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Guys,
I bought a cradle from ebay (leeonline) because I cannot get a 4 in 1 adaptor from HTC. I tried using the vga-out (17 inch CRT Monitor), rca video out (our Television Set), Brandless USB hub, Generic/standard USB Keyboard and Generic/standard USB Mouse on it all at the same time. Everything works.
Now, I really no longer bring my laptop to work. My athena is all I need for Word Processing, Spreadsheets etc. There are quirks though. Sometimes, the mouse stops working or the athena hangs. (It may be the amount of programs installed.) Then again, It is still faster to boot than my laptop. The other downside is that even with the cradle plugged to the adaptor, It will still consume energy from the battery of the unit.
What I have done to my athena may not be new to most people but I would like to hear from other people what attachments or modifications they have done to make their athena more useful and powerful. In this way, we can all benefit from these ideas. Thanks!
Thanks!
yetdy said:
Guys,
I bought a cradle from ebay (leeonline) because I cannot get a 4 in 1 adaptor from HTC. I tried using the vga-out (17 inch CRT Monitor), rca video out (our Television Set), Brandless USB hub, Generic/standard USB Keyboard and Generic/standard USB Mouse on it all at the same time. Everything works.
Now, I really no longer bring my laptop to work. My athena is all I need for Word Processing, Spreadsheets etc. There are quirks though. Sometimes, the mouse stops working or the athena hangs. (It may be the amount of programs installed.) Then again, It is still faster to boot than my laptop. The other downside is that even with the cradle plugged to the adaptor, It will still consume energy from the battery of the unit.
What I have done to my athena may not be new to most people but I would like to hear from other people what attachments or modifications they have done to make their athena more useful and powerful. In this way, we can all benefit from these ideas. Thanks!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to do that, but the novelty wore off eventually. Now i just bring in a mini notebook. It's easier than carrying loads of bits about and connecting things to monitors (though that option is still there if necessary).
Pretty cool though if you like your gadgets.
Leoni is correct, however he can always leave the other stuff connected to the cradle and use it sorta like a docking station, but you would need a second cradle for the home TV. I'm glad this thread started because I myself was considering getting one for my TV. However, what should I do about the audio coming from my device (will I still be able to connect audio to my AV receiver)? As far as the 4 in 1 cable I would be able to get to the audio jack on the Athena however the down side is that not all USB flash drives would be supported with the 4 in 1 cable. Yetdy can you tell me how you work around getting audio streamed?
I think there are a few ways to stream audio.
#1 S-Video if I'm not mistaken is supposed to stream audio to your TV.
#2 Audio Jack to RCA Audio converters connected directly to the TV or amplifier would also help assumming you are using the 4-in 1 adaptor. Cradle cannot help you out with this option.
#3 Of course there is bluetooth connection which is what I am going to use. Got a bluetooth transmitter and receiver from ebay but is currently busted (bad seller). Another is to get a BT that has a changeable earphone/buds. Change the earphone to an audio jack to RCA Audio jack and follow #2.
Hope this helps.
yes and no
yetdy said:
I think there are a few ways to stream audio.
#1 S-Video if I'm not mistaken is supposed to stream audio to your TV.
****You are mistaken, S-video is video only (the pins are luminance, chroma, ground and something else I can't remember off the top of my head) ****
#2 Audio Jack to RCA Audio converters connected directly to the TV or amplifier would also help assumming you are using the 4-in 1 adaptor. Cradle cannot help you out with this option.
****if it is anything like the one I got from ebay then no, as it covers up the headphones out port from the athena but does not replicate it on the back ! the athena also carries audio out from the same USB connector that you charge it from (this is why the socket on the athena is an unusual/different shape compared to your plug on USB charger) if they had replicated this port propely on the dock then you could have got audio out that way, but the dock connector for that is also wrong (standard USB shaped socket, not the odd one from the athena) ****
#3 Of course there is bluetooth connection which is what I am going to use. Got a bluetooth transmitter and receiver from ebay but is currently busted (bad seller). Another is to get a BT that has a changeable earphone/buds. Change the earphone to an audio jack to RCA Audio jack and follow #2.
****it is feasible to have the athena transmit stereo bluetooth to a nearby device !****
Hope this helps.
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just my 2 pence worth
If you want to play audio on your home theatre speaker, you could also consider the option of plugging an FM transmitterinto the headphone jack, then use your FM receiver to play through your theatre speaker.
That was how I used to play my music in the car, through the car's srereo speakers.
eaglesteve said:
If you want to play audio on your home theatre speaker, you could also consider the option of plugging an FM transmitterinto the headphone jack, then use your FM receiver to play through your theatre speaker.
That was how I used to play my music in the car, through the car's srereo speakers.
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wont work if the Athena is in the ebay dock/cradle, as it covers up the audio out port, but does not replicate it.
Ice coffee,
Maybe you can share some other options here. You may have other ideas that may be useful to us. I just got my athena last month and cradle last week so I cannot really say with authority what it can and what it cannot do. If you can help us out in maximizing the athena with its cradle, many will appreciate it.
None of the video outputs from the 4-in-1 carry audio, the only options are BT a2dp or the headphones jack. Seems a bit long-winded to me though - I'm sure there are less fiddly mods out there. I just used to use the magnetic keyboard as a stand, slipped a BT keyboard over the top of it and the 4-in-1 for usb hub etc. This left a free audio jack to use as I wished. Seems like the docking station is more of a hindrance than a help.
HTC Advantage
Docking station
Keyboard
Mouse
Hifi Bluetooth A2DP adaptor
USB Hub....
I think my EEE pc is a more convenient device on the whole than the above setup would've been if i'd carried all that with me I wouldn't have had any space to fit my work stuff!
I came accross another docking station for $119.00 USD that has the audio option on the side along with 2 standard USB ports instead of 1. I think it's a bit too pricey, due to the fact that on flebay they do have a2dp stereo bluetooth adapters for like $50 USD. Besides with that and your bluetooth headsets it might still be possible to answer a incoming phone call on your bt headset without having to hear the audio coming from your A/V receiver (considering you left the phone on). Leoni, both options have their own drawback (no powering source with the 4 in 1 cable for all USB storage devices and the inaccessable headphone jack when using the docking station). But anyway I'm going to order the 4 in 1 cable too and see which one works best for me on a day to day use.
as I said the only simple option is to use bluetooth and as tootalk2000 pointed out you can get adaptors on ebay for £25 ish, I suppose the other more complicated option would be to, take your cradle apart and replace the USB connector into the phone with this,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2in1-Audio-US...oryZ3728QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and then take the other end of this apart and make it fit in your cradle, it would actually be quite easy to do as there is a lot of space in the cradle.
ice_coffee said:
as I said the only simple option is to use bluetooth and as tootalk2000 pointed out you can get adaptors on ebay for £25 ish, I suppose the other more complicated option would be to, take your cradle apart and replace the USB connector into the phone with this,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2in1-Audio-US...oryZ3728QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and then take the other end of this apart and make it fit in your cradle, it would actually be quite easy to do as there is a lot of space in the cradle.
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Awwwww shux, someone just gave me some experimenting to go do. I'm ordering one of those jacks today, and hopefully it will come around the same time as cradle. I'll just super glue it to the back portion of the cradle and plug it in externally. Due to the fact that the USB port is still on there you would still be able to sync even when the ear phone jack is still in use.
tootallk2000 said:
Awwwww shux, someone just gave me some experimenting to go do. I'm ordering one of those jacks today, and hopefully it will come around the same time as cradle. I'll just super glue it to the back portion of the cradle and plug it in externally. Due to the fact that the USB port is still on there you would still be able to sync even when the ear phone jack is still in use.
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Click to collapse
lol my thoughts exactly.
Back in the day (before my phones had 3.5mm headphone jacks) I used one of these for audio+power:
http://www.amazon.com/OEM-3-5mm-Headset-Adapter-Converter/dp/B001RXTDP2/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_c
Since I don't use the samsung oem car dock (case doesn't fit), I've been looking for something similar to mimic the combined audio/usb connection, as this would solve my bt headset issues. I've been considering simply buying a dock and tearing it apart to get at the cables. Anyone found something that works? Extra points if the Car Cradle app launching pin is present. Thanks.
Hello everybody i recently got the sprint car dock and i was wondering if anyone else has seen this same kind of behavior as I have been seeing. Basically music played using the 3.35mm jack to an aux port on the car stereo just doesn't sound right. It seems like all the sound is going to my rear speakers while i play music from RDIO and my streamed music from Google play. It seems like the audio sounds much better while the phone is not docked. Has anyone else run into this issue? I remember that original Evo's dock did something where it automatically lowered the volume of the music being sent through the 3.35 jack.
When I had the photon and the dock, I had the same issue. Do you have a case on your phone?
If you do try to push down a bit harder with music playing, I bet you your other speakers will start working again.
The USB audio is picky on just how "properly" seated it is. I also noticed (again the photon) the audio is a bit quieter. Eventually I ended up using the mini jack connector and the usb for charging.
So after re-reading your post, I realized you are not talking about USB but the mini jack. What i have noticed however, I was using the 3.55mm today and the radio had to be turned up a bit more to get the normal listening levels I am currently used to (used to be 22-24, now its 30-35 for volume level on my radio) The sound did sound a bit.... off... but could not quite place it. I noticed the beats audio icon on the top when I had the music playing. It does not appear to be customizable except for an on and off?
anoying sound
As soon as I inserted my phone into the car dock with my 3.5 audio jack in it started making a buzzing sound. I double checked that the phone was seated properly and that the audio jacks were all the way secure. The sound disappeared as soon as I removed it from the dock. It is not very noticible if music is playing but if is not it is terrible. Am I the only one?
This is likely a ground loop issue. I'm seeing it with my dock too. But i also see the exact same issue while charging WITHOUT the dock and always have with every phone in my truck. Unplug the charger, issue goes away.
Eventually I'm going to re-ground my cigarette outlet to a cleaner ground in my truck and see if that solves the issue.
modplan said:
This is likely a ground loop issue. I'm seeing it with my dock too. But i also see the exact same issue while charging WITHOUT the dock and always have with every phone in my truck. Unplug the charger, issue goes away.
Eventually I'm going to re-ground my cigarette outlet to a cleaner ground in my truck and see if that solves the issue.
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Click to collapse
Id have to agree. I dont have the sound issue in my truck atm, using an aftermarket Pyle 7in dvd. But Ive had that same issue in other vehicles/devices (not with my LTE). Does the sound increase with the RPM at any range? If so they make a filter (I think its just a magnet idk) that can clear up that sound.
modplan said:
This is likely a ground loop issue. I'm seeing it with my dock too. But i also see the exact same issue while charging WITHOUT the dock and always have with every phone in my truck. Unplug the charger, issue goes away.
Eventually I'm going to re-ground my cigarette outlet to a cleaner ground in my truck and see if that solves the issue.
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Click to collapse
I do not have the issue at all when I disconnect from the dock. In fact, its minimal once I start to play something like Pandora. But as soon as I don't have something playing the buzzing kicks in and its annoying as hell. I have two 12v ports in my car and several different chargers and it does them for all of them. I think it may be something HTC knows about but hasn't confirmed yet...
modplan said:
This is likely a ground loop issue. I'm seeing it with my dock too. But i also see the exact same issue while charging WITHOUT the dock and always have with every phone in my truck. Unplug the charger, issue goes away.
Eventually I'm going to re-ground my cigarette outlet to a cleaner ground in my truck and see if that solves the issue.
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Click to collapse
This is pretty much spot on. I had to re ground one if my cigarette lighters that did this with my zune.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
donatom3 said:
This is pretty much spot on. I had to re ground one if my cigarette lighters that did this with my zune.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I'm not saying that it wasn't the case for you, because it certainly is possible. However, correct me if I am wrong, you had the problem regardless of if the phone was in the car dock correct?
I ONLY have the problem when it is in the car dock. That makes me think it's not the 12v plug.
bds369 said:
I do not have the issue at all when I disconnect from the dock. In fact, its minimal once I start to play something like Pandora. But as soon as I don't have something playing the buzzing kicks in and its annoying as hell. I have two 12v ports in my car and several different chargers and it does them for all of them. I think it may be something HTC knows about but hasn't confirmed yet...
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Click to collapse
Can you try something? Take the same charger and try it with the phone in another car. One thats less then 10 years old if possible. (Not that its some magic age of the car, just better/properly grounded radios are more common, imo) Report back and let us know if the sound persists in that vehicle? Thanks
*Not saying yours, or anyone with the problems vehicle is 10+ years old - just wondering if it persists elsewhere.
bds369 said:
I'm not saying that it wasn't the case for you, because it certainly is possible. However, correct me if I am wrong, you had the problem regardless of if the phone was in the car dock correct?
I ONLY have the problem when it is in the car dock. That makes me think it's not the 12v plug.
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Click to collapse
I've had it on multiple devices that had their power adapter plugged into the car. There is also a chance it's your power adapter.
This is not an uncommon problem in car audio, it's so common that many manufacturers make devices to try to reduce the noise. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062214
Try adding a ground loop isolator into the audio cable. They can't be bought just about anywhere (Amazon, Radio Shack, etc.) for about $15 and should eliminate and ground loop noise. Ground loop noise is why it is so hard to find a car dock that includes audio out. Companies understand consumers want a car dock with 3.5mm audio out but wouldn't be able to design a dock that would eliminate noise in every case.
Filtering the audio line with a ground loop isolator is not a solution for me. They often dramatically reduce high tones and degrade audio quality overall. A real solution is to solve the issue on the electrical side, not the audio side.
OK, I think I understand what you are saying now. I get the normal ground loop whine that I have always gotten in my truck, that changes pitch with RPMs. Known issue with all phones in my truck, whatever.
But today I also noticed a Static (1 second) Static (1 second) Static (1 second) Static (1 second) that was only noticable when my phone was in the dock, plugged in, no music playing (in between songs) AND the beats audio logo was visible (beats was off, I do not use it). Beats logo goes away (when there is more than a second or two of silence) and the static stops. I'm not sure if the static is stopping then because the beats signal processor is turning off, or because the phone is turning off power to the headphone jack. If it is the beats processor turning off, I could try to make a mod to always keep it off (I don't use it anyway).
Is anyone seeing this static (static, not whine) while plugged in but NOT in the dock?
Is this what the OP is seeing? How about the rest of you?
modplan said:
OK, I think I understand what you are saying now. I get the normal ground loop whine that I have always gotten in my truck, that changes pitch with RPMs. Known issue with all phones in my truck, whatever.
But today I also noticed a Static (1 second) Static (1 second) Static (1 second) Static (1 second) that was only noticable when my phone was in the dock, plugged in, no music playing (in between songs) AND the beats audio logo was visible (beats was off, I do not use it). Beats logo goes away (when there is more than a second or two of silence) and the static stops. I'm not sure if the static is stopping then because the beats signal processor is turning off, or because the phone is turning off power to the headphone jack. If it is the beats processor turning off, I could try to make a mod to always keep it off (I don't use it anyway).
Is anyone seeing this static (static, not whine) while plugged in but NOT in the dock?
Is this what the OP is seeing? How about the rest of you?
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Click to collapse
I am not the OP but I am getting the exact same results that you are. It sounds perfect when not in the dock. When in the dock it makes a terrible buzzing noise until I start to play something. I have tried multiple chargers including OEM HTC ones in multiple vehicles and the problem still persists. How can ground loop be non existent when I'm charging my phone with just the cable (outside of the dock)? It has to be something else. I ordered the HTC Stereoclip yesterday and should have it be the end of this week to test wireless play.
willyam111 said:
Try adding a ground loop isolator into the audio cable.
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Click to collapse
I already had one installed for my Epic, and still get the noise on my EVO....
Just out of interest, is the 3.5mm jack going into the Phone, or is it tied into the charger cable. I currently have a MOTO Atrix and the Car Dock USB Cable splits off with an Aux Jack connection. That way you don't need to keep plugging the Aux Cable into the phone everytime you dock. I've never had any interference with this approach.
I'm getting the EVOLTE as soon as possible, so I'm interested in this answer. Plus, how it's being connected may be part of the problem?
csyrell said:
Just out of interest, is the 3.5mm jack going into the Phone, or is it tied into the charger cable. I currently have a MOTO Atrix and the Car Dock USB Cable splits off with an Aux Jack connection. That way you don't need to keep plugging the Aux Cable into the phone everytime you dock. I've never had any interference with this approach.
I'm getting the EVOLTE as soon as possible, so I'm interested in this answer. Plus, how it's being connected may be part of the problem?
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Click to collapse
There is no audio jack coming out of the dock. You still have to use the one on the phone itself.
So I took apart the dock and there is one small chip inside. Seems like a lot for what should just be usb passthrough. I tried removing the blue led hoping that that was the cause of the interference but it did not help.
There are lots of resistors and capacitors on this board. Does anyone know of we remove them all it will be straight usb passthrough? I get MUCH less interference in my truck with just charging and NOT the dock using the same cable. I good way to test this is to turn the Media volume all the way down on your phone and up high in ur vehicle and you will get tons of static and popping.
Any electrical engineers in the crowd? I if not I guess I have to buy a stereo clip :-(
Sent from my EVO using XDA
Those electronics are probably what activate Car Mode.
ahecht said:
Those electronics are probably what activate Car Mode.
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Activating car mode is done my simply shorting pins 4 and 5 on the USB connector, no electronics required and is why the dock will still put your phone into car mode when not even plugged in.
Product links:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Stereo-Clip-On-Bluetooth-Headset/dp/B0057WWK5E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875982446
High Resolution Image Gallery (Close up of buttons, and dimensions): http://imgur.com/a/b5HyR#0
In short, at half the price of the HTC Stereo Clip, I don't see why you would buy anything else. (A simple male to male adapter and it'll plug into your head unit just the same.)
Audio Quality: It's great! The new APT-X codec(?) is awesome. It would take a double blind hearing test for me to tell the difference between the Samsung and a wire. Can you tell? Maybe, but requiring a double blind test is good enough for me in my car.
Note: I have the bluetooth feeding directly into an amplifier that feeds my speakers. I no longer have a headunit.
For me, there are so many benefits of this unit vs the Stereo Clip.
Less than half the cost ! ($30 vs $70 for HTC Clip)
I can plug ANY set of headphones into the bluetooth and have "wireless" headphones
Has a built in mic, so I can answer calls with it in the car or out
Great battery life
Comes with a nice pair of short corded ear buds that have decent sound isolation as well
A minor gripe: If you look at the photos, the buttons are really small with no tactile differentiation. I always have to look at it to figure out what side I'm going push. It would have been so easy to make one side have some tactile difference.
Nice review!!! I just received mine yesterday and I love it as well. Definitely worth 30 bucks. Agree with everything you posted!
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Ordered mine earlier today! Looks like I made a good choice....now I got to go set up some new Tasker profiles
can you pair two devices to this thing (i.e. ELTE for me and 4S for my wife)?
I'm looking for an a2dp adapter to do a fixed install inside my car. Can I leave this hooked up to a usb power source constantly and hide the reciever in my armrest? Also is there any problem using these for a2dp only and using my car's built in hands free?
donatom3 said:
I'm looking for an a2dp adapter to do a fixed install inside my car. Can I leave this hooked up to a usb power source constantly and hide the reciever in my armrest? Also is there any problem using these for a2dp only and using my car's built in hands free?
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Click to collapse
I would be interested to know if it would automatically power on or stay on for a fix car install. If you just want a2dp fixed install, check out the isimple isfm21. It does hard wired fm modulation or rca line out and has an Android app to change fm frequency.
Ph33zy said:
can you pair two devices to this thing (i.e. ELTE for me and 4S for my wife)?
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Click to collapse
I don't see why not. In fact, it supports two simultaneous connections as well (if the devices support it).
donatom3 said:
I'm looking for an a2dp adapter to do a fixed install inside my car. Can I leave this hooked up to a usb power source constantly and hide the reciever in my armrest?
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dmacias said:
I would be interested to know if it would automatically power on or stay on for a fix car install.
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Click to collapse
I have mine hooked up in a sort of fixed install. I have a USB and 3.5 mm cord running through my dash up to my sun visor where the Adapter sits, I was also going to do a totally fixed hidden install, but that would have hidden the built-in mic negating the hands free calling functionality. As long as your armrest isn't surrounded in metal (blocking the bluetooth signal), you should be fine. I briefly had it in my center console to test and it worked fine, then I realized, hey I won't be able to use the mic if I do that.
My USB is hooked up to a secondary cigarette socket I installed that is only live when the ignition is on. You definitely could leave it hooked up to a constant power source, but I don't know what that would do to the battery over time (the bluetooth battery and your car battery). I've decided to play it safe and not kill the battery. Having said that, if it's permanent, it shouldn't be an issue even if the bluetooth battery stops taking a charge. I've seen laptops that have dead batteries, but ppl are able to still use them plugged in.
It doesn't turn on and off automatically, so here it may be different from the StereoClip (I don't have a StereoClip so I don't know). It does work while hooked up to power so you could leave it on all the time as mentioned above. I turn mine off although I did forget one time and left it on, no biggie since it's connected to power. I'm going to set up a tasker profile to remind me to turn it off.
Also is there any problem using these for a2dp only and using my car's built in hands free?
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Click to collapse
I don't know. I do know that it supports a2dp, and it supports two simultaneous bluetooth connections if the devices support it to play music, but I'm not sure how that works with calls and whether or not it would try to play the music through your car's hands free system and whatever you have plugged.
I've never had a car built in hands free system so I don't know how that works. There's a small section in the manual about simultaneous bluetooth connections if you want to try and find the manual online.
couragedragon said:
I don't see why not. In fact, it supports two simultaneous connections as well (if the devices support it).
I have mine hooked up in a sort of fixed install. I have a USB and 3.5 mm cord running through my dash up to my sun visor where the Adapter sits, I was also going to do a totally fixed hidden install, but that would have hidden the built-in mic negating the hands free calling functionality. As long as your armrest isn't surrounded in metal (blocking the bluetooth signal), you should be fine. I briefly had it in my center console to test and it worked fine, then I realized, hey I won't be able to use the mic if I do that.
My USB is hooked up to a secondary cigarette socket I installed that is only live when the ignition is on. You definitely could leave it hooked up to a constant power source, but I don't know what that would do to the battery over time (the bluetooth battery and your car battery). I've decided to play it safe and not kill the battery. Having said that, if it's permanent, it shouldn't be an issue even if the bluetooth battery stops taking a charge. I've seen laptops that have dead batteries, but ppl are able to still use them plugged in.
It doesn't turn on and off automatically, so here it may be different from the StereoClip (I don't have a StereoClip so I don't know). It does work while hooked up to power so you could leave it on all the time as mentioned above. I turn mine off although I did forget one time and left it on, no biggie since it's connected to power. I'm going to set up a tasker profile to remind me to turn it off.
I don't know. I do know that it supports a2dp, and it supports two simultaneous bluetooth connections if the devices support it to play music, but I'm not sure how that works with calls and whether or not it would try to play the music through your car's hands free system and whatever you have plugged.
I've never had a car built in hands free system so I don't know how that works. There's a small section in the manual about simultaneous bluetooth connections if you want to try and find the manual online.
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Sweet man.. I just bought one based on your review. Do you think you can take a picture of your setup?
I purchased one too, along with a whole host of cables to do a permanent hidden installation.
My only fear is leaving it on all of the time, only charging when I am in the vehicle. Hopefully it has a "standby" mode to conserve power when the power switch is on but nothing is connected.
OP, I won't get mine until Tuesday, is there anyway you can test a permanent always-on installation like I'm talking about by seeing how yours does leaving the power switch on for a day or so?
The tech specs list a 130hour standby battery life. Should be more then enough when the car is not moving. my delema is that I cant find any decent Y adapters to split my one usb socket in my car into 2, But that is another story.
Ph33zy said:
Sweet man.. I just bought one based on your review. Do you think you can take a picture of your setup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, will post some tonight
modplan said:
OP, I won't get mine until Tuesday, is there anyway you can test a permanent always-on installation like I'm talking about by seeing how yours does leaving the power switch on for a day or so?
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Click to collapse
Not really, I use it all the time in and out of the car everyday so I'm always charging it to make sure it's topped off. Sorry man.
I did leave it on overnight once and it was fine.
Sent from my EVO LTE w/ TapaTalk 2
texanman said:
The tech specs list a 130hour standby battery life. Should be more then enough when the car is not moving. my delema is that I cant find any decent Y adapters to split my one usb socket in my car into 2, But that is another story.
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Click to collapse
Right, but does standby mean power switch is off, or power switch is on but nothing connected?
I just bought this little guy to do the splitting and will install it behind my dash where I already have the wires to my dock run.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10307&cs_id=1030702&p_id=6631&seq=1&format=2
I couldn't find a simple y splitter either, that wasn't 32 feet long....
[
I just bought this little guy to do the splitting and will install it behind my dash where I already have the wires to my dock run.<br />
<br />
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10307&cs_id=1030702&p_id=6631&seq=1&format=2<br />
<br />
I couldn't find a simple y splitter either, that wasn't 32 feet long....
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My concern with that is it'll only charge your phone in USB mode which isn't enough when using navigation with the screen on.
I ended up getting a dual USB adapter that charged in AC mode and running two usb cords.
Sent from EVO LTE w/ TapaTalk 2
couragedragon said:
My concern with that is it'll only charge your phone in USB mode which isn't enough when using navigation with the screen on.
I ended up getting a dual USB adapter that charged in AC mode and running two usb cords.
Sent from EVO LTE w/ TapaTalk 2
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If you have the car dock, it forces AC mode, as long as your charger has enough current (at least 1A).
My charger is 2.1A, the bluetooth will probably pull 500mA and the phone will pull 1A, so in my case (with the dock) the hub should work fine, and will look a lot cleaner with only one cord running from my cigarette lighter to behind my dash.
But to each their own. I'll take pics of my setup on Tuesday.
Ph33zy said:
Sweet man.. I just bought one based on your review. Do you think you can take a picture of your setup?
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I haven't made it pretty yet. I usually run my stuff for several weeks before I shore up all the wires and hide everything behind the dash properly and make a custom plate to cover up the head unit opening and paint the L Bracket I used black.
http://imgur.com/a/igJgN#6
modplan said:
If you have the car dock, it forces AC mode, as long as your charger has enough current (at least 1A).
My charger is 2.1A, the bluetooth will probably pull 500mA and the phone will pull 1A, so in my case (with the dock) the hub should work fine, and will look a lot cleaner with only one cord running from my cigarette lighter to behind my dash.
But to each their own. I'll take pics of my setup on Tuesday.
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You know what, at first I was like NUH UH! And then I remembered, the first dock I got didn't do that AND it eventually stopped working (charging) and I had to exchange it for another one. So it was probably faulty. Good to know. Thanks for the heads up.
What's the range on this device? Sometimes I don't have good signal in the office so I have to leave it by a window. Usually no more than 20-30 feet away. Wanted to know cause I like to stream Pandora usually all day while I walk around the office.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
dwiz06 said:
What's the range on this device? Sometimes I don't have good signal in the office so I have to leave it by a window. Usually no more than 20-30 feet away. Wanted to know cause I like to stream Pandora usually all day while I walk around the office.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5
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I've found that the Bluetooth signal is very dependant on a variety of factors. You'll likely be on the edge of its range though.
For example, in my house I've been 20ish feet away and it works fine, but if go in a certain corner with a bunch of appliances it gets crackly.
I've also parked directly in front of a strip mall store and gone inside easily 30 feet with no issues.
Sent from EVO LTE w/ TapaTalk 2
I'm glad to have found this seeing as how the HTC stereoclip does NOT route your phone calls, when a phone call comes in it mites the music and it will use the speaker on the phone nut your car speakers. It only routs music. Which seems incredibly dumb to me. But I suppose HTC has to sell you another blue tooth device to take phone calls.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Freelancerx said:
I'm glad to have found this seeing as how the HTC stereoclip does NOT route your phone calls, when a phone call comes in it mites the music and it will use the speaker on the phone nut your car speakers. It only routs music. Which seems incredibly dumb to me. But I suppose HTC has to sell you another blue tooth device to take phone calls.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
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Probably because they couldn't be bothered to also lower the phone stream's volume and if they had a mic on the device it would just pick up the other person's voice from the car speakers and it would be a whole bucket of echoes without active noise cancellation.
I got mine, and I have to say it sounds fantastic. I have it in my "fixed" install. basically I have it plugged into a cigarette lighter that turns off with the car, and the audio is running under my console to the backside of my radio.
With the HTC car dock, my phone connects to my factory bluetooth handsfree for phone calls, and the Samsung for music, and standard audio, such as nav.
Only problem I have is it stays on when the power is off which means my phone stays connected when I go into my house.
I am considering cutting the battery wire on the inside to solve that issue.
This may be such an unusual use case that it hasn't been an issue for anyone other than me, but here's to hoping for a solution...
I've just bought a new car (2015 Honda Fit) which has a decent size LCD panel in the dash (but I opted not to get the expensive navigation system) and which also has full bluetooth integration and, surprisingly, an HDMI port for the screen. HDMI is one of the "source" settings, and Bluetooth is a separate one.
I've paired my Nexus 5 to the car in order to take and make phone calls and get the other integration features such as music and podcast playback over the car's audio. I had this idea that if I were to run the Nexus 5 through the large screen using HDMI (via a Slimport adapter), I can have a much nicer Google Maps based navigation system that would give something close enough to the experience of the in-dash nav system minus the touchscreen -- which is fine, as I can set the route, put the phone in a cupholder, and not bother with it again.
Now, here's the fatal snag. While the phone is paired to bluetooth, it insists on sending 100% of its audio through Bluetooth and doesn't send it through HDMI. The car is either-or on the sources. If it's on HDMI, it only plays back HDMI. The screen displays exactly as I hoped -- but no audio at all (again, it's going to Bluetooth). Now, I can switch over to Bluetooth and hear the sound but not get the display. I could kill the pairing to get both through HDMI, but now I lose the ability to receive calls over bluetooth with the handy steering wheel call answering and all of the amenities associated with that.
I'm wondering if there is some kind of workaround -- Android configuration that I've somehow never noticed, or a third party app -- which will allow the Nexus 5 to remain paired and actively Bluetooth connected while still sending audio through the HDMI port (Slimport). I don't see that this would as likely be a car-side solution.
The Nexus 5 is rooted stock 4.3.3.
Thank you in advance for help toward a solution.
qaelith.2112 said:
This may be such an unusual use case that it hasn't been an issue for anyone other than me, but here's to hoping for a solution...
I've just bought a new car (2015 Honda Fit) which has a decent size LCD panel in the dash (but I opted not to get the expensive navigation system) and which also has full bluetooth integration and, surprisingly, an HDMI port for the screen. HDMI is one of the "source" settings, and Bluetooth is a separate one.
I've paired my Nexus 5 to the car in order to take and make phone calls and get the other integration features such as music and podcast playback over the car's audio. I had this idea that if I were to run the Nexus 5 through the large screen using HDMI (via a Slimport adapter), I can have a much nicer Google Maps based navigation system that would give something close enough to the experience of the in-dash nav system minus the touchscreen -- which is fine, as I can set the route, put the phone in a cupholder, and not bother with it again.
Now, here's the fatal snag. While the phone is paired to bluetooth, it insists on sending 100% of its audio through Bluetooth and doesn't send it through HDMI. The car is either-or on the sources. If it's on HDMI, it only plays back HDMI. The screen displays exactly as I hoped -- but no audio at all (again, it's going to Bluetooth). Now, I can switch over to Bluetooth and hear the sound but not get the display. I could kill the pairing to get both through HDMI, but now I lose the ability to receive calls over bluetooth with the handy steering wheel call answering and all of the amenities associated with that.
I'm wondering if there is some kind of workaround -- Android configuration that I've somehow never noticed, or a third party app -- which will allow the Nexus 5 to remain paired and actively Bluetooth connected while still sending audio through the HDMI port (Slimport). I don't see that this would as likely be a car-side solution.
The Nexus 5 is rooted stock 4.3.3.
Thank you in advance for help toward a solution.
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I can't help ith your situation, but I'm wondering if you can help with mine. I also just bought the 2015 Honda Fit. What I want to be able to do is mirror my Galaxy S4 to the screen for navigation purposes. But from what I understand, it will only work in Park. I don't have the cable yet and did't want to buy it unless I knew it would work.
For a quick test, I plugged a roku stick in the HDMI port. As expected, it worked fine until I put the car in gear. Then the display gets disabled. Does this happen with phone mirroring? Would I be able to actually use google maps and see it while in motion or will the screen shut off? What does and doesnt work with mirroring?
samseed101 said:
I can't help ith your situation, but I'm wondering if you can help with mine. I also just bought the 2015 Honda Fit. What I want to be able to do is mirror my Galaxy S4 to the screen for navigation purposes. But from what I understand, it will only work in Park. I don't have the cable yet and did't want to buy it unless I knew it would work.
For a quick test, I plugged a roku stick in the HDMI port. As expected, it worked fine until I put the car in gear. Then the display gets disabled. Does this happen with phone mirroring? Would I be able to actually use google maps and see it while in motion or will the screen shut off? What does and doesnt work with mirroring?
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Click to collapse
This behavior of the HDMI port / display actually became a far bigger problem than how to route the sound. I had been doing all of my testing with the car sitting in the garage, and because I wasn't ever able to get the sound to do what I needed, I didn't bother to go drive around with HDMI display enabled. I confirmed through this and consulting the manual that for "safety reasons" they have entirely disabled the HDMI input while the car is not in park. Unfortunately, I'd guess this is coded in the system's firmware which most of us aren't going to have a way to tamper with, so this is a fatal problem for what we're both looking to do. I was confident that there was probably some sort of solution to making audio go over both channels, but that's irrelevant in light of this problem.
So to summarize, I'll suggest not bothering with the Slimport (or the other kind of interface, if that's what your phone uses) because it will certainly be utterly useless for this and I don't foresee a solution. It looks like this thread is therefore dead. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, though -- I'd have continued working toward an audio solution and then discovered this bigger problem once I solved that one. You just saved me from wasting a lot of time.
samseed101 said:
I can't help ith your situation, but I'm wondering if you can help with mine. I also just bought the 2015 Honda Fit. What I want to be able to do is mirror my Galaxy S4 to the screen for navigation purposes. But from what I understand, it will only work in Park. I don't have the cable yet and did't want to buy it unless I knew it would work.
For a quick test, I plugged a roku stick in the HDMI port. As expected, it worked fine until I put the car in gear. Then the display gets disabled. Does this happen with phone mirroring? Would I be able to actually use google maps and see it while in motion or will the screen shut off? What does and doesnt work with mirroring?
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Click to collapse
One more thought (stating the obvious, I suppose) -- We've been hamstrung by the assumption that everyone is going to be using the display to watch movies while driving, even though we have excellent reasons which would actually make it safer (an easier to see navigation display). I guess Honda is mitigating lawsuits from the would-be idiots who might actually be watching American Idol episodes while driving to work.