[Q] Desktop Dock Line Out Electrical Noise/Static - Captivate Accessories

After the release of Froyo I picked up the desktop dock. However, I found that when both line out audio and the micro usb charger are connect to the back of the dock, electrical noise/static comes out from the speakers (connected to line out).
I have replicated this with two different micro usb chargers. The wall charger that came with the dock and a car usb charger. The audio is perfect when only the line out is connect to the dock. But, as soon as a charger cable is connected static/noise immediately starts up.
Has anyone here both charged and used line out audio without any issues? Suggesting that I may have a defective unit, terrible power, unshielded audio cable, etc.
Thanks for any insight you might have on this issue.

Have you tried connect to a different setup of speakers or use a different audio cable? It sounds like you are having a problem with poor shielding on the audio cable connected to the back of the desktop dock.

I have the same problem, and I'm using the ear buds at work. I'm highly disapointed with the quality of audio coming from this device. I waited all this time and I get static!

same static with my dock

try samsung support.
their products, their problem...
its obviously a hardware design flaw, where the internal wiring/ components are picking up interferance, from itself or the phone.
WARNING SIGHTLY EDUCATIONAL: i dont have a dock but i cant set my phone within 1.5 feet of my alarm otherwize the alarm will "chirp" every few minutes. This is due to the alarm having a transistor radio and capasitors inside, the radio picks up the waves from the phone, and that energy builds up in the capasitors until it reaches max capasity then discharges to the speaker, chirpping.
chances are that they built the guts of the dock too small and compact, probably running the 3.7V power wires right along the auido wires which use less than a Volt, millivolts actually, and all wires with flowing electricity create magnetic feilds, the power wire would have a much stronger feild than the audio wire and could interfere with it, because inversly, magnetic feilds can create electricity in other wires (known as induction).
or it could be a culmination of the two factors.
back to topic, If it is the phone causing interference with the dock, it should have been built to be sheilded, if its the internal components of the dock it should have been designed different, EITHER way it would be samsungs fault or cheap overseas labour. I would gladly pay an extra (5-10%) on an item if it were made in North America (Can/US). Not mexico they take enough of our manufacturing jobs down there and might as well be overseas labour for quality and price.
if you dont care about the warranty pop it open and take some pictures for us, might be able to see/ possibly fix the problem.

At the time I tried with two different auxilery input cables, one well shielded for car audio and the other for a logitech speaker set; they both produced static. However, after restarting the phone it has yet to produce static. This phone and it's accessories are temperamental.

Ground loop
You have a ground loop, You need one of these.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_127SNI...e-Filter.html?tp=2653&tab=review&rvm=ShowAllt

that is actually EXACTLY whats needed to filter out the interferance! nice i never saw a headphone one before...

Can anyone confirm that this device (noise filter) in the link solves the problem?
Anyone know of any other solutions, other than returning the dock? Shame because it is a great idea and is nice when it is working properly.

knaufism said:
same static with my dock
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Click to collapse
I just imported one of these docks, and the static on it really sucks, totally disapointed.

I haven't experienced static on mine due to the fact that I haven't gotten the headphone jack to even work in any capacity (media or calls). Has anyone had this problem at all?

I just picked up one and had the same issue. First few hours it worked great then all the sudden the volume went low and static started. 2 different power cords and 3 sets of headphones/audio cables later and still there.

Related

Official Vehicle Dock Kit

Hi all.
Just took delivery of my dock kit, and it's very nice. Well built, but whether its worth £35 quid is another story.
Anyway, that aside...
When the default "Driving Menu" is enabled, is there a way to change it, especially to use CoPilot instead of Google navigation?
I have had a quick search in this section to see if anyone else asked the same question.
Im in the same boat. It would be nice if someone could do a workaround. Nice bit of kit for the price.
NatTheCat said:
Im in the same boat. It would be nice if someone could do a workaround. Nice bit of kit for the price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you get audio to come out of the rear connector. I plugged my 3.5mm cable into the socket and the sound still comes out the speaker!
Have you tried it?
Settings - dock settings
ALexander
alx37 said:
Settings - dock settings
ALexander
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep! I should have read the booklet, it did tell me in there ;-)
RTFM!
I struggle to take the phone out cleanly using on hand - always hit the power button. Dock mode seems pretty poor to me, seems to get all voice activated with road noise - is the google one any better? (we have a samsung 'special', I think?)
Another thing I've noticed is the terrible engine whine from the loudspeakers when its charging.
Now I tried headphone out socket too, and the same problem occurs.
To me it's a lovely piece of kit, but if you have it connect via Aux then u need to listen to the whinning noise from the charging.
Anyone conquered the noise suppression from an in car charger? It's doing my head in!
stratplayer said:
Anyone conquered the noise suppression from an in car charger? It's doing my head in!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you checked it's not your car? Will try and remember to test if mine does this...
i also have the whining problem when charging. after some investigation, it appears to be caused by poor connections. in my case i suspect the head unit, as i didn't connect the rod at the back to the car frame with the bolt and nut.
you can get a ground loop isolator for about £15, but they just mask the problem - should really get it fixed if there is an electrical problem
Interesting. I have a 2008 Ford Mondeo from new. I'd hope that is electrically correct, but who knows.
I am awaiting delivery of a new car (Audi A3), so I will see if this has the same issue.
It's a real shame because the AUX out on the device increases the volume limit sent to the head unit and it makes a massive difference all round, this limit set by the poxy EU rules on the headphone out socket of the phone is really low (83% of max volume) and when you compare the two on the device its obvious the car kit is better.
BTW it makes the whining noise out of the headphone socket too, when plugged into cradle.
from what i've read, the noise when charging is usually from the alternator. do you notice the whine change when you speed up. if so, i'd get it checked out.
There is a method of basically powering the head unit direct from the battery, bypassing all the other connections and wires the juice has to go through to get to the head unit. probably what i will do if mine doesn't work after i've installed it properly.
I plugged mine into the radio today. From the headphone socket, no problem apart from a lack of volume (even on max gain, it is only just loud enough against the road noise). No background noise though.
Plugged into the connector on hte back of the dock is a completely different story. A ~10khz whine, which is present even with the 12V lead disconnected, and worse when it is connected. Sounds like breakthrough from a switch-mode power supply to me. Makes the audio-out on the dock not fit for purpose. Time to add my review on a fre sites selling them...
The other complaint I have is that it doesn't grip well enough to the windscreen.
tshoulihane said:
I plugged mine into the radio today. From the headphone socket, no problem apart from a lack of volume (even on max gain, it is only just loud enough against the road noise). No background noise though.
Plugged into the connector on hte back of the dock is a completely different story. A ~10khz whine, which is present even with the 12V lead disconnected, and worse when it is connected. Sounds like breakthrough from a switch-mode power supply to me. Makes the audio-out on the dock not fit for purpose. Time to add my review on a fre sites selling them...
The other complaint I have is that it doesn't grip well enough to the windscreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, although I get noise from the headphone socket when in the cradle and charging.
I have raised a returns to send my unit back for a refund. It's a waste of time having it if you cant listen to music on it! Imagine listening to the SatNav with all that silence and "whine" on the speakers, it would drive you bonkers.
It's a real shame as the overall quality is pretty good, but it is not fit for purpose in my opinion.
Will update this thread if I get any more news.
Just posting a review on Amazon... found this review too
2.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing, 28 July 2011
By
Sean Houlihane
This review is from: Samsung Vehicle Dock Kit for Galaxy S II (Electronics)
For the price, this does not do well enough. Yes it fits well, and holds the phone, with an integrated dock connector. However:
It is a push-fit corner grabbing design, and I find it almost impossible to release the phone with one hand.
The windscreen suction mount is feeble, so maybe 20% of the time rather than removing the phone, I end up with the whole thing coming un-stuck.
Dock mode on this phone is almost useless, so plan on replacing it if you think it is a good feature.
The audio-out functions, but there is a very poor electrical design - even if the charger is not plugged in, the signal picks up a constant high pitched whine (even with the car engine off)
Buy a cheaper one, and you'll feel less hard done by.
tshoulihane said:
I plugged mine into the radio today. From the headphone socket, no problem apart from a lack of volume (even on max gain, it is only just loud enough against the road noise). No background noise though.
Plugged into the connector on hte back of the dock is a completely different story. A ~10khz whine, which is present even with the 12V lead disconnected, and worse when it is connected. Sounds like breakthrough from a switch-mode power supply to me. Makes the audio-out on the dock not fit for purpose. Time to add my review on a fre sites selling them...
The other complaint I have is that it doesn't grip well enough to the windscreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hilarious, just posted your comment on here from Amazon, didnt realise it was you until after I posted it!
There's one more for you to find - and it's not a cut'n'paste... Maybe not live yet.
If you don't want to run a car Samsung's menu
If you don't want to run a car Samsung's menu install aps from the store :
Dock No-Op .
If you want to restore the default you have to uninstall the application.
Samsung Cars Menu and that sucks and this increased volume of system sounds, it's up scares. I think everybody can hear it in the around car
And what this menu is, and so one can make your own card to use in the car.
Personally, I mounted the Launcher 7 menu that conforms to the Windows Mobile 7 and has the icon in the system ankles. Cubes as they rotate with the vertical grip twist at the best level for navigation. This arrangement works well in the car, because after docking nothing changes and I can continue listening to your music on the equipment in the car, not a hundred times to click to activate the music listened to on headphones before
Sorry for bad english, but google translator
I was a bit apprehensive about buying this dock as I'd read a lot of reviews complaining about engine noise and sub-par audio quality when outputting sound through the line-out but since receiving it I've been really pleased with it. There is no engine noise or unwanted sounds so I guess this varies from car to car and depends on how your stereo is wired up. I've also run a few low frequency speaker test mp3s through the line-out and headphone-out it as I'd read reports of the line-out cutting off some of the low frequencies but to my ear I hear no different and I get a good response from my sub with both. My only gripe is that the call audio is not routed through the line out. Although I knew this was the case prior to buying, I just can't understand why Samsung would have left this feature out. I've read that this was the case with other Samsung phone's official docks previously and in most of the cases I've read about a solution has been found either through a OS/kernel tweak or an app which sorts the problem out. I'm just hopeful that a helpful dev is able to have a look at this and see if a solution can be found for the SGS2. Otherwise it's a great dock
I have to say I am disappointed with this dock. Coming from a Moto Atrix dock, this is poorly designed. Love my phone, hate the dock.
At first glance it seems extremely well made but after using for a while it is fustrating.
One, they use to many materials compared to the Atrix dock. This thing is huge.
Two, its hard to get out of the dock. The atrix dock had a nice flip up latch that secured the phone.
Three, you have to run two cables from the dock for changing and audio. The atrix dock had one cable coming from the dock with an audio out dongle near the end of the cable.
Last, the freaking background noise is terrible. Dont even try to listen to audio at a low volume.
I like the flip up charger adapter. Also it works with the official extended battery. But thats about it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

Car dock

Well, I got the Samsung dock, and as much as I like the E4GT, the dock is terrible. Here's my experience:
1. There's a ton of line noise when the phone is docked but nothing is playing, just like with the Epic. I'm using the OEM charger, but that's not the problem--using the same charger, the Photon's car dock is absolutely silent. Samsung must be using some cheap electronics in this thing, and it's simply horrible. (Sorry for venting, but seriously...)
2. The software isn't nearly as seamless as the Photon's either. First, on the Photon, when you dock an app starts that essentially takes over the home button. That means you can move back and forth between the app and the home screens easily. On the Samsung, it seems like once you leave the Vlingo app to, say start a radio streaming app, you can't get back to the dock mode. At least, not without unplugging/replugging the dock connector, but that's extra wear and tear. If I'm wrong about this, please let me know.
Then, the Photon app allows for 4 custom apps to be assigned. That provides a great deal of flexibility, and again it's easy to go from one app to another and then back to dock mode.
Overall, the Samsung car dock experience is nowhere near the Photon's. Motorola really did a great job with this, and Samsung makes it look like they gave actually using the phone in the car zero thought.
What's everyone else doing to make this experience more usable? I'm still choosing between the Photon and the E4GT, and the car dock definitely is a mark in the Photon's favor.
1) Use bluetooth audio streaming for zero noise. Are you connected by the dock's audio out jack, or the GS2's headphone jack? I noticed better sound with the latter, but using BT is easier and sounds so much better.
2) Ditch Vlingo for CarHome Ultra. Extremely customizable and lots of great features, including up to 18 app shortcuts and auto-switching day/night themes. I love it.
You could make a profile in tasker that recognizes when the phone is plugged into a dock. Or you can make one for when it is rotated in landscape and plugged in. Then, you can enable an app to run, or have a list of apps that you can choose from. This is what I do with my phone and I don't even have a dock. It's awesome how much you can do with tasker!
fonseca898 said:
1) Use bluetooth audio streaming for zero noise. Are you connected by the dock's audio out jack, or the GS2's headphone jack? I noticed better sound with the latter, but using BT is easier and sounds so much better.
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Click to collapse
I'd love to do that, unfortunately my car doesn't have Bluetooth audio. And I'm going from the dock's audio out to my car's AUX in. That's an idea, using the headphone jack, but I hate adding wear and tear.
2) Ditch Vlingo for CarHome Ultra. Extremely customizable and lots of great features, including up to 18 app shortcuts and auto-switching day/night themes. I love it.
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Click to collapse
Great, I'll give that a try, thanks!
Sholland91 said:
You could make a profile in tasker that recognizes when the phone is plugged into a dock. Or you can make one for when it is rotated in landscape and plugged in. Then, you can enable an app to run, or have a list of apps that you can choose from. This is what I do with my phone and I don't even have a dock. It's awesome how much you can do with tasker!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's another idea. Thanks!
fonseca898 said:
2) Ditch Vlingo for CarHome Ultra. Extremely customizable and lots of great features, including up to 18 app shortcuts and auto-switching day/night themes. I love it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for the tip, that app rocks. In fact, it's better than the Photon's car dock app.
Now all I need to do is find some way to clean up the line noise and I'll be a happy camper.
Go to radioshack. Ask them for a ferrite core. Should be a ring of "ferrite" or iron. Make sure it's big enough to put the plug on your audio cable through. Push it through and wrap it around a few times and see if that helps. Also, running a separate hot lead and ground from your car battery to the cigarette plug you use should help. But the ferrite core should be easier/cheaper
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
iamtheug said:
Go to radioshack. Ask them for a ferrite core. Should be a ring of "ferrite" or iron. Make sure it's big enough to put the plug on your audio cable through. Push it through and wrap it around a few times and see if that helps. Also, running a separate hot lead and ground from your car battery to the cigarette plug you use should help. But the ferrite core should be easier/cheaper
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give it a shot, thanks! I might even have one sitting around somewhere...
call audio routing
Has anyone else been able to get call audio to route to the output on the dock? media audio comes out the port so I can hear that on my cars speakers but when I make a call it comes out of the phone speaker....
So, I've tried a variety of power adapters, USB cables, and audio cables, and the line noise remains. I'm going to try the ferrite core around the audio cable, but I don't think that's the issue--if you unplug the unit from power, the line noise disappears. So, I think it's just bad circuitry in the dock.
One would think that Samsung would have received complaints about this with the Epic dock (at least) and would have fixed it. Motorola managed to make a dock with excellent sound quality and zero noise, so it's certainly possible.
Otherwise, the E4GT is decent in the car with that Carhome Ultra app. Although, that doesn't really help with my decision between the E4GT and Photon, because with the Photon I could have the same dock app but also outstanding audio quality.
I can only assume the noise you are hearing is due to a Ground Loop/Hum.
It has to do with the fact that your power source is grounded to a different point than the stereo/speakers. the hum you hear is the difference in voltage's between the 2 grounds being represented as noise in the line.
for instance. I recently installed a new head unit in my truck, the unit has an AUX in and a USB port. If i plug my E4GT aux cable into the stereo and plug the USB charger into the port on the stereo - NO Noise. However, if i plug the phone to charge in another outlet (say, the cig lighter) then there is Line Noise everytime. The same principle applies when plugging your phone audio jack into any electronics.
Hope this helps shed a little light on the noize.
ReFiLL said:
I can only assume the noise you are hearing is due to a Ground Loop/Hum.
It has to do with the fact that your power source is grounded to a different point than the stereo/speakers. the hum you hear is the difference in voltage's between the 2 grounds being represented as noise in the line.
for instance. I recently installed a new head unit in my truck, the unit has an AUX in and a USB port. If i plug my E4GT aux cable into the stereo and plug the USB charger into the port on the stereo - NO Noise. However, if i plug the phone to charge in another outlet (say, the cig lighter) then there is Line Noise everytime. The same principle applies when plugging your phone audio jack into any electronics.
Hope this helps shed a little light on the noize.
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Click to collapse
I hear you, except that I have two different docks that display entirely different behavior. Actually, I have two docks from the same manufacturer (Samsung, for the Epic and the Epic Touch) that have significant line noise, and one (Motorola) that does not. Note that these are all plugged into exactly the same power adapter and outlet and using the same USB and audio cables.
So, you'd need to account for the fact that the Motorola signal is perfectly clean in precisely the same circumstances while the Samsung's signal isn't.
I believe every word of it.
From what I know about Ground Loop Hum there are many weak links in the chain, and certainly some products behave better than others. The problem is still most likely the Ground.
One possibility would be that the manufacturer of the Moto Dock has included an isolator in the power supply line (or even in the audio supply line), and the manufacturer for the Sammys didnt.
My experience in this subject is with my Laptop/DJ setup making noise when plugged into audio equipment. when the power supply was plugged into the lappy, 60hz hum. Unplug it and it goes away. More than likely the problem was inside the computer or the power supply was just poorly manufactured as other models may not have the Hum. In my case i purchased a small isolater solved the problem. It may be possible to find one for a 12v car electrical system.
ReFiLL said:
I believe every word of it.
From what I know about Ground Loop Hum there are many weak links in the chain, and certainly some products behave better than others. The problem is still most likely the Ground.
One possibility would be that the manufacturer of the Moto Dock has included an isolator in the power supply line (or even in the audio supply line), and the manufacturer for the Sammys didnt.
My experience in this subject is with my Laptop/DJ setup making noise when plugged into audio equipment. when the power supply was plugged into the lappy, 60hz hum. Unplug it and it goes away. More than likely the problem was inside the computer or the power supply was just poorly manufactured as other models may not have the Hum. In my case i purchased a small isolater solved the problem. It may be possible to find one for a 12v car electrical system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually hooked up an old RadioShack groundloop isolator to the AUX cable, and it got rid of the hum.
Something like this should work fine: http://www.amazon.com/GROUND-LOOP-I...QTRI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322958491&sr=8-2
ReFiLL said:
I believe every word of it.
From what I know about Ground Loop Hum there are many weak links in the chain, and certainly some products behave better than others. The problem is still most likely the Ground.
One possibility would be that the manufacturer of the Moto Dock has included an isolator in the power supply line (or even in the audio supply line), and the manufacturer for the Sammys didnt.
My experience in this subject is with my Laptop/DJ setup making noise when plugged into audio equipment. when the power supply was plugged into the lappy, 60hz hum. Unplug it and it goes away. More than likely the problem was inside the computer or the power supply was just poorly manufactured as other models may not have the Hum. In my case i purchased a small isolater solved the problem. It may be possible to find one for a 12v car electrical system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the salient point is that Samsung uses inferior components. It's possible to make a device that doesn't suffer from the problem, as Motorola has shown.
DevalB said:
I actually hooked up an old RadioShack groundloop isolator to the AUX cable, and it got rid of the hum.
Something like this should work fine: http://www.amazon.com/GROUND-LOOP-I...QTRI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322958491&sr=8-2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll give that a try.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
most times I've had line noise, be it from improper grounding or from cellular interference (namely from ground issues) the ferrite core fixed it. If it doesn't, the power isolation will. The reason the USB Ports on the head unit doesn't create line noiseis because it has isolation circuitry built in. The core is cheap. If that doesn't work, isolate power.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Okay, in the latest saga with the Samsung car dock, I noticed this morning that when I received a Bluetooth phone call, the TuneIn Radio audio I was playing didn't stop. Or, rather, it did stop once the stream buffer ran out, because I was on 3G and of course 3G data isn't available during calls.
Is this really how the Samsung dock works, that audio doesn't give way to Bluetooth calls? Or is that perhaps the CarHome Ultra app?
Still a bit frustrated with this aspect of the Epic Touch. The Photon's car dock works perfectly, including muting audio while on a Bluetooth call.
Grrr. I know, I know, if I like the Photon's car dock so much, why I don't I just stick with that phone... But seriously, Samsung, how hard is it to get this right?
wynand32 said:
Okay, in the latest saga with the Samsung car dock, I noticed this morning that when I received a Bluetooth phone call, the TuneIn Radio audio I was playing didn't stop. Or, rather, it did stop once the stream buffer ran out, because I was on 3G and of course 3G data isn't available during calls.
Is this really how the Samsung dock works, that audio doesn't give way to Bluetooth calls? Or is that perhaps the CarHome Ultra app?
Still a bit frustrated with this aspect of the Epic Touch. The Photon's car dock works perfectly, including muting audio while on a Bluetooth call.
Grrr. I know, I know, if I like the Photon's car dock so much, why I don't I just stick with that phone... But seriously, Samsung, how hard is it to get this right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if it might be the phone or the application. When listening to Sirius/XM radio without a dock, and I get a phone call, the radio keeps blasting away.
You don't stick with that phone because this one is superior in every other way. Its a minor issue. Why would you even have the aux input selected when there is no music playing? I have the noise too so I get it but ...yeah I just change the input when I don't need it.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

Best 3.5mm Bluetooth adapter for my car

Can anyone recommend a good 3.5mm Bluetooth adapter for my car.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I got the scosche by adapter from walmart for $36. It plugs into the 3.5mm jack and works well for audio streaming. Calls not so much.
Dicho por el E4GT de Latinmaxima con Tapatalk.
All bluetooth adapters suck. I've tried 10+ different A2DP capable adapters over the course of 2 years and all simply ruin the high frequencies. Nothing beats hardwired Aux cable if you actually care about sound quality...
Google "tunelink"
A little pricey, but worth it for the audio quality. Plus, it is only for streaming audio.... No speakerphone function...
pojieps said:
Google "tunelink"
A little pricey, but worth it for the audio quality. Plus, it is only for streaming audio.... No speakerphone function...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but this is just a gimmick for those without knowledge in my opinion. Other than the bluetooth function, which there are a million of those out there, a person could just plug a male to male 3.5mm stereo plug into the phone to the AUX port in the car if its available.
chrisnosleep said:
Sorry, but this is just a gimmick for those without knowledge in my opinion. Other than the bluetooth function, which there are a million of those out there, a person could just plug a male to male 3.5mm stereo plug into the phone to the AUX port in the car if its available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually own it... I get WAY better quality over the bluetooth connection than I do with a direct line in. The headphone jack on your phone is designed for just that... headphones. Lining in directly reflects this. Wish there was a way for you to give it a try. I am kind of a sound snob, and I love mine. Plus, all you have to do is get in the car and once the bluetooth pairing happens, the app will open your music app and start playing.
Not trying to push this thing on ya. Just wanted you to know, I own one, and I am not "without knowledge"
Motorola Rokr T505 is small, does well with calls and music playing through blank FM stations to your car stereo. Best $40 investments plus NO CHORDS!
I had this one and used it with my EVO. Worked pretty well.
http://www.amazon.com/Miccus-BluBridge-Mini-Jack-Bluetooth-Bluetooth-Enabled/dp/B0038MA11U
I tried an AUX cable on three different phones. There was always a high pitched whine through my speakers. I started using a Samsung HM3500 plugged into the same AUX jack and got better quality music with no whine. Plus, no extra cable running through my car to the dash mount.
Did you guys all just have a car stereo that had bluetooth built in? I have an '05 Bonneville GXP but the stereo has neither a aux port or bluetooth capability...Major sad face...I really don't want to replace the stereo either because it's nice and fits the look of the car - would look stupid with anything other than a big touchscreen replacement and that's just too expensive.
Any suggestions?
You could get an FM modulator that would allow you to add a line in via your radio antenna, but they don't have great sound quality.
DutchDogg54 said:
Did you guys all just have a car stereo that had bluetooth built in? I have an '05 Bonneville GXP but the stereo has neither a aux port or bluetooth capability...Major sad face...I really don't want to replace the stereo either because it's nice and fits the look of the car - would look stupid with anything other than a big touchscreen replacement and that's just too expensive.
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, just swap out the headunit for one with bluetooth build-in. Just make sure it supports A2DP (music streaming over bluetooth). I got mine from Amazon for $140, Sony MEX-BT3900U, and it been simply great. A2DP for bluetooth streaming, Aux port for wired 3.5mm audio, and it has USB port for charging the phone.
High Pitched whine is a POWER ISSUE
unplug your phone and it should go away. IE change chargers.
nerys71 said:
High Pitched whine is a POWER ISSUE
unplug your phone and it should go away. IE change chargers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all the time. My car had that problem and there were many other factors at fault.
Here are few things to look out for:
If your car has an amplifier in the rear, make sure that the headunit-to-amplifier audio cables are at least few feet away from power wires (aka, run them on the opposite side of the car than the power cables).
Make sure that the headunit is properly grounded. If that still doesn't help, run both headunit's + and - power wires directly to the car battery.
If problem still persists, repeat #2 but for the amp (if you have it).
If all above failed, it's time to invest in a better headunit. Your old one sucks and can't suppress the noise generated by the chassy/alternator.
I had crappy stock headunit and weaka$$ stock amp that would always make the static and constant whine problems. Ended up completely redoing the car audio system. Now, even with the headunit not grounded audio quality is PERFECT.
Here are the prices for my audio remodeling, all items bought brand new:
- Sony MEX-BT3900U. Headunit with CD, Aux, Handsfree Phone, Bluetooth A2DP audio, USB ($140)
- Hifonics ZXi80.4. Amplifier with 4 channels, 80W RMS per channel ($134)
- Alpine SPS-600 speakers. 6.5" 2-way speakers, 80W RMS ($50 ea)
- Stinger Pro 3 Series Snake. 6-channel, 20 feet RCA snake that goes from headunit to the amp in the rear ($35)
- 2x22' 8AWG battery-to-amp power wire
- 2x18' 12AWG amp-to-headunit power wire
- 4x18' 16AWG amp-to-front speaker wires
- 4x2' 16AWG amp-to-rear speaker wires
- 30A fuse in the engine bay
I ran the power cables on the left side of the car and ran the RCA snake on the right. everything was exactly $525 and I did all work myself (it's quite easy if you ask). now the sound quality in my used-to-be-audio-hell car is dam near perfect now and has absolutely no noise/static at all. you can jack the volume up crazy high without any distortions for like 80Hz+. 80Hz and below can be a problem when maxing out the volume as the speakers are only 6.5" and weren't meant to deliver bass. don't get me wrong, they do make nice bass but just don't handle it too well when playing it very loud.
after years of running this setup I'd say this was one of the best investments i've ever made. my car is built for drifting so it is setup very stiff and shakes/jumps like crazy when dailying (300mi/week) and when i do take it out for a spin the amount of stress it sees it crazy. after all this time you'd think at least some wires would come loose but nope, everything is still running perfect.
so yeah, if you actually care about sound quality in your car and would like it to last, just redo it from scratch. it's fun and is totally worth it
Not trying to pick a fight but lets be clear here
If your car has an amplifier in the rear, make sure that the headunit-to-amplifier audio cables are at least few feet away from power wires (aka, run them on the opposite side of the car than the power cables).
Which is a power issue
Make sure that the headunit is properly grounded.
Which is a power issue
If that still doesn't help, run both headunit's + and - power wires directly to the car battery.
Which is a power issue
If problem still persists, repeat #2 but for the amp (if you have it).
If all above failed, it's time to invest in a better headunit.
Which is a power issue
Your old one sucks and can't suppress the noise generated by the chassy/alternator.
Which is a power issue
See what I mean?
Cars make a lot of "NOISE" this noise is a power issue. it comes from your alternator and your coil and your spark plugs IE "POWER ISSUES"
if you have bad grounds or are lacking noise suppression (cheap equipment old equipment etc.. etc..) or an older car making a TON of extra noise etc.. etc..
Power inverters (especially cheap ones) are notorious for "dirty power" that lets in noise.
when I power my phone off the USB on the cheap inverter's USB port I get big time whine noises painful even.
use the USB port in the radio and I get no noise (but then it tries to "READ" the phone instead of just charging it and won't let me use aux hehe
Sometimes you can get a coil thing to add to power to reduce this noise but usually its just cheap equipment ($7 power inverter
plug a 110v to usb adapter into same inverter and no noise. The 110v adapter isolates and prevents the noise leakage.
nerys71 said:
Not trying to pick a fight but lets be clear here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha time to clear up a misunderstanding here. my reply was referring to the "unplug your phone and it should go away" statement and thus assuming that you, by saying "its a power issue", were referring only to the inverter that was powering the phone at times getting a better quality inverter (aka, one that has capacitor or capacitor-pack to smooth out the voltage spikes and noise) is sufficient and at times it is not. I've experienced both. it's also worth mentioning that after redoing my sound system even the crappiest of crap inverters works just fine
frifox said:
Yes, just swap out the headunit for one with bluetooth build-in. Just make sure it supports A2DP (music streaming over bluetooth). I got mine from Amazon for $140, Sony MEX-BT3900U, and it been simply great. A2DP for bluetooth streaming, Aux port for wired 3.5mm audio, and it has USB port for charging the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've looked into those kind of replacements...plenty out there for reasonable prices but they would completely mar the aesthetic value of the nice interior of my Bonny. That's why I was saying that only the touchscreens that would fill the whole double (might be 1.5) din stereo spot in my car would do.
Thanks, both of you guys, for your responses...guess I'm stuck waiting till I get a much newer car
I'm not saying that you're wrong about it being a power issue, but the BT headset I mentioned came with an adapter for an AUX jack and that solved my problem. So, either solution works.
the issue is the radio is connected to the same "power source" that your "phone" is now connected to.
so if any component in that chain does not control the power noise (that is what the noise is coming from your power system)
you INJECT that noise into your audio stream the moment you "link" the devices together (power not audio)
this is why if you use a seperate battery pack to charge the phone you will not get this noise. your battery pack is "isolated" from the car's power system literally physically.
I am only talking about the typical whine pop crackle high pitched noise you get the moment you plug in your charger. IE clear no noise plug in chargers Head burster sounds start coming out of your speakers
that noise is a "power issue" you can't eliminate the power issues (except by eliminating your alternator??) but you can filter it. some devices (chargers) do this better than others
the BT unit works because you "broke" the chain. (no audio cable going from the PHONE to the RADIO)
Again, I'm not denying what you're saying. You're absolutely correct. However, OP was asking for the best BT unit to plug into the jack, not how to solve the issues with cables and power sources. I was simply providing my opinion and experience along the lines of what he was asking for.

DIY FM Antenna With 3.5mm Audio Jack

This is not something new and have been shown many times in YouTube. It is interesting to have for any phone with 3.5mm audio jack that can be easily done within a few minutes. I do not use my headset with my phone so this would be a nice hack to have around to listen with your friends on some local radio without consuming your data plan and phone battery.
Find a headset that you do not need. We only want the part with the 3.5mm audio jack. Just trim it down to about 20cm in length and fold it in half and tie a knot at the end. I tied a lasso knot at the end just so I can adjust the length of the receiver later on though it may not help much in reception quality.
Tested several length from 1 meter all the way to 20 centimetres and found not much difference in reception quality for a fact that you will be using your loudspeaker to listen to the FM radio. The same with whether to loop or not to loop the receiver but looping the receiver gives it a cleaner look while maintaining the same reception frequency.
Putting your phone too close to a human body greatly interferes with the FM signal. On the other hand, placing your phone on a metal table may enhance the FM reception.
Perhaps those who have knowledge in electronics can shed some light to optimize this simple hack further.
Have fun...
I didn't know. Works like a charm !! Thank You
Doesn't work for me. When I plug in the trimmed headset cable with the ear pieces cut off, the FM App keeps asking me to plug in a headset. Works OK when I plug in an untrimmed headset and switch to speaker in FM App menu.
Is there a further trick to getting this to work? Are you using the stock FM App?
I had the same problem myself, and it stems from the fact that smartphones will interrogate any headset you plug in to check if it is suitable. There are basic stereo headphones with three contacts on the jack plug (from the tip they are left, right and ground) and should work on any phone regardless. But there are two variants of headset (i.e. those with a microphone) that use four contacts, the difference being whether they connect the mic on the third or fourth contact.
As of 2016 most manufacturers have standardised on one system (left, right, mic then ground), but there are enough older phones and matching headsets out there that use the alternative pinout scheme. For example my old Sony Xperia used L-R-G-M (the same as say Blackberry), necessitating the use of an adapter for certain accessories. My latest Z5 however, has moved to the L-R-M-G pattern, which means I can no longer use my favourite old Sony headset anymore, not even as plain headphones, the Z5 just refused to talk to them.
That explains why a dumb wire might not work with a smartphone, because it is looking for a signal loop on all four (or three) contacts to try and figure out what's been plugged into it. The solution is to short out the wires to fool the phone into thinking there actually is something on the other end. Simply bare all of the wires at the cut end of the cable, burn off the fine lacquer or cotton that is used as an insulation, then twist the wires together to short them all to the ground. Better still, solder them together and cover with a bit of heat-shrink for a proper finish.
Found some pre-made antennas in ebay, you can try searching for 3.5mm antenna. They look pretty decent. I am also looking for compatible antenna, if any, that is compatible for steven303's new headphone jack.
Edit: did some research and found that the 3.5mm steven303 mentioned is called '3.5mm 4 conductor' or 'TRRS antenna 3.5mm', you can try searching for them in ebay or look for similar ones lying around with wires long enough to be loops around to be used as antenna for new phones with the new type of head jack.
I got two item I think can be suitable for this purpose; search with the following keyword in ebay;
1. 3.5mm 1/8'' Male To Male 4-Pole 3 Ring TRRS AV Audio Extension Cable 1.2M/4Feet
2. 4-Pole 3Ring TRRS 3.5mm (1/8'') Male To Female AV Extension Cable 3FT/1M Black
I have an additional issue. I use my phone's fm radio feature with an old pair of headphones for an antenna and listen via blue tooth headphones when I'm running or just working around the house, etc. My problem is that as the phone moves around in my pocket, the movement causes the phone to think the headphones came unplugged for a second and the radio turns off. When that happens I have to take the phone out and turn the radio back on. This happens often enough that it is a pain in the neck.
A separate but related issue. With some old, non functioning headphone cables the phone doesn't think there is anything plugged into it. I am lucky in that my phone gives me the option to "Play anyway through speaker or bluetooth". So even though it thinks there isn't anything plugged into it, I do, and I have good FM reception.
Here is what I want: I want to know what to do to my old headphone wire so that my phone doesn't think there is anything plugged into it when it is, in fact, plugged in. I hope that makes sense!

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

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