Develop Bugs

Line out + charge cable for car installation?

Hi all,
Im looking for a cable that will let me charge my SGS2 and feed audio to the car stereo. Can I do that? And, if not, are there any line-out cables for the GS2 w/o the charging capability?
Thanks
Marcel

you can always grab the sound from the headphone jack. But it might not be ideal, because the headphone jack is on top.
Would be easier too use bluetooth instead..
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

I have been interested in doing the same and the only option I found so far is Samsungs Car Dock. It provides both a charging option and audio. I am hoping more options become available within the next few months. One manufacturer to watch is Proclip. They specialize in car mounts and have quite a few with built in dock (for the IPod/iPhone anyway). Plan to email them to see if they have anything in the works.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

cbb77 said:
I have been interested in doing the same and the only option I found so far is Samsungs Car Dock. It provides both a charging option and audio. I am hoping more options become available within the next few months. One manufacturer to watch is Proclip. They specialize in car mounts and have quite a few with built in dock (for the IPod/iPhone anyway). Plan to email them to see if they have anything in the works.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but the iPhone/i**** pinout is known and provides direct line out where the SGS2 uses some ASIC to process some signal over USB into audio. Not saying Samsung won't make this spec available to Accessory Vendors but what kind of accessory vendor wants to develop their own ASIC? Too much cost involved.
The Samsung desktop dock will also work in the car but would be hard to mount. It has Line Out level for audio, but there is no real advantage to using this over the headphone out unless the quality is better. Can't know for sure I'm fresh out of Oscilloscopes...

supermult said:
Would be easier too use bluetooth instead..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No Bluetooth in a old Volvo and I'm looking for a simple yet functional solution. Pairing BT every time and/or having BT on all the time doesn't seem good to me.
Poulsen8r said:
The Samsung desktop dock will also work in the car but would be hard to mount. It has Line Out level for audio, but there is no real advantage to using this over the headphone out unless the quality is better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, for me the advantage is one less cable to worry about. Another thing is that my windscreen is under such angle that straight audio jack from top of the device makes it impossible to point the phone in the direction of my face.
Any desktop / car dock owner interested in dissassembling their stuff to see how it works?
I know that with the correct resistor you can get analog line-out from the usb plug. Just not sure if the vcc line charges the phone or provides energy to a accessory then. Either way, I'm starting to think about doing it the DIY way.

monoik said:
I know that with the correct resistor you can get analog line-out from the usb plug. Just not sure if the vcc line charges the phone or provides energy to a accessory then. Either way, I'm starting to think about doing it the DIY way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am interested in doing this too - If anyone can get me the details on what resister/pins etc, I would be more then happy to test it out and report back

This forum is priceless. There you go!
kiattivikrai said:
The orginal Desktop Dock use data +/- as the audio line. But you need to jump pin 4 with a 365K resitor to activate this mode.
PIN:
1 : VCC
2 : D-: AUDIO LINE OUT L/R
3 : D+: AUDIO LINE OUT R/L
4 : SENSE ( CONNECT WITH SMALL 365K TO GND )
5 : GND
Check this link for more info.
modmomun.blogspot.com/2011/07/disassembly-samsung-galaxy-s2-ii.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ED: I can't get it from the text, but it seems that it'll charge the phone! thunderbox666, if you try it, please send me a note! Maybe I'll do it as well. The only culprit is that this seems to put the phone in the "home dock" mode...
ED2: ok, got it:
alx37 said:
You need a micro usb connector.
Pin 1 connect to +5V
Pin 2 + 3 connect to audio l + r, Ground to Pin 5
Pin 4 connect to Pin 5 via 620k Ohm Resistor -> this triggers Car dock mode
Pin 5 connect to Ground
Go to Settings/Dock Settings/Audio-Output-mode
Pin 1 is right when the connector is in the SGS II and the screen is visible.
Voila, ALexander
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now, just get all the parts and get going!

monoik said:
thunderbox666, if you try it, please send me a note! Maybe I'll do it as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
will do - hell if it works I may even write up a step by step and post it
monoik said:
Now, just get all the parts and get going!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already working on this bit - only thing I think I still need is the resistor

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO it worked.... Will post pictures shortly
Just have to tidy up my soldering
edit:
(still not the neatest)
So everything works, although I still need to solder in the other speaker wires - But even with left and ground, it still plays in both speakers.
As soon as you plug it in, it goes to Car mode and starts charging
I did have to go into the settings and enable line out before it would play through the USB
But here are the pictures of it as it is....
Edit 2:
In case anyone was wondering, I also tested this with a 360k ohm resistor (couldn't source a 365k one yet) and it launched it into the home dock straight away

Stupid question. But car dock and home dock are the same huh? So the 360k does the same job as the 620k resistor. If so I'm wondering if anything between 360k and 620k all work.
Edit: So after a little searching, yeh amasing huh, they are different dock modes. Cool. I'm aiming for using poweramp, sygic gps and google maps (and probably voice talk which seemed to work using internal mic and car speakers. Guess the second mike stops the feedback loops) so guessing car dock is more suited

So now I'm guessing that the normal desktop dock mode might work better for me seeing you can change the shortcuts and have a shortcut for poweramp and sygic. I believe the car mode uses the samsung audio player and the gps is google maps?
Is the car dock mode fixed or can the shortcuts be customised? I believe car dock mode can automatically turn voice recognition on although this doesn't work well with the Australian accent.

pbrown77 said:
So now I'm guessing that the normal desktop dock mode might work better for me seeing you can change the shortcuts and have a shortcut for poweramp and sygic. I believe the car mode uses the samsung audio player and the gps is google maps?
Is the car dock mode fixed or can the shortcuts be customised? I believe car dock mode can automatically turn voice recognition on although this doesn't work well with the Australian accent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you cant really customise the car dock one - well at least I havent found a way yet.
I havent had any issue with it understanding my aussie accent..... yet

Hi guys,
I managed to complete my cable. You can call it a developer preview, cause I didn't have the correct resistor and just to try if it works i joined what I had to create 370k.
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I started off with the black part. I bought a Micro USB A to micro USB B cable, hoping that the fourth pin will be connected between the plugs. That is not obvious, since this pin is not used in the USB connection. Unfortunately my cable had only four wires and the shield:
So, I had to open the plug to attach the resistor. As I mentioned, I only had 5x~67k and one 30k resistor, so I connected them and it was close enough for the home dock mode to work:
The white part of the cable comes from my old aftermarket line-out cable for my previous iPhone 3G. I wanted to use it almost without cutting it, but I learned that one of the lines was disconnected, so most of it had to be replaced.
After considerable amount of soldering I plugged in the cable to my stereo and the USB port on my PC and guess what? It worked!
Here are two more shots of the crucial part of the cable. I made the chinch cables detachable just because I had such cables.
I also realized too late that I had no GND for the USB connector, so I made a very lame bridge in the shape of the letter Z. But it works!
What's left to do? Replace the resistor and figure out how to reseal the plug with it inside. Also, seal the soldered part, maybe in duct tape, I'll see.

So I finalised my cable but used a 360k resistor because I liked the desktop dock more due to changing shortcuts... Then found the google car dock apk and that works well and is customisable.
But the biggest downfall is that the voice is not routed through the usb port, only music.... So sorta gets rid of a good function that I expected to use4... hands free calling. It works well if I use the 3.5mm plug with no unwanted feedback using my car stereo and the SGS2's internal mic.
Anyone have any idea whether the audio out through the usb can't do voice calls because of a hardware or software limitation. I'm guessing its software and the limitation has not been cracked yet... Wonder why Samsung haven't allowed voice out through the usb port.

This is awesome! Though I'm having alot of trouble following your pictures, any chance you could post a diagram?

AussieHusky said:
This is awesome! Though I'm having alot of trouble following your pictures, any chance you could post a diagram?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure! Right now I'm going out, but in the evening (4-5 hours from now) I'll scribble something down.

AussieHusky said:
This is awesome! Though I'm having alot of trouble following your pictures, any chance you could post a diagram?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit: DO NOT USE MY PREVIOUSLY ATTACHED PIN OUT. I DREW IT WITH PIN 1 WHERE PIN 5 IS. I WISH I COULD SHOUT LOUDER..
To be updated.

AussieHusky said:
This is awesome! Though I'm having alot of trouble following your pictures, any chance you could post a diagram?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is my rough drawing. Someone else might spend more time or convey it easier than I have. The solder pads on my plug were as shown. If you have 3 pads on top and 2 underneath then they will be the same as my drawing.
Note that any micro usb to usb cable will probably only have 4 pins wired up as usb only has 4 pins. This is why you need to strip the micro usb plug cover off to get to the extra pins solder pad.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PIN 1 AS THE +5V FROM YOUR CHARGER AND NOT CONNECTED TO ANOTHER PIN. THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONLY ONES THAT CAN STUFF YOUR DEVICE.
I have tried to find the link that shows what pad is connected to what pin but can't locate it easily. I did however make sure that pin 1 was the only one with power before plugging it in. All other pins being wrong will just mean it won't work. Here is a link for the pin out fro micro usb http://www.accesscomms.com.au/reference/usb.htm

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10827&cs_id=1082704&p_id=7364&seq=1&format=2

dmunjal said:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10827&cs_id=1082704&p_id=7364&seq=1&format=2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link. Have you tried it? Personally I'd prefer the wired route but because of the lack of voice calls I may look at this product. Its an option for cars without Bluetooth but have a wired input. Also good for in home use without a physical wire. Although the connection for power will still be needed.
The signal to noise is quite high so the extra hiss shouldn't be too noticeable. But the 70Hz low end frequency limitation is not very good and I'm concerned that on a decent sound system the lows might not be that great. Can you comment?

Anykind of docking station available?

Hey guys, has someone a fitting dock for the Captivate Glide?
AFAIK there is no official one, but maybe the dock of another, more famous, Samsung phone does fit the Glide also.
Greetings Alex22

Unfortunately, I think we are in lack of luck with the µUSB port on the top. This would constrain to put the phone horizontally on a dock with the docking on one edge.
This must explain the lack of docking station on eBay unlike the batteries' charging stations.
One alternative may be to reproduce this SGS mod : http://www.qianqin.de/2011/09/18/samsung-galaxy-s-wireless-inductive-charging-mod
But I don't know if it is possible with our Captivate Glide.

Here is 1 from Philips http://www.techradar.com/reviews/au...-systems/philips-fidelio-as851-1042940/review unfortunately our phone would be connected upside down. I wonder if there is an app that lets it work upside down?

dudejb said:
Here is 1 from Philips http://www.techradar.com/reviews/au...-systems/philips-fidelio-as851-1042940/review unfortunately our phone would be connected upside down. I wonder if there is an app that lets it work upside down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back when I used CM for the HTC Dream, I always had the option to enable the screen to rotate 360°.
So I guess it's a ROM thing, but definitely makeable.
But anyways, that's a pretty hefty docking station, and with nearly 200 pounds it's nowhere near my budget.
Lets just hope there'll be more Android Dockingstations to come.
@EMegamanu: Thanks for the link, pretty interesting that you can mod a phone like that. But I'm too afraid and too inexperienced with solderings to mod my phone like that

EMegamanu said:
Unfortunately, I think we are in lack of luck with the µUSB port on the top. This would constrain to put the phone horizontally on a dock with the docking on one edge.
This must explain the lack of docking station on eBay unlike the batteries' charging stations.
One alternative may be to reproduce this SGS mod : http://www.qianqin.de/2011/09/18/samsung-galaxy-s-wireless-inductive-charging-mod
But I don't know if it is possible with our Captivate Glide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that is impressive. I wish I didn't care about my warranty. Lol

This looks cool the Dock Boss allows you to plug your android phone into any Ipod dock:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-20110799-251/dockboss-plug-android-phones-into-iphone-docks/
OK I doubt it allows you to control the Next track and play/pause but it should charge and route the Music to the device. It plugs to your phones audio connector and the Micro USB to charge.
Here is another dock that looks interesting uses a cable to plug to an android phone so it does not matter where the connectors are located. It also has a nice little Remote:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/home-entertainment/ec56/
JB

dudejb said:
This looks cool the Dock Boss allows you to plug your android phone into any Ipod dock:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19736_7-20110799-251/dockboss-plug-android-phones-into-iphone-docks/
OK I doubt it allows you to control the Next track and play/pause but it should charge and route the Music to the device. It plugs to your phones audio connector and the Micro USB to charge.
Here is another dock that looks interesting uses a cable to plug to an android phone so it does not matter where the connectors are located. It also has a nice little Remote:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/home-entertainment/ec56/
JB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the docking station from thinkgeek. The Price is okay, the design as well, the only thing that I would nitpick about is that you can't just put the phone into the dock, but have to connect both headphone and charging cable to hte phone.
Otherwise than that it's worth the weight for me.

You know, it's a shame that our phones seem to have a cult following almost. Many people don't seem to know about it either. Samsung did great, especially since keyboard phones are going the way of the dodo, and I use a keyboard for gaming and texting anyway.
My only complaint is that there's no hardware camera button, but that's not a deal breaker in the least.

Really missing my Milestone dock.....its the only downside to this phone I can find.
I hate fishing for charging leads

MnemonicSyntax said:
You know, it's a shame that our phones seem to have a cult following almost. Many people don't seem to know about it either. Samsung did great, especially since keyboard phones are going the way of the dodo, and I use a keyboard for gaming and texting anyway.
My only complaint is that there's no hardware camera button, but that's not a deal breaker in the least.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The keyboard and the availability on my carrier made the decision for me. I do a lot of emailing from my phone, and the keyboard is just faster and more precise than even Swype style input options for me.
I did at first miss the hardware camera button from my old WinMo LG eXpo, it was very nifty, but it's not even an issue for me anymore. Is that a common thing among Android phones?

the galaxy s vibrant comes with a charging dock that uses the same corner usb connection. Unsure on the thickness of the phone in comparison to the vibrant though.
Sent from my XT862 using xda app-developers app

Well, I bought one to try out. Wasn't much, only $10 from eBay with the packaging or $13 new. Oh, I'm using a stock AT&T Captivate Glide on the latest update.
Physically, it's fine. Smaller than it looks, actually, covering about 9/10 of the length & 4/5 of the height. The depth is a bit more fudged, covering only the lower half of the slider, leaving the screen half hanging. The main issue is that although the plug is 95% on target, the 5% means you'd have to add a spacer to raise the rest of the phone up a bit. But it definitely attaches without trouble. Nice & compact.
EDIT: Driver: the charging works, though considering it didn't a few hours ago, I'm not sure what changed. Ah, the connector is a tad longer than what fits, so perhaps one must jiggle the phone a bit to get it to work? Though I tried that earlier, too....
Software/driver side is a flop. The Samsung Desk Home application from the marketplace (the generic one) doesn't work. So yeah, no automatic launching or sound out of the dock's line out. It's odd, since the settings has a dock setting in the settings, so something should work. I just wasn't able to find out what. I suppose the dock might have an identifier & the phone isn't coded in?

Yo_L2 said:
Well, I bought one to try out. Wasn't much, only $10 from eBay with the packaging or $13 new. Oh, I'm using a stock AT&T Captivate Glide on the latest update.
Physically, it's fine. Smaller than it looks, actually, covering about 9/10 of the length & 4/5 of the height. The depth is a bit more fudged, covering only the lower half of the slider, leaving the screen half hanging. The main issue is that although the plug is 95% on target, the 5% means you'd have to add a spacer to raise the rest of the phone up a bit. But it definitely attaches without trouble. Nice & compact.
EDIT: Driver: the charging works, though considering it didn't a few hours ago, I'm not sure what changed. Ah, the connector is a tad longer than what fits, so perhaps one must jiggle the phone a bit to get it to work? Though I tried that earlier, too....
Software/driver side is a flop. The Samsung Desk Home application from the marketplace (the generic one) doesn't work. So yeah, no automatic launching or sound out of the dock's line out. It's odd, since the settings has a dock setting in the settings, so something should work. I just wasn't able to find out what. I suppose the dock might have an identifier & the phone isn't coded in?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which docking station did you get? that is 1 thing I don't understand with samsung, why do they make the micro usb connector on the top of the phone? It should be on the bottom, this would be simpler for docking stations to connect and less cumbersome having a wire to conect all the way to the top of the phone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927R using xda app-developers app

My mistake, I forgot it's difficult to locate. Here's the Galaxy S used version <ebay.com/itm/OEM-Samsung-Galaxy-S-i9000-Multimedia-Dock-Home-Charger-/150629639833> & new version <ebay.com/itm/N-OEM-Samsung-Galaxy-S-4G-Multimedia-Dock-Home-Charger-/160616869990>. If you go through the store, there's the Vibrant & Galaxy S versions, but I'm not sure there are any differences.
Being a horizontal dock, your issue is not applicable, though it's certainly understandable.
Oh right, the clock application already has a dock function, but it doesn't activate upon docking & I couldn't get it to reroute the audio. It does prevent the screen from turning off, so I guess it's not too bad.

Hi would this work with the glue as a basic dock? not sure if the plug is in the right place for this mobile,
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Gal...UTF8&colid=2AOM2U1G0O9ZJ&coliid=I9O547D7LLW3P
if not aren't there any Samsung accessories that can be adapted for a dock to charge or hdmi out here's wishing lol.
Atb

That is the amazon location of the dock I reviewed. Everything I've mentioned should apply.
I guess glue would work? As long as it's completely dry, naturally. I used three thin nails in three rows, taped down. Not the prettiest, but at least it matches the blue led.
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Hi Thanks for that, where's the link to your review and why were the nails used just to stop it dropping forward of the front of the dock, were there any other mods needed to make it work.
Thanks
Paul

The review is spread over two posts, two & four posts above my prior post with pictures.
I used nails as a spacer as the micro-USB port is a tad bit high. Everything else worked well, though the phone electrical connection to the dock may be finicky at times.

I currently use an ihome desk lamp. The glide sits rather well in the ipod dock, but I have to supply my own power. I was eyeing this the other day too http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ec56/

found it! SGH-i927 HTPC solution
here's what i think we've all been looking for:
this should be all you need to use your Captivate Glide as HTPC (or just use the dock on your night-table/desk, whatever)
iBolt™ MHL Streamer Dock - Black
http://www.fommy.com/view-full-page.php?divid=Samsung&model=Samsung+Captivate+Glide+SGH-I927&cat=Cradles&skuno=94753
the only actual dock i've found that's listed as compatible with i927, and it comes with cables! i am SO getting that one of these days...
(actually, the compatibility list is quite large, i'm guessing just about any device with MHL will work with this dock)
i happened to find this site about an hour into googling for a glide dock... they have the widest range of sgh-i927 stuff i've found:
http://www.fommy.com/samsung-captivate-glide-sgh-i927.htm
and that's the only place i've found that sells the iBolt dock...
couple that dock with a Bluetooth kbd/mouse combo; something like this:
CE Compass Bluetooth HID Wireless Keyboard Mouse
*edit*
THIS little thing is AWESOME:
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-touch-keyboard-k400
I picked one up on sale at Office Depot. Works GREAT and even has a home button.
After using this on windows pc's, android tablets and android phone (USB OTG), I HIGHLY reccommend it to anyone looking for a keyboard with integrated touchpad.
two finger scrolling in windows and android works great.
in case you don't have an hdmi monitor, just an HD hdmi to dvi adapter for ~$5
(if you have to go DVI, chances are you'll need an audio cable to connect to your audio device. for example, my tv is older and doesnt do audio over DVI, but the DVI input has RCA audio inputs right beside it; so i would use a 3.5mm to RCA cable.
Or you may want to run from phone headphone jack to audio line in on your home theatre audio receiver.
Chances are if you need seperate audio cable, either 3.5mm to RCA or 3.5mm double-ended cable would be what you need.)
so that's about $100 to use your phone as a desktop computer or HTPC as well.
I can't wait to try this on my 60" DLP tv....

HTC Car A100 Stereo Clip

Sprint has been offering the HTC Stereo Clip for a little while now, so I went ahead and picked one up. Even though I don't have a HOX or HOS, it is spec'd to work with practically any Bluetooth-enabled audio device, so I figured I might as well post a bit of a review for other potential owners. Initially the compatibility with apt-X piqued my interest, but since nobody seems to know if the GNex supports it, I didn't figure that I would get any better than A2DP streaming quality out of it. Still, the idea of turning any set of normal speakers or headphones into Bluetooth-enabled is pretty awesome, so even if the GNex won't support the full audio quality I expect I will eventually get a device that does.
The unit came in yesterday, so I charged it up and ran it through some basic tests. Here's the notable things I found.
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First of all, this thing is small. It's about the size of a thumb drive and can be easily stored in even the smallest pockets. That also means the battery is small, and it doesn't have much power to output sound, so you should expect to use an external amp if you need it louder.
Down next to the USB port it tells you the max voltage and amperage it is configured to expect; 5V, 1A. This was a big deal for me, since I had a previous Bluetooth audio adapter that I accidentally overloaded with my car charger. Since this accepts 1 amp, it should be compatible with nearly every phone charger currently in existence. I got it to full charge in about an hour after plugging it into a USB port on my computer, and the manual says it should most likely take no more than 2 hours to charge from most USB chargers.
Now based on the configuration of the audio plug, it's obvious HTC only designed this for car stereos with female auxiliary ports, which poses a problem if you want to hook this up to other various speakers and headphones that only have another male 3.5mm plug. Plus, my car doesn't have a dedicated aux port, so instead I use a tape deck adapter, which of course is another male 3.5mm plug. Thankfully, all you need is just a 3.5mm coupler (female to female), which I picked up at my local Radio Shack for about $5.
Does it work? Yes, and beautifully at that. You can also use it while it's charging, so for some systems you can effectively just leave it attached to the charger all the time. Using the coupler I hooked it up to my car, my A/V receiver at home, and even to my headphones. The effective range seems to be limited to about 5 feet, but this is still much cheaper than purchasing brand new Bluetooth-enabled systems for each time you want to wirelessly play your music, especially when 99% of existing Bluetooth systems are terrible quality compared to regular sound systems. I imagine the quality will be better too when I have something that supports apt-X, but for now I can deal with A2DP.

earlyberd said:
Sprint has been offering the HTC Stereo Clip for a little while now, so I went ahead and picked one up. Even though I don't have a HOX or HOS, it is spec'd to work with practically any Bluetooth-enabled audio device, so I figured I might as well post a bit of a review for other potential owners. Initially the compatibility with apt-X piqued my interest, but since nobody seems to know if the GNex supports it, I didn't figure that I would get any better than A2DP streaming quality out of it. Still, the idea of turning any set of normal speakers or headphones into Bluetooth-enabled is pretty awesome, so even if the GNex won't support the full audio quality I expect I will eventually get a device that does.
The unit came in yesterday, so I charged it up and ran it through some basic tests. Here's the notable things I found.
First of all, this thing is small. It's about the size of a thumb drive and can be easily stored in even the smallest pockets. That also means the battery is small, and it doesn't have much power to output sound, so you should expect to use an external amp if you need it louder.
Down next to the USB port it tells you the max voltage and amperage it is configured to expect; 5V, 1A. This was a big deal for me, since I had a previous Bluetooth audio adapter that I accidentally overloaded with my car charger. Since this accepts 1 amp, it should be compatible with nearly every phone charger currently in existence. I got it to full charge in about an hour after plugging it into a USB port on my computer, and the manual says it should most likely take no more than 2 hours to charge from most USB chargers.
Now based on the configuration of the audio plug, it's obvious HTC only designed this for car stereos with female auxiliary ports, which poses a problem if you want to hook this up to other various speakers and headphones that only have another male 3.5mm plug. Plus, my car doesn't have a dedicated aux port, so instead I use a tape deck adapter, which of course is another male 3.5mm plug. Thankfully, all you need is just a 3.5mm coupler (female to female), which I picked up at my local Radio Shack for about $5.
Does it work? Yes, and beautifully at that. You can also use it while it's charging, so for some systems you can effectively just leave it attached to the charger all the time. Using the coupler I hooked it up to my car, my A/V receiver at home, and even to my headphones. The effective range seems to be limited to about 5 feet, but this is still much cheaper than purchasing brand new Bluetooth-enabled systems for each time you want to wirelessly play your music, especially when 99% of existing Bluetooth systems are terrible quality compared to regular sound systems. I imagine the quality will be better too when I have something that supports apt-X, but for now I can deal with A2DP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you tell me where/which Sprint store that you have found this item? I cant seem to find them ANYWHERE.....
Thanks!
Riggy

bigriggy63 said:
Can you tell me where/which Sprint store that you have found this item? I cant seem to find them ANYWHERE.....
Thanks!
Riggy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought it online.
http://shop2.sprint.com/NASApp/onli...tion_box=htc stereo clip&id16=htc stereo clip

thanks for the quick review...i am thinking of picking one of these up for my gs3.

Two questions:
Does it time out to save power?
Does it turn on automatically when it recieves external power?
If so this would make for a perfect semi-permentant install in a car where it will get power as soon as the car starts. so far no other adaptor will do this that I have found. Either they won't accept music while charging, or if they do, they will not auto-power-on once they've timed out.

just got mine in the mail yesterday...
^ it does have a time out feature for power save, not sure about auto turn on when receive external power but it does charge and stream at the same time.

jumperalex said:
Two questions:
Does it time out to save power?
Does it turn on automatically when it recieves external power?
If so this would make for a perfect semi-permentant install in a car where it will get power as soon as the car starts. so far no other adaptor will do this that I have found. Either they won't accept music while charging, or if they do, they will not auto-power-on once they've timed out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you seen the Kensington LiquidAux? Works exactly as you describe: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0011UIX2K

DJGibbon said:
Have you seen the Kensington LiquidAux? Works exactly as you describe: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0011UIX2K
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kensington LiquidAux does not have APT-X though.

Hi.
Just ordered one. Trying to find out which bluetooth version it has, as it said 2.1EDR in the specs, but The Verge listed it as 4.0 in their test.
Was the sound quality and volume acceptable when using the cassette adapter??

Hey guys, I've had this stereo clip for about 4 months and it's fantastic. The fact it's wireless, so small, and gives a brilliant quality are my favourite points.
Although the battery is pretty poor, so now i've hooked it up to my cigarette lighter which solves that problem.
Now though, my calls are not distributed through the stereo clip to my cars speakers. Where-as a couple of months ago they were. Is this something that can be turned on/off or restored? It was super clear through the car speakers but now voice comes through the phones speaker and the sound is pretty crap when I'm driving to be honest.

CraigsDocks review - True one hand Dock with digital USB-OTG audio out to DAC

Yesterday I installed my new CraigsDocks dock for my AT&T Galaxy S3.
I give it two :good: :good: up.
I created a DIY USB-OTG with power cable.
So the phone gets dropped into the dock.
It goes into dock mode automatically.
This USB-OTG cable bypasses the internal crappy DAC and sends digital audio out to my Behringer UCA202 DAC.
Which then sends the converted analog signal to my car stereo.
Here's my review/how-to on the whole DAC to Car Stereo thing:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2033527
The dock is much smaller in profile than my iBOLT dock. And also easier to put the phone in and remove it from the dock.
It's also more heavy duty and looks pretty good.
My DIY cable of course, detracts from the looks. But it's not too bad.
The dock is very sturdy. I can easily put the phone in one handed. It just slides right into the USB-OTG connector.
Youtube video of my dock in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Rda6Vsd9Wc&feature=youtu.be
MFG's info & ordering page for CraigsDocks:
http://www.craigsdocks.com/samsung-galaxy-s3-car-dock/
Pics.
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I haven't had a chance to test it yet, but it sounds like according to the MFGR, that the supplied MicroUSB power/media cable that comes with the dock is actually USB-OTG capable. Either as-is, or with a small DIY mod. I didn't understand exactly.
I'm still incredibly happy with this dock. I have yet to need both hands to insert my phone. True one-handed connect in and remove phone action! :good:
Another benefit to this dock is that because it's adjustable, it will probably work for any similar sized phone with MicroUSB on the bottom. I wouldn't even be surprised if a NOTE II works in this dock. Or a GSIII with extended (fatter) battery + large case.

Wiring
Cz Eddie,
I am surprised at how little action this thread has received.
I wish the CraigsDock was around before the Ibolt. Hmmm, maybe it was.
All my past car docks were this type of one handed in/out deal and I miss it.
I will probably get one soon.
When I did the analog out of micro usb tests months ago, I went as far as having my own hand made cable wired to output sound but got terrible machine/cpu noise and gargle if I had both power and audio in the car. I tested it in the house with use wall power...same thing. I tested with a ground loop isolator...worse.
So, right now I have the Ibolt and a custom plug coming out of it that plugs into the headphone jack...works fine actually. But it 2 hands and 4 steps to plug it all in...Vs 1 hand, 1 step via your brilliant craigsdock setup. Love it.
Have you shared your DIY wiring scheme for the CraigsDock + DAC?
If yes, can you point me to it. (I have read your dac thread...I don't remember seeing it there)
Cheers

themadproducer said:
When I did the analog out of micro usb tests months ago, I went as far as having my own hand made cable wired to output sound but got terrible machine/cpu noise and gargle if I had both power and audio in the car. I tested it in the house with use wall power...same thing. I tested with a ground loop isolator...worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason I went with USB-DAC was because of the higher quality audio. But mostly because analog USB just had bits of low level noise that annoyed me.
themadproducer said:
So, right now I have the Ibolt and a custom plug coming out of it that plugs into the headphone jack...works fine actually. But it 2 hands and 4 steps to plug it all in...Vs 1 hand, 1 step via your brilliant craigsdock setup. Love it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, the Craigsdock is true one-handed operation. You have to mess with the dock settings to get it perfect. It took me about 5-10 minutes, but the phone smoothly slips right into the USB connector and is nice and stable.
themadproducer said:
Have you shared your DIY wiring scheme for the CraigsDock + DAC?
If yes, can you point me to it. (I have read your dac thread...I don't remember seeing it there)
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it's either in this thread or the USB-DAC thread?
I just bought a very short USB-OTG connector that had a right-angle microUSB connector for the phone plugin at the dock.
Then I bought a normal, USB extension cable.
And bought a three way normal USB-OTG cable (USB-OTG plus a USB connector for charging).
I snipped off one end of the short USB-OTG and matched the four wires by color to the straight (longer) USB cable. Then took that end and matched it up to the three-way USB-OTG cable. Again, just soldering the four wires to each other. All the colors matched up perfectly.
Wish I didn't lose the pics I took of that procedure. I'd post them if I still had them.
It was all super easy to do.

Cables needed for DAC for Craig's Dock?
CZ Eddie said:
Well, it's either in this thread or the USB-DAC thread?
I just bought a very short USB-OTG connector that had a right-angle microUSB connector for the phone plugin at the dock.
Then I bought a normal, USB extension cable.
And bought a three way normal USB-OTG cable (USB-OTG plus a USB connector for charging).
I snipped off one end of the short USB-OTG and matched the four wires by color to the straight (longer) USB cable. Then took that end and matched it up to the three-way USB-OTG cable. Again, just soldering the four wires to each other. All the colors matched up perfectly.
Wish I didn't lose the pics I took of that procedure. I'd post them if I still had them.
It was all super easy to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, first CZ Eddie, you have been so helpful with this thread and the "The $43 Galaxy S3 + Car Stereo Upgrade for WaaaY better sound quality! USB-DAC Audio" thread. THANK YOU!
I finally bought a new car stereo and will be having it installed by a local company (I am not too handy with vehicle installations). The car stereo has aux and USB on the front side (I want to keep USB on front open for thumb drive music). I purchased a Craigs Dock (from the website you listed above - awesome!) as well. I want to provide the installer with AS MUCH OF THE EQUIPMENT as possible, and a detailed diagram on how to create what you created with the USB-DAC using the Craigs Dock.
As of now I believe I will need to provide the following for a clean installation (can you please tell me if I'm missing something like a necessary connector or cable to connect to Craigs Dock?):
* Two-USB cigarette lighter power source (from amazon, RAVPower® Car USB Charger Dual USB Port 3.1A(2.1A+1A) / 15.5W / ...)
* The new Car Stereo Kenwood KDC-X896 (I can't post links here)
* Craigs Dock (powered by USB connector in cigarette lighter)
* Behringer UCA202 USB DAC (same as posted in your thread, connected to RCA audio cable to aux in on front of stereo)
* Micro USB Host OTG Cable with Micro USB Power for Samsung i9100 i9300 i9220 i9250 (same as posted in your thread; connected from DAC's USB to a power source/micro USB, and then the other end to the Craigs Dock)
* 3.5mm Male To (2) RCA Stereo Audio Cable - (6 Feet) - Step Down Design accommodates iPhone, iTouch, SmartPhones & MP3 cases
* Mini USB male to USB male (for connecting DAC power end to cigarette lighter USB) - such as the Amazon basics A-Male-Mini-B-Cable-...)
Am I missing something? How do I connect the Micro USB Host OTG Cable end into the Craigs Dock?
Thanks for any help you can offer!

ebrowni said:
Thanks for any help you can offer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does USB-DAC work again for the S3? Last time I checked, it wasn't working on AOSP ROM's. I have an S4 now though so I have not kept up on things.
Btw, the S4 fits in the same Craigsdock just fine. So does the NOTE II.
I recommend this setup for power. It's cleaner and works better. Just tie it into any 12V power lead.
http://img2.media.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43697113
You don't want Mini-USB. You need Micro-USB.
So, in this pic where it says "This end goes to MicroUSB Power Source", I would just cut off that end of the cable and hard wire it to the power source I linked above.
I don't use DAC's anymore. I use the APT-X Bluetooth codec. It's 95% as good as a DAC when it comes to sound. But 5000% more convenient.
It won't win any audio awards but it's much better than regular Bluetooth and almost as good as DAC.

No need for DAC? OK much easier.
CZ Eddie said:
I recommend this setup for power. It's cleaner and works better. Just tie it into any 12V power lead.
http://img2.media.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43697113
You don't want Mini-USB. You need Micro-USB.
I don't use DAC's anymore. I use the APT-X Bluetooth codec. It's 95% as good as a DAC when it comes to sound. But 5000% more convenient.
It won't win any audio awards but it's much better than regular Bluetooth and almost as good as DAC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks CZ Eddie! So, from what I'm reading I will just use my APT-X Bluetooth codec (inherent in the S4) to stream through my Kenwood audio system, which is bluetooth compatible. (I'm OK with a 5% less quality sound by using the bluetooth!) So the only thing I will need to do is connect the CraigsDock to the power source. Is that it?! To get high quality sound?! It just seams too easy!

ebrowni said:
Thanks CZ Eddie! So, from what I'm reading I will just use my APT-X Bluetooth codec (inherent in the S4) to stream through my Kenwood audio system, which is bluetooth compatible. (I'm OK with a 5% less quality sound by using the bluetooth!) So the only thing I will need to do is connect the CraigsDock to the power source. Is that it?! To get high quality sound?! It just seams too easy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazingly easy. I love being to remove the phone from the dock and the audio never stops playing.
All you need the dock for is for charging and to hold the phone at eye level.
You can also use Car Home Ultra to give you a car friendly interface. I have mine set so Car Home Ultra automatically wakes the phone and opens up as soon as it senses the bluetooth connection.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=spinninghead.carhome.license&hl=en
Oh but one problem. No current Car Stereo has APT-X capability.
So you have to buy an APT-X receiver and plug that into the AUX-input of your car stereo.
That's the easy part. The only hard part is hard-wiring the APT-X receiver into a power source. But you can share the same power source that the phone will use.
This is the APT-X receiver I have:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketf...iver/5654132.p?id=1218679203690&skuId=5654132
I'll do a DIY thread here someday. I've had this setup for a few months and it's great.

Thanks so much - Another question... Of course!
CZ Eddie said:
Oh but one problem. No current Car Stereo has APT-X capability.
So you have to buy an APT-X receiver and plug that into the AUX-input of your car stereo.
That's the easy part. The only hard part is hard-wiring the APT-X receiver into a power source. But you can share the same power source that the phone will use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info on the App! I'll get that setup on my S4 once everything's in place. Also thanks for the link to the Rocketfish on bestbuy.
A few more questions (of course!):
* On installation, can I have the Rocketfish placed behind the stereo/out of sight, with it continuing to work/without interference? Assuming I hard-wire it for power then that would be easiest.
* Also, I'm guessing that I need to buy an aux cable to connect to the front aux input of my car stereo. HOWEVER, I'm attaching a picture of the back of the kenwood kdc-x896 - is there another way that I could connect to the car stereo using the connections offered in the back? then the front of the stereo would be completely clean and it would be integrated behind the stereo.
What do you think?
Thank you!

ebrowni said:
* On installation, can I have the Rocketfish placed behind the stereo/out of sight, with it continuing to work/without interference? Assuming I hard-wire it for power then that would be easiest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. Mine is buried way deep inside my dash somewhere.
Hard wired power for a few months... not a single problem with it at all.
It turns on when my ignition key turns. And turns off the same way.
It connects to my phone super quick every time I get in the car. I don't have to initiate the connection, ever.
ebrowni said:
Also, I'm guessing that I need to buy an aux cable to connect to the front aux input of my car stereo. HOWEVER, I'm attaching a picture of the back of the kenwood kdc-x896 - is there another way that I could connect to the car stereo using the connections offered in the back? then the front of the stereo would be completely clean and it would be integrated behind the stereo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, you have to connect to the AUX on the front.
You can find car stereo's with rear AUX. It's harder to find them, but they are out there.
If you can handle having a car stereo with rear USB input (run a cord to the front for your USB stick), then there are a couple stereos near your price range that have rear 3.5mm AUX input:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IuY1I6ICy10/p_105KDX80BT/JVC-KD-X80BT.html
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-eYwsaEZ5rq0/p_113KDCX996/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X996.html
Just hafta search for the good prices on the Kenwood. I saw it under $200 somewhere.

Thanks for your help!
CZ Eddie said:
Absolutely. Mine is buried way deep inside my dash somewhere.
Hard wired power for a few months... not a single problem with it at all.
It turns on when my ignition key turns. And turns off the same way.
It connects to my phone super quick every time I get in the car. I don't have to initiate the connection, ever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AWESOME! I'll just tuck it in behind and hard wire to the battery with the craigsdock power... So great that the ignition starts everything and it automatically connects.
CZ Eddie said:
Nope, you have to connect to the AUX on the front. You can find car stereo's with rear AUX. It's harder to find them, but they are out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already bought the Kenwood after lots of research... The KDC-x996 looked great but the downfall (for me) was CD insertion; it has to be done with the faceplate off, and I'm "old school" (haha) and like CDs still. Thanks so much for the suggestions with the rear inputs! I'm really happy that the only cable that will be seen (aside from the Craigsdock power line) is the aux input on the front. Very excited to get this setup! Thanks CZ Eddie!

The Ultimate Car Setup

OK. So 2 years ago I saw a thread on the Nexus 7 tablet forums where someone essentially turn it into a car deck. At the time it was complicated, convoluted and buggy to say the least. Since then its been a thought exercise to make this work. How I wanted it to work. This is what I wanted:
Simple plug&play. One USB connection to carry high quality audio out from the device while still allowing it to charge. This is the most difficult. On the Nexus 7 it required a special kernel and plus the accessories had to be connected in the right sequence. Not exactly the one action set up I was going for.
The easy way to accomplish this was to use a standard USB charger and then use the headphone jack to send audio to the Aux input of the stereo. Great in theory! However the phones/tablets I have used always allowed alternator whine into the sound. Not ideal either.
Third common way is to use bluetooth audio. My Pioneer deck does support this. But we all know the quality of the sound from this is OK at best. Play some ripping guitar or something melodic and you can really hear the compression (watery, slurred "S"s sound). Not good enough for me.
Now when I had first read about this concept I started accumulating various adapters and parts to play with. First was a Behringer 202 External DAC. Its low cost but had decent reviews. Perfect for my installation. Plus the added benefit of several output format options, so a deck with an optical input could also be used if yours has one. With this I got a simple USB OTG with the Micro USB charger Y-cable. The one that has a standard female USB, the charger connection and the one to the device. Now this whole thing never worked properly. I ended up using the OTG cable with the DAC, but on my home stereo where I could place a Qi Pad under the Nexus (and my S4 before) to charge and the DAC for audio. At least I was using what I spent money on. Just not the way I wanted.
Fast forward to yesterday morning. I have had my Nexus 5 for a few months but had not tried this set up. The fussing with kernels on other devices and units over the years had me giving up. But I figured why not try with the DAC and standard charger connected (they were just sitting there after all). Low and behold it worked! And I mean perfectly! It was a big light had been turned on and the world was beautiful! Then I tried my M8 and it failed......but the Nexus 5 for the win! Oh, and even when connected to the power the DAC turned off when I disconnected the phone. So it shouldn't drain my truck's battery (though I parked on a hill tonight just in case!).
So! Here is my car installation that I was finally able to complete. I have included photos of the installation and the parts I used. It's in a list format that I hope follows the pictures. it will take me a post or three to get it all in! So bear with me.
Ingredients:
Nexus 5 (I am running Liquid Smooth for my ROM, I have not tested it on other ROMs at the time of this post).
External DAC. Like the Behringer 202 I used, but I would assume most would work.
USB OTG and Charging Cable
RCA to 3.5mm headset adapter.
Standard car charger. I have a Belkin 1A one that works like a charm. In theory you could use the USB on the stereo if included, but you may not charge reliably.
Standard USB to Micro USB cable
iBolt xDockPro for the HTC. This is optional, but i like the iBolt and their right angled USB is the right way for the Nexus. Which made the set up cleaner.
Car Home Ultra from the Play Store
So. The first photo shows all the stuff I used (minus the car deck and truck).
Second you will see I am in fact using the HTC Dock
Next is the DAC I used
Followed by the adapter cable
The the RCA adapter
The before picture. The sticky pad for the mount was there cause I was already using my iBolt with just a charger tucked in.
This one you will see I have taken the y-cable and connected it to the iBolt adapter. My dash had the room for this, you may need an extension as the y-cable is really short!
Dash is coming apart!
To be continued (I can only post so many pics at once!

Part Deux!
So the next photo shows my deck's AUX input. Now I bought this unit because it had a rear jack. So connected the headphone plug into the AUX jack.
These next four pictures are just to show which power supply I used and how the USB cable is run up to the y-adapter. Now it would be possible to use your stereos USB for power if equiped. I didn't for two reasons. First, the phone/stereo may think your connecting a flash drive (both unit could be trying to be the "host"). Second the stereo may not put out enough amperage to run both the phone and the connected DAC. So I just went with the separate supply. Plus its easy to disconnect it should I need too.
This is me connecting the DAC. Now I wanted to show this particular step as you can see the power light is NOT lit even when connected to vehicle power.
RCA cable is now connected to the DAC.
The set up all buttoned up!
To be continued.....

Trio!
This post is more about the proof of concept and the Car home Setup. Here it is!
Basically once the hardware was all set (1 & 2) I fired it up, and used Play Music (and others) making sure Bluetooth was NOT paired yet. Sounds AWESOME! Makes a night and day difference! Then I paired it for hands free while making sure the media wasn't connecting. Now went into Car Home Ultra and just set it to launch with the my stereo's bluetooth connection. My only next goal I need to finish is to get an NFC tag to control Bluetooth on the iBolt. Car Home is set to turn WiFi off automatically when its running, but my set up is reliant on BT running all the time (or have me remember to turn it on/off, but defeats my plug'n'play concept).
That's the gist of it. If you would like more details or suggestions please let me know!

So it's not just my Ford Fiesta that sends lots of noise to the charger? I am a little relieved, but it sucks to find out that this is somehow a "standard"...
Nice setup there!

daniel_loft said:
So it's not just my Ford Fiesta that sends lots of noise to the charger? I am a little relieved, but it sucks to find out that this is somehow a "standard"...
Nice setup there!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a fix. They make something called a "ground loop isolator" that can usually fix the noise generated from you alternator. Here is an example, quick google search brought it up. http://www.amazon.com/PAC-SNI-1-3-5..._sim_pc_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1FEVW0RPFQ5W3V742E6G
You could put a more temporary/portable set up like mine, wouldn't be hard if your still having issues. Put all the parts together, stuff it all in an old cassette or floppy disk case with a few holes for the cables to stick out of.

Yeah, now the challenge is to find ways to make it work on more devices. It's really unfortunate that the M8 doesn't on Sense based ROMs (I plan on trying a GPE ROM in a few days to see if that makes a difference).
And I may now invest in a proper proclip mount so it's not up on the dash like that. But it works like a hot damn as is for now. Even with LTE on, display always on and streaming audio it charges, though pretty slow. Still. Better than not at all. And I can always turn the screen off if I wanted to give it more juice.

I have my Nexus 5 w/o the case using an iBolt mount I already had and a cheap qi charger and works great.

Nice Setup... I was actually looking for something like this. Thanks for posting

There are a lot of microUSB to USB + aux splitters on amazon for the Samsung Galaxy phones. Would these have worked all the same? Or does the Nexus 5 not have a docking capability that would sense the plug?

For those that don't know BlackBerry sells a blutooth adapter that uses power from the usb charging port on your after market stereo. I use it on mine. This thing is crazy small I hide it in the gap behind my stereo and the reception is good you have around a 10ft radius depending on where you hid your dongle.
http://shop.crackberry.com/blackberry-music-gateway/9A172A11438.htm

Nice I see you have a Colorado. I have a Nexus 7 in mine. I can say that after hours and days of troubleshooting ground noise I could not get rid of it. I had to use a ground loop isolator
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app