XDA Exec - Car setup for Sat Nav and phone use - General Accessories

Had the XDA exec for a few weeks now and generally very pleased except for getting a car cradle/mount with charge, speaker & GPS.
I have 6 vehicles at work to fit them into and change the cars every now and then so hard wired full kit (e.g. parrot 3300) appears expensive when having to move kits to new cars etc.
Idealy don't want a cigarette charger for each item - speaker, charge and gps etc. - more of a combined system.
Any suggestions?
Considering brodit active mount for mount and charge, but cant find a solution for calls and satnav instructions.

the Brodit Active Mount is superb Have mine installed with the Brodit ProClip.
just found this
http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/8917.htm
and then maybe get something like
http://www.alk.eu.com/copilot/pocketpc.asp
which has vehicle/fleet tracking
then obviously a dual cigarette plug.
only problem I foresee is if you get a vehicle with dual din stereo, then you'll need to purchase a fascia for it.
this looks viable too
https://www.blueunplugged.com/Produ...oth_Car_Kit_with_Integrated_GPS.aspx#moreinfo
The way I am going to do it is
Brodit Active Mount + Pro Clip
Sony Ericsson HBH-662 BT Headset + car charger
ALK CoPilot Live 6 GPS unit
and some random 4 way cig plug from maplins

Related

Excellent Product for XDA 2 Speaker Mount 4 tomtom sat nav

I came across this product and had to order one for my tomtom kit, it is the loudest speaker moutn I have ever heard, and the XDA 2 fits in the mount perfectly:
http://www.pdamods.com/products.asp?cat=78
I used to have a ipaq 1910 and the speaker on that was rubbish, then upgraded to an XDA 2 and thought it was better than the 1910 but could not hear the voice directions if the radio was loud, however this mount is seriously amazing, it has its own built in amplifier with full volume control.
I have got this holder for the car, unfortunately the TomTom GPS receiver has a RJ11 connector and the holder has a mini USB port, so therefore i can not use it.
It came with a PS2 to mini USB connector and thats it.
Very sad if you ask me
I'm now waiting for a lead connector from TomTom RJ11 to Mini USB
Sorry to hear that they may have made a mistake cos I chose tomtom cable and they sent me the RJ11 cable - believe me when you get the right cable you will love this device !!
On ebay is sold a little rechargeable device called car baby, it clips over the speaker and then you get the audio from the xda or any other device through your car speakers.
Arkon PDA Mount
Hi guys,
I'll let you know my experience with the Arkon car mount kit.
First what I have?
1) O2 XDAII
2) Arkon car mount kit for Vent and Windshield mount.
3) Arkon cables for XDAII
4) Emtac CRUXII/BTGPS
What you gain?
1) A complete car kit that charge both devices (XDA and BT Gps)
2) A handsfree car kit with a good speaker
3) A handsfree Navigation system
Hope this helps a choice.
All these powered mounts are great (i've got the Arkon PDA Mount) except that they all pick up the background radio signels that the phone transmits when it is active or syncing with the network and that's really annoying if you're driving along trying to listen to anything else.
I've had the same problem as you jashry but I've found a little S.P. (Service pack) to that.
Just turn the 3,5 mm cable so that it touches the Arkon device on the backside. And you'll hear less noise due to GSM signal.
Hope it helps!
Arkon 700 car mount for XDA2
I called a well known supplier of kit based in Manchester and asked for a car mount for the XDA2, to run with (and charge) a Bluetooth Tom Tom headset.
The first set came without an audio lead - so rendered the XDA2 useless for receiving calls.
I called and was rudely told of the company's arcane returns policy which made me see red (working in the legal profession) as the kit was clearly defective. To save time, I bought another one subject to some concessions re postage and return of the original etc.
The second kit arrived - complete with a 3.5mm audio lead. The XDA2, which I specified, has a (standard for mobile phones) 2.5mm audio socket. So, it is still useless.
Tried it with a jack adapter (3.5 to 2.5mm) - sound is barely audible, even with everything turned up and "loud' selected on the Ultra Profiler. So, both are now going back with a terse note regarding the Sale of Goods Act.
Can anyone recommend a good car kit (and where to get one from, ideally quickly). Basically, I need something loud and reliable, that will charge a TomTom bluetooth GPS. Ideally, I would like something that can be vent mounted (neater, less 'shake') tha can be hard wired (neater).
I am afraid that finding a jack adapter was at the limit of my technical abilities - suggesting that I splice this and patch in that is akin to suggesting that I learn to fly or communicate by ESP. I wish...
Thanks
PDAMOD Speaker mount for Qtek
Bought one of these mounts that Jashry recommended, but I'm having all kinds of problems with it!
To use the amplifierfacility I have to use the audiosocket in the corner of the Qtek, and they do indeed supply a small cable for that.
But when this cable is mounted, the Qtek barely touches the bottomsocket of the mount, and the connection is lousy!
Actually I HAVE heard the voice, because I can "rock" the Qtek to the side a little, and then I can test the TOMTOM voice, and it sounds great, problem is this prohibits the connection to the GPS, so at the moment it is useless.
On their homepage I can find pics of a Qtek in the mount, but without the little cable in the corner....!
Wonder if anyone uses this device, and if they have had the same problems and maybe somehow solved them?
/HM
angusmcintyre said:
All these powered mounts are great (i've got the Arkon PDA Mount) except that they all pick up the background radio signels that the phone transmits when it is active or syncing with the network and that's really annoying if you're driving along trying to listen to anything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I'm a bit late on this thread, but have you tried using an external antenna lead on your device? This should direct all of that radiation where it belongs.
I have to add that I haven't chosen my amplifier cradle yet because of this issue, but I am eager to know whether the antenna theory does work.
I too tried the mount recommended (after the Arkons which went back) and the loudest sound I have ever heard is interference from the radio signal of the 'phone.
Anyone want one? At the moment it is just an overpriced charging cradle.
I now have a 'Silver Shield' mount, and yes it does sqawk when the phone transitter is operative. However, it also does that when I hold it near my nokia, but not when the nokia is in its car-kit. I should be receiving an external antenna tomorrow, so I'll let you know whether the theory works in practise. In the meantime Dr. Fresh, I'll take any unwanted goods!
I tried the Arkon mount, it landed somewhere near the service station at Bristol on the M5 when I launched it out the window, interference was so loud, it should have been returned to the designer and inserted up his ass....sideways.
It works!!!!
Just got my external antenna and adaptor; plugged it into the XDAII, inserted this into the amplified mount and hey-presto, you can hardly hear the interference, whilst the audio signal is strong enough that you could leave the whole lot at home and hear it on a trip to France! (Well, almost!)
My only problem now is that the Antenna adaptor is a bit bulky, sticking out of the back (about 11mm or so), which makes it a little lop-sided in the holder. I now have to take a look at modifying the mount to fit the connector in. Will let you know how I get on
Inspecta. I am interested to know if using an external antenna fixed the problem. I think it will probably make it worse, it is direct rf breakthrough from the phones radio causing the problem and I think the antenna lead is just another place for it to splash its unwanted interference over.
Interference
Hiya Cruisin,
absolutely, it is the external antenna which rectifies the problem.
When using the internal antenna, all of the r.f. energy is in close proximity to the speaker and amplifier. By using an external antenna, you have the same amount of energy, but it is radiated from the antenna located on (in this case) the windscreen. Energy is radiated in all 3 planes, so the interference reduces by the CUBE of the distance, therefore, by doubling the distance from the speaker/amplifier, the amount of interference reduces by eight times. You can verify this effect by placing any mobile up to your car radio; it will eventually pick up the noise, no matter how good the radio.
........ sorry about going off on one! Yes it does work; I removed the external antenna, and the set-up went back to its bad old ways, replaced it and everything is great!
(Now got to get some shares in external antennas!)
And now I will admit my stupidity by telling you I was pretty stoned when I wrote that reply and for some reason i thought you were referring to an external gps antenna, now I cant blame the dope so i will accept all responsibility, thanks for the lowdown on the rf.
or you couyld get a holux like received this morning just tried it and its great amplified speaker and built in gps receiver worked with my xda2 no problem
Must have missed something here.
I've got an arkon powered mount CM532 with built in speaker and gps connection but the voice prompts from the nav software only come thru the internal speaker on my XDA2. I can't get them thru the mounts speaker.
Any suggestions?
ROM 1.60.00WWE
ExtROM 1.60.50
Radio 1.10.00
Did you get a cable to plug into the handsfree socket and into the amplified mount? You need this for all of the mounts that I looked at. If you ordered the mount specifically for the XDA, you should have received a cable to go with it.

SPEAKER MOUNT FOR XDA II NAVIGATION TOMTOM 3

Just purchased a speaker mount from www.pdamods.com and am using it with tomtom 3 navigator, the sound coming out of that mount is seriously amazing !!
Hi Jashry
I take it that your mount is the PDAMods 'Silver Shield' mount? I am interested because, after months of waiting for the right kit to come along, PDAMods are now offering a TomTom 3 kit for the Xda2 with the new Rikaline X7 BT GPS. Not only a 16-hr battery life, but a replaceable (and reasonably cheap) battery. too!
I have seen lots of posts on this and other fora about getting (or, rather, not getting) non-phone sound out through the Xda2's cradle connector. The prognosis appears not to be good (at least without a ROM upgrade), so how does the Silver Shield mount do it? The photos on the website show an Xda2 on the mount with the headset cable connector shutter apparently closed, and you couldn't just impale the Xda2 onto a jack fixed to the mount anyway, because the socket is set at an angle.
Any offers?
Gadget :roll:

XDAII powered car mount Arkon CM532

t'ello all....
I have just bought an arkon CM532 with xda2 adaptor. This seems to do the job as a hands free kit, with the usual bugs of noisy GPRS feedback etc, but I can live with that....BUT - I need a GPS ariel that will plug into the cradle and thus the xda2.....I have tomtom software ready to go, but I dont really want a bluetooth GPS, as we all know, bluetooth and xda = hell.
Any ideas?????
Would this work from ebay?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3730&item=5134905894&rd=1
No idea where you got the idea that BlueTooth GPS and the XDA2 are incompatible - mine worked fine after the first O2 update was applied...
As long as you get the right cable it should be fine.
Bluetooth is more convenient, as you only need the adaptor for charging, and most journeys take less than the GPS battery life.
I use a Pretec Bluetooth GPS I bought from eBay,
works fine.
its not so much the bluetooth that puts me off, more the fact that the arkon has the ability to charge a gps receiver that is connected to it via the RJ11 socket, and I want to know which gps reciever has this RJ11 connector. Otherwise, if I go the bluetooth route, I will have 2 cigarette adapators, and only 1 cigrette lighter socket! Plus, ill forget to charge the receiver too.....
Are you sure you have a Arkon CM532 - mine has no RJ11 sockets anywhere!
What it does have are two power-only USB ports on the base - either side of the regular 5v input socket - and a 5v output on the side which feeds my Socket GPS.
I can also recommend sticky-backed velcro as a fastening medium for attaching the GPS to the side-arm of the Akron.
That said, I really dislike the Arkon - I'd much rather a dedicated until like the one made by CarComm. However, the only UK distributor are idiots.
xda2 cradle for sale
CMPC-15 Mobile PDA Cradle for XDA II / MDA II / Qtek 2020 / i-Mate
Cradle for the XDA II / MDA II / Qtek 2020 / i-Mate with original bottom connector and steady fitting for the XXDA II / MDA II / Qtek 2020 / i-Mate. Specially designed for mobile use.Charging pcb is build-in the cradle. RS-232 and PS/2 connections for connecting the PDA to for example an GPS Receiver. Also with power input connections.
Just got my new Imate PDA2K and it does not fit
£30+p+p
phone holder4
hi guys
i have this and its crap you cant hear on the speaker because of the interference from the phone i use it without the electrics.
regards kevin :evil:
its works fine as a holder and charger. as it was designed not a hands free kit
its works fine tomtom bluetooth gps sony ericsson headset
thanks all....ive gone for the tomtom 3 gps receiver.im assured that it has the relevant RJ11 connector...Ill let you all know how it goes!
On the side issue of the car kit thing, this arkon kit is pretty good I have to say, but I was always aware that it was not really a hands free car phone like those by nokia etc, and will probably jump the bluetooth headset way soon....any ideas which?

car mount to replace tomtom mount

currently have an ipaq4150 tomtom mount in car, does the job perfectly, it feeds the tomtom bt gps with power, is very steady on the windshield, and powers the ipaq (via cigarette lighter), slotting it and out with ease.
I am about to recieve an xda exec, and I am wanting a similarly neat solution.
I want it powered, off the windshield, and able to power the bt. I dont want a generic one size fits all, they are messy, and dont hold the phones very well.....
Is there a holder that will do this for me?
If not, is there a one that can be clipped into the air vents (mk2 mondeo) to do the same thing?
thanx
I know it would become cable central, but why not invest in a splitter for your 12v supply - one feeds the receiver and the other feeds the mount.
I just bought a gooseneck brodit cradle from bryson (www.dsldevelopments.co.uk) and i'm really happy with it.
I dont need the bluetooth power as I've got a parrot gps bluetooth carkit.
Suggest that you consider the Brodit mount, it comes in 2 parts, 1 that fits the specific car & 1 that fits the specific PDA, you can also get a suction mount.
Looks neet & PDA very secure.
I purchased mine on e-bay along with a Y cable to power my Jasjar & BT GPS unit.
Mike
I got this one, simply perfetct
http://www.pdamods.com/proddetail.asp?prod=A111U2CRIJASMNT

Advice on Bluetooth In car Kits.

With so many full car kits plus the new style visor mounted kits I was looking for some advice.
From What I see I have 4 Choices
1) Fully hardwired Kit (expensive)
2) visor mounted or cigarette socket plug and go style kits.(are they any good)
3) Headset style (not a big fan of these as keep falling out)
4) Lose my licence (not a good Idea)
any advice would be great guys let me know if you can
You can buy a hardwire kit for about £35 for a second hand Nokia C7K, wiring it is easy, it is only 3 or 4 wires. Less if your car has a car kit plug on the loom, but you will need the adaptor kit for that.
They won't charge the phone though, or provide a cradle.
Don't buy a Nokia C1K though, they don't work with the P3300.
MaskedMarauder said:
You can buy a hardwire kit for about £35 for a second hand Nokia C7K, wiring it is easy, it is only 3 or 4 wires. Less if your car has a car kit plug on the loom, but you will need the adaptor kit for that.
They won't charge the phone though, or provide a cradle.
Don't buy a Nokia C1K though, they don't work with the P3300.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cant find such a product as C7K
can you help further
My bad! CK7W
http://www.nokia.co.uk/A4222096
i use a Parrot CK3100LCD it's a verry good carkit and even a child can install it just 2 iso connectors in your radio and that's it. Your sound is then over the car speakers.
Siemens CRK600
I use a Siemens wired car kit - three wires (+ve, igintion and ground) and its done. Speaker with it is excellent, so no need to wire into the car stereo. Has a nice LCD display, althjough I needed jetwaremobile.com's bluetooth extension and phonebook swap to get full functionality.
I agree the parrot ck3100 is brilliant with the xda orbit, i have one in my astra and i have a xda orbit. Going cheap on fleebay
I bought the Aldi BT car radio a while ago and it works perfectly. £70 iirc
Pair the phone once with it and turn BT on when I get in the car, incoming calls come through the loudspeakers and there is a mic in the head unit
Just upgraded
Just got a Sony MEX-BT2500 stereo with built in bluetooth - £90 on ebay, works like a dream... well recommended.
That means that my Siemens wired kit is going spare - I'm going to put it on ebay soon, but if anyone wants to contect me first... just a three wire conenct, and I've got an ISO through connector to connect at the back of the car stereo, so you don't need to cut any car wires, then stick the display on your dash, route the microphone to near your sunvisor and leave the little but very clear speaker inthe footwell or under the glovebox...
I read that the mic isn't that good with the MEX-BT2500. What are your experiences?
We've got Nokia CK7W's in our cars at work, and myself and other orbit users have no problems with them at all.
iirc we paid about £120 per car for the kit and installation, but from what I've seen they are very easy to fit yourselves
glam said:
I read that the mic isn't that good with the MEX-BT2500. What are your experiences?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's as good as any car kit I've ever had - and that included professionally fitted kits and factory fitted car kits.
Because the mic's in the front of the unit rathe rthan up by the top of the windscreen, you get far less issues at speed with wind noise etc too. Highly recommended.
MaskedMarauder said:
Don't buy a Nokia C1K though, they don't work with the P3300.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both my wife's and my carhave a Nokia CK-1W fitted, Orbit works perfectly with both?????
So your quote is slightly wrong, my CK-1W only cost £12 on eBay,
StewD said:
Both my wife's and my carhave a Nokia CK-1W fitted, Orbit works perfectly with both?????
So your quote is slightly wrong, my CK-1W only cost £12 on eBay,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never worked with mine, it would pair but then not work. Perhaps it was the original O2 Bluetooth stack that was the issue. I still have it, I can wire it up and see. Well if I can be bothered I will!
I use a £59 Parrott CK3000 with my HTC Himalaya and my new P3300 in my Audi A3 and its great. Connected it into the back of my radio with just three (Tel+ Tel- & Tel Mute) connections and it mutes the radio and plays through the speakers just like a factory fitted unit.
When I used the same unit in my previous Alfa 156, you could even adjust the call volume using the steering wheel audio controls (but my Audi doesn't have that feature).
For the A3 and other vehicles with "multi-function steering wheels", Parrott even do adapters so that you can use the steering wheel buttins to answer & close a call, rather than having to have a separate non-standard button showing on the dash....
In my Saab 9-3, I use a Parrot MK-6100 car kit which also supports A2DP/AVRCP.
Works well with my Artemis - even the stereo bluetooth audio isn't bad (no skipping/stopping, but the audio quality isn't quite up to my car radio's standard).
It was very easy to fit, and it just worked as soon as I paired up.
I found mine at Amazon for about GBP110 including postage.
Hello,
Is there someone who has any experience or advice about the Seecode Vossor Plus Bluetooth Carkit? I'm thinking to buy this one.
Nice items here, good price :
Car Mount Holder,HandsFree,Charger for HTC P3300/P3350
http://cgi.ebay.fr/Car-Mount-Holder...ryZ35193QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Car Mount Holder, Speaker, HandsFree and Car Charger for HTC P3300 /HTC P3350/ Orange SPV M650 / T-Mobile MDA compact III / O2 Xda orbit /Dopod P800W / Dopod P800 /Dopod M700
Angle can adjustable for easy veiwing - 360 degree rotatable, Suitable for all cars, reliable and easy to use, Flexible pedestal shaft adjusts quickly.
Car Mount Holder x1
Car Cigarette 12V Charger x1
Sensitive Microphone x 1
Parrot is excellent
The Parrot CK3000 is nice if you don't need a screen. It's very stealth - just a small controller with "talk" and "end" buttons and a volume dial in the middle. (I have an Audi A4 and don't have space for a screen) Very easy to install (like the CK3100) because it uses the ISO connectors. Even if you car doesn't use ISO standard, you can always splice the wires or buy adapers if you don't want to splice. The sound quality is excellent, the functions are very basic but very reliable (however, I've only used the kit as a headset - never added additional voice tags and all that). It just works and it works well. You can get them from Amazon.com for less than $100 USD. Even less in eruos.
Got the P3300 and I can't fault it. The quality of the system is excellent, sound and mic work very well and the system is easy to use. Easy to wire in and I have my steering wheel controls connected.
I have seen some with problems, the soldering for the display has been a little thin on some models but nothing I couldn't fix.
I have noticed that sometimes when I answer with the phone button (on the phone) the parrot goes into mute, my advice would be either auto answer or pick up using the parrot. Could just be my setup...
"Parrot is one of the best systems I have come across"

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