laptop.
Also, with Soundabout, I was able to stream the audio from my computer to android calls!! For example, if you call me and I answer, if with the cable plugged I play some music on my PC the caller will clear hear what is playing in my computer.
In one more test, I used the MM cable and a splitter. With the Splitter and the cable I was able to stream audio from PC to android mic AND hear the android with a regular earphone, this test was made with a call in course, of course.
But this is only possible because in some way the PC are sending the signal with some extra power. If you try the test with a regular pc headset, without the computer this won't work.
"So why are you here if you did this you noob?" - Well I not figured out why or how the conectors are working when the stream are succesfully done. So I'm here to extend a bit this little research and ask for some help with who master this things. Also I wanna share with you all.
The keys of this are the jack conectors circuit and contacts combinations, and android audio routing using a app like Soundabout.
The main point, in other words, is how to made a DIY cable to stream audio from pc to android mic and with a splitter enable the audio output.
The reason that I'm searching for this is because initially I was looking for a way to did a DIY adapter for PC headphones with two jacks to android input, for single jack.
--
One more little thing, for the people that want to record a call without android modifications, you can plug the same male to male cable to PC MIC and start the sound record app of the Windows, for example.
widek said:
:laugh::laugh:very interested thanks so much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:cyclops: let's rock dude!
I need to discover what points must be in contact with the jack input....
bump
Look for 4-pin jack plug in google.
Sent from my GT-S6500 using xda app-developers app
ozix948d said:
Look for 4-pin jack plug in google.
Sent from my GT-S6500 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering if one of the rings touch the microphone pin inside the jack input and the tip won't touch anything. If the contact of an output was plugged to contact the mic input we got audio from external source to phone...
This is the average TRRS circuit in our mobiles? TRRS circuit
It sounds like you made contact with the input pin, so you might also be contacting an output pin. I'd get a headset adapter cable, so you have an input and output 3.5mm jack.
electromage said:
It sounds like you made contact with the input pin, so you might also be contacting an output pin. I'd get a headset adapter cable, so you have an input and output 3.5mm jack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hummm.
I found some stuff
see the second jack
I finally found something like this
and this
Electro I agree, but I don't found the adapter easily here, so this is one of the reasons of why I want do a DIY.
But you said, I will ask: someone can do the test to send audio from pc to phone through the adapter and with a M to M jack cable?
I will try to found a nice way to do it as an DIY.
I wanna know how this exactly works, If I was searching for ready solution I would be an Apple's zombie xP.
I think I found what I need, let me do something here.... thank you guys. If anyone have more to say please feel welcome.
Yeah I nailed it!
I made a DIY adapter for PC headphones to android (at least the Xperia Mini) and a DIY adapter to send audio to android trough a male-to-male cable. Soon I will post pictures.

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