How to make a xda2 car kit - General Accessories

Hi,
I'm planning to make a car kit for my xda2 using a second-hand car kit from another phone, a spare cradle and some creative thinking.
My aim is to make an installed car kit with the following features:
1) Charge the phone from the car battery.
2) All phone and pda audio to come from the car speakers, not the pda speaker.
3) Easy to put in and take out of cradle.
4) Able to use voice activated software via installed car mic.
I will document what I do (with photo's) here and try to put together a step-by-step guide, but I could use some help.
Has anyone tried this with any amount of success? I have seen the connector pin diagrams etc on the wiki site. Can anyone add to these?
Just as imporantly, has anyone tried this and fried their xda2??? :?
Please post your advice here and I'll let you know how I go.
Cheers,
Hooligan

Have tried it with a nokia cark91 but with no succes because the nokia cark91 uses the FBUS to activate certain features.
Didn't have enough knowledge of both to write a program which could emulate the FBUS protocol.
Will be watching your progress. Very interesting!
Success.
Mark

T-mobile can't build one, O2 can't build one, Catcomm can't build one, even i can't build one :roll: :mrgreen:
Why do you think you would succeed ?
Serious : All the info needed is on this site, and/or in my head. Theoreticaly it should work, but it doesn't.... Biggest problem is that the XDA2/MDA2 ONLY gives audio trough the bottom connector if you're in Call, so forget voicedialing or TomTom over the carkitspeaker.
Easyest solution is to build a carkit with you can connect to the headset connection.

Connectors ?
Hello
I seek the diagram of the connector 22 pins for XDA II
je fabrique un Kit main libre avec GPS
MERCI MERCI

Hi Alain,
Look here:
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/wiki/Connectors
Hi Jpiek,
thanks for the words of encouragement! :wink:
I'm studying the circuit diagrams for the nokia car kit I have obtained. I'll let you know how my experiments go...I have to agree, I think that the earphone jack may be the best way to go....
Hooligan

I spent many hours doing this with an XDA I, and got something sort of working but not what I really wanted. Here are some notes...
The XDA I has a horrible ground loop problem on both the input and output. I don't know if the II has the same problem, but I imagine so.
The output is very low, requiring a pre-amp. And because of the above, it had to be ground-isolated, which adds a lot of complexity (for someone like me who is MANY years past high school electronics class...).
Ericsson and Nokia car kits require some proprietary signalling in order to function, so they were useless as a starting base.
The built-in mic is actually quite usable in-car, producing a slightly hollow and distant sound but not horribly so. It has quite effective echo cancellation.

Thank you very for this address
who my permi to produce a connector for a SPV E200
but the stitching of the SPV M1000 does not correpond I
continue my research
goodbye

OK, looks like zapro has beaten me to the punch.
He has updated the connectors page in the wiki with a car kit wiring diagram and has started a new post - "Finally !!! DIY car-handsfree for XDA"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=11063
I'll keep experimenting as I don't think he has all of the audio output through the car stereo yet.
Well done Zapro!

hooligan said:
OK, looks like zapro has beaten me to the punch.
He has updated the connectors page in the wiki with a car kit wiring diagram and has started a new post - "Finally !!! DIY car-handsfree for XDA"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=11063
I'll keep experimenting as I don't think he has all of the audio output through the car stereo yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ofcourse not, his solution allready worked over here, but it wasn't good enough for me. For phone i use a BT headset. I want all audio !!
(Yes, i'm still trying..)

Yes it DOES work !!
Hehe, my homemade carkit DOES indeed work flawlessly !
I Have an extra box besides the electronics shown in the diagram, a box with a amplifier and some relays. when the phone rings, i press a button, that powers the amplifier and the relays, disconnecting the speakers from my car-radio and over to the little amplifier. i promised you some pictures here a day ago, but i don't think it's nice enough to show off yet. i need to make a new case for the amplifier and relays. the one i am using now is just a box from the junkcase.
I Will be back soon !
// Per

My XDA carkit was relativly easy ;
I opened the Tomtom cable on the XDA side and wired pin 2, 3 and 4 to a general Car-amplifier...
I used the internal mic, with a brodit holder: perfect!

Related

how to listen to all sound via a car kit

i dont know if anyone ahs noticed this before. I had a xda 1 and the o2 car kit. i fitted a switch on the radio mute, and wired the kit,s speaker jacks into my stereo,s aux input. this allowed me to listen to wmp, or any other app. Then i bought an xda2 and everything went wrong. so i decided to try sort it out.
My plan was to modify the car kit to accept the phone, and cut out a notch so that i could use the headset, and cut it up and wire it direct to my stereo,s aux input.
however, after i did the cradle mods, i had the phone sitting in, testing it. At this stage my kit was still wired as per my xda1. The phone works fine, including mute. Then, i tried wmp. As reported , there was no sound. I then plugged in my headset, whilst the xda was in the cradle, and IT WORKED!. Sound from the wmp went out via the car kit and into my aux input! I Bought a new2.5 jack, with no wires, and i just insert it, before cradling the phone and i have the exact same functionality as the xda1!...its really kool, as my Haicom gps works fine too. I havent tested Fonix, ie., does the mic work before u activate the phone, but im hopeful.
Now, my final problem is the charging issue, and id appreciate advice. My proposal is: to purchase an appropiate universal lapto car power adaptor,
To purchase a 9 pin lead, which will sit between the carkit and the cradle lead. Then all i have to do is patch the power adaptor into the 9 pin lead, deleting the original power. Will this work, and what size power adaptor will i need [v/curent], and whats the wiring mod?........id love to know if the headphone jack trick works on all kits/.....it may be posssible to buy and modify a jack plug so that it fits in wiyhout modifing the car kit....
N
re the charging issue
ok..ive read all posts concerning this issue and there appears to be some confusion....can the original xda car kit supply enough current to satisfy an xda11 and wired haicom gps. Some posts imply that there is a wiring difference which makes the unit appear to be charging whilst there not, whilst some posts say its because the original unit can only supply 1 amp.......can someone please advise?
I gues you have to get the 2.5mm plug out when you leave the car in order to use the mic/speaker?
charging issue
ive just tried the unit in the car, both with and without the haicom connected. both times it said it was charging, but both times the battery level actually fell.....this indicates that there is a wiring difference between XDA2, in the charging cct. funny thing though is that the xda2 charged using a cheap cigarette lighter type charging lead....can anyone explain this?
must be the charging circuit. I found that even a 400mA charger is enough to charge the Himalaya.
My XDA II Car kit has a jack plug on the bottom, but if I use that no sound comes out. I'm assuming this takes audio out from the 22pin connector at the bottom of the XDA II.
When you say you've plugged a 2.5mm jack into your XDA you mean the socket on the actual XDA itself right? And that enables audio through the 22pin connector or does it just output audio through the jack?
My problem is now that I'm going to have to rip my (very expensive when I bought it) XDA II Car kit to pieces to put a 2.5mm jack into the bottom of the phone when it's in the car kit!
Is there nothing at all that anyone's got to force the XDA out of in-car mode or anything or is that completely hard-wired?
God this is annoying! Why is there always something wrong, even with the coolest gadget in the world!
I have the same problem.
It used to work with rom 1.03 (as I remember) but after an upgrade, the sound from MDA2 except phone call went through the build-in speaker.
HTC knows this problem, but dont do anything about it.
A conspiracy agains carkit mod'ing.
This issue is known since approx last april.
It MUST be the carkit:
XDA2/iMate carkit only supplies in-call phone audio via the carkit speaker
MDAII/Qtek2020/Yeti carkit supplies all audio via the carkit speaker (dis-advantage: It continuously mutes the radio when ie using TomTom, but that can be fixed by using an alternative radio-mute circuit/switch)
Both carkits only use the 22-pin bottom connector of the Himalaya to accomplish this.
Until now (afaik) no one has succeeded in finding a solution for this.
I wish I bought my carkit 2 month later, at that time the MDAII carkit was sold for approx 170 euros (compared to the 140 for the XDA2 carkit). The extra functionality is really worth the extra 30 euro.
Alternative radio-mute circuit/switch
@edsub
edsub said:
(dis-advantage: It continuously mutes the radio when ie using TomTom, but that can be fixed by using an alternative radio-mute circuit/switch)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few weeks ago I bought the MDAII-carkit and am still preparing to install it in my car. I will use it with Alturion navigation software, but expect that this will create the same proble as TomTom (constantly muting the radio).
Could you elaborate on the "alternative radio-mute circuit/switch". I.e. how to create it/where to buy it?
Thanks in advance, regards
Albondigas
You can buy an audio-mute box.
You place it between your car-speaker leads and connect the carkit audio out to it (mono or stereo).
As soon as the mute-box detects a signal on the carkit audio out, it switches the car-speaker from radio to carkit.
It seems to work quite well, but since it is based on detecting a signal an then switching, i can imaginge you lose frist 1 or 2 seconds of the carkit-out.
No idea how that works out with TomTom . . . .
XDA II Car Kit
eayuwna said:
Is there nothing at all that anyone's got to force the XDA out of in-car mode or anything or is that completely hard-wired?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check pin 19 of the plug wiring. This is the pin used to tell the XDA II it is in the car. When using the XDA II out of the car, in the Sync cradle etc... this pin is tied to ground.
I am about to experiment with making a car kit... If I have success with the audio, I will let you all know!
Recrem.
Audio mute with MDAII-Carkit
@edsub
Thanks, eDsuB, I get the principle and will look around where I could get the audio mute box.
And now I understand why Mocki in the german forum of ppc-welt inserted a one second 63 Hz tone at the beginning of the TomTom-audio files:
http://www.ppc-welt.info/community/showthread.php?t=40190&page=2&pp=50 (in german)
It would be embarrassing to miss the first three words of the message "in three kilometers turn right" :lol: .
How do you think about another solution on this forum and that is disconnecting pin 9 (orange/white) from the connector on the MDAII Carkit II. Apparantly that would also solve the problem with the permament mute of TomTom? See thread (it looks like you've been there also) http://www.ppc-welt.info/community/showthread.php?t=47131&page=1&pp=28 (in german).
Thanks very much,
Albondigas
I went in that forum a couple of times (especially when xda-developers was down), but since I have an XDAII/iMate carkit my problem is to get all audio thru the bottom connector . . . .
And even Mocki doenst have an answer . . .

O2 XDA II Car Kit Query

Hi all
Has anyone any experience of the O2 Car Kit like this one
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=57252&item=6382293875
I'm well past the stage where I should have installed and be using one, (the car is a Diesel L/R Disovery Tdi, and not exactly quiet), but I'd like any opinions on the best to use, or any problems that might arise.
Althogh I have a BT GPS Unit, I dont use any Route Planning S'Ware, cause few have any usefull maps of Northern Ireland, so its the call audio I'm really interested in.
TIA for any opinions
Based on the pictures this carkit is the same as the QTek2020 / T-Mobile MDAII carkit.
It is said to be of very good quality.
BUT: It is also said that when using ie TomTom Navigator (or the like) your car-audio will be muted permanently.
This carkit was sold in Germany for approx 170 euro (about 110 gbp). So I would say the current auction price is rather high . . . .
I was not aware that O2 sold this carkit. I am using the XDAII carkit that is/was sold by ie. Expansys. The quality of that thing is not as good. Especially the mic sound is horrible for 'the other side'
BTW there are many threads on this (all approx 1 yr old)
Car Kit Query
Hi Ed
>>Based on the pictures this carkit is the same as the QTek2020 / T-Mobile MDAII carkit. It is said to be of very good quality.
Yes I agree, part of what drew me towards this one is the look of it.
>>BUT: It is also said that when using ie TomTom Navigator (or the like) your car-audio will be muted permanently.
I have considered this, and I'm not sure when or if I would use anything other than 'Pocket Streets', (and its maps of this area aren't that good either).
Most of the mapping I have been able to view provide street level detail, only in Larger Built up areas, and main routes connecting these.
Fortunately I already know my way between Belfast and other towns, As a result I dont know if TT or indeed any of the others would be of any real use. As a result, I really am more curious about the Call audio from the Speaker and Mic, during calls.
>>This carkit was sold in Germany for approx 170 euro (about 110 gbp). So I would say the current auction price is rather high . . . .
yes I found it on the T'mobile (D) site still on sale,
fully agree re the price but .... if it works ... then ... maybe ..
>>BTW there are many threads on this (all approx 1 yr old)
Yes and I think I managed to read most of them, I was sorta looking to see if someone else has lived with one of these for while, and have a experienced opinion on the it, any Rom Upgrades needed etc ...
I'm not sure how much more stress I am prepared to endure to get various aspects of this great unit to work as I hoped it would, (can't afford to be pulling on my hair much more these days)
I have yesterday just bought this car kit from the company advertising it on ebay, first of all the compnay are absolutly brilliant to deal with and would recommend them highly.
As for the car kit i have found three little niggles:
1) it isn't as easy as other car phone kits to place the xda2 into the holder, this is probably the case for most xda2 car kits due to the body of the xda2 itself.
2) any sound from the pda will mute the car radio, this so far hasn't been too much of an issue, but you can always just disconnect the car radio mute lead, but side effect of course is that you would have to turn the radio down when you recieve a call, however it is nice that the tomtom directions etc come out the car phone speaker loud and clear.
3) now this one may not be the car kit itself and maybe just that i haven't managed to find optimal settings or have missed a setting up procedure (if there is one). Basically there is a lot of background noise through the microphone, speech can be heard ok but i haven't experienced this amount of noise from any other kit, however i am going to try and relocate the mic to the middle of the car instead of up the windscreen frame near the driver door, this may solve this.
Apart from that it is a very easy kit to install (would recommend a professional install due to problems of bodged installs and car air bags!), it is of a very good physical quality and have seen it advertised for over £150 in the UK.
O2 car kit query
see now thats what I was hoping for.
thanks macca
I'm just about convinced
now just need to know where my wife hid my c'card ???
macca: Just a tip for the mic: Make sure the airstream from then vents does not reach the mic. I read several threads on background noise and most of them appeared to be created by the airstream blowing over the mic.
thanks edsub, i'll investigate that furthur, i maybe moving over to a orange m2000 soon as i have been offered an upgrade, unfortunatly it won't fit in my car kit, so i may have to sell it and get a xda2i instead. xda2 is great, i just miss the wlan.
david young, glad to have helped.
Brodit kits
I wonder if anyone has any experience of these Brodit Car Kits at pdahut? I do like the idea of ProClip Brodit have so you don't have to drill holes anywhere in your car. Any other suggestion?
http://www.pdahut.com/store/home.php?cat=378
I have Brodit and Carcomm cradles installed and they are both excellent. At the moment I have my XDAII in a Carcomm cradle which is powered and has a serial input cable to which you can connect a GPS Mouse or charge a BT GPS.
The Brodit cradles also have the option of an amplified speaker, in the photos you'll see my 2210 on the right of the steering wheel is connected to this type.
In the UK TotalPDA sell Carcomm and Handnav are the appointed Brodit resellers.
See here for images of the cradles in my car.
I too liked the idea of not drilling in my (leasecar) dashboard.
Afaik there are two options then:
Brodit Procip (plastic)
MTU dashmount (metal)
I opted for the MTU and decided to imitate it myself from a metal plate strip. Its quite easy from the MTU specifications:
http://www.mtu.no/english/DashMount/DM_pdf/70224.pdf
I managed the get the cables through the airvent that is now blocked by the carkit.
Now did I get a bargain or did I get a bargain.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5196552992&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1
So long as you want it for an XDA rather than an XDAII then yes.
I have my 2i in a Brodit kit connected to the cigarette lighter and then a bluetooth Motorola HS810...works a treat. Luckily the 2i fits perfect as I got the cradle originally for the XDA2.
I've also got my TomTom wireless BT receiver on the dash...all work nicely (other than ongoing issues with phone mast transfers causing TT lockups)
Aww hell, I'll just take a picture and show you...my only wish is that on the Mini the holder was locked in a bit higher to show off when people drive past
A
PS - yes that IS a Care Bear...that my girlfriend puts there to "watch over me". I have one of those little dog things that Clintons Cards do (the ones with the big heads and little bodies) in the other cup holder. Thought I'd get that in now to avoid the "errr....is that a care bear?" questions!!
griffog said:
See here for images of the cradles in my car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Errr....just how many PDAs and phones do you want in your car?? Hehe...
They're not all used all of the time but I need them when performin comparison testing
Actually I tend to use TT Mobile 5 on a C500 most of the time now!
Griffog, yes it is for xda however I had an official car kit, the original I think for xda in the past and that would take an xda 2 quite happily although I never tried it out in the car it charged the xda 2 on the bench ok, what are the issues, is there a wiring difference preventing it working?

Qtek 2020i car kit audio out!!

Just bought this car kit http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=109748 for my Qtek 2020i (Alpine)
Pretty comprehensive kit for the money. Comes with control box, speaker, mic, loom for connecting to car stereo system.
I was wondering if there was any way to put the audio of TOMTOM or media player through the car kit ?
I have read about the 10K resistor mod which i tried with another active holder i have but that didn't seem to work
I thought there may be a utility that could fool the PDA into thinking it is in a call and sending the audio through the car kit, but when in a call all other audio is muted.
Are there any other work arounds getting TOM TOM / media player to output through the car kit?
It has been suggested that upgrading the ROM may solve this problem but without knowing 100% I am reluctant to do this.
Inside the car kit the electronics are tiny surface mount stuff.
Is it possible to program a utility to do this???
Come of ye programmers, i'm sure plenty of people will pay for this.
I certainly would like to make a donation, when this site actually proves useful.
I was playing with the car kit again last night and found that one of the wires coming from the car kit chaged to 3.7V when switched on my a call!
I energised said wire and the relay clicked over in the car kit but still no sound from the 2020i, sound still coming out the PDA speaker!
AAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH! :roll:
Anyone wanna buy a qtek 2020i, i gig stick, active cradle and tomtom europe installed, all you need is a bluetooth or RJ11 reciever and your away.
Unless someone can help with this little problem :?
At last sorted it! Yippee.
The 10K resistor worked a treat on this one, but not the last.
Once got the resister bit working just had to put a 3.7V feed down a certain green wire to switch the relay and have now got music blasting out the car kit.
Yeehaa
Nygie said:
At last sorted it! Yippee.
The 10K resistor worked a treat on this one, but not the last.
Once got the resister bit working just had to put a 3.7V feed down a certain green wire to switch the relay and have now got music blasting out the car kit.
Yeehaa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What 10K resistor?? Any links, pictures how you did it would be much appreciated!
I have a Qtek 2020 who is only collecting dust since I got a new Qtek 9100.
Could be nice to at least use it as a MP3 player in my car.
Would the car kit fit on a Volvo S60? I think the car stereo have DIN connectors. I have 6 speakers. If your car have more than 2, do you hear music on all speakers, or only the front speakers?
The resistor thing is here http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Connectors
I don't have it wired in the car, it's still on the bench. It would be possible to put it to the car stereo through aux in if there is one.
I have come across a little snag tho, after 7 seconds approx the audio fades out to nothing! I am a little bamboozled.
I think something like this was mentioned in another thread!
A bit of digging to do, but i am loosing my patience with all this messing around with bodges.
Just tried again and it seems to work flawlessly!
We shall see, i'll get it installed and try it on a run!
The motorbike trials cometh!

Integrate Universal into car speakers

Just bought a car...
Added a little Brodit powered cradle for the Universal + GPS device.
Now I want to have it talk sexily to me through the car speakers... how might I go about doing this?
I've not really seen a car kit for the Jaguar XJ6, but I suppose this would be a good bet?
Thanks!
Ferg.
Hey, I've got a '97 Jag XJ, I had to make my carkit from separate bits. Don't have the Universal but Imate Jam- principle is the same I guess
Check out my post here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=36123&highlight=
Charges my device as well as outputting all sound to car speakers.
Nice one sh,
Mine's a 97 too. Bloody nice beast.
I'll check out your instructions, although am I right in thinking this doesn't have a microphone or anything? I'm new to car kits etc so excuse my ignorance, but does this not hinder the thing a bit?
What does this setup NOT allow you to do?
Thanks again,
Ferg.
Well because I was too tight to buy a full carkit- I made my own (yes I do own the Jag- matter of principle for me!)
Well I've haven't spoken much about the audio side of things in that post... but all I've got is a 3.5mm to RCA cable going into the back of my car stereo.
There is also a 2.5 to 3.5mm adapter to accept the connection on the JAM. Now, you can get these adapters with built-in mics:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-5mm-to-3-5m...714269100QQcategoryZ14419QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I don't need it because I have my personal bluetooth kit when in car. So thats the only thing 'missing' if you like- although I've setup it up so I can change this adapter for any type that has 3.5mm on one end.
Send me a link to the holder that you've got- I take it doesn't have an audio out on it?
i made up my own too for the charmer, dont own a jag and havent wired it into the stereo but have stashed a set of "ipod" type speakers under the dash instead.
not wanting to play audio but just wanting to have handsfree use of phone and amplified audio from sat nav.
not running it through the sterao also means the missus and kids are happy with the radio/cd playing and i still get to hear the satnav guidance.
i bought a couple of incar mics and soldered the whole lot up onto a butchered wired headset (the one that came with the charmer)
details http://www.modaco.com/hardwired-incar-handsfree-the-diy-way-t240297.html
although i still havent got round to putting up pics yet

O2 XDA -----> XDA2 Connector Difference???

Hi all, hoping somebody can tell me if here is a difference in the connectors at the bottom of these 2 phones??? The reason I ask is because I have come into possession of a Professional GPS Carkit for a XDA2 whic I have modified cosmeticly to accomodate the XDA. All parts other than sound and microphone are working. I would appreciate any guidance some of those in the know would be forthcoming with.........I have put my phone back to standard with the rom etc to be sure the upgrading of it had no adverse affect, so it is exactly as I bought it now, and still doesn't work properly
Check the wiki for the connector pinouts to confirm they are the same. They only device using a slightly different 22 pin connector is the blueangel with two ridges in the sleeve.
Richard
my xda1 got stolen and i could use both the cradle (xda1 cradle is soooo much better then xda2's)
and charger connector (of cause)
and headset
ok......a little progress nowhere really but, anyone got ideas on this........I pulled the control panel apart on the car kit, i have found that if i put the phone in the cradle whilst on a call and the sound comes through the speaker when it beeps to say it is in the cradle???? Upon checking it further, the control panel clicks, i presume that it 'opens' the connection to the speaker, but will close the connection and not reopen it if i make a call from the cradle tus rendering the speaker an the mic inoperative. I have found that the 'car on' wire appears to go through a resistor once on the board so could this be cutting down the input too much for the signal from an xad1??? Anyone with some technical knowledge on this would be really helpful. Thanks in advance

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