Car kit done

[Carlos]

I got my car kit done a few weeks ago, but still haven't found the time to put together an article on it. Here are the photos I took, though, feel free to ask questions if you like.

This project is not trivial and took a lot of time. It could be easier if you're willing to settle for more simplicity, like only getting sound out. I wanted to have sound, serial, power, the works. It requires the ability to solder small connectors and skill with a Dremel (high speed rotary tool). Basically I took one of the charging adapters apart to get the connector, and duplicated the mounting plate for it inside the cradle using a CD-ROM case cover. Some of the fitment is pretty tight, so you have to have a steady hand with the Dremel. The mount you see on the rear of the cradle is a leftover from a Nokia kit I believe. It is a standard car cell mount which can be purchased in many forms from many sources. There are also flexible pole mounts and others available.

The end result is that I can drop the XDA into the cradle in the car and it is charged, the Pharos GPS is connected (via the PS/2 connector you see), and stereo output is provided via the three-conductor jack on the back of the cradle. I am using the built-in microphone, after some experimentation with other options. It appears the XDA needs a high level microphone input, a straight microphone does not work. This sounds fine to most callers, but it means that I can't put the device into "car" mode which means you also get sound from the speaker on the device.

Hmmm, unfortunately, I can't find the pic I shot of it actually mounted in the car, so I'll shoot that tomorrow and post it.

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit01.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit02.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit03.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit04.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit05.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit06.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit07.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit08.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit09.jpg

[roko]

Respect, very well done! :D

[Peter Poelman]

Very well done indeed.

Just a tiny remark: Do note that the mounting screws for the attachment bracket will prevent you from using the extended battery that clips onto the back of the device... Glue might have been better.

[Carlos]

Thanks for the compliments.

I agree that is a concern if using an extended battery. Flat head screws would work also. I will never use an extended battery, so I didn't bother. Glue would have been ineffective though because the mounting system isn't flat on the surface where it attaches to the cradle; it has lots of air space there, it is not solid.

Another possiblity is to attach the mount on the bottom of the cradle. I didn't do that because I'm putting it in a minivan with a high dash, and this arrangement proved to provide perfect positioning.

Here's are the photos of the kit in the car:

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit10.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit11.jpg

http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/carkit/carkit12.jpg

[Carlos]

Someone on another forum asked for more details on this, so I thought I'd copy them here also. Mostly parts list and some construction details.

The parts list will make you laugh... In photos 1, 3, and 4 you see how I'm take a CD-ROM case cover to turn it into the mount for the connector. The edge, as you see in the photo, is perfect to "notch" into the little tabs on the bottom plate of the cradle. Notice that the stock PCB has holes to catch on little pins on those tabs; the rolled edge of the CD case is perfect to catch on this also. Same thickness. The connector from the AC adapter is thicker than the stock connector, so I had to cut out that piece and use another to hold the connector in place; alignment is perfect using that method. It was glued to the other piece with Duco.

In photo 2 you see the "ears" that I peeled back from the connector; these used to be the locking tabs. Later they will become the method to attach the connector to the plastic. In photos 5/6/7 you can see how I used large-head screws and nuts with washers to attach those tabs to the plastic. I made the tabs into a loop and measured their position, bent them as needed, then once the connector fit in the cradle just right, put on the screws. The connector is VERY solidy fixed this way, surprisingly.

Other parts... Standard stereo 3.5mm plug from an electronics supply house. The PS/2 style connector for the serial feed from the Pharos GPS was just cut off from an old keyboard that no longer works. (Thus justifying why I have had a dead keyboard in my closet for two years...) The power supply connection is the stock connector from the cradle originally. You also see a 2.5mm connector in one photo; that was going to be for the microphone, but I discovered it would require additional electronics. Therefore I didn't use it, and I leave the phone in regular (not car) mode, using the built-in microphone. It's not perfect but very good. People say I sound a bit distant but 100% intelligible.

The mount is something I had in my "cell phone stuff" parts box. After 15 years of using a wide variety of phones/mounts/kits, I have a lot of spares and extras. I'm 90% sure this came from a Nokia 82xx series car kit, or possibly a 61/51xx kit. In any case, mounts use a standardized bolt format like this, and you can buy MANY different types of mounts at cellular dealers. I have one on my desk (where I mounted by other cradle which I modified to allow use of the headset while cradled) which is a flexible any-position gooseneck type. The little metal plate affixing the mount is something I cut from flat aluminum; it's actually a prototype of the mount that I used to mount my last cell phone onto my motorcycle's clutch master cylinder (the PPC-PE mount for the bike is next). It's just to back up the plastic for strength, and since it was already cut for the size/bolt patter of a cell mount, it was easy. It prevents the use of an auxilliary battery on the PPC, so if that's a concern, you'd have to use an alternate method. Also, attaching the mount to the bottom of the unit is perfectly viable. In my case, I chose not to because this afforded a better position in my car.

So as far as the electrical connections... Very basic. You can see a pinout of the XDA connector here: http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/xda/connector/

The Pharos cable pinout is here, and was provided by someone else on PPC Thoughts: http://www.mywirelessoffice.com/pharos/pinout.html

Tools list:
Fine-point 25w soldering iron with a good, clean tip
Very thin solder, rosin core
Small cutters and needle nose
Dremel, cut-off wheel, and round shaping tool bit
Voltmeter helps if you have any issues/doubts
Screwdrivers and pliers

[MADmanFREE]

Carlos,

Before you know it you'll be an "XDA-Devoloper #carlos"

I guessing that somewhere on this sight there will be a more glorified copy of your report before long...

For the audio out, etc...
Is there a way of connecting this to the car stereo directly?

I remember a guy that had this with his nokia 7210 (matrix type). Again, nokia seem to do everything first (ish...).
When in his car and he received a phone call, it came all throught the speakers etc. funky!!!



MmF :roll:

[Carlos]

Oh yeah, I had that with my Nokia 8200. Also had a "car" kit for it on my motorcycle, so I could talk on the phone in the helmet as well as the passenger and other bikes (if similarly equipped). It cuts off the radio automatically. I still have the rest of the system on the bike, but now have to build a holder and interface for the XDA. I have always has car kits that are system integrated, but the XDA is the first where I had to start from scratch.

Here's a photo of the bike setup for the Nokia:

http://www.cbr1100xx.org/mods/sound/dash_finished.jpg

Anyway, piping the sound through the car system can be done in many different ways. If you have a system with seperate amplifiers, you can buy a simple mixer to insert the sound before the amps. Or, many head units these days (like the CD-MP3 player on my bike) have front-panel 3.5mm inputs. I used to have an Eclipse CD changer/controller that automatically switched over to a back panel auxiliary connection when it detected input on that connection. Of course, there are the rudimentary cassette adapters and the RF injectors like the Radio Shack iRock which put the sound on an FM frequency.

There are a lot of solutions, just depends on your current setup and desired budget.