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Dear awesome community,
For the past month or more I've been trying to find a place where they sell Mirco-USB to 3.5mm/USB cables, but I have come to no success whatsoever!
Is such cable impossible to make? Or am I just looking in the wrong places.
Check out the attached picture that I've created to show what I need and mean.
It looks simple, right? Now, I would love to get one of these at any price.
Help me!
Dear awesome user.
The practical application of this would be ?
blobotorian said:
Dear awesome user.
The practical application of this would be ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, instead of having two wires coming out of my Note (Top and bottom) while I'm driving, a cable like this well have only one wire coming out from under the phone, cutting on clutter and annoying wires.
must be out there
heres something similar but is mini usb which is no good.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-1-MINI-USB-3-5MM-JACK-MINI-USB-HTC-ADAPTER-/260655181793
indie said:
must be out there
heres something similar but is mini usb which is no good.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-1-MINI-USB-3-5MM-JACK-MINI-USB-HTC-ADAPTER-/260655181793
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shouldn't a micro-usb to mini-usb converter work? IF it supports audio over usb that is
Sent from my Optimus 2X using xda premium
hobs0n said:
Shouldn't a micro-usb to mini-usb converter work? IF it supports audio over usb that is
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's totally proprietary. The phone that that is made for probably doesn't even have a 3.5mm jack.
biggy83 said:
Well, instead of having two wires coming out of my Note (Top and bottom) while I'm driving, a cable like this well have only one wire coming out from under the phone, cutting on clutter and annoying wires.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well.. sorry to be a troll. However, you started this thread conveniently assuming that Headphone output through MicroUSB port of Note will work? Its not an HTC phone which has headset support.
May I know the reason for your ASSUMPTION that it would work even if you get the cable?
Your best bet for a single plug into your phone would probably be to use an MHL>HDMI adapter, and then get another adapter to convert from HDMI audio to 3.5mm.
That would be rather clunky though. HDMI > Anything (that isn't DVI) converters are going to run you at least about $40 for a start, and they aren't small either (probably not much smaller than the phone itself .) And they are externally-powered, so you'd need to provide power to both the MHL dongle and the HDMI converter, so it'd be super untidy.
You could do it though.
But you're probably better off using Bluetooth.
Prankey said:
Well.. sorry to be a troll. However, you started this thread conveniently assuming that Headphone output through MicroUSB port of Note will work? Its not an HTC phone which has headset support.
May I know the reason for your ASSUMPTION that it would work even if you get the cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My assumption comes from the fact that there is a "docking" option in the system settings of the Galaxy Note, meaning that there is support for docking stations and probably audio output for them.
I'm not saying that the Note is the only and first phone to have it, I'm just wondering if there are such cables out there and if such thing possible to be made through Micro USB.
I had an iPhone almost 2 years ago and such cable was available easily and it did really help in my car setup, and since the Note has the same slot setup of my old iPhone I would really like to know if a cable like that is somewhere out there.
Prankey said:
Well.. sorry to be a troll. However, you started this thread conveniently assuming that Headphone output through MicroUSB port of Note will work? Its not an HTC phone which has headset support.
May I know the reason for your ASSUMPTION that it would work even if you get the cable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, looking at this car docking station...
(Link not allowed. Search for "Genuine Samsung Galaxy Note Vehicle Dock - ECS-K1E1BEGSTD" on MobileFun)
...it clearly shows a "speaker line out" socket in one of the photos, with only one connector (i.e. the micro USB connector) attaching to the phone.
So it is most certainly possible.
Hmmm, the both the official desktop dock and car dock have a 3.5mm audio out. It seems unlikely that there would be a USB DAC in the docks themselves, which suggests that analogue audio is being piped out the microUSB port on the phone itself.
Of course, the OP could just buy the official car dock to get nice tidy cabling...
If i understood the purpose of this cable, it would be:
For example:
My car supports audio input so the purpose of a cable like this would be to stream music to my car audio system and recharge de phone like a all-in-one right?
gordonshowers said:
Well, looking at this car docking station...
(Link not allowed. Search for "Genuine Samsung Galaxy Note Vehicle Dock - ECS-K1E1BEGSTD" on MobileFun)
...it clearly shows a "speaker line out" socket in one of the photos, with only one connector (i.e. the micro USB connector) attaching to the phone.
So it is most certainly possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! I found out about this dock yesterday and I'm still wondering why isn't anything like of what I suggested earlier available? How come now one asked about this before!
zylor said:
If i understood the purpose of this cable, it would be:
For example:
My car supports audio input so the purpose of a cable like this would be to stream music to my car audio system and recharge de phone like a all-in-one right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly what I want!
Very Interested in this as well. OEM dock wont work with a case. So this would be a great alternative paired with a car cradle such as this.
biggy83 said:
Dear awesome community,
For the past month or more I've been trying to find a place where they sell Mirco-USB to 3.5mm/USB cables, but I have come to no success whatsoever!
Is such cable impossible to make? Or am I just looking in the wrong places.
Check out the attached picture that I've created to show what I need and mean.
It looks simple, right? Now, I would love to get one of these at any price.
Help me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This:
+
This:
$7 + Shipping
I too really want one of these.
It is obviously possible as the destop & car dock do this.
The only way is, for someone with some electronics knowledge to pull one of these apart to see how its done. It would be interesting to see if it is straight audio out, or if there is a "Digital to Analogue Converter in there"
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-ET-...&otn=3&po=LVI&ps=63&clkid=5051243939125627988
This might do the trick in the unlikely case that Note's microusb outputs audio. Tough I'm really interested in knowing for sure if the Galaxy Note microusb pumps line level audio.
Judging by the price of the desktop dock i wouldn't bet my money on the idea that it has not a dac. I
Use Bluetooth.
maybe at usbfever.com or dealextreme.com
---------- Post added at 07:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:39 AM ----------
http://www.cablejive.com/ maybe
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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
I searched around for some better headphones for my galaxy S3 (GT-I9300), to unleash the full music experience the phone got. As I prefer a more powerful earphone I feel not as comfortable with the sound of the original ones, but I don’t wanted to lose the comfort of the Samsung Headset - Microphone and Remote control.
As you can see here, I changed the original Samsung headset cable to a pair of Sennheiser Headphones. In case you are interested in doing the same here is what I Did.
What i used:
A Pair of Samsung Headset Headphones, in my Case Samsung Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300)
A Pair of Headphones, as shown in the Pictures a Sennheiser CX 300-II
A Solder Station, a bit of soldering wire
A Tool called third Hand, or another little vice
Fine Pliers and a little slot screw driver
A Voltmeter
Just to ensure. I am not responsible for any injuries, damages and defects on the headphones, your mobile, other components or your health. The following hints worked for me and my equipment, yours may be different.
If you aren’t use in Voltmeter testing’s, soldering and fine mechanical works you shouldn’t do this.
First I dismounted the silicone Ear Adapters from all headphones. Then I used the pliers to demount the Samsung headphones. In My case I grabbed the stick where the Ear Adapter was on and ripped it off. I have no further use for them, so I broke its housing.
Inside the Cables are mounted on the speaker. I used the solder station, to liquefy the soldered cable connection from the speaker.
In next step I opened the cable knot and got the cable out of the Samsung housing.
Openig the Sennheiser Headphones:
I used my fingernails to get of the silver ring of the housing, maybe also a guitar plektron will do the same. In my case it worked when I turned it around while pressing my nails in.
Please see Picture 1
With the little slot screw driver I opened up the in key and slot position of the housing.
Please see Picture 2 and 3
I also used the solder station, to liquefy the soldered cable connection from the speaker.
I noted myself on which connection which colour of wire was. On the back side of the Sennheiser Speaker there was a red sign on one of the contacts.
I opened the knot and pulled out the cable. Then I inserted the white Samsung cable in the rubber bumper. I think its important to make sure inserting the right side of the Samsung cable into the right side of the new Earphone. To ensure better gliding I used a little of my wives hand cream on the cable.
When mounted the cable in the headphone, I fastened it again with a knot. I had to be carful, the cable isn’t as strong as it seems.
This is the pin configuration I measured on my headphones. As I heard that there is more than one pin configurations in different countries, please ensure what’s yours. So the wire connection I made may differ to the one which is the correct in your case.
Please see Picture 4
Soldering, I made,
Please see Picture 5
Right Headphone:
In my case I attached the red wire of the Samsung headset cable on the Sennheiser headphone at the solder position where the red dot was.
Left Headphone:
I attached the green wire of the Samsung headset cable on the Sennheiser headphone at the solder position where the red dot was.
Please see Picture 6
Reassembling should be no problem then.
Have fun with your modified headphones.
Please see Picture 7
Nice work looks pretty good do they sound alot better?
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
SoundsLegit said:
Nice work looks pretty good do they sound alot better?
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the originals are ok but, I'm am a bit of ambitious in music, the original samsungs speaker don't have such powerful bass and not so clear highs. So they don't give a good picture of what a great sound experience the Phone itselve provides.
If you buy a original Headset at Amazon its about 5€, the Senheiser are 35€. There might be the difference from .
Greetings
Awesome
I don't understand though why you used the samsung cord couldn't you have just bought headphones from amazon that had their own cord? Or did you have to have the samsung cord because of the plug to match the microphone? Thanks
Sent from my SGH-I747M using xda app-developers app
Nice job. Thanks for sharing.
Ok so here's my predicament. The way I can plug my phone's audio into my car is through a 3.5mm plug into the headphone jack. This wire is coming out from behind the stereo unit and I have to completely remove the unit if I wanted to put a different wire in back there which would be a major pain. Now before I had no problem hooking that plug into my S3, but now that I got an extended battery with a different case, the hole around the headphone jack on the new case is too small to allow the plug to plug in fully. So I was wondering does anyone know of a 3.5mm female to male plug that I can order, where the male end has as little rubber around the tip as possible so it will actually fit in this case? I've been searching myself but its kind of a hard thing to search for, with the proper wording and everything. So I was hoping maybe one of you have had a similar situation and have found a wire that fits these needs.
Thanks!
This guy's cables are pretty thin:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Sound-Vision-/293/i.html?_ipg=&_sac=1&_from=&_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ssn=mpas2010
There's also this other cable (kensington/belkin make similar ones) that has the plastic/rubber stripped from the base of the connector which should allow it to dive deeper in to your case and make a full connection in side the minijack. I have a case that this doesnt quite work on but it will work for most:
http://www.daydeal.com/product.php?productid=72576&gclid=CNbT-f6X6bUCFShgMgod0CwA7g
Maybe this.....
http://www.markertek.com/Connectors...ers/3-5mm-Adapters/Connectronics/TN-IPA.xhtml
this?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007H7149A/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Im using it now for my AUX stock deck to my Gs3 it is very very low profile.
You can always trim off the access rubber around the jack with a utility knife.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
j76ms said:
Maybe this.....
http://www.markertek.com/Connectors...ers/3-5mm-Adapters/Connectronics/TN-IPA.xhtml
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks guys. i think this markertek one is probably gonna be the one i try. i need it to be male-female or just an adapter like this (assuming this fits properly with my case). i'd rather not get a whole new male to male wire because that would mean i'd need to take apart my whole front panel on my car again to replace the wire.
i'm gonna give this one a try and if it doesn't work, i guess i'll just start saving up for a new stereo with bluetooth so i don't have to worry about it anymore haha.
polarbearmc said:
thanks guys. i think this markertek one is probably gonna be the one i try. i need it to be male-female or just an adapter like this (assuming this fits properly with my case). i'd rather not get a whole new male to male wire because that would mean i'd need to take apart my whole front panel on my car again to replace the wire.
i'm gonna give this one a try and if it doesn't work, i guess i'll just start saving up for a new stereo with bluetooth so i don't have to worry about it anymore haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have any experience buying from them. I just did a quick search because I think I know what you are looking for and came up with that. You might check your local Radio Shack to see if they have a similar adapter that will fit.
Just google female to recessed male 3.5 and you'll find many places to purchase including amazon
Sent from my GS3
This
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10218&cs_id=1021816&p_id=9764&seq=1&format=2
or
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10218&cs_id=1021816&p_id=9296&seq=1&format=2
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
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