Why buy a pricey audio system for your car?

[Ed Hansberry]

Peter Agarde wanted a better audio system in his car. He says "Ever since I got my Daewoo Tico car I was wondering about installing an audio system, but with this car it’s a quite difficult task: all the sizes are too small compared to the standards in the car’s interior. So when I got my new Jornada I started to play with the thought of using the device as the heart of my new audio system. My friend and I made an amplifier, we bought the speakers, did all the cable-work and because this Jornada series doesn’t have a car-holder accessory, we transfomed a cellular set so the device could fit into it. Now it’s working and it’s so cool, all the other drivers are staring at it at the red light!"<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2002/20020702-jornadaaudio1.jpg" /><br />Very cool. Hours and hours of music with a play list editor far better than most car stereo's, and since you take it with you where ever you go, it should never get stolen. There are larger images in the discussion forum. &lt;!><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2002/20020702-jornadaaudio2.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2002/20020702-jornadaaudio3.jpg" />

[Venturello]

God what an ugly car you've bought... but that's just my opinion. If it makes you happy, congratulations! No more car jokes.

A question, those cables look awefully heavy, and I am worried they could damage your pocketpc's audio connectors. If it where me, I wouldnt use them like that, puts too much weight on it.

Try something else! :) Just IMHO, you could damage your expensive PDA.

On the iPaq, there is an audio connector on the expansion sleeve connector... could be a nice project, or business. Connector with audio out, audio in and power in from the car 12VDC.

Cheers!

Juan

[Ed Hansberry]

Cheers!
I'm confused. You blast his car. You blast his setup and you blast his choice of Pocket PC for the task, then you go "Cheers?" Whatever. :roll:

[Sven Johannsen]

I agree on the weight of the cables. Looks kinda heavy. You can easily find (at RS) a mini-headphone plug to twin RCA plugs. That would get rid of the mini-phono to RCA jack adapter. That wouldn't be much more than a headphone cord hanging of it.

Here's a 6' version
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=&product%5Fid=42%2D2551

There's a 3' as well.

[Pony99CA]

Cheers!
I'm confused. You blast his car. You blast his setup and you blast his choice of Pocket PC for the task, then you go "Cheers?" Whatever. :roll:

Did Venturello edit the posting? I only saw a blast of the car.

I did see a question about the setup, with a tip to possibly improve it, and a suggestion for a project for those who had iPAQs. Where is all this blasting?

If you want real blasting, go see the comments to your posting about Rick Tait and Time-Warner cable. :lol:

Steve

[Ed Hansberry]

If you want real blasting, go see the comments to your posting about Rick Tait and Time-Warner cable.
Nah... that was one of those posts where I just pulled the pin from the grenade and walked away. Let everyone else get hit with shrapnel. :wink:

[medic119]

To get back onto the subject, I tried this very thing as a substitute for a CD changer in my truck. I found a little device that broadcasts the signal of any standard 3.5mm audio jack device over a radio station (your choice). I plugged it and the Jornada into the cigarette lighter and it worked well, but the Jornada kept timing out, even with it set not to.

I found a much better solution. The same setup, only with an Apple iPod. Since the release of MediaFour's Xplay, the iPod works with windows. I loaded up all my music and plugged it into the Radio thing and it works like a charm, with much more music available than a CF card device. Its small, lightweight, and has all the options you would need. The only thing missing is a cigarette adapter, and someone has created a third party one of those.

If I were this guy I would look at changing the setup to something like that because you'll get much more music for the buck. But the system is really cool. Imagine using the Alarms, GPS directions, or something through the system and having it broadcast over the MP3s playing in the background. Better than an in dash computer. IMHO, I think I would miss the Radio programs I listen to when travelling.

[JonnoB]

I initially thought of the FM transmitter as well. This guy does not have a stereo at all, so that would not work. It does look like those cables are a bit heavy - and for a cool looking setup, a little unsightly. One suggestion may be to use a different guage of wiring that integrates into the holder. The holder can then use the DC output to charge the device while the PDA is inserted.

I do this occasionally with my stereo, but use an FM transmitter to my stereo to play MP3 files on long drives. It works out very well.

[Pony99CA]

To get back onto the subject, I tried this very thing as a substitute for a CD changer in my truck. I found a little device that broadcasts the signal of any standard 3.5mm audio jack device over a radio station (your choice). I plugged it and the Jornada into the cigarette lighter and it worked well, but the Jornada kept timing out, even with it set not to.

I found a much better solution. The same setup, only with an Apple iPod. Since the release of MediaFour's Xplay, the iPod works with windows. I loaded up all my music and plugged it into the Radio thing and it works like a charm, with much more music available than a CF card device. Its small, lightweight, and has all the options you would need. The only thing missing is a cigarette adapter, and someone has created a third party one of those.

If I were this guy I would look at changing the setup to something like that because you'll get much more music for the buck. But the system is really cool. Imagine using the Alarms, GPS directions, or something through the system and having it broadcast over the MP3s playing in the background. Better than an in dash computer. IMHO, I think I would miss the Radio programs I listen to when travelling.

I have the Pocket CoPilot Jacket Edition for my iPAQ 3870, which comes with a windshield mount and an AC adapter. I also have a 256 MB card which I store maps and MP3s on (the GPS sleeve has a CF slot). I bought a cassette adapter to feed audio from my iPAQ into my stereo.

Now when I'm driving, I can start a playlist in Media Player, bring up Pocket CoPilot, and I get music and the GPS voice prompts over my stereo.

Of course, you need the car stereo for this solution.

Steve

[golfingtigger]

Well, since you guys have suggestions, help me out :?: . I have a Honda Civic with an Alpine Deck, Sony Xplod Subwoofers, and a Xplod Amp. I was trying to hook my 3835 iPaq to the system so that I could carry along MP3's (my deck is pre-MP3 CD compatibility). Unlike the iPaq 36xx series with audio out capabilities, the headphone jack is just that, a headphone jack.

Anyway, when I plugged the 'Paq up to the deck-- thin, tinny sound with absolutely no depth came through the subs. How do I get around this issue :? . I want MP3 music, but not with sub-par quality. I also don't feel like spending too much money on this, I would opt for a true MP3 CD option if the price gets to be more than pocket money. Just really wanted that portable thing for the WOW factor.

Suggestions?

[Venturello]

I didnt mean to blast him and I am sorry if he took my post in that way. The point I really want to make is about his pocketpc's connector supporting all that weight. In the end, all the weight is supported by a few soldered pins on his pda's pcb, and it could very well cause some damage.

I have tried the radio solution with my HD based MP3 player, and the sound quality was BAD.

There is NO solution like a direct cable, and more with good cables like theese on the pics seems to be.

Sad thing is, you need and amp for this and some way to switch between your car audio (for FM, CD, etc) and the pocket pc. Thus, it overcomplicates things, and a car audio that has aux in is usually the top end of the line. Thus, it gets expensive.

But it is ON HELL OF A MP3 PLAYER and coolness (and geekiness) factor on a high scale.

Nice work!!

:lol:

[innersky]

hmmm, would it be possible to stream audio over bluetooth ??

[madmaxmedia]

This kinda setup is okay if you're replacing a relatively standard or mediocre car stereo. But I doubt the sound quality is going to come close to a modeestly equipped car stereo.

He's probably using Monster Cable (looks like it) to try to get better sound out of the Jornada. The RCA mini jack sorta makes that hard, but I guess it shouldn't sound too bad.

[Jason Dunn]

I didnt mean to blast him and I am sorry if he took my post in that way. The point I really want to make is about his pocketpc's connector supporting all that weight. In the end, all the weight is supported by a few soldered pins on his pda's pcb, and it could very well cause some damage.

Don't you think that's a decision that is up to him though? If he breaks his Pocket PC, it's not like YOU have to pay for it. :wink:

[bargle]

hmmm, would it be possible to stream audio over bluetooth ??

Donno that you really would want to. The bit rate would been to be low, no? Probaly wouldnt matter too much with me being Im partly deaf. But a few people I know would cringe, Im sure.

[JoeThielen]

Let us not forget that the true geek value in this is that he can now do MP3s AND GPS at the same time :D

I did it back with my E-125.

http://www.joethielen.com/cars/new_gps_mp3.html

I've also got some pics on my '97 Chevy Monte Carlo Page:

http://www.joethielen.com/cars/97monte.html

:lol:

[Sorry to anyone who clicked on the earlier version of this message with invalid URLs.... I am an idiot :) ]

[DrtyBlvd]

I too had a problem with the sound quality of the mp3's in car - I was advised that it comes down to having to amp them with subsequent quality loss - I went Minidisk instead, which works really well - MD head with Edit functions (Including Record - handy for dance tracks on pirate), Multi changer CD in the boot with amped sub. Benefits are that you can use all formats! Well, save for mp3CD anyways.

Re. GPS - I use Memory Map Navigator - fantastic bit of kit - don't know how I managed without it! I always thought "Why?" - I mean, you know where you're going or you use a map, right? The true benefit of it being dashmounted is the ability to change route on the fly AND NOT GET LOST :D And the ability to check your cal, dig a phone number out, etc etc - all wonderful - and I realise now just how the ppc seems to have been designed with this in mind - in two hands, I never use the 'action' (scroll/enter) key - In the car, it's the ONLY thing I use, and wow does it work well - I especially like the large alphabet that come up when scrolling through contacts - very handy

[Will T Smith]

hmmm, would it be possible to stream audio over bluetooth ??

Your stereo can RECEIVE bluetooth.

Don't worry this stuff is coming.

BTW, I don't know if anyone browsed by Circuit City lately and saw the coolest MP3 deck yet.

Click here (http://www.circuitcity.com/ewebIMa/frame1.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1638353300.1025639584@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadcfijdjligcfngcfkmdffhdffl.0&upper=head.jsp&lower=frame2.jsp&left=leftchildcat.jsp&department=Car+Audio+and+Security&category=CD+and+Cassette+Car+Stereos&right=productsearch.jsp)

Pretty cool. I imagine that these will come down in price eventually as they're really not that sophisticated. Kinda an in-dash iPod.

[mstie423]

Well this seems kind of obvious to me... but why not buy a CD player with AUX input on the front? My dad bought one for $99 on Ebay (brand new) and I hook up my Jornada all the time. This can be found at Crutchfield.com using "Jensen CD3010X" as the search term, and is listed for $119. It sounds great, no big cables, no scratchy tape noise, and no loss of quality via FM frequencies.

I agree, however that a Pocket PC solution may not be the best one. The iPod is a compelling alternative, although if you already have the PDA why not spend another $400-500 on a large CF card or two? Doesn't have the storage space, but should be fine for typical rides. But the iPod doesn't have the alarms, calendars or the GPS.

Speaking of GPS, does anybody running both GPS and MP3's notice a speed difference? I can't imagine the GPS would be smooth running both applications. And for us Jornada owners, I don't think we could run MP3's off a CF card as well as use GPS. Or is there a product I am unaware of? Either way, thanks for everyone's help on the topic. I've been looking for a solution exact to what many of you have, and I'm sure you can clear up some of my misconceptions. Thanks!

[Pony99CA]

Well, since you guys have suggestions, help me out :?: . I have a Honda Civic with an Alpine Deck, Sony Xplod Subwoofers, and a Xplod Amp. I was trying to hook my 3835 iPaq to the system so that I could carry along MP3's (my deck is pre-MP3 CD compatibility). Unlike the iPaq 36xx series with audio out capabilities, the headphone jack is just that, a headphone jack.

I have a 3650 and 3870, and am not sure what you mean when you say the 38xx series doesn't have audio out. A headphone jack is audio out, just with a different connector, I thought.


Anyway, when I plugged the 'Paq up to the deck-- thin, tinny sound with absolutely no depth came through the subs. How do I get around this issue :?

Well, I don't have subwoofers in my Mustang, just the factory stereo, but the audio from my 3870 hooked into the cassette deck sounds great to me. I haven't directly compared it to my CD player, but I didn't hear a huge difference.

Steve

[Pony99CA]

I didnt mean to blast him and I am sorry if he took my post in that way. The point I really want to make is about his pocketpc's connector supporting all that weight. In the end, all the weight is supported by a few soldered pins on his pda's pcb, and it could very well cause some damage.

Don't you think that's a decision that is up to him though? If he breaks his Pocket PC, it's not like YOU have to pay for it. :wink:

I'm hoping this was just a joke (the first sentence; the last sentence was clearly humor). If you saw someone doing something that could damage his Pocket PC, I hope you'd suggest an alternative. I think Venturello was giving some useful constructive feedback.

Once the the person is made aware of the potential problem, of course the decision what to do about it is up to him....

Or am I just being too sensitive today?

Steve

[Don't Panic!]

What resolution is this thread at?
I have to scroll on a 15 inch monitor.
What Happened?
Cool MP3 system BTW

Don't Panic!
Bobby

[Jason Dunn]

I'm hoping this was just a joke (the first sentence; the last sentence was clearly humor). If you saw someone doing something that could damage his Pocket PC, I hope you'd suggest an alternative.

Two things:

1) Anyone who would rig up a Pocket PC stereo like this obviously knows what he's doing and has tested it out. "Constructive" feedback is different than not actually seeing it with your own eyes, not being able to feel the pressure or lack thereof on the headphone jack, and not really knowing enough of the facts to give adequate feedback. Good grief people, you've only seen TWO PICTURES! He first emailed us about this 2+ months ago, so obviously his rig has lasted that long. Perhaps, just perhaps, he knows what he's doing?

2) If I did up something cool like this and all I got were people trying to be my mother by telling me what to do/what not to do, I think I'd feel a little insulted. Give the guy kudos for doing something interesting and quit harping on him!

Or am I just being too sensitive today?

Yes. :lol: You're still riled up from the "Terms of Service" thread. Go for a long walk. :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

Well this seems kind of obvious to me... but why not buy a CD player with AUX input on the front?

Equally obvious: he states why in his message...

"...but with this car it’s a quite difficult task: all the sizes are too small compared to the standards in the car’s interior."

:roll:

[marauderz]

Well, this is how I did mine. I got a cheap Pre-Amp that had two input channels so it could handle both my car stereo and a stereo minijack input cable so I can plug anything in to the audio system such as my PPC or my notebook.

Then I got a cheap amp so that I can boost the audio signal some more.

But now for future plans I want to stick a few extra batteries into my car so that I can get a constant current into my notebook cause when I use the cigarette plug the voltage fluctuates.... :P

Can anyone suggest a good site to check out stuff like this? On how to setup car audio systems so I can see what I need to do?

[CharlesWilcox]

I've been using my Ipaq with one of those headphone jacks that is connected to a transducer built into a cassette tape.... talk about signal loss..... The geek factor there is also very high.... but not in a good way. Kind of like using a safety pin to fix your glasses :?

[sycamore]

People, people, it's all about wording. The line between constructive criticism and being b*tchy is in the packaging of words--intent is difficult to judge from words themselves.

Anyway, I like what he's done. I've been thinking about other ways to wire up my pda to my car stereo too. I've got a Blaupunkt SanJose system (plays CD-RW, CD-R, etc) and I got it specifically because it supports pre-amp inputs. But b/c a single cd-rw can support as many as 15 CDs (depending on compression), I feel kind of bereft of that "cool factor" for my pda. Ultimately what I'd like to do is hook up the following to my PDA:

(1) pre-amp output
(2) mic-in
(3) power
(4) external storage

And I'd like to be able to do this all through the usb/sync crade interface. Hey, why not? We know it supports power, and other folks have been able to hook up external storage devices to this interface (anyone know where the pin specs are?). Bluetooth would be handy, but of course you would still need a physical connection for power.

The idea of course is that you could use, say, your Loox with a GPS device to pinpoint your location, make hands-free calls, play music, dictate, give voice commands, etc etc. I think VW had a limited-edition Golf in Europe with a solution like this for Jornadas a few years back. With a WiFi card in the CF slot, you could just set it to stay on for 30 minutes or so while you hop into the house, synchronize, admin, and upload music, all while sipping on a martini in the gazebo with your wireless laptop. Remember, you heard it here first! :D

The use of a modified cell phone holder shows ingenuity, but I'll probably go for one of the Akron mounts myself.

[eosd30]

I have tried the radio solution with my HD based MP3 player, and the sound quality was BAD.

There is NO solution like a direct cable, and more with good cables like theese on the pics seems to be.
:lol:

I've got an older stereo in my RAV4, though it's still connected to amps, subwoofer and good speakers, and am feeding the output of my Nomad Jukebox (and sometimes my 3870) into it using a cassette tape adaptor. Works great, sounds great. Good for both MP3s and Audible content, and for watching movie trailers at earthshaking volume levels.

Vic

[Kre]

What resolution is this thread at?
I have to scroll on a 15 inch monitor.
What Happened?
Cool MP3 system BTW

Don't Panic!
Bobby

The reason you have to scroll is because of the long URL link that Will T. Smith included in his post.


I think the pocket pc setup is really cool. Great job. Too bad our pocket pc`s dont have credit card remote controls. Now THAT would be slick.


Granted the following example isnt done with a pocket pc, but if you really want to see a cool way of how someone installed a computer into a car, visit the link below and look around.

http://home.attbi.com/~mp3car/blazerhtml.htm

[Ed Hansberry]

What resolution is this thread at?
I have to scroll on a 15 inch monitor.
What Happened?

Very long URL that wasn't line wrapping in one of the posts. I fixed it.

[Pony99CA]

I'm hoping this was just a joke (the first sentence; the last sentence was clearly humor). If you saw someone doing something that could damage his Pocket PC, I hope you'd suggest an alternative.

Two things:

1) Anyone who would rig up a Pocket PC stereo like this obviously knows what he's doing and has tested it out. "Constructive" feedback is different than not actually seeing it with your own eyes, not being able to feel the pressure or lack thereof on the headphone jack, and not really knowing enough of the facts to give adequate feedback. Good grief people, you've only seen TWO PICTURES! He first emailed us about this 2+ months ago, so obviously his rig has lasted that long. Perhaps, just perhaps, he knows what he's doing?


Well, I didn't see it mentioned anywhere that this news was over 2 months old, so it's a reasonable assumption that it's fairly new. Also, lasting two months may or may not be a big deal. It depends how much he keeps it hooked up like this.

As for rigging it up implying that he knows everything about this, I'm not sure about that. I'm not saying Peter doesn't (he may well), but perhaps Venturello's comments on the internal structure of the Pocket PC's headphone jack would be news to him.

I'm pretty good at hooking things up, but I'm a software guy, and I don't know about hardware internals. I could easily see making a "mistake" like that.

As another post said, I think it's the intent that counts. The comment about the ugly car may have prejudiced people, but the comments on construction were clearly well-meaning, and I don't think well-intentioned comments deserve to be slammed.

Do you know how Peter feels about these comments? Has he actually posted in this thread? If not, a simple posting saying "I'm aware of the fragility of the headphone jack and made allowances for it" would have ended things (I hope).


2) If I did up something cool like this and all I got were people trying to be my mother by telling me what to do/what not to do, I think I'd feel a little insulted. Give the guy kudos for doing something interesting and quit harping on him!

Come on -- how many times do you know someone who has put out a cool piece of software or hardware, only to get it "reviewed" with all sorts of comments about what's wrong? I bet some of the Pocket PC staff has even done that. For commercial software, that's reasonable, but has anyone ever criticized freeware or made suggestions, even though they might not know the internals of the program?

I don't think anybody has said Peter's work sucks, and it has been complimented. But anybody who submits something like this to a public site should realize that there's the possibility for criticism -- constructive or otherwise.

If someone visits my little Pocket PC page (http://www.garlic.com/~shm/svvgppc.html) and sends me E-mail saying it's crap, yes, I'd be insulted. But I'd also realize that's a likely outcome out making it public.


Or am I just being too sensitive today?

Yes. :lol: You're still riled up from the "Terms of Service" thread. Go for a long walk. :wink:

Nah, I eat stuff like that for breakfast. That's fun for me. See me in the AOL chat rooms I frequent, and you'll know what I mean. :lol:

Steve

P.S. I really hope I can contribute something useful for my 100th post....

[mstie423]

Mmm, Mr. Dunn are you implying the CD player cannot be changed due to the smallness? I've yet to see a CD player smaller than the single DINN chassis, as it would be very hard to make a player smaller than that. I think he was referring to the speakers. That varies much more from car to car. In fact, why not look at the close-up pictures again? Indeed there is an empty space, where the CD player I was talking about would fit. Hmm...

[Jason Dunn]

Mmm, Mr. Dunn are you implying the CD player cannot be changed due to the smallness?

I only know the information that was sent to me - it's not my car. :wink: